Taurus PT 1911 AR

Nooo! You're better off buying a RIA instead. Or coat hangers to throw at someone.

I had the displeasure of owning one in September. The ambi safety came off several times, it shot crooked, and the slide would not lock back for ANY of the magazines I used (even non-Taurus). I sent it back to Taurus so they could fix the safety, and that alone took nearly two months. In the meantime, I used my friends TLE II, and sold the Taurus within a week of getting it back. I almost felt bad selling it to someone else because of how horribly it was made.

On a side note, I am not bashing Taurus. I've had zero problems with any of their guns that I've used, and the 709 I've been carrying has worked flawlessly.

MainelyGlock said:

the slide would not lock back for ANY of the magazines I used (even non-Taurus).

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i stretched out the springs to mitigate this issue with mine

I almost felt bad selling it to someone else because of how horribly it was made.

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To answer your first question, I am a fairly small framed guy at 5'6 150lb and I carry a full-size Taurus PT1911 AL in a Galco IWB holster at about 5 o'clock with no problems. After about a week it was hardly noticeable to me that I had it.

Note: This is the Aluminum lower receiver model so it is about 6 oz lighter than the AR

I have a Gen 1 PT 24/7 PRO DS, which did have some initial problems, but it runs great now and I love it. I also have a Metro Arms American Classic II, which I carry on a regular basis. The fit and finish is very impressive for the price. I don't plan on shooting the 1911 very much due to cost of ammo, but what collection is complete with out a 1911? I use a Serpa Blackhawk CQC holster.

I have the Taurus 1911AR and have had zero problems with it. I bought mine at the local bass pro shops and am very happy with it. I've put around +/- 2000 rounds through it and have never had any problem with it. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive 1911.

As for finding accessories for it, it has been rough I haven't been able to find a holster for it until now. I ordered a G-code SOC holster for it and will be receiving it in a few weeks, I'm hopping I don't have any trouble with it and ill let everyone know if it works out.

The last thing I got to say is honestly it's 100% up to you. Every gun will feel a little bit different in your hand. When you get back to the states your gonna need to go to the gun sore or BPS or wherever and hold the guns your interested in. I know here in Vegas there are a bunch of stores to choose from and they all have different products. You need to go and find out what feels good to you and what you like best.

Good luck! -Dylan

I used to hate Taurus.

Now, both of my carry guns are Taurus.

PT1911AR <- you can spend more, but you won't get more.

PT738 <- best pocket gun there is.

I am a little annoyed trying to find a threaded barrel for my PT1911AR tho...

I've had mine for two years, with only minor issues.
Occasionally, with Winchester White Box 230gr JHP, I had Failure to Feed issues ..... until I realized that I hadn't been putting the rounds all the way back into the magazine, so they'd nose-dive. I felt stupid.
Also, about 250 rounds into the life of the pistol, the tooth on the extractor broke. I could have had Taurus fix it, by paying $60 for shipping. Instead, I purchased a Wilson Bullet-Proof extractor and firing pin for about the same price, and did it myself. Haven't had an issue since.
The OTHER main problem, which is still happening, is the rail. No Blackhawk Serpa holster will fit it. You'll have to get an iTac, Crossbreed (not complaining, by the way), or a semi-custom like a Pierce Kydex or Kydex by Parlusk. I like it, but I would have gotten the non-railed version in retrospect.
Or waited 6 months for the Ruger.

Schlitz said:

That doesn't mean you have to spend more money, Rock Island Armory makes an EXCELLENT quality 1911 for less than $500 and I recommend them to anyone looking for a 1911.

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+1

8000+ rounds and still counting

I have owned my PT1911 for almost 5 years and now and have over 8000 rounds through it without a major malfunction. Only modification being an Wilson Combat 18 1/2 recoil spring and some Chip McCormick power mags. By major I mean nothing broke but it did start to fail to feed after I put over 1700 rounds through it without cleaning just to see what it would take to make it stop working. It also didn't want to eat the old Speer hollow points (aka flying ashtrays) but I don't really think many 1911's would. Other than that it has digested everything I have fed it. It has been my daily carry gun since I got it, I have other handguns but I always come back to my PT1911(I'm actually wearing it now). I have used it to shoot some formal and informal pistol matches from time to time without any issues and it showed acceptable accuracy. So in short it has been a wonderful gun to carry and shoot and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. But it doesn't have the best fit and finish, if you want a safe queen look elsewhere and the blued finish is looking pretty sad after all the holster presentations I have done in the last few years. Serpa's seem to really take the finish off in a hurry, so if you plan on carrying in a serpa the stainless model might be the way to go. I got mine before they offered the railed version so I can't comment on the holster fit issues.

Now saying all that I did witness a Taurus PT1911 hammer break in two after a few rounds and then when returned after Taurus fixed it the firing pin actually broke in half. Didn't really think that last one was possible at least I have never seen it happen before. They were replaced by parts from wilson combat and that gun never had another issue. I think Taurus can make some wonderful 1911's but they also seem to make some real dogs. I have seen many more good guns than bad ones.

I would be leaning towards a Springfield if I was in the market for another 1911 but that is just a personal like for their firearms, my other guns are mostly XD's and XDm's. Good luck and if possible go shoot a couple different makes if you can it will help you decide better, plus its shooting!!

Forgot to mention I have shot several RIA guns and thought they were great for the price, yet again fit and finish not the best and one of them needed a heavier recoil spring to run reliably but overall good shooting guns.

Louie86 said:

Forgot to mention I have shot several RIA guns and thought they were great for the price, yet again fit and finish not the best and one of them needed a heavier recoil spring to run reliably but overall good shooting guns.

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I'm not going to dispute that you saw a gun which failed until a heavier recoil spring was installed, but a properly setup 1911 doesn't need more than 14.5-15.5# spring. Mostly 1911s already come with too-heavy springs.

For the record, though, many 1911 owners wrongly assume "heavier recoil spring improves reliability". Often as not it will cause FTF if the mag spring can't keep up (which is quite a challenge on the last round), allowing the slide to accelerate over the base. Depending on the geometry, it can also "bump" the round ahead of the slide, causing control feed to be lost, or even cause a jam of the round is bumped ahead of the extractor.

I would almost never take a factory 1911 with feed issues and say, "this needs a heavier spring".

Edit: The first thing I would do with a 1911 that displayed feeding issues is throw every mag in sight into the "range use only mags" box, and buy a bunch of the Checkmate GI profile mags.

All these mags with wadcutter, or even the new-fangled hybrid, feed lip profile.... Yeah. They suck.

You have problems, go JMB.