The Taurus PT 1911, one meaty gun for the price. This gun retails for $500-$600 depending on where you end up buying it. Before even doing a review on this gun I want to start out with a few things in reference with this particular 1911. This gun comes setup with a few things that are not standard issue for a 1911 in this price range.

I’ll just give you the basic highlight this gun has a ventilated light trigger, eight round magazine with a bumper pad, Richard Heinie “Strait Eight” sight (Two dots, put one right on top of the other and bullseye), this is also a forged slide and frame. A lot of features and points for durability on this gun for a 1911 under $600.

The Good…

I have put about a thousand rounds through this gun and it still stands strong as you can see in the pictures. Outside of a few stove pipes I have, to this date, not had any other malfunctions with the firearm itself (more on this in “The Bad). This gun still shows signs of minimal use. This gun holds just like any other 1911, and I have held allot of them trust me. The one thing that really stood out about the Taurus PT 1911 was the trigger that comes strait from the factory. The play in the trigger has got to be around 1/16 of an inch and it is snappy, once you apply a little pressure to get the point across it breaks easy.

When it comes down to it, the details and potentially the upgradeability of the gun is where you really want to do research. For a first time .45 owner it’s a great gun, the sights are true and the gun is backed by a lifetime warranty which I have not had to use for the firearm itself, but based on a large amount of feedback on the internet seems to be held to high standards even if you bought the gun used in some cases.

The Bad…

The Magazines that came with this gun are CRAP. They are terrible and often prevent the slide from locking back after the last round is cycled. In a personal protection situation that could be a major malfunction, at the range you don’t really have to worry about a piece of paper stabbing you to death so for me it was only a minor flaw. I called Taurus and told them about the issue and they happily sent two new magazines free of charge and had me return he old one’s. The new magazines fail significantly less than the old ones. I bought a pair of Kimber 1911 Magazines and the problem was resolved and I was still shooting a 1911 for $600 cheaper than most I was looking at.

Taking this gun apart and cleaning it takes some getting use to. The one thing to keep in mind is to remember that you are shopping for a 1911. They have been made pretty much the same since….. Well 1911. The Slide lock lock lever on the 1911 pretty much holds the universe together. If you go shopping for a 1911 do yourself a favor and ask Mr. Realtree to take it apart for you at your local gun shop there are certainly a few tricks that make it really easy to get use to.

Summary…

I remember cleaning the gun for my first time (Also happened to be my first gun), I had left a cleaning patch in the gun when reassembling the gun. I am not sure how it happened but it happened. Whitey and I went to the range the next day and after about 2 magazines I realized a small piece of cloth sticking out of the bottom of the mag well. Pulled out a torn, tattered mess with a hole in it and the gun still never malfunctioned.

All in all with the magazine issues aside the Taurus PT 1911 has been a solid gun and once the magazines were replaced with the Kimber magazines I have had no issues. I do not clean the gun anywhere near as much as I should. I do not give this gun any special treatment and it has not sacrificed reliability or shown any negative results when it comes to the wear on the gun. If you are looking for a 1911 for under $600 the PT 1911 is a great choice.

Check out the specs for the PT 1911 on the Taurus website.