I bought the Taurus PT 1911 through Cheaper Than Dirt in June 2012. I have put approximately 300 rounds through it, mainly factory ammo. I am writing to voice my dissatisfaction with this gun and Taurus customer service. The gun sticks back after each shot. I have to pull the slide back and release to get the next round to chamber. On top of that, the left safety lever fell out of the gun and on the floor today. I contacted Taurus customer service and I have to pay the shipping back to Miami in order to get this gun fixed.
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So much for their lifetime warranty if it cost you, after paying $600 or so for the gun, to have it fixed. Some folks use port side and starboard side when talking about ambi safeties to alleviate confusion about which side is being discussed.
I find left side and right side is pretty clear. Some say driver and passenger since not all have been to sea but most have been in a car.
When you say left and right alone, some mean the hand which would use the paddle. The right side safety for left hand use is maintained in the gun by the grips and some friction in the joint. What some new users of Swenson style ambis are not aware of is the friction in the joint can be eliminated by over manipulation of the ambi with the grips removed. Once the friction in the joint has been lessened sufficiently and with grip panel removed, right side safety can fall out. It can be retightened a time or two by someone knowledgeable but not indefinitely.I would also take a look at your disco length, your firing pin stop and maybe a new recoil spring in regards to your slide failing to return to battery.
Have a friend film or watch you shoot to see if your grip is touching the slide stop in mid stroke. I wouldn't send it anywhere. The ambi safety they use (along with many other makers) is not worth a crap. The pathetic 'spade/fork' union between the two halves comes loose and the lever that fits under the grip does not manage to keep the safety in the pistol. Here's what you can do right now; take the piece that came out which has the fork end and slightly pinch it - just a little, don't close it up. Take the RH grip off. Put the RH safety piece into the pistol and angle it to match the other side, either 'safety on' or 'safety off'.
Push it down and give it a whack after it gets started. Put the grip back on over the lever. This will last awhile but eventually you'll need to replace it. I had a gunsmith install a regular single-side safety on mine since I don't use or like any ambi-safety. Also, there are other kinds of ambi safeties available if that's what you want.The slide lock-back is as rotciv explained. Only the magazine follower is supposed to hit the slide stop, never the bullet.
Now this is a little trickier, so I'd recommend you get a gunsmith to trim the slide stop. You can easily see what's happening by removing the slide (put the slide stop back in the frame) and putting a loaded magazine in the frame. The top bullet jacket will hit the slide stop and push it up - it shouldn't do this. You will see that the bullet barely touches it, which indicates a small adjustment of the inner surface of the slide stop is needed. My thanks to all who posted on my little dilemma.
I will admit that to some point I was blowing off some steam. Anyway, I have taken all advice, the safety lever is back on the gun and holding. I did some file work on the slide lock as recommended as the bullets were indeed touching. Back to the range for testing Friday or Saturday. Thanks again and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!That's fantastic!
Hardly anything I know gives you the satisfaction of fixing something, particularly a gun. On the safety, I forgot to mention you can also bend the retention lever that fits under the grip so it lightly contacts the grip - might help prevent it from walking. This would be a very small adjustment, and you don't want to use pliers that will put burrs on the lever. Well, still no joy. Took it out to the range yesterday and the slide lock still engages the slide after each round is fired. When I was doing the filing, statically, I could actually see some light between between the bullet and lock. So much in fact that the slide would not lock with the mag empty (oops).
I had high hopes that the gun would operate except for locking back after the last shot which I figured I had messed up. Out of 8 rounds yesterday, 1 actually went through OK but the last 3 were failures to fire. So, it's heading back to Taurus today.
I will call their Customer Service on Monday and try to get credit on the shipping to them. If not, I have always been one to learn the hard way. I have learned a great deal about the gun through all this and want to thank everyone again for their help. Even at the range there were several that saw my gun fail and offered to help. Gun owners are a cut above the rest! TJ,Well that would certainly explain it, with out the plunger the slide lock lever would bounce on recoil.
I am glad they got it worked out for you.I reliaze it is a rough start, but I love my PT1911 and have actually gotten a total of 3 of them now. I have had issues too, including my 1st one going full auto on my on a crowded range. (that was fixed) and 3 years ago, I have put 1000's of rounds through it since, and recently had it inspected before qualifiing with it as a optional duty weapon.My 2nd one had the most mods to it, Wilson Thumb Safety, Slide lock, S&W hammer, infact the internals are either Wilson or S&W (cheap good parts)I hope that you can give it another chance. All three of mine have been worked on wither by Taurus, or myself, and they are all 100% reliable, and i am proud to shoot them. (My first one will outshoot just about anything on the line usually). TJ,Well that would certainly explain it, with out the plunger the slide lock lever would bounce on recoil. I am glad they got it worked out for you.I reliaze it is a rough start, but I love my PT1911 and have actually gotten a total of 3 of them now.
