Last year my DIL went to a gun show and came home with a PT1911-A1. She was very excited about it so I kept my mouth shut about QC thoughts. She paid too much for it but really enjoyed shooting it so what the hey, why pop the balloon? Plans and needs change though and soon she realized that her slight frame was burdened by the weight and size of an all metal gun. She determined she needed a lighter and smaller gun.

She asked me to sell it but what she wanted out of it I knew she wouldn't get. I put it up for what she asked and it has not sold for months. Feeling sad for her I offered one of my very nice but moderately valued composite carry guns in trade. I knew I was on the losing end of this deal in terms of value but she's my DIL so I took one for the team.

Now comes the surprise. Once it was mine I went through it expecting poor quality, fit and finish. I thought I would have to upgrade and work it to get a smooth, solid and reliable gun. I mean, it's a Taurus..... Turns out I was way wrong. This gun is every bit as finished and tuned as my Springer TRP. The trigger is really nice with no creep and a consistent light break. It has genuine Novak sights, extended controls and only one plastic part which I replaced with a spare from by parts bin. The only thing I did to it was install a S&A magwell I had sitting around because the mag base stuck out too far for my taste.

Now I think my DIL came out on the losing side of this. I think I'm going to have to even the score so I don't feel guilty. Does anyone else have one of these? what is yours like?

I bought one years ago on an impulse. I had a gift card and Cabelas points so I thought maybe a project gun. That thought was quickly killed because even with a ton of lipstick, it would still be a Taurus.
It shoots okay and functions fine but it hasn’t been shot in years. My 1911 itch is scratched by my Colt or Sig.
One of the reviews I read when it was released said, “all the holes are in the right place” so it would accept standard 1911 parts...but then we’re back to that lipstick thing.
I should give/sell it to my FIL but he wants a pretty one.

I have three of them. A 45 acp and two 9mms. Only issue I have ever had with mine was the front sight of one of the 9mms came off during the first range trip. Sent it back to Taurus on their nickel and had it back within 10 days with a new slide. I replaced the full-length guide rods with GI guide rods and plugs out of preference.

Functionally, none of the three has ever failed.

ETA: Mine are all steel-framed. I also realize these are not the "refinement of the 1911", or whatever Taurus was claiming in their initial ads for them. I would never compare my PT1911s to a Wilson, Brown or Baer in quality, but in their price point, they have a lot of features for the money, including forged frames.

For me, they are range toys, but if I carried one, I would have confidence in them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mr.9mm,

I picked up a used Taurus 1911 with the alloy frame. I've ran maybe 4-5 hundred rounds through it and it makes a decent carry gun. only thing I've had done to it is had the factory ambi safety slimmed down and a good trigger job done on it.

James

A buddy of mine has one and he loves it. I looked at it and was impressed, as I also thought it would have machine marks all over it but it was actually nice and fired great.

A good friend of mine bought one used and it has been a solid performer. I shot it and found it very accurate.

I bought one new back around 2009. It is a Homeland Defender series, which has Crimson Trace grips. I paid over $700 for it, which looking back was probably too much for any Taurus. I've only shot a few hundred rounds thru it, but it hasn 't had any problems at all. I also had a Colt 1991a1 which I sold. I kinda liked the Taurus and it's features better.

quote:

Originally posted by pshooter62:
I bought one new back around 2009. It is a Homeland Defender series, which has Crimson Trace grips. I paid over $700 for it, which looking back was probably too much for any Taurus. I've only shot a few hundred rounds thru it, but it hasn 't had any problems at all. I also had a Colt 1991a1 which I sold. I kinda liked the Taurus and it's features better.

She paid about what you did. I gave her a tupperware gun in 9mm that is worth a solid 450. I think I'll feel better if I give her some cash since this gun is as good as my other 1911s.

I bought one about 7 years ago, besides the billboard ad on the slide, the gun shoots great and never had any issues.

My first 1911 was a Taurus. The finish is wearing a bit thin, but she still functions very well. I wish I had the same compliment for one of my Kimbers, a higher end gun (Super Carry Pro) that I paid more than twice as much for. My other 1911's are another Kimber, a Sig TacOps 1911, a Wilson CDP, and a Rock Island 9MM. After 12+ years, my only complaint with that Taurus is the exterior finish wear.

