Taurus PT1911

[Texasdoc]

I have a chance a to get a PT 1911 AR with rail for a good price , I have never had or held one and was wondering what the good and bad things are on it ?


I trust the opinions of most of you here.


Oh yea LT I am back in Texas again .


thanks in advance

[PBratton]

I have one of the first one shipped in Blue and it's been a flawless preformer.

[Mike1951]

I have three, 2 blued and 1 stainless. I had a fourth blued one but my buddy talked me into a trade for a HiPower.

No malfunctions on any of them.

Converted one of the blued ones to .460 Rowland.

[joe817]

I think Mike said it all.....

No malfunctions on any of them.

That'd be enough for me to get one if I had the chance.

[Oldgringo]

IMHO, the best bang for the buck in 1911's.

BTW, I also own a Kimber Custom Target II and a Springfield Compact. You can certainly pay more but do you get more...I dunno'.

[Texasdoc]

thank you all ,I think its going into my carry pack now. I will be posting pictures of it soon.

[kragluver]

I have had one for two years now and have had no issues with. Very accurate and reliable. The only negatives I've heard regarding the PT1911 are 1. Heine straight-eight sights require a center hold as opposed to the more familiar 6 o'clock hold (true for mine); 2. Some have experienced breakage of the ambi thumb safety; 3. Blued finish not as durable as other pistols (I have not found this to be the case - my PT1911 is my primary carry gun).

[Tireshred]

I carry mine quite a bit, and when it's at home it has a tactical light attached for home defense. Not one malfunction and has one of the best stock 1911 triggers I've touched. I've since upgraded to a better holster

[Rex B]

The PT1911 I had was railed with alloy frame, 5".
For me, the alloy frame on the full-size gun affected the balance adversely. It felt front- & top-heavy.
I decided there was a reason you don't see many full-size alloy frames. In a 4" or shorter gun it balances much better.

Other than that, mine was a good shooter. It did feel a little more loose than a Springfield, but that may have been subjective due to the light weight.

[The Annoyed Man]

My son has the PT1911AR in blue with the rail, just like the one you're considering.

The only chronic problem it suffers from is that the thumb safety on the right side (for left handed shooters) occasionally shoots loose and starts to back out. A nylon dowel and a rap from a small hammer pushes it back in until the next time it shoots loose.

Somewhere between 500 and 1,000 rounds, the take down pin on the slide stop lever broke right in half mid-shaft during a range session. It is a MIM part. When I first bought my Kimber Stainless Ultra Carry II, it came with a defective slide stop lever which they replaced for free for me a few days after I bought the gun. I still had the "defective" Kimber part in my gun case, and we dropped it right into the Taurus and went right back to shooting. Today, a little over a year later, that "defective" Kimber part is still in my son's Taurus, and the Taurus still functions perfectly.

The PT1911 seems to be very accurate. My son can flat wear out bullseyes with it at the range. He likes the Heinie "Straight 8" sights. I'm not nearly so sanguine about them, but I haven't shot the pistol near as much as he has, so I'm not used to them.

We paid $699 for the pistol at Euless Guns and Ammo, not long after they first hit the market. I'm inclined to ignore the broken slide stop pin as an issue, since a broken pin is easily and cheaply replaced. I am quite disenchanted with MIM parts in general (see my thread about a broken hammer on a new $1,729.00 Springfield M1A Loaded), although the Kimber part we dropped into the Taurus is a MIM part itself and it continues to function just fine.

I don't know very much about the Rock Island Armory 1911s, except that they tend toward the lower end of the price range for a 1911 pistol and have a good reputation for reliability, but my impression is that Taurus has more or less successfully split the price ground between the RIA pistols on the one hand, and more upscale brands like Springfield and Kimber on the other hand. For the price, you really do get a lot of additional features usually only available in higher priced pistols, but that savings comes perhaps at the price of somewhat shoddy assembly (as in the safety that keeps shooting loose) and critical parts which may break at the very moment your life is on the line (as in the broken slide stop pin).

The other criticism for the "AR" model is that the design of the rail on the frame results is a smaller array of available holsters for it. The rail protrudes downward far enough that the gun won't fit holsters made for other 1911s with rails such as the Kimbers or Springfields. Holsters are available — just not in the same array of options/manufacturers.

If I were to buy myself a Taurus PT1911 — and despite my above criticisms, I actually like this pistol — I would do three things:

1) I would buy a model without the rail. I don't actually need one, and being left-handed, I already have enough holster hassles. (My son doesn't need a rail either. He just wanted to be "tacticool." Lesson learned.)
2) I would replace the EOM ambidextrous safety with an aftermarket part that stays put.
3) I would replace the slide stop with a forged aftermarket part.

Despite the negatives I've listed here, you actually have a very nice pistol, so don't let my opinion discourage you. Just make a note to yourself to keep an eye on things, and God willing, you may have gotten one that will never have any problems. I hope this helps.

[Oldgringo]

...sanguine...

That TAM, he can sure turn a phrase.

[Rex B]

TAM, good summary, thanks for posting

[majkowskid]

i bought one for my wife. that's what she carries. we love it.

[Rex B]

Your wife carries a full-size 1911?

That's pretty impressive.

[Texasdoc]

I 2nd that ,your wife carries a full size 1911 , I want a lady like that .