Posted: 11/2/2007 7:01:49 PM EDT
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Any experience out there with this pistol? I own two springers and really like the features listed with the PT. I've only drooled in the store and would like feed back. You folks have any opinions? |
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The price has shot up since its first introduction. Sub $500 was common several months ago. There are alot of ball-busters on this gun and not just on this site. I have shot around 300 rounds (all ball) through a friend's and had no problems. Everything worked like it was suppose to and it went bang with every bullet. The slide engraving was a bit ugly, but I did not design it. That said, I have no experience with any other 1911s, except drooling over another friends kimber. This PT1911 is the only one I have shot. The difference might be huge between a taurus and a kimber like a metro and a bently, but I would not know. The gun functioned fine thus far for a small number of rounds, bullets went where I pointed and no issues. Best of luck with whatever you decide. nct |
| My best friend has one, and I think its one of the best 1911's out there for the money you can buy. We have put 7500 rds through his without one malfunction or hiccup!!!The thing just eats reloads and begs us for more. I would certianly buy one, but 1911's just arent my cup of joe. |
| There is a fellow at the range It shoot at that has one. It shoot great, no jams, FTF, etc. just devours ammo, For the money I thinks its a deal. I have a Springfield WWII, he said he thought about buying one, but he bought the taurus because it has better sights and more features. I agree. It's a great entry level 1911, |
| I just picked mine up from Bass Pro yesterday. They were on sale for 529.99. I haven't shot it yet, but I hope what everyone is saying about it not being finicky about ammo is true. I wanted a 1911 that I wouldn't have problems with and was reasonably priced. I did alot of research, and not being able to spend 900 and up I decided to go with the Taurus. After I bought it, (in MD there is a 7 day waiting period) I did a little more research into the negatives of the gun, and found out that Taurus' customer service is apparantly shit. I hope my decision going with the PT1911 doesn't bite me in the ass, and that I got one of the good ones that doesn't care what you feed it. |
| for the money it can't be beat. I just had a custom barrel fitted for a pistol of mine. It was a 1911, and after buying the barrel and paying the gunsmith, I was into the whole thing for about 350.00. Pay someone to mill slide for decent sights and checker the front strap and you are talking big bucks. |
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I just got back from Barnes and Noble and one of the gun mags had an article from Clint Smith about them. He's about the only gun writer that doesn't irritate me. He seems like a no frills, straightforward person. I have no clue if I'm correct in my impression, but that's what I think. He had one to evaluate and was favorable in his writing. The pictures look good. He did say the extractor busted at 2000 rounds on the one they had, but they had it back and running in no time and that was it. I, for the life of me, can't figure out how they can build a pistol with the features they have on it, for the price they sell it at. I'm really happy with my Kimber Custom II and I would say it's the same type of entry level 1911 with some desirable upgrades. It would be interesting to see if they are similar in fit and finish. My interest is piqued on these and I'm wondering if ALPHAGHOST won't share his experiences. He has one too I think. Among many other pistols. I don't know what SGB thinks of them or pulpsmack also. (arfcommers with 1911 experience). I'm interested in a "truck gun" and this may fit the bill. But my common sense head says either something is wrong with them or others are charging too much. Or maybe a little of both. Anybody else that owns one care to comment?????? I had a Taurus 92 and it was a reliable pistol. When I got my Beretta, it got handed down to my brother. It was accurate and reliable, but the fit and finish were no where near as good as the Beretta. That's my Taurus experience. |
hey mr JJERA, yea i got one of those PT1911s; just under 1K so far-- mostly reloads, a couple hundred of WWB and wolf so far, the only problems i've had were mag or ammo (reloads--bullet lube caused failures to go into battery) related other than that, i've had NO broken parts, or extraction/spring/FTFires, etc malf; i still dont know its long run track (say several thousand rnds), but i've heard mixed things on it i dont have any concern over the main parts--the frame, slide, etc, but, i do have some concerns over the smaller parts (extractor, FP, springs, etc) over the long term b/c i too had concerns on just what the quality of those MIM parts are...but i'll have to wait until i get to that rnd count level  a buddy of mine also has a PT1911s and he's had similar expierences so far--mostly factory ammo, no major malf or brakeage so far compared to a kimber or a SA, the PT's finish is worse; its bluing does wear pretty quick, and its overall machining is a little rougher (for ex: the FSC is not too raised for the aggressiveness its suppose to have, its machining is not always uniform or even, etc) fitting is pretty good--its pretty snug; the trigger is great imo--a pretty crisp and light 5lb the heinie sights are pretty good and sturdy overall, i'd say that so far, its a pretty good 1911 for the price, considering what you do get; i paid $525 OTD (vs say a stock RIA GI for $300 OTD) i did replace the hammer and change the grips; here is a pic from when i first got it  does the PT1911 really compare to a comparable Kimber TLE? i say "no"...but it does work well  |
I read somewhere that someone was having touble replacing the grips on their PT1911 because the ambidextrous safety was getting in the way. If I were to replace the grips on mine, are there any that won't fit? Did you have any problems installing yours? |
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It was probably because the person having trouble didn't buy ones made for Ambi safety. That's my guess. Thank you ALPHAGHOST. Nice little report. I wasn't comparing it to the TLE but the custom II, fwiw. Looks like it has the older style shape on the grip. Not as rounded on the front. But is checkered. I still don't get how they're making them as cheap as they do. They must have trained some jungle people to do the work and pay them little money to do what they do. Or something. Your remarks about rough machining mirror mine about the PT92 I had. But that didn't necessarily make it a horrible pistol either. Just didn't FEEL as nice as others. |