I've seen an awful lot of Taurus guns over the years and I can honestly say that in my opinion, their Beretta 92 clones and 1911 clones are the unsung heroes of their lineup.

I had one a few years ago, a blued railed model. It was pretty accurate , never had a problem except the finish was wearing. I remember after having my shoulder rebuilt after car crash, I shot a rattlesnake in the back yard with my weak hand at about 20 feet . I put 5 of 8 in him!
I can’t say anything bad about it, other than the finish. I have a metro arms American Classic II and a Smith 1911E now. Wouldn’t trade either for a Taurus. But at a good price , I would buy another, probably would have to be in stainless and a really good price

I purchased a new PT1911-AL in 2011, encouraged by the enthusiasm generated on this forum on the 100 year anniversary of the iconic weapon. Got it for around $430 shipped to my FFL.

Granted, "it's a Taurus", but the fit and finish are decent, it's still 'tight' after 700-800 rounds or so, it's reliable, accurate and fun to shoot.

The Taurus mags work o.k., but they are crap compared to the Wilson 47D's that I picked up for it.

Some of my friends that own 'nicer' 1911's that have shot it typically comment, "Hmmm, shoots nice. Not too bad for a Taurus."

Not sure though if they're being honest or just don't want to hurt my feelings. LOL!

Anyway, it's been gtg for me for what I use it for!

Bought one for my son years ago when he was looking at 1911's. The only complaint was the finish wore pretty quickly. After a trip to my friend for refinishing it came back and shot around 4,000 trouble free rounds. He then traded up to a Wilson Combat. It's not a bad gun at all.

I could tell a discouraging story about the PT 1911 my #2 adult son bought for his first 'real' pistol.

To summarize, it rusted so bad in his car trunk in 2 weeks (this was the 'stainless' version) it had flash rust so bad the factory didn't want to see it, saying 'maybe in 6 months' you could send it in".....but they wouldn't send pick up slip or even advise whether it had any kind of factory warranty.....yes, he bought it new from FFL dealer;

OK, this is with zero rounds thru it.

the master gunsmith I knew for decades, tore it down, found multiple deep pin hole rust, advised on his remedy process.....

he was unable to rid some of the deep areas, stripped it/blued it finally. Replaced springs etc. Every range trip something would fall off of it....the ambi safety lock would never stay together, so new part replaced.....By the 7th range trip it finally made about 50 rounds without jettisoning some other part.

It was starting to settle into 'somewhat predictible' in that it might actually be usable for range practice, after months of fiddling & actual pro gunsmithing....got maybe 500 rounds total thru it.

Son took it back to start familiarizing himself...and the slide locked up for no clear reason.

He declared it junk & traded it off to another dealer on some other items.

It was not a good advertisement for the Taurus marque for sure.

Well that's a bummer story. I suppose I won't make mine vulnerable like that just in case. I'll keep it warm and dry and use it at the range. Took it with me on Saturday to the desert. Put 50 through it. Nothing bad to report. Maybe there has been a QC evolution at Taurus. Who knows? I've heard their warranty service is slow but sure. No idea why they didn't take care of the rusting stainless ....

when they were being sold and I had an itch to try a lightweight 1911 pattern pistol I picked up my PT1911AL...

I changed the recoil spring to one I use on all my full sized 1911 pattern pistols as well as converting the magazines over to Tripp CobraMag clones with kits from Virgil Tripp...

my Taurus PT1911AL has never had an issue or failure that was the pistols fault and it still looks like new...

it had their "cheap" blue black slide but mine still looks as it did when I bought it and the frame has that dull gray color but again still looks as new...

you can see when taken down that it isn't as polished as many other very nice pistols but it probably cost me half the price of one of those pistols and has been at least as reliable as they are as well as having the type of accuracy expected for field use...

...good luck with your choice...just to add that my brother and nephew have Super 38 version and 45ACP version in with the steel frames with similar experiences...

Bill