Boarhunter
Member
Well, people, on the day following the Supreme Court's decision, I went out and bought myself a "Heller" pistol. My choice? A 9mm Taurus PT 24/7 OSS Tactical pistol, and I could not be happier.
After approximately 250 rounds, including 60 or so in a local IDPA match, I thought I would share with you my preliminary thoughts.
First and foremost, it is a NICE gun.
It is reliable. I have yet to have a single "bobble" in reliability, shooting both hardball and +p+ hollowpoints (factory ammo with 115 grain bullets only, so far).
It is accurate. Though I have yet to bench the gun (and likely never will), it puts all the bullets in a reasonably small group, despite my advanced age, lack of significant ability, and deteriorating eyes.
It fits my hands well. Although my hands are not small, they are "beefy," making grip size a problem for me on many double-stack guns (and even with some thick-grip singe-stacks). With this one, I can easily reach the safety/decocker, the slide release, and the mag release with my right thumb. Without stretching or canting the pistol in my hand.
It is easy to shoot and shoot well. Were it not for a holster problem (i.e., I had to "make do" with a stretched shorty 1911 IWB holster that snagged the front sight during draws), I would not have noticed any real slowdown in my IDPA performance, despite having only fired the gun 100 rounds before the competition.
Although I still do not have the holster problem completely solved (holsters are hard to find for this new gun), I did discover that Fobus holster SP11 (made for the XD, HS2000 9mm, and H&K P2000) holds the Taurus reasonably well (at least until I find something better).
What makes the gun easy to shoot for me is its light, smooth trigger pull. Although the gun can be carried SA "cocked and locked," which is my preference, it can also be carried DA/SA...simply push the manual safety up a bit further than is necessary and the gun decocks. In fact, it is so easy to decock the gun that it is more dificult, actually, to simply put it on safe and leave it cocked. Which could be a problem, but is not. The double-action pull is so light and smooth (albeit longer) that it is virtually indistinguishable, to me, from the single-action pull during "action" shooting. So, despite my preference for "cocked and locked" carry, I have been carrying the gun decocked without noticing any material difference.
The sights are nice for combat-type shooting, the front sight thin enough to allow plenty of light on either side when lined up with the rear sight.
The only potential problem I have with the gun relates to the magazine. We shoot IDPA indoors on a concrete floor, and on two different occasions during the match, the mag follower was knocked slightly askew after being dropped on the concrete floor. It was easy enough to push it back into proper place, but I wonder whether it can take the repeated abuse of a concrete floor. I guess only time will tell.
When Taurus began its marketing of this gun long ago, I decided I had to have one. And then it seemed like years passed before it became available, and I lost some interest (filled with other guns like the Ruger SR9...but that is another story). But now that I have the Taurus actually in hand, it was well worth the wait. I like the gun much.
You owe it to yourself to try one out, if you are in the market for a high-cap, service size pistol. And whether you get this one or one from another manufacturer, you ought to pick out one (or lots) of these high-cap guns before November.... You just never know what might happen thereafter.
Boarhunter
After approximately 250 rounds, including 60 or so in a local IDPA match, I thought I would share with you my preliminary thoughts.
First and foremost, it is a NICE gun.
It is reliable. I have yet to have a single "bobble" in reliability, shooting both hardball and +p+ hollowpoints (factory ammo with 115 grain bullets only, so far).
It is accurate. Though I have yet to bench the gun (and likely never will), it puts all the bullets in a reasonably small group, despite my advanced age, lack of significant ability, and deteriorating eyes.
It fits my hands well. Although my hands are not small, they are "beefy," making grip size a problem for me on many double-stack guns (and even with some thick-grip singe-stacks). With this one, I can easily reach the safety/decocker, the slide release, and the mag release with my right thumb. Without stretching or canting the pistol in my hand.
It is easy to shoot and shoot well. Were it not for a holster problem (i.e., I had to "make do" with a stretched shorty 1911 IWB holster that snagged the front sight during draws), I would not have noticed any real slowdown in my IDPA performance, despite having only fired the gun 100 rounds before the competition.
Although I still do not have the holster problem completely solved (holsters are hard to find for this new gun), I did discover that Fobus holster SP11 (made for the XD, HS2000 9mm, and H&K P2000) holds the Taurus reasonably well (at least until I find something better).
What makes the gun easy to shoot for me is its light, smooth trigger pull. Although the gun can be carried SA "cocked and locked," which is my preference, it can also be carried DA/SA...simply push the manual safety up a bit further than is necessary and the gun decocks. In fact, it is so easy to decock the gun that it is more dificult, actually, to simply put it on safe and leave it cocked. Which could be a problem, but is not. The double-action pull is so light and smooth (albeit longer) that it is virtually indistinguishable, to me, from the single-action pull during "action" shooting. So, despite my preference for "cocked and locked" carry, I have been carrying the gun decocked without noticing any material difference.
The sights are nice for combat-type shooting, the front sight thin enough to allow plenty of light on either side when lined up with the rear sight.
The only potential problem I have with the gun relates to the magazine. We shoot IDPA indoors on a concrete floor, and on two different occasions during the match, the mag follower was knocked slightly askew after being dropped on the concrete floor. It was easy enough to push it back into proper place, but I wonder whether it can take the repeated abuse of a concrete floor. I guess only time will tell.
When Taurus began its marketing of this gun long ago, I decided I had to have one. And then it seemed like years passed before it became available, and I lost some interest (filled with other guns like the Ruger SR9...but that is another story). But now that I have the Taurus actually in hand, it was well worth the wait. I like the gun much.
You owe it to yourself to try one out, if you are in the market for a high-cap, service size pistol. And whether you get this one or one from another manufacturer, you ought to pick out one (or lots) of these high-cap guns before November.... You just never know what might happen thereafter.
Boarhunter