yes sir, only a slight problem: the PT's original grip screws didnt fit the std grip size screw holes (outer head diameter was too large); i had to get new grip screws other than that, it was a snap; as to the ambi safety, mr jjrea beat me to it, the gunner grips i had were not cut for an ambi safety, so i either had to get diff grips, mod the current grips, or mod the ambi safety i simply cut and filed down the ambi safety bar on the right side  grips fit and work fine as does the grip safety
thanks ; yea, sorry, i didnt have a kimber custom II to compare to(as you know, only diff w/ the CII and the TLE is the 30LPI FSC and the night sights if you look and compare the FSC on both the kimber and the PT, you notice how the FSC on the kimber is more rounded and the machining is a lot better overall; if i had a better pic of the PT, you can definitly tell that its FSC not as raised or refined i believe that you are right; the "feel" bt/w the 2 or the PT to another "comparable" brand like the SA loaded is just not the same...dont know what it is, but one can just tell the forged PT frame and the slide, from what i can tell so far seems to of comparable quality to the forged frames by SA...but, i'm sure that we should wait on mr SGB or mr pulpsmack to bring their expertes and comments onto the board |
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There was a thread over on 10-8forums a while back discussing the Taurus 1911. They seemed to be somewhat less than impressed. link -Matt |
Lots of interesting posts there...but I wonder how much of it is actually based on problems with guns they have had. It seems like Taurus bashing to me. Complaining about things like the checkering and a gap under the front sights seems a tad nitpicky to me. Both the checkering and the sights seem fine to me. |
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I have about 3500 rounds through mine and haven't had a single problem. Overall, I've been quite pleased, but I'm never gonna view it as anything other than a $500 1911. Mine has evolved, pretty much, into the gun I reserve at the range for other people to shoot. If they drop it, scratch it or break it.......no big deal. 
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Thank you all for all the responses, I believe that I will purchase one that I have found. it is NIB for less than 500 and quite frankly i can live with machining and finish probs as long as the firing holds good. For you sir that has 3500 through it do you notice a decrease in spring tension as you get closer to 5K? again thanks for all the replies
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You will with any semi auto pistol. Replacing your springs is normal maintenance. Even on a $3K pistol. That 10-8 thread was interesting. It didn't convince me it was a total POS. |
I note with some amusement that one of the guys who replied over on 10-8 decried the Taurus as a POS and then said, "I made a special trip to a couple of gun stores today just because you guys have me interested in this clone." He had already passed judgment before he'd even seen one. Also, I see Richard Heinie likes 'em and I don't thin it's just because of the sights. I've been very pleased with mine. No malfunctions of any kind with reloads or factory ammo and no problems with premature slide lock, etc. regardless of mags used. |
Yeah, and I have the opposite opinion of Clint Smith than the one poster. He's the only guy I can stand to read his articles. Admittedly, I don't have any inside info if these guys are full of crap or not. But when I read alot of other guys articles, I think they are full of crap. He doesn't do that to me so much. Although I am very skeptical of his writing about this pistol. But he had a breakage and he told us about it. I don't know if he was hiding anything. On the other hand, I would think if a manufacture sends these guys pistols, they're picking out the best they got and making sure they work. I don't know if that's how these guys procure these things for their articles. Regardless, I'm still not convinced it's a total POS, and just because some guys are whining up a storm doesn't make it definitive. This happens with almost any maker. Some guys love Colts and then again, they put out some real POS too. As far as their .45's go. And so on and so on. That's the life of a production 1911. |
Maybe so, and that's fine but for over $500 I expect certain things, like at least a decent fit. Although the checkering seems fine, just look at the pictures above and compare the Kimber and Taurus. The checkering is like night and day. Yes, the Kimber costs more but personally I'd rather have NO checkering than have the checkering on the Taurus, it looks horrible. Then you can use skateboard tape until one can afford to have the checkering done correctly. |
Just to play devils advocate a little. Who cares what the checkering looks like. If it performs the functions it's supposed to. I don't see how throwing skateboard tape is a better option then checkering that isn't SUPER nice. Personally, I don't expect any $ 500 pistol to have super wonderful fit and finish. You can't touch a really nice 1911 for that kind of money. Although My M9 has pretty good fit and finish and they're in that ballpark. So I can kind of see your point. But when it comes to 1911's, I say it's an entirely different ball game. |
That is my only complaint after over a year of ownership and a few thousand rounds. I paid less the $500 for mine when they first hit the market around here. Great pistol for what I paid for it. Anymore than that and I would opt for a SA or Kimber. |
I prefer skateboard tape rather than crappy checkering because the tape can come off and I can have checkering done right at a later date. It's cool if you don't care but that checkering looks horrendous to me. While looks aren't a top priority, it does IMO possibly reflect on other things (basically if Taurus is OK with them leaving the factory like that, what else goes through the doors?) |
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I've got one. My pops gave it to me for my birthday (thanks again, Dad) So far, I've put about 1400 rounds through it, with no problems at all. Fit and finish is pretty good, it functions very well. I've seen them around back at thier original price of about 465-480, wioth other vendors cranking them up to 550 or higher. People still buy the higher priced ones. It is pretty accurate. I have no complaints with this gun yet |