My opinion on the 800 series Taurus semi-auto pistols

StainlessSteel215 · September 26, 2012, 01:28 PM

Hey guys, just joined up and love most of the discussions on this forum, finally joined! Some great nuggets of info on here and happy to be on board. I'm a novice/intermediate level shooter and have owned pistols for the last 6 years. I own a Glock26 9mm for concealed carry, a gorgeous SigArms GSR 1911 model in 45 acp, and a Kel-Tec PLR-16 long range pistol that shoots .223

Anyways I have been reading up on reviews of the Taurus 800 series pistols for the last year or so....particularly the PT 809 9mm. It really drew my attention from the appearance down to the AMAZING trigger and overall performance.

So I finally broke down last month and spent the hard-earned $375 on the full sized 4" barrel 809 model to really put it to the test and see for myself if Taurus has what it takes to be competitive in the semi-auto market. So far this gun has been INCREDIBLE!

Pros to this gun, in my opinion:
• High capacity (17+1)
• Nice stainless finish & overall look/appearance
• Light, Well balanced and great ergonomics (nice finger grooves in grip and allows for high choke on the grip under the beaver tail)
• Virtually zero kick/recoil
• Ate 300 rounds of Fiocchi 115gr FMJ ammo without a SINGLE hiccup
• One of the most amazing triggers I ever squeezed (short SA travel pull....crisp break....and VERY short reset)
• Ambi features including de-cocker and external safety
•*Nice standard 3-dot Novak sights. Nice sight picture

Cons:
•Stiff mag release button (loosened up after 300 rounds)
• LOADED with thick factory goo....easy to fix...jst clean it good!
• Mags all have extension base plate which makes this huge grip even bigger
• Thats it!

I just made my first youtube video on this gun and excited to see how it holds up once I hit the 5k round mark. Extremely pleased so far....way to go on this model Taurus! Anyone else have experience using this pistol and want to share?

BGutzman · September 26, 2012, 02:47 PM

I had a 845... Worked great until the day it didnt... My best guess was the firing pin block wasnt moving out of the way when I pulled the trigger... No marks were left on the primer...

Sold the gun shortly after.... No bang is a "no go"...

If you get a good Taurus, you get a good deal... Enough said, welcome to the forum.

StainlessSteel215 · September 26, 2012, 02:56 PM

Thanks for the input.
Now may I ask you this....was it a one-time situation where it didnt strike the primer? If so....it maybe it was a bad primer? If it was consistent...I think you are right about the firing pin block not move out of the way fast enough and that sounds like a messy issue....certainly not worthy of keeping.

I read a TON of great review on this series prior to purchasing so I do feel confident about this gun so far. I think Taurus makes decent revolvers and would like to see them come back in the semi-auto market with this 800 series and the new 24/7 series. Thanks for sharing man....I hope mine holds up when I hit the 2k and 5k round mark!

BGutzman · September 26, 2012, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Now may I ask you this....was it a one-time situation where it didnt strike the primer? If so....it maybe it was a bad primer? If it was consistent...I think you are right about the firing pin block not move out of the way fast enough and that sounds like a messy issue....certainly not worthy of keeping.

The primer had no marks so the firing pin never made it to the primer or it was an extraordinarily light strike... It occured on two different occasions that week with 3 or 4 different types of ammo that functioned perfectly in my P220. Probably 20 rounds failed to fire even though I did a basic mechanical inspection of the gun a couple of times.

Please keep in mind "IF" you do get a good gun from taurus then I think you get a good deal.. Im willing to bet my 845 had no more than 500-700 rounds fired in it. I owned other pistols from Taurus and in the end got rid of all of them. Im not trying to discount you apparently are having a good experience with this brand.

Taurus offers a lot of innovation and features but all of my pistols have to have at least a secondary role as CCW weapons and failure is not an option. You will find in this forum like anywhere else we have some diehard fans and some totally anti-taurus.

For myself I wont buy one again unless I knew for sure the person that owned it had a longstanding good experience with it.. I would never buy a new one again... We had about 1800 sunk into our total investment on this brand... Anyway I wish you luck and enjoy...

StainlessSteel215 · September 27, 2012, 12:34 PM

Yikes, sorry to hear that BG and sounds like it was absolutely the gun.