I have had issues too, including my 1st one going full auto on my on a crowded range. (that was fixed) and 3 years ago, I have put 1000's of rounds through it since, and recently had it inspected before qualifiing with it as a optional duty weapon.My 2nd one had the most mods to it, Wilson Thumb Safety, Slide lock, S&W hammer, infact the internals are either Wilson or S&W (cheap good parts)I hope that you can give it another chance. All three of mine have been worked on wither by Taurus, or myself, and they are all 100% reliable, and i am proud to shoot them. (My first one will outshoot just about anything on the line usually)What was the cause of your pistol going full auto? TJ,I'm glad that your Taurus is up and running again.
I am amazed at your turn around time also. That's first rate customer service approaching that of Springfield Armory.I have owned my PT1911 for about 5 years now. To this day it is the only 1911 that has never ever jammed or faltered on me in any way. It shoots groups like those pictured above and it outshoots Colts that I have had.Although I seldom carry it (it's an understudy to my main full sized carry 1911) I enjoy the reaction it gets from other shooters when they see the tight groups.It usually goes something like this:Other Shooter (OT): Nice shootin', Duuude!Yours Truly (YT): Thanks.OT: Whatchagotthere, Dude - a Wilson?YT: Nope.OT: Oh, it's a Baer?YT: Nope.OT: It ain't a Colt, izzit?YT: Uh, no.OT: Well, whatizzit?YT: It's a Taurus.OT: No, seriously, dude - whatizzit?YT: It's a Taurus. See, look right here. It says T-A-U-R-U-S in big letters.OT: Naaaaaw.YT: Yep.OT: (as he shuffles away) Mumble, mumble, mumble. TJ,I'm glad that your Taurus is up and running again.
I am amazed at your turn around time also. That's first rate customer service approaching that of Springfield Armory.I have owned my PT1911 for about 5 years now.
To this day it is the only 1911 that has never ever jammed or faltered on me in any way. It shoots groups like those pictured above and it outshoots Colts that I have had.Although I seldom carry it (it's an understudy to my main full sized carry 1911) I enjoy the reaction it gets from other shooters when they see the tight groups.It usually goes something like this:Other Shooter (OT): Nice shootin', Duuude!Yours Truly (YT): Thanks.OT: Whatchagotthere, Dude - a Wilson?YT: Nope.OT: Oh, it's a Baer?YT: Nope.OT: It ain't a Colt, izzit?YT: Uh, no.OT: Well, whatizzit?YT: It's a Taurus.OT: No, seriously, dude - whatizzit?YT: It's a Taurus. See, look right here.
It says T-A-U-R-U-S in big letters.OT: Naaaaaw.YT: Yep.OT: (as he shuffles away) Mumble, mumble, mumble.Yeah, a guy showed up at the club with his $2500 Bill-Bill gun (I know it was $2500, he said 'Hey! Look at my $2500 Bill-Bill gun! It cost $2500! Isn't it nice? It cost me $2500!
Did I mention it cost $2500?' Then he tried it.and tried it.and tried it. It wouldn't chamber ANY factory (Win., Fed, Rem, Hornady, etc, etc.) ammo, FMJ, SP, HP, lead, SWC, or any reload. It would not feed with the supplied mag(s), or any other make/model of mag (at least a dozen). Mean while my $450 Taurus stainless with rail (LOVE stainless, hate the rail) has never jammed! Really makes you wonder what the big names put out and obviously they don't check them!
On the other hand, the Kimber I bought was even worse then the Bill-Bill! Of course they quoted a six month turn around time! Isn't it nice to have cheap guns that work!
The Taurus PT 1911 is a lot of gun for the money.I suffer from an acquired distrust of semi-auto pistols, one that undoubtedly springs from an unfortunate encounter I had some 20 years ago with an old European cavalry pistol.It happened in the Mile Corner Gun Shop in Garrett, Indiana, a nice little place where I've spent many a delightful lunch hour. One day I dropped in and spied a weird-looking pistol sitting in one of the display cases.The affable, unflappable proprietor, Dan Yarde, was only too happy to let me examine it: a Budapest-made chambered in 8mm Steyr. If you've ever seen a Model 1907, you know what an odd little duck it is.
I had never seen one, which accounts for what happened next.Being habitually cautious around unfamiliar guns, I pulled back the bolt handle to check the chamber. True to its design, the bolt stayed in the open position, held to the rear by the magazine follower. Without thinking I stuck my right pinky down into the magazine well and, sure enough, the bolt slammed shut on the tip of my finger. The pain was so intense, I think I had an out-of-body experience. I noticed how funny the top of my head looked and saw myself playing in a sandbox at age three.
