Taurus 1911 Duo-Tone

[usmcpaul]

After selling my Sig here on MGO (thanks MGO), I decide to use that money for another 1911. My fascination for this style of pistol knows no bounds, except for the limiting factor of my checkbook.

I ordered it on GunBroker and had it shipped to an FFL (M@K arms in Clinton Twsp, very nice guy). Everything went very smooth during the transaction. I was a little nervous using GunBroker, because it was my first time, but it worked out very well.

(BTW, any inventor looking for a million dollar idea should develop a "Breathalyzer tool" that will not let you make an internet purchase if you have a BAC of more than .05. See my upcoming Kimber review LOL :etoh: )

I paid 648.00 otd, including the FFL transfer.

I brought it home and disassembled it, just to check it out before shooting it. My first impressions were pretty good. The fit and finish seemed perfectly acceptable. The outside of the gun looks great, I love the Duo-Tone scheme and at half the price of a Kimber Eclipse, I was very happy.

I did notice the feed ramp needs a little touch up, to be considered "polished", it has 2 minor scratches if you look close, but it looked like it would function great the way it came.

When I racked the slide it felt very nice, with no "gritty" feeling to it at all. All the other internals looked ok, but I am going to give them an "average" rating just because I thought some of the edges should have been deburred a little better.

I reassembled it and took it out for a test drive a day or 2 later. Here is the bad part. Before I took it out, I dropped one of my reloads into the chamber through the ejection port and sent the slide forward to make sure it would chamber, and it did. Well according to internet legend, and unbeknown-st to me, if you do this, you can break the extractor.

Fast forward to the range. The first 2 clips ran fine and the gun was grouping very well with no FTE or FTF. Then the third clip I had a FTE. No big deal I thought, it could be my reloads. Well I had some WWB stuff and different mags so I tried every combination I could think of to try and get this gun to cycle. Nothing worked.

After I got home I disassembled it and found the culprit, a broken ejector. So I am going to call Taurus tomorrow and see how their customer service really is.

I am not sure if it was my fault for chambering a round the way I did, or just a faulty extractor. This may be one of those dreaded MIM parts that I hear about so often. Either way It's not a huge deal, but I am a little disappointed.

I will update this thread when I hear back from Taurus CS.

I did really like the front strap checkering and the feel of the gun when it did work, so I am hoping this is just an isolated incident and not the "ghost of 'range time' future"

I will reserve comment of my overall rating until I hear back from Taurus, install a new ejector and give it a real testing.

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb164/troll123_photo/Taurus001.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb164/troll123_photo/Taurus004.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb164/troll123_photo/Taurus005.jpg

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb164/troll123_photo/Taurus008.jpg

[autosurgeon]

Esp on a 1911 you can break the extractor this way... depends on what type and grade of steel is used in the extractor.

Either way it is never a good idea to load an autoloader this way.

[JBski]

Esp on a 1911 you can break the extractor this way... depends on what type and grade of steel is used in the extractor.

Either way it is never a good idea to load an autoloader this way.

While loading rounds this way can ruin an extractor, neither my old Springfield, nor my Colt have ruined an extractor after chambering ONE round that way...

If it were my pistol, I would replace the extractor with a good one, and then have it tuned by a local smith, rather than sending it back to Taurus 8)

[YZR]

Great review and quite informative!
Keep us posted on the outcome.

[autosurgeon]

While loading rounds this way can ruin an extractor, neither my old Springfield, nor my Colt have ruined an extractor after chambering ONE round that way...

If it were my pistol, I would replace the extractor with a good one, and then have it tuned by a local smith, rather than sending it back to Taurus 8)

You may be right BUT I have several friends that carry Taurus 1911's with thousands of rounds through them and no problems with the extractor... I very much doubt they ever loaded them this way either.

It could be that the extractor in the OP's pistol was defective IE had a weakness that missed QC. Either way I would let Taurus do their thing and then shoot it for 500 or so rounds before carrying it anyway. Then if there is still problems install and tune a Wilson Combat extractor.

[G36 Shooter]

I've had my PT 1911 for two years now, the only problem I had with it is the ambi safety coming loose, so I replaced it with an Ed Brown tactical safety, (non ambi) problem solved. This gun shoots anything I feed it, I use it in single stack comp. BTW mine is SS. P.S. load it from the mag.

