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So - as some of you may or may not have picked up from other posts, I'm currently living in NV - preparing to make the treacherous journey to the other side of the border. With a birthday coming up I decided it was time for an early present, and after some research decided perhaps I should buy any guns I wanted before I moved.
I decided I wanted a .45, and specifically a 1911 style pistol. I had sort of narrowed it down to the Springfield GI, Springfield Mil-Spec, or the Taurus.
Settled on the Taurus for a few reasons. First - cost is pretty decent, especially considering what the rest of the 1911 market looks like these days. The Springfields are in the same ballpark give or take a couple bucks - and that's part of how they got thrown in there too. I saw a few used guns floating around the $500 mark, but they were VERY used - kind of suspect.
I went to 3 different places today, all had the Taurus, 2 had the springfields. 1 had the PT for $580 (The one I went with, I like these guys better anyways), the other for about $650, and I don't even remember what the 3rd was, but it was ridiculous (I could have gotten a kimber at that price from one of the other shops).
I read a bunch of reviews of the Taurus on several different sites. Magazine write-ups, forums where owners are discussing the ups and downs, etc. It all really made me a bit curious - where as even 2 weeks ago I wouldn't have even considered a Taurus.
When I finally got to compare all 3:
The GI got tossed almost immediately. Without even shooting it, you can just feel it's not built the same as even the mil-spec. Something just didn't feel right about it. The PT and the Springfield mil-spec side by side - it wasn't even really a question. The PT seemed to have better sights, felt more solid, had a crisper lighter trigger, was smoother when you worked the slide - just all around felt like a better gun - and was about $100 cheaper.
Got it out to the range, (I did manage to find ammo - kind of shocked) and put 89 rounds through it. 25 PMC Bronze, 60 Winchester white box, and 4 Winchester silver tip HP Self Defense (just wanted to see how they shot, keeping those around "in case of").
All in all I couldn't be happier. Great gun. Very easy to shoot, very mild recoil, and a LOT more accurate then I am. Set up at 15 yards just to sort of check everything out, see how it shoots. Haven't been much of a handgun guy in the past bunch of years - and it showed. First 2 mags were all over the place. As I settled down and focused a bit more - shots started to come on target much better though. Sat down for a few shots so I had some support from the bench - and they just went exactly where you pointed it. By the time I was done - I was able to pop off about a round a second through the whole mag - and keep it all within about a 4-6 inch group. Slow-firing I could get that down to about half the size. Not great - but not bad for somebody who hasn't shot a handgun regularly in over a decade. This gun made it very easy once I calmed down.
One of the things that I really liked about the Taurus in comparison to the Springfield, was the trigger felt a lot better. It felt even better once I got to run some ammo through it. Very light. First couple of mags the first shot surprised me, as I wasn't expecting it to go off quite so easily. After the first shot I remembered it just takes slight movement to keep 'em coming. Soon as you get back on target, just a tiny squeeze and it goes boom again. I also mentioned I liked the sights on the Taurus better, and I think that helped a lot today. They were very clear, easy to get a good picture, and with the balance and handling of the gun they just lined up immediately.
Also, this was all literally "out of the box". I bought the gun and I stopped at the range on the way home. Everything was still in plastic when I got there. Some people might scream when they hear that - but I like to do that if I can to get a feel for how the gun handles, literally straight from the factory.
All in all - I am extremely impressed, and very happy I decided to go with the PT. I don't have a tremendous amount of experience with 1911s, but after shooting this gun I can see why so many people are crazy about 'em. Once I track down some more ammo (only got about 80 rounds left
) and run some more through it - I'm sure I'll have more to say on the subtleties and nuance. Maybe eventually i'll find a flaw - but so far, i'm at a bit of a loss there.
I don't even mind the plastic grips so much. Kinda makes it feel like a glock, only more solid - and better cause it's not a glock.
I decided I wanted a .45, and specifically a 1911 style pistol. I had sort of narrowed it down to the Springfield GI, Springfield Mil-Spec, or the Taurus.
Settled on the Taurus for a few reasons. First - cost is pretty decent, especially considering what the rest of the 1911 market looks like these days. The Springfields are in the same ballpark give or take a couple bucks - and that's part of how they got thrown in there too. I saw a few used guns floating around the $500 mark, but they were VERY used - kind of suspect.
I went to 3 different places today, all had the Taurus, 2 had the springfields. 1 had the PT for $580 (The one I went with, I like these guys better anyways), the other for about $650, and I don't even remember what the 3rd was, but it was ridiculous (I could have gotten a kimber at that price from one of the other shops).
I read a bunch of reviews of the Taurus on several different sites. Magazine write-ups, forums where owners are discussing the ups and downs, etc. It all really made me a bit curious - where as even 2 weeks ago I wouldn't have even considered a Taurus.
When I finally got to compare all 3:
The GI got tossed almost immediately. Without even shooting it, you can just feel it's not built the same as even the mil-spec. Something just didn't feel right about it. The PT and the Springfield mil-spec side by side - it wasn't even really a question. The PT seemed to have better sights, felt more solid, had a crisper lighter trigger, was smoother when you worked the slide - just all around felt like a better gun - and was about $100 cheaper.
Got it out to the range, (I did manage to find ammo - kind of shocked) and put 89 rounds through it. 25 PMC Bronze, 60 Winchester white box, and 4 Winchester silver tip HP Self Defense (just wanted to see how they shot, keeping those around "in case of").
All in all I couldn't be happier. Great gun. Very easy to shoot, very mild recoil, and a LOT more accurate then I am. Set up at 15 yards just to sort of check everything out, see how it shoots. Haven't been much of a handgun guy in the past bunch of years - and it showed. First 2 mags were all over the place. As I settled down and focused a bit more - shots started to come on target much better though. Sat down for a few shots so I had some support from the bench - and they just went exactly where you pointed it. By the time I was done - I was able to pop off about a round a second through the whole mag - and keep it all within about a 4-6 inch group. Slow-firing I could get that down to about half the size. Not great - but not bad for somebody who hasn't shot a handgun regularly in over a decade. This gun made it very easy once I calmed down.
One of the things that I really liked about the Taurus in comparison to the Springfield, was the trigger felt a lot better. It felt even better once I got to run some ammo through it. Very light. First couple of mags the first shot surprised me, as I wasn't expecting it to go off quite so easily. After the first shot I remembered it just takes slight movement to keep 'em coming. Soon as you get back on target, just a tiny squeeze and it goes boom again. I also mentioned I liked the sights on the Taurus better, and I think that helped a lot today. They were very clear, easy to get a good picture, and with the balance and handling of the gun they just lined up immediately.
Also, this was all literally "out of the box". I bought the gun and I stopped at the range on the way home. Everything was still in plastic when I got there. Some people might scream when they hear that - but I like to do that if I can to get a feel for how the gun handles, literally straight from the factory.
All in all - I am extremely impressed, and very happy I decided to go with the PT. I don't have a tremendous amount of experience with 1911s, but after shooting this gun I can see why so many people are crazy about 'em. Once I track down some more ammo (only got about 80 rounds left
) and run some more through it - I'm sure I'll have more to say on the subtleties and nuance. Maybe eventually i'll find a flaw - but so far, i'm at a bit of a loss there. I don't even mind the plastic grips so much. Kinda makes it feel like a glock, only more solid - and better cause it's not a glock.
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