Taurus 1911?

[jaybet]

Ok...I know maybe this is a can of worms but...

Anyone have an opportunity to fire the new Taurus 1911? At about $600 it's tempting, but I've heard such mixed reviews on Taurus. Also their new military 45 they developed looks really cool, but same deal...anyone know anything about these?

[Michael Bane]

I have one...I waited until I could get one of the assembly line guns rather than a T&E sample. I put roughly 2000 rounds through it without a blip. Then I shot it alongside one of my "A" 1911s, the Cylinder & Slide Shop full-house Kimber. Yes, the C&S masterpiece was more accurate and shot "better." It also costs roughly seven times what the Taurus did. And the Taurus solidly held its own.

Accordingly, I believe the Taurus is an awesome value.

Keep in mind it's a $600 gun; some of my friends' experiences are that the guns need to be "shot in," that is, put a couple of hundred rounds through the guns to settle them in.

Bill Laughridge at C&S has mine...he did some of the early consulting on the gun with Taurus and he wants to see how closely the production gun follows the protos. When he gets through screwing with it, I'm goign to have him do some minor work — melt the Heinie site a little deeper into the slide, add a fiber optic front, add one of Wayne Novak's "Answer" mainspring housing/backstraps, clean up the trigger, and viola!

Michael B

[texcaliber]

At about $600 it's tempting,

Just an honest opinion here, if you are lookign at it due to $600 dollars, find a used S&W for the same price range and be happy with a superior product. Also Look into Springfield although my last Springfield didnt last half the round count my Smith has through it, which is still going very strong and most likely will help to defend my local B-Pin championship again this year, but you can pay alot less than the  6 bill mark!

[Michael Bane]

FWIW, I think the only other competitor in the $600 range is the STI Spartan...I shot the proto and one of the production guns, and it's impressive for the price. Here's the link for STI:

http://www.stiguns.com/guns/Spartan/Spartan.html

And here's the link from Dawson Precision...Dave Dawson is an old friend of mine:

http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=6DC0000-1161707138

I stand by my recommendation of the Taurus.

mb

[texcaliber]

Great now I get to show how inginorant i is.......

FWIW, I think the only other competitor in the $600 range is the STI Spartan...I shot the proto and one of the production guns, and it's impressive for the price. Here's the link for STI:

What does FWIW mean? Me No kno. 

[Sponsor]

[m25operator]

Tex, " for what it's worth", I went to our local gunshow yesterday and saw the new taurus for the first time, felt good and was priced at 500.00. Lot's of features.  I'll admit I'm a snob, I do my own 1911 work, I own 8 of different configurations, and 2 in transition, a safari arms match master and a les bauer matched slide and frame. But I'm still looking for a commander sized pistol, I have smaller and larger, but not that length, I'll just bide my time and either the pistol will show, or the slide will and I can build it from there.
Go for it.

[mnshooter]

I shot one of the STI Spartans at a USPSC match last weekend.  It was as tight and smooth as one could ask for, with an excellent trigger break, adjustable rear and glowing red front sight that is okay for some but not my choice -it's dovetailed so any switch is easy, and overall seemed the equal of many higher priced choices.  The shooter paid $700.00, including tax and shipping, and I think he got his money's worth and then some.  I just bought a new Kimber CDP Ultra Carry II, and it's on it's way back to Kimber without even being fired to take out a major hitch in the trigger pretravel.
Yes, I could fix it myself, but for over $1000.00 retail (and from the Kimber custom shop no less), they can fix it.

[mnshooter]

Oops, forgot about the Taurus 1911.  I've handled and shot several; all shot and functioned okay.  The edges of the grip frame are on the sharp side but this could be easily remedied, especially on the stainless versions.  The slide/frame and barrel fit, trigger, and ambi safety are all of good adequate assembly line quality.  Accuracy varied from adequate 3-4" to half that, all at 25 yards offhand, and with whatever economy white box ammo the shooter had. This would be an economical entry into the 1911 world and would give you the most ad-ons for the money.  The STI Spartan gives you a more basic but better fit gun for more money.
I would put the Spartan in the class with Smith & Wesson, the newer Springfield Armory, and earlier Kimber 1911 pistols.

[jaybet]

It wasn't exactly a can of worms, but one thing y'all have to understand. I live in NJ so nothing costs less than $500.

Good advice though. I've looked at the Spartans and all, but I also know that you can get a nice used upscale if you get lucky. The main thing I was looking for in asking is that 20 people didn't post saying, "I had to send it back because...."  That's the WORST. I don't mind a challenge trying to hit the little dot, but I hate missing the target 'cause the gun is back at the factory. There's something to be said for reliability.

So I'll think about it a little more. Still waiting for the purchase permit. THat's ANOTHER story.

[Tim Burke]

I shot one early on. It was a T&E sample, FWIW.
It shot accurately and ran well right out of the box. The only thing I remember disliking was the fat front sight. I thought it was a lot of gun for the money.