Taurus Spectrum .380 Reliability

Thanks for posting this, 94045. I've been looking at Spectrums, but I don't know anyone who owns one. First hand experience is always valuable. Has your friend mentioned anything about them being easy or hard to take down for cleaning?

BTW, $119?! That is well under half what gun stores where I live were asking! I need to make the rounds again.

That's a great price. Look forward to a more comprehensive evaluation.

I don't shoot mine much but all the factory ammunition I've tried so far (including Underwood Extreme Defenders and Penetrators) works perfectly. My wheel weight cast flat nose powder coated reloads were not so reliable but this isn't the Spetrum's fault. I intentionally loaded them light as they were intended as range ammo for my wife. The Spetrum has a preference for standard pressure and +P loads, so some would short cycle.

Isn't it basically Taurus answer to the p3at?

Antihero said:

Isn't it basically Taurus answer to the p3at?

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That would be the PT 738.

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsupers...urus-pt-738-tcp-380acp-compact-polymer-pistol

fxvr5 said:

That would be the PT 738.

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsupers...urus-pt-738-tcp-380acp-compact-polymer-pistol

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Both functionally the same size and caliber? So both are p3at analogs

Antihero said:

Both functionally the same size and caliber? So both are p3at analogs

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The PT 738 looks like a near twin of the P3AT. Having both of them, they look and disassemble the same.

The Spectrum looks different than both of them, disassembles differently.

If your only criteria is similar size and caliber, there might be others that fit that category, so I guess lots of guns would be a P3AT analog to you. Whatever makes you happy.

I have a spectrum that has replaced my LCP in the pocket gun role. It is about the same size and shape but the economic do not compare at all. The Taurus (especially with the extended grip mag included with the pistol) fits the hand much better than the LCP or P3AT.

As a result, I shoot smaller groups faster, and I can easily shoot 150 rounds in a range session. With the LCP my hand is done after 30-50.

I had some light printer strikes after I bought it new, Taurus took care of it in less than 2 weeks. Trigger is heavier now but it goes bang every time.

Before Denis passed he posted on the Spectrum; IIRC, he thought they were decent for the money.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/taurus-spectrum-380.847132/#post-11041949

Post #2 here is high praise for the Spectrum.

I tested the Spectrum going into it with high hopes. Everything seemed like they had a winner. First of all, I am not one to bash Taurus. Never had one, but knew friends that did and many loved them. I liked the size, thought the grips would be ideal.I liked the way they copied Beretta in the take down. Unfortunately It was very disappointing in every aspect. I like pocket guns, had full intention of purchasing one. But the gun was lousy at handling. Jumpy, and terrible shot placement. I have been shooting pocket guns for years, but just could not do well with this pistol compared to others that I own. I will not go into a lot of detail, but I did have a lot of light primer strikes. I was actually disappointed, because the price point was nice and was seriously wanting this to be a positive test.I had brought along quite a bit of ammo for testing. But walked away before even half way through. Just not for me in any way.
For the money there are IMO much better guns out there in this class of guns. Smoother handling, better build quality, better sights etc. At least I would recommend trying others out there before purchase. JMO.

So the Taurus Spectrum just popped up on my radar today in an ad from CDNN. I searched the forum and found this thread.

Curious...any further insights or opinions since the last post here in December? Specifically, I'm curious about whether Taurus has made any changes to the springs to address the light strike issues.

Thoughts??

I have one and once you get past the super long trigger it's a decent gun. I carry mine all summer in a sticky pocket holster and it's very well concealed. It's fairly accurate for such a little gun, it's just the long pull and long reset that takes away from accuracy. All in all, for the price it's a pretty good value.

Denis Prisberey said they were OK, and he wasn't one to hold back his opinion on a bad gun.

entropy said:

Denis Prisberey said they were OK, and he wasn't one to hold back his opinion on a bad gun.

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That's what intrigued me!

I just wondered if Taurus had solved the light primer strike problem (which seemed to be the most common complaint). I don't really like the idea of buying a gun and having to send it back to the factory as soon as I get it!

The ones offered by CDNN have probably been refurbed by Taurus-they should have had that issue taken care of.

Navy87Guy said:

That's what intrigued me!

I just wondered if Taurus had solved the light primer strike problem (which seemed to be the most common complaint). I don't really like the idea of buying a gun and having to send it back to the factory as soon as I get it!

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I just bought a Spectrum last month. I've run several hundred rounds through it, both factory Federal and reloads. The only light strikes I've had have been with reloads using CCI primers. Those fail about 25% of the time but have always fired on the second trigger pull. I've also had numerous fails to feed with a few bullet profile types, including round nose. I figured this might happen after reading reviews but didn't care. I only bought it because it was cheap and wanted something to tinker with and not to defend my life. I'd say the Spectrum is going the way of the Dodo bird and for good reason.