Ya know, I fully understand where Taurus generally lays on the quality spectrum....but I really want to see them improve with time, particularly in the semi auto market. I read a TON of great reviews on this 800 series particularly the 9mm and so far its been a gem to me. I hope and expect it to continue for many years. We shall see....but for now I'm loving it. Worth every penny. Thanks

StainlessSteel215 · September 29, 2012, 02:26 PM

Just got back from putting another 250 rounds through it.....Fiocchi 115gr FMJ....and it performed like a CHAMP! Perfect cycling, accurate (6" groups from 15 yards which is good for me), and not a single hiccup. Ejections were all consistent and threw somewhere over my right forearm.

I REALLY dig this gun! So far I give it 5 stars! It is fast becoming my favorite range gun and Ive owned MANY 9mm from Glocks to Sig. Going to clean it up now

reaganmarine84 · October 1, 2012, 09:53 PM

Congrats!! I feel the same way about my 809. I also own a 840. I love the short trigger re-set on the 800 series. I have 2 pistols in different parts of my house that I use for home defense. I replaced the Taurus 24/7 Pro DS .40 with the 840 earlier this year. The 840 was instantly more accurate out of the box than my 24/7 Pro. I was using my 809 for my nightstand gun until I replaced it with my BUL Cherokee in March. Nothing against my 809 mind you,I just felt like a change. I have a 809 compact in lay-away right now. Hopefully I can get it out before Christmas. I like the fact that the 809C has 2 different magazine sizes to choose from,depending on my needs. It has a 12+1 standard and also comes with a 17+1 extended mag.

StainlessSteel215 · October 9, 2012, 08:38 AM

Thanks ReaganMarine,
I decided to roll the camera at the range on Sunday and document my PT809 9mm which I have decided to run a 2k round challenge on. I want to really put this gun to the test because if it passes with relatively minor issues, I will consider it 100% worthy as a dedicated backup gun to my Glock26.

2000 rounds will be fed through this gun with ZERO cleaning or lube. So far it ate the first 192 rounds of mixed ammo with not a single hiccup. I will document each rage trip and log the type of ammo & how the gun performs. Here's part 1 if anyone wants to follow along this challenge with me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuyi...U&feature=plcp

September 26, 2012, 01:28 PM	#1
StainlessSteel215 Junior member Join Date: September 26, 2012 Posts: 250	My opinion on the 800 series Taurus semi-auto pistols Hey guys, just joined up and love most of the discussions on this forum, finally joined! Some great nuggets of info on here and happy to be on board. I'm a novice/intermediate level shooter and have owned pistols for the last 6 years. I own a Glock26 9mm for concealed carry, a gorgeous SigArms GSR 1911 model in 45 acp, and a Kel-Tec PLR-16 long range pistol that shoots .223 Anyways I have been reading up on reviews of the Taurus 800 series pistols for the last year or so....particularly the PT 809 9mm. It really drew my attention from the appearance down to the AMAZING trigger and overall performance. So I finally broke down last month and spent the hard-earned $375 on the full sized 4" barrel 809 model to really put it to the test and see for myself if Taurus has what it takes to be competitive in the semi-auto market. So far this gun has been INCREDIBLE! Pros to this gun, in my opinion: • High capacity (17+1) • Nice stainless finish & overall look/appearance • Light, Well balanced and great ergonomics (nice finger grooves in grip and allows for high choke on the grip under the beaver tail) • Virtually zero kick/recoil • Ate 300 rounds of Fiocchi 115gr FMJ ammo without a SINGLE hiccup • One of the most amazing triggers I ever squeezed (short SA travel pull....crisp break....and VERY short reset) • Ambi features including de-cocker and external safety •Nice standard 3-dot Novak sights. Nice sight picture Cons: •Stiff mag release button (loosened up after 300 rounds) • LOADED with thick factory goo....easy to fix...jst clean it good! • Mags all have extension base plate which makes this huge grip even bigger • Thats it! I just made my first youtube video on this gun and excited to see how it holds up once I hit the 5k round mark. Extremely pleased so far....way to go on this model Taurus! Anyone else have experience using this pistol and want to share? Last edited by StainlessSteel215; September 26, 2012 at 02:07 PM.*

