Posted: 5/1/2015 2:45:07 PM EDT
| Is the Taurus pt1911 a solid gun? Reliable? Would love to hear from some current/former owners. Why should/shouldn't I get one? |
| I ordered a new all Stainless PT 1911 when they first came out and it has been totally flawless through several thousand rounds. I added a full length 2 piece guide rod, Wilson Ultralight Match long trigger, a Wilson checkered back strap and mag well then a single sided safety and did away with the series 80 firingpin safety because thats the way I wanted it to be. But I don't think I have ever spent so little money for such a great gun in all my life. NOW, I don't know what kind of 1911's they are turning out now but mine is here to stay and I really like it a lot. I got such a good deal on it I use it for a run hard and put up wet 1911 so it don't look as pretty as it used to, but still runs just as good as any 1911 I have or ever have had. Currently I own 13 different 1911's and the Taurus is just as dependable as any of the rest and almost as accurate as my Springfield TRP Tactical Operator. |
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They're good forged steel guns and affordable. Some of them need some tweaking, or at least did in years past. At the price you can afford to mess with them a little. Some features are incredible; feed ramp and barrel throat polishing, barrel fitting, fine-line checkering on front strap and mainspring housing for example. I would buy one that I could look at/handle first. Sometimes the slides are a little loose. The blued finish is not very good - the black and stainless one looks great.
I refinished mine, changed the hammer, sear and thumb safety, installed night sights and put on some Cocobolo grips. It shoots to point-of-aim at 15 yds. Seems to be as accurate as my 1981 Colt Mk IV/Series '70 and is reliable. 
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I'm on the other side of the spectrum from the guys that have already posted. I picked up one of the blue 1911's shortly after they first came out, and got it for a good price. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get it to feed reliably no matter what ammo or magazines I was using in it.
I used the original Taurus mags that came with it, Wilson Combat mags I already had, Chip McCormick mags, and Springfield Armory mags, and the gun would not make it through a box of 50 without repeated jams. I already owned several other 1911's that worked flawlessly and decided not to mess around with it, so I sold it with disclosure to a buyer at a local gunshow, who felt he positively could gunsmith it and fix it. I still use/trust Springfield Armory, Rock Island Armory, Colt, and Sig Sauer 1911's, but haven't gone back to Taurus since. Once again, it was only 1 gun, but with other companies also offering the same options at or near the same price point, I've gone with other companies that I've had better track records with. |
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I'm on the other side of the spectrum from the guys that have already posted. I picked up one of the blue 1911's shortly after they first came out, and got it for a good price. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get it to feed reliably no matter what ammo or magazines I was using in it. I used the original Taurus mags that came with it, Wilson Combat mags I already had, Chip McCormick mags, and Springfield Armory mags, and the gun would not make it through a box of 50 without repeated jams. I already owned several other 1911's that worked flawlessly and decided not to mess around with it, so I sold it with disclosure to a buyer at a local gunshow, who felt he positively could gunsmith it and fix it. I still use/trust Springfield Armory, Rock Island Armory, Colt, and Sig Sauer 1911's, but haven't gone back to Taurus since. Once again, it was only 1 gun, but with other companies also offering the same options at or near the same price point, I've gone with other companies that I've had better track records with. With this guy to many better options out there to buy a Taurus ..... ARFCOM has a saying friends do not let friends buy Taurus. They are cheap budget guns that slightly rank higher than hi points and I think hi points are more reliable. |
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my PT1911AL has been 100% and was bought at a good price to try out the aluminum framed 1911 pattern pistol...I've changed nothing but for the Tripp CobraMag follower and spring for the mags which is my preference and wasn't due to any issues with the mags that came with mine...
