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Old May 27, 2019, 07:17 AM   #1
fisherman
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My take on Taurus

As I promised, I would test my new 380 Spectrum when I got it and try to give you an honest evaluation by an amateur. I got the gun from my dealer when we returned to the frozen North from wet, cold, South Texas. Weather bad this winter down there. As far as looks goes, I love it. It is stainless with white frame and turquoise grips. I like innovation and "different". I cleaned the grease out of the slides and oiled it with a light gun oil. Went to the range with my other two semis also in tow. Plan was to shoot 50 rounds through all three guns. Of course I had to start with my "new toy", the Spectrum. The gun would not feed a round out of the clip when I racked the slide. The slide stuck open on the lip of the first shell and the shell would not leave the clip. I turned the gun over and gave the slide a light tap on the wood shooting bench at the gun club. It snapped shut and loaded the round. The trigger pull is obviously the safety. I have never been a fan of heavy triggers on anything but actually got used to it after about 21 rounds and was hitting center of mass constantly at 15 feet. Since those initial firings I can hit about an 8" circle in center of mass with point and shoot method and rapid fire. The almost no recoil makes it especially pleasant to shoot and helps stay on target during dump the gun shooting. The gun never jammed, failed to fire, or failed to load after the initial fail to load on that first round. It did the same thing for two more clips and then it has not happened since. Interesting, but no explanation as to what caused it or cured it. Perhaps it was just not final fit and finished like we somethings believe is done and it just wore in. I am not sure. I decided to start an experiment to shoot all three of these guns for three 50 round separate visits to the range without cleaning. After two more trips to the range and 50 rounds each visit, there were absolutely no issues. The 22 PolyPly, 9MM Slim, and the 380 Spectrum all are shooting flawlessly. When I got home on Saturday I just could not help myself: I cleaned the guns. I just do not like leaving a gun dirty. It is against everything I have done in these 75 years plus of life. So now I am looking at the Curve. I just love "different", and Taurus has certainly provided that. They also shoot as well as anything I have seen at the range.
The only problem with my Purple poly ply and my White and Turquoise Spectrum is the number of people that want to look at them at the range. Always a few folks around that have never seen a purple or a white pistol !!
Always bring it.
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Old May 27, 2019, 09:50 AM   #2
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I'm glad that Taurus is working out for you. I'm loving my TX22.
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Old May 27, 2019, 12:09 PM   #3
kmw1954
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Thank you for the assessment and impression. Taurus Armed.net has a whole sub-forum for this gun.
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Old May 27, 2019, 02:00 PM   #4
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Pretty sure I know the cause of the failure to feed...
Never had an issue with Taurus, and those I’ve owned in the past we’re all fine guns, for what they were.
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Old May 27, 2019, 06:05 PM   #5
fisherman
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If you know the failure to feed please tell me.

If you know the cause of the failure to feed I had with the spectrum please inform me as to the issue. Thanks for your help.
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Old May 27, 2019, 09:48 PM   #6
wingman
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One problem is loading a new magazine to full capacity then expecting a very light spring to push off that first round, the Spectrum has a very weak recoil spring in my opinion. I normally load 1 or 2 round short with a new gun until broken in seems to work for me.
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Old May 28, 2019, 05:55 PM   #7
fisherman
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Thank you

That is an interesting observation wingman. I never thought of that but it sounds entirely feasible. Maybe a touch of lube oil on the top of the clip after the last round is loaded would let it slide out. Just a thought.
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Old May 28, 2019, 06:21 PM   #8
precision_shooter
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It’s not the next to last round, it’s the pressure of the round against the feed lips... I wouldn’t recommend putting any kind of lube on any case. Just asking for more problems
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Old May 28, 2019, 09:