hello all, KA-BAR here.
today I'll be talking about the Taurus PT1911. this is Taurus' version of a 1911 .45 ACP. Taurus is not U.S.A manufacture, but I was on a budget, and after alot of careful research was able to make a decision on a budget line model with a ton of features not seen on high end models from other manufaturers.
we all know the history of the 1911, so going into that I feel is unessesary. we have seen its evolution grow from the standard GI issue, to the modern day operator. all of the varities I belive have thier pro's and con's, and I belive it is up to the shooter to find out what he is comfortable with and to train with that purpose in mind.
doing your research and finding your application will reward you in a much greater fashion, from the initial purchace, to the point where you have trained with the platform and gained a great deal of confidence as a shooter.
the things I was looking for in a 1911, was I wanted a railed full frame 1911, incase I ever did want to mount a light/laser combo onto the pistol. I also wanted, a skeletonized trigger and hammer for the wieght issues, and for the preformance. I wanted a single stack, although I have a large hand, I did not want the hi cappa style double stack, so the profile wasnt to heavy incase I ever did decide to carry it concealed. I also wanted a frame that would accept adjustable sights, if I ever felt it neccessary to put them on.
I was looking at alot of high end brand name models like Kimber, Wilson combat, sprinfield arms, Nighthawk tactical.... there were so many manufactuers of this platform it was mind boogleing. some had the features i was looking for and some didnt. many had only one or two of the features i wanted standard, while missing some of the other features.
the Taurus PT1911 was the only one that was in my budget and had ALL OF THE FEATURES STOCK. i was amazed. the kimber for instance would have the skeletonized hammer and trigger, but not with a railed fram, that model costs more, or not with the right serations on the foreend, or checkering.... i know these all sound like asthetics, but to me was a big deal.
being able to find all of these custom features on one frame, and get it at a budget price was a deal i could not pass. also after watching the PT1911 tourture test on youtube, convinced me, that even though a budget gun, manufactured outside the U.S., this gun was still a contender, and a far better choice for me above my original purchace of the springfield arms XD .40
here is a tourture test on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx7HYgTWAsghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-y0dc8q ... re=related
in watching this video, the malfunctions I was looking for never occured, i.e. double feeds or stovepiping. instead the malfunctions that I do see occuring, in my inexperience seems to be comming from the shooters competition style techniques, triggering with off hand and mag releasing, so on and so fourth, and the current heat of the weapon. he seemed to have to re C*CK it back into battery several times, and had to do a handfull of tap, rack, Bangs. I excluded those malfunctions, because I dont ever see myself going though that many rounds in ten min.
so I took the springfield to the next gun show and traded it for the Taurus.
gun came with a cleaning kit, serpa, 2 mags, but was missing the hammer lock mechanisim key.
Image
and here we are.
the railed fram is beefer then most, and this will not fit into serpas or other holsters that most standard railed frames will fit. this is a rail in a catagory all its own, labeled "BEEFY", the front end wieght really helps with the recil control of this gun as can be seen in the pic. that is the second shot of a double tap sequence, and the barrel looks really flat to me. this gun reaquires sight picture fast.
I got BSG pistol Quals. i will post my results after that.
KA-BAR out