September 26, 2012, 02:47 PM	#2
BGutzman Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2009 Location: Frozen Tundra Posts: 2,414	I had a 845... Worked great until the day it didnt... My best guess was the firing pin block wasnt moving out of the way when I pulled the trigger... No marks were left on the primer... Sold the gun shortly after.... No bang is a "no go"... If you get a good Taurus, you get a good deal... Enough said, welcome to the forum. __________________ Molon Labe

September 29, 2012, 02:26 PM	#6
StainlessSteel215 Junior member Join Date: September 26, 2012 Posts: 250	Just got back from putting another 250 rounds through it.....Fiocchi 115gr FMJ....and it performed like a CHAMP! Perfect cycling, accurate (6" groups from 15 yards which is good for me), and not a single hiccup. Ejections were all consistent and threw somewhere over my right forearm. I REALLY dig this gun! So far I give it 5 stars! It is fast becoming my favorite range gun and Ive owned MANY 9mm from Glocks to Sig. Going to clean it up now Last edited by StainlessSteel215; September 29, 2012 at 02:43 PM.

October 1, 2012, 09:53 PM	#7
reaganmarine84 Member Join Date: December 6, 2011 Posts: 79	Congrats!! I feel the same way about my 809. I also own a 840. I love the short trigger re-set on the 800 series. I have 2 pistols in different parts of my house that I use for home defense. I replaced the Taurus 24/7 Pro DS .40 with the 840 earlier this year. The 840 was instantly more accurate out of the box than my 24/7 Pro. I was using my 809 for my nightstand gun until I replaced it with my BUL Cherokee in March. Nothing against my 809 mind you,I just felt like a change. I have a 809 compact in lay-away right now. Hopefully I can get it out before Christmas. I like the fact that the 809C has 2 different magazine sizes to choose from,depending on my needs. It has a 12+1 standard and also comes with a 17+1 extended mag. __________________ Taurus 24/7 Pro DS 9mm & .40;(2)Taurus OSS DS 9mm;Taurus OSS DS .40;Taurus 809;809 compact;840;PT709 "slim" SS;PT738;full size BUL Cherokee;SCCY CPX-2;Smith&Wesson BG .380;Arcus 98 DA;EAA witness P 9mm;I.O. inc. AK-47C;Zastava PAP;Mossberg 500 tactical;Marlin model 60.

September 26, 2012, 02:56 PM	#3
StainlessSteel215 Junior member Join Date: September 26, 2012 Posts: 250	Thanks for the input. Now may I ask you this....was it a one-time situation where it didnt strike the primer? If so....it maybe it was a bad primer? If it was consistent...I think you are right about the firing pin block not move out of the way fast enough and that sounds like a messy issue....certainly not worthy of keeping. I read a TON of great review on this series prior to purchasing so I do feel confident about this gun so far. I think Taurus makes decent revolvers and would like to see them come back in the semi-auto market with this 800 series and the new 24/7 series. Thanks for sharing man....I hope mine holds up when I hit the 2k and 5k round mark!

September 27, 2012, 12:34 PM	#5
StainlessSteel215 Junior member Join Date: September 26, 2012 Posts: 250	Yikes, sorry to hear that BG and sounds like it was absolutely the gun. Ya know, I fully understand where Taurus generally lays on the quality spectrum....but I really want to see them improve with time, particularly in the semi auto market. I read a TON of great reviews on this 800 series particularly the 9mm and so far its been a gem to me. I hope and expect it to continue for many years. We shall see....but for now I'm loving it. Worth every penny. Thanks

October 9, 2012, 08:38 AM	#8
StainlessSteel215 Junior member Join Date: September 26, 2012 Posts: 250	Thanks ReaganMarine, I decided to roll the camera at the range on Sunday and document my PT809 9mm which I have decided to run a 2k round challenge on. I want to really put this gun to the test because if it passes with relatively minor issues, I will consider it 100% worthy as a dedicated backup gun to my Glock26. 2000 rounds will be fed through this gun with ZERO cleaning or lube. So far it ate the first 192 rounds of mixed ammo with not a single hiccup. I will document each rage trip and log the type of ammo & how the gun performs. Here's part 1 if anyone wants to follow along this challenge with me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuyi...U&feature=plcp