Finally Dan Yarde spoke up. Staring at my hand, he casually said one word: “Ouch.”Suddenly re-entering my body, I managed to hold out my wounded member and whisper hoarsely, “Would.would you mind. Pulling back the bolt handle?” He did, and sticking my hand in my pocket, I bade him a rather hurried goodbye. I still have the scar. The emotional scar, that is. My finger healed long ago. So let's just say that and I have had a checkered past.
Oh, for a while there I caught the bug and bought every Colt I could find, but eventually I recovered and have remained happily bereft of 1911s ever. That is, until I found a Taurus PT 1911 in a local dealer's display case last week.I am a big believer in Taurus. My Thunderbolt shoots as well or better than any of my original Colt Lightning Magazine Rifles ever did, and my Taurus Model 4410.45/.410 shotshell revolver is a continual hoot. So when the Boys from Brazil came out with a 1911 that retailed — now, get this — for $459 new in the box, I had to give it a try.I've owned a number of entry-level, and they were all based more or less on the standard 1911-A1 with no bells or whistles whatsoever.
The Taurus PT 1911, however, is something altogether different. It bears Heinie Straight Eight combat sights, a skeletonized hammer and trigger, an ambidextrous safety, and two eight-round magazines complete with rubber baby buggy bumpers. There's more! (Would you believe “But Wait!
There's More!” is actually a trademarked phrase owned by the Ronco Corporation? It really is. But I digress.) The PT 1911 also has slide serrations both fore and aft, which is a real convenience for me. A decade ago I suffered an injury to my left hand, compliments of my old Mercedes 280C, and I have had difficulty racking the slides of most ever since. The PT 1911's front slide serrations give me the leverage I need, and I can cycle its action with no trouble.Then there's the beveled magazine well, the oversized mag release button, the radiused ejection port, the flat mainspring housing and probably a dozen more nice little touches that I haven't noticed yet. And throw in a lifetime warranty. Frankly, I'm amazed at what $459 will buy these days.Taurus claims that the PT 1911 is made entirely of forged steel, and it appears that it actually is.
To me that's important. Call me prejudiced, call me dumb as a turnip, but I have had it up to here with the investment-cast and MIM (metal injection molded) parts found in many new pistols. You can wrap this “innovative” (i.e., cost-cutting) technology in all the gee-whiz marketing baloney you want, but in my mind pistols were meant to be made out of forged, milled steel.
Not molded parts, not polymers. I will probably never shoot a pistol enough to break an investment-cast or MIM part, but give me one blanked out by a 40-ton forge any day.Die-hard 1911 fans will probably be turned off by the PT ‘s integral Taurus safety lock, which is a key-activated device set into the top of the hammer. Me, I can ignore it. Others may choose to replace it with a conventional hammer, which is possible, according to what I've read. If there is one fault I can find with the PT 1911, it is its finish. Its bluing is a rather muddy matte black with enormous “Taurus” and “PT 1911” legends lasered into the sides of the slide. I have seen photos of a protoype PT 1911 in polished stainless steel and it looks quite nice, but the blued version is just plain ugly.
It's no Kimber or United States Fire Arms 1911, that's for sure — at least in the looks department. The PT 1911's owner's manual states that it is intended for use with standard.45 ACP ammo, not +P or +P+. I have no doubt that the pistol would handle hotter-than-standard ammo, but I'd install a beefier recoil spring first. A 230-grain hardball at about 850 fps is quite good enough for my purposes.So how's the?
I got mine on the first day of an unprecedented late December/early January two-week rainy spell, so I haven't had much range time with it. (My wife frowns on my shooting centerfire pistols in the basement.) I can tell you that I managed to put all eight rounds of the first clip in a 10-inch group at 65 yards, shooting offhand from the open doorway of my garage in the middle of an Indiana monsoon. Yes, I know I'm not Jeff Cooper or Elmer Keith, but that's as good as I expect to do with any 1911, though hope is not entirely dead.While shooting the PT 1911, I noticed that it had an unusually nice trigger pull. So I got out my old Zebco De-Liar scale and performed some highly unscientific measurements. Based on what my jerry-rigged scale tells me, my PT 1911 has a trigger pull of just under three pounds.
And it's a nice, crisp pull, too, like breaking an icicle off grandma's back porch.I have heard through the jungle telegram that Taurus may be considering bringing out the PT 1911 in a Commander-type version as well as a.38 Super chambering. If either of these rumors is true and the PT 1911's price point holds, I'll be first in line.I'm no expert on 1911s. In fact, I'm a true-blue revolver guy. But to those of you who are 1911 experts, I respectfully suggest that you put the PT 1911 through its paces as soon as you can.
You may be as pleasantly surprised as I was.