For the price, they're hard to beat and they have come a long way from when they were introduced... Bill |
| Comparing a Taurus 1911 to a High Point is ridiculous. Its a serious 1911 with great features for the money. If High Point made a 1911, which will never happen, then perhaps a comparison would be in order. There are not 'play' guns, regardless of popular internet opinion. You almost never hear of positive experiences with any product on forums - people don't go there unless they have problems, and most people cannot troubleshoot and fix a gun. I would say about 95% of PT1911 owners never post on a forum. Mine was a used gun that had been owned by such a person; both sights were all the way too the left, for example. I can hear it now - 'Damn Taurus. No matter how far I move the front sight to the left, it keeps shooting farther right.' That's the kind of 'problem' most often reported - basic ignorance. Then you have the ambi safety RH side coming loose. Many 1911s have this problem, including more expensive ones. I don't use an ambi safety to start with so I had no problem having a gun smith install a new single-side safety. I did work on the ambi safety several times, tightening up the connection between the sides, but it always loosened back up. I don't know if Taurus has fixed that safety problem but I would hope they have by now. I had to tweak a few more minor things, but the basic pistol is well-made. Taurus is noted for the high quality of their forgings, and they make every single part of every gun. Even signed parts like 'Heinie' sights are made by Taurus under license. |
| Thanks guys. I've only ever owned one 1911; it was a Springfield GI Milspec and it jammed constantly. I've been somewhat averse to 1911's as a result (also a friend had a Springfield Loaded A1 that have him problems as well) so that pretty much turned me against them. That being said, I wouldn't mind giving the 1911 another try at some point and the Taurus just seems to come with a lot of nice features, especially for the price. |
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Some Springfields although are at a higher price point, they are hands down better than the Taurus. I own both and my PT 1911 is a great gun for what I paid for it, BUT it's certainly no Springfield. Nothing at all wrong with Springfield, I had an XDM for several years and it was a fine pistol. All I'm saying is the only 1911 I've had happened to be a Springfield and it was a piece of junk. |
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Quoted: Nothing at all wrong with Springfield, I had an XDM for several years and it was a fine pistol. All I'm saying is the only 1911 I've had happened to be a Springfield and it was a piece of junk. Quoted: Quoted: Some Springfields although are at a higher price point, they are hands down better than the Taurus. I own both and my PT 1911 is a great gun for what I paid for it, BUT it's certainly no Springfield. Nothing at all wrong with Springfield, I had an XDM for several years and it was a fine pistol. All I'm saying is the only 1911 I've had happened to be a Springfield and it was a piece of junk. Quite possible. The key difference is CS. You could send the SA back for service and be reasonably assured it will be fixed. On the other hand, as someone who has a Taurus (revolver) and sent it back for service due to timing issues, but when I got it back it looked like it had been pulled behind a car across a gravel/chat parking lot and still didn't work, I'll trust SA. As stated, Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Taurus. |
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Quite possible. The key difference is CS. You could send the SA back for service and be reasonably assured it will be fixed. On the other hand, as someone who has a Taurus (revolver) and sent it back for service due to timing issues, but when I got it back it looked like it had been pulled behind a car across a gravel/chat parking lot and still didn't work, I'll trust SA. As stated, Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Taurus.
Thanks for the insight. Someone recommended RIA, I'll have to check them out. |
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I recently picked up a very lightly used PT1911AR in stainless. Haven't shot it yet because I need to replace the firing-pin stop (the factory one is sitting crooked after I had to fit it a bit because it was pressed into the slide too hard). But right off the bat I think that the sear spring will need adjusting because the grip safety is very stiff and the trigger is breaking right around 7 pounds. My internals had a lot of caked-on grime upon inspection during initial detail stripping. I ultrasonic cleaned the frame and after putting everything back together I noticed the actuator lever in the frame for the firing-pin block had a lot of slack and audibly rattles. Anyone else have this problem?
Also, for those with the railed version, is the vertical semi-circular notch cut in your accessory rail sitting exactly in the middle of the frame? Mine appears to be slightly off center. |
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Is the Taurus pt1911 a solid gun? Reliable? Would love to hear from some current/former owners. Why should/shouldn't I get one? I have a lowest-end Taurus (PT1911FS). It is a well-featured pistol with a nice crisp trigger. The other offerings in that price range (<$500) might have a few less external features (beavertail, amb. safety, front serrations, etc) and will absolutely have a horrible trigger. The Taurus isn't the most accurate 1911 out there, but as long as it doesn't break, I think it's a screaming deal. Believe me, it's hard for me to say, because I hate Taurus guns in general - mostly POSes - but the 1911 is an exception. |