Taurus TCP .380 range report

[Josephus]

Guys, need some help. Took the Taurus TCP to the range after my gun dealer polished the feed ramp and I can only get the first round I rack to fire. Every time after that I have a FTE and FTF and have to clear the gun. I am about ready to pitch this gun in the trash. I keep reading where other owners are having very good luck with this gun but not me. I know I may be doing something wrong with this little gun but on the same outing I also shot 200 rounds through my XDM 40 with no problems at all. I need any type of feedback on technique or something. I am going to contact Taurus tomorrow to arrange to have the gun looked at. Any help will be appreciated. At this point, I feel I wasted my money.

[Yamatr3]

Josephus, send it back to Taurus, it has a lifetime warranty. I have heard great feedback from their customer service as of late. A guy on the FL forum sent his in and had it back in less than two weeks. I have not had any trouble at all with mine, I have now shot about 250 rounds through it.

[condition_ONE]

Joe-

I'd try stripping the gun and cleaning it top to bottom and then re-lubing it from the ground up- absolutely everything, with a very light amount of machine oil or something similar, and then see how the gun operates. This will also give you the chance to make sure that the gun was reassembled correctly by the gunsmith after his work on it.

There could be any number of reasons why it's no longer working. I'd at least take it apart and put it back together 2-3 times before sending it back to the factory. It would be kind of silly to get a letter along with the gun when it's returned saying 'wrong recoil spring' or 'incorrectly lubricated'.

[Josephus]

I did strip it down twice now and before I hit the range yesterday. I cleaned the hell out of it and lightly lubed it and felt very optimistic that it would shoot. I really like this gun and hope I can get it to be dependable. I have tried to shoot several different brands of ammo and so far I was able to get only two rounds off without jamming. One guy I spoke with said you have to try to minimize the recoil by the way you hold the gun. He thought maybe I was holding the gun where the recoil was causing the problem. I am no expert on these semis, just learning. Taurus will be hearing from me. Now I wish I had purchased the Diamond Back or LCP. Thanks.

[41mag10mm]

Unless you are absolutely married to the idea of a TCP or LCP size pistol, trade that POS in on a 100% reliable Bersa Thunder. Mine eats everything I've fed it. Shot over 1000 rounds with 0 malfunctions.

[bcrash15]

Does it jam with other shooters? If so that should rule out the grip issue. Does it jam if you cycle rounds through it by hand? Also, I am not really an expert, but I wouldn't think a FTE would normally be caused by the feed ramp. Basically, ya, I would just send it back to Taurus and see what they do. If you are getting the run around or long hold times on the phone, I think you can actually apply for a return/repair on their website and get the necessary information emailed to you.

[Josephus]

I did let other shooters try it and they had the same result as me. Obviously I kept thinking it was me and my grip or something but if others had the problem, there really might be a problem with the gun. Only the dealer that polished the feed ramp was able to get 5 rounds off before it jammed.

[boykinhntr]

Taurus will fix it for free. Sorry you are having trouble but I guarantee you will be hooked once it is fixed.

[spodwo]

Just send it in to Taurus. THey will pay shipping both ways and 3 week turnaround has been the norm of late. Don't waste your time anymore with it...then test fire it when you get it back.

If it still doesn't work - send it back in and when you get it back- I would sell it.

Fool me once...

I will add that mouse guns are ammo sensitive.

Funny - I have an old .25 Sterling that I got from my Dad. That little thing works all the time.

[Josephus]

Spoke with Taurus already this morning, filled out the work order, and FedEx is picking up tomorrow with Priority shipping and insured. Maybe it will get lost while shipping and I can find a gun that will work. We will see if they are able to make this gun dependable. They said looking at a 3-4 week turnaround...we'll see if that happens. By what I read, there are a bunch of satisfied owners that have not had problems like me.

[fender1974]

I'm currently looking to purchase a TCP, LCP or maybe the Kel-Tec. I've been holding off on making the purchase and doing as much research as I can on the three. Please let us know how the customer support at Taurus treats you and how the gun works once it's returned. Thanks!

[Josephus]

I just heard from FedEx tonight that my Taurus TCP was being delivered to me by 10:30 tomorrow. Not sure yet what was done to the gun or if it was replaced but that is an incredible turnaround. See my post when I sent it in.

[rexy]

Hello Friends,
just signed on to this forum and have to say I sorry to hear the problem you have had with the TCP, I bought one about a month ago and can say I've put 300ish, rds in this little jewel with only one or two jambs, when I first bought it I noticed that the feeds ramp was rigid, so I broke it down and cleaned the whole thing very well and polished the ramp to a nice smooth shiny finish, and it works very well, I bought mainly for my wife as Her first pistol,(she's in training) and she really enjoys shooting it, I took her to the range a week ago and she put 150 rds, down range, without zero problems from the pistol itself, now she was holding it to start with loosely and it "FTE" twice, only because it was rocking back to hard, I have only been running 95gr, flat tip ammo I get from luckygunner.com in the 100rd bags it military ballistic industries and they fire very well .. I choose this tcp over the keltec, and LCp for two reasons, 1, it has chamber indicator and the slide locks on last round fired , over all it a great little pistol IMO.

[6onthehip]

man - i hope i can group at 20 like that with my bersa
great shootin' dude

[rexy]

I have grouped with the TCP at 15 yrds, in a pattern close to that,, once you get the site picture understood with this little one it not bad IMO

[41mag10mm]

man - i hope i can group at 20 like that with my bersa

You should be able to group much better than this with your Bersa. the BT380 is a fixed barrel blowback design that is inherently more accurate (potentially) than the floating barrel design of the TCP.