[usmcpaul]

Live and learn I guess. I had never heard of breaking an extractor by loading it from the ejection port. I have loaded hundreds of rounds in my AR's like this, so I never even thought about it. Apples to Oranges comparison I suppose

Anyway, I did get through to Taurus yesterday and they said they would ship one out right away. Hopefully I will get it by this weekend so I can finish the review.

On a side note, I also loaded the Kimber this way at the same time, and I had no problems. Maybe I just got lucky there.

[usmcpaul]

Good news and Bad news.

First the good. I just received an ejector pin from Taurus. :p (It took 6 days.)

Now the bad. I ordered an extractor :mad: (not a huge deal I suppose)

I called them today as soon as I opened it, and got through to CS on my very first call. I explained my situation to the girl on the other end.

CS: No problem Sir, we have extractors in stock
Me: Great, send one out.
CS: How would you like to pay for it Sir, it will be $14.95 plus shipping?
Me: Uhhhh...ummm.What do you mean? I thought there was a lifetime warranty on it?
CS: Yes Sir there is, but you have to send us the gun and we will repair it and send it back to you. Or you can send us the broken part and we will send you a new one.
Me: What about shipping the gun? Who pays for that? And how long will this take?
CS: Not sure exactly how long it will take, but we will pay for shipping.

Being a little annoyed I said

Me: Fine, ship me a box and I will send it to you. ( I figured if they were gonna be jerks I would at least cost them more money)

I sat and thought about it for a second. Now I hate when people blow their stacks at the people who answer the phones especially when they are nice to begin with, so I politely said.

Me: Tara, I know you did not make this policy about shipping the gun back, so I am not mad at you, but if you could kindly relay to your boss that I am not very happy right now I would appreciate it. I bought this gun new and it broke after 8 rounds through it and only 4 days old. I am sure you can understand my frustration. Again I know it's not your rule, but just the same, I don't like it.

CS: Well I see your point, even thought the part is kind of expensive I will ship one out to you, since we originally sent you the wrong part and the gun is so new.

Well it has just been one of those days. So I hope I get the right part this time.

I am trying very hard not to be a "Taurus basher". After all I am still getting the part and she was reasonable and nice. But my patience is wearing thin.

I am trying to be as objective as I can, but it sure makes my Kimber look like the better deal right now. 250 Flawless rounds down the pipe.

[G36 Shooter]

Don't dispair when you get the gun up and running again you'll forget all about the trouble you went through. I like the 1911 platform because like a 'hot rod' car there is so many things and parts that can be changed to tune it the way you want it. Enjoy.

[MINI-14MAN]

I'm sure youl will straighten it out in the end and be happy with your Taurus.You compared it to your Kimber but that is like apples to oranges.I'm sure the Taurus was less than half the price of the Kimber.

[MINI-14MAN]

Congrats on your Taurus 1911.I really like them without the lower rail.Its a clean,classic look.:coolgleam:

[usmcpaul]

I'm sure youl will straighten it out in the end and be happy with your Taurus.You compared it to your Kimber but that is like apples to oranges.I'm sure the Taurus was less than half the price of the Kimber.

I do like the front strap checkering, and it was very accurate for the first 8 rounds. I am trying to do a real world test, so the price of the Taurus...out the door was...$648 and the price for the Kimber was 842.98 otd.

I paid with a money order for the Taurus, and a credit card for the Kimber so the net difference if you factor in the credit card difference (+ 3%) was $194.98.

Since I am considering having the front strap checkering done on the Kimber, because I like the way it feels, the difference may be about $150 more. I dunno, the jury is still out on that.

[usmcpaul]

Congrats on your Taurus 1911.I really like them without the lower rail.Its a clean,classic look.:coolgleam:

Thanks, I agree. I like the classic look.

[usmcpaul]

Still no extractor as of today. :banghead:

[usmcpaul]

And the saga continues.....

Well it's been 10 days since I last spoke to Taurus about my new gun, and since I was feeling a bit lonely I decided to give them a call to see if they had shipped out my extractor.

Nope...I was told it is on back order now. The lady asked me for my serial number and then said she was going to check on something. I waited a few minutes and then she got back on the line and asked me for my number so she could check on something and call me back. That was 3 hours ago. If she calls me tonight I will post her reply.

I know...I know..Why don't I just order an extractor from Brownells, install it and move on with life?

I am not sure why. I think at this point I want to see how (or if) this exercise in futility will turn out.

I can tell you this much; If this was my first, or my only 1911, I would be upset.

[usmcpaul]

No call back from that lady, so today I called again and got the guy I talked to the first time (Chris). He remembered me and without any prompting or haggling, said that even though the "Duo-Tone" extractors are on back order, he was going to ship me out one for a Stainless gun so I could shoot it while I waited for the correct one to come in. He said I should have it by next week.....He seems like a very nice guy and it was sure nice to speak with someone that seemed to care. He explained that he originally thought I said "ejector". Well I guess they are pretty close sounding, and I maybe I did accidentally say "ejector".... I am keeping my fingers crossed.

[TomE]

This thread reminds to check online the status of a Taurus repair , which works if you use their pre-log order online

http://www.taurususa.com/status.cfm

http://www.taurususa.com/prelog.cfm

You might want to add these links to your favorites , because you may need to use them in the future

ETA :
In my case it says at least the firearm arrived and is awaiting repair. The parts needed were on backorder , so I said come and get it ! Again.

[usmcpaul]

Well I got my extractor today and I installed it. It fit no problem, but seemed a little loose, so I tuned it a little using the write up by Bill Wilson. I am sure it would have worked the way it was, but I figured since I was already there, I may as well give it a go. It is the SS version and I like the way it contrasts the slide. I like the way it looks, even more than the original.

CQT should be open this week (:hoppinhappy: )so i can run it through it's paces.

One thing I noticed during the down time was that I like the thickness of Taurus grips. They are each about .080 thinner (~.160 total) than the Kimbers and they seem to fit my hand very well.

[usmcpaul]

Well the new Taurus is up and running fine. I have put about 200 rounds through her and she is working very well.

I am getting pretty good accuracy (average 2.9 inch groups at 7 yards)

It really likes the Berrys 200grain swc over 5.0 of Bullseye.

All in all, I would give this gun a 6.5 out of 10.

[JohnS624]

. He explained that he originally thought I said "ejector". Well I guess they are pretty close sounding, and I maybe I did accidentally say "ejector".... I am keeping my fingers crossed.
You probably did as you repeated it in your original post.:biggrin:

[snw469686]

Great Thread, I was wondering where the taurus 1911s fell in with the bunch. Very Informative

[ww2fanatic]

I recently bought a 1911DT as my first 1911 (and first handgun), I bought it from a guy at my local range. Since I got it (2 weeks ago), I've put 800 rounds through it (all PMC and Independence 230GR FMJ). I do have a few minor complaints.

1. I have had 2 FTE's, both were after the first fifty rounds (give or take), and the brass would get stuck between the slide and the barrel, leaving the brass quite dented. It was the last round in the magazine both times. with about a week in between the FTE's.

2. Maybe its my big hands, but it seems to me that the ambidextrous safety is a little easy to bump on, which has caused me to be unable to fire a couple of times, not major, but annoying.

3. The ambidextrous safety doesn't seem to work when using the right side lever (for left-handed shooters), it just won't slide all the way down until I use the other side.

[Dabears!]

wait wait wait
you want them to warranty a gun that YOU broke by doing something dumb?

[Boatboy]

..

[scubatke]

Buddy had a similar problem with customer service at Taurus.

[Yance]

You know Ive been looking for my first 1911 and I was looking at Taurus for awhile, a lot of the reviews Ive seen say they have a few problems, ejector pin, poor customer service, as well as the safety falling off...wtf. Ive been recently looking at the American Classic either the Classic II or Commander...but I havent heard any bad things about them aside from the feed ramp needing polishing...but thats and easy fix. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Beautiful gun though.

[ww2fanatic]

almost 4000 rds through mine since March. Only thing I've replaced are the grips, which solved the safety being loose. About 3000 of those were handloads, and I'm not slowing down any.