[Josephus]

Just recieved my TCP from Taurus. Only thing noted on the invoice is they replaced the barrel, the feed ramp was not to spec. The gun was sent in on February 16 so that is a remarkable turnaround time. I hope to get to the range on the weekend to see if the new barrel makes a difference. I surely hope so.

[PhoenixConflagration]

Definitely give us a Range Report Pt. 2. That's a really impressive turnaround from a company whose CS has been trashed up and down the forum for years. But then that's probably because the TCP is manufactured in the US. If the problem is fixed, that's a great story for Taurus.

[boykinhntr]

Taurus has clearly made some changes in their CS department. Most of the new reports have the turnaround time of 4 weeks or less. Hopefully it will stay that way and hopefully none of my Tauri will have to be sent in!

I havent shot my TCP in awhile. I want to try some different defense ammo. I like Speer Gold Dots so far but I would like to try Hornady Critical Defense. I love the Hornady TAP .40S&W rounds.

[spodwo]

The gun was sent in on February 16 so that is a remarkable turnaround time.

Jeez that is fast but since it was made here in the USA, they have all the parts here...

[AirForce2]

Went to sportsmans wearhouse 3/5 to compare the Taurus & LCP and buy one or the other and went with the Taurus for now. Never seen it before and right off the batt I racked the empty slide back & it would not lock open (in store before I bought). I thought that was odd since this is a feature that LCP doesn't have and upon further investigation noticed the Taurus mag follower has a small metal strip half ass molded into the plastic and the metal piece actually pushes up on the mag release by design. On the first gun it appears the empty mag/follower is not contacting the slide stop and may just need slide stop to be tweeked further into the middle or the mag was twisted. I thougt this was odd since I've had good success for 10 years shooting USPSA open & stock class competition & on the 1st Air Force Action Pistol team 1996-1998 on 1911's primarily STI that had plastic followers. Anyway I asked for another one of the rack and it didn't lock back either most of the time by hand, jeeeez, so now I'm confident this is a hit or miss out of the box problem. I mulled it over and figured I usually don't carry and extra mag anyway (like most people w/baby guns) and could live with it since the price was only $269 w/2 mags, and belt gun purse. Had him bring me a new unwrapped and it works for now by hand and will see if good at range soon.
-I noticed with a full mag in and open the slide, the slide lock ledge sits really close to the bullet heads. If I have any concern this will hamper feeding, I'll cut the ledge off.
-I felt the side of the barrel feed ramp was super skinny and had flared out spot on outside edges of ramp (kinda bulged) about halfway up on both sides and on the bottom of the feed ramp, not sure what this was from and smoothed the bulges out. I also polished all the edges all around the feed hole and put a very slight chamfer around the edges.
-The grip seems a little more fitting than the LCP and purchased a hoque sleeve ($7) about 2 inches long with one finger groove grip and put it on upside down and trimmed the bottom so wouldn't interfere with mag and wow, it really filled out the sides of the taurus grip since the flat side plastic grips on taurus & ruger doesn't really fill up the sides of hand very well and gave me a finger groove as well. If you get the TCP or the LCP I highly suggest you get this hogue sleeve and try it. You can just cut the rubber grip with scissors and mold it minor around the mag release on each side and cut about 1/4 inch off the bottom so mag change is not hindered. I don't remember the model number but the package shows a sleeve w/one finger knub and the whole thing is about 2 inches long (don't forget to put it on upside down or the finger groove will not fit in right place.) I think you'll like it.
-The bottom of the trigger guard has a sharp edge on both sides and should have been rounded and bites into the finger under my trigger finger when gripped. It's plastic and just dremmeled it round and fine sanded and it's as comfy as the LCP now which I'll appreciate if I fire the buffalo bore.
-The slide pin that holds the slide & frame together does suck to get in by hand since it's totally round and flat on bottom and must go into a none round hole due to the detent rod. I may try to angle only a tiny small portion of the pin edge to help this (don't round off the whole thing or it will not fit tight into the round other side of the frame tight and could cause issues).
-Trigger pull is definitely smoother and lighter double action than the LCP.
-Since everybody's hoarding ammo, I couldn't find any cheap ammo and I'll repost when I can get some name brand ball ammo and test fire and the buffalo bore that I had to buy just to have bullets for now.
-Overall I've owned 4 taurus guns including this one and they are not without issues but for the money and only occasional issues so far I'll see after this TCP. I've had a taurus .38 that timing went bad on and binding up during cycling, a taurus PT40 that broke the extractor, and a taurus ultralite .38 that was my primary concealed no problems and wanted something lighter/smaller that I would be more prone to carry all the time. I know several people who have CC permits and don't carry half the time because they own big heavy autos that they can't/won't conceal during summer months or in slacks & shirt tucked in unless that have a jacket or large untucked shirt, some even carry less rounds to save weight so I feel the lack of power is a trade off. Everyone says hey that bad guy will just eat up those .380's and keep coming. Try it on your friends and see. I doubt most bad guys are gonna get shot at 10 yds with a .380 and just look at you and scoff "you didn't just shoot me with a .380 did ya"
-Overall I think the guns looks nice, for sure not what I'd consider the best in form fit & function compared to some, but the range will tell.

[AirForce2]

I posted a full sep report on how my 2 range outings went under "taurus tcp" by AirForce2 user.
Tks

[Water-Man]

Meanwhile, the Kel-Tec P3AT just keeps on ticking!

[Law]

I just purchased a new TCP .380 this last weekend, and it has exactly the same problem as Josephus reported. Basically, it refuses to extract - three different kinds of ammo.

I called Taurus and they are sending the Fed Ex guy to pick up on Monday. Said it will be a 4-6 week turn around. Bummer.

Josephus - you never reported what happened once you got your TCP back from Taurus. Did they fix the problem?

[MPanova]

I'm also curious as to what happens when you got it back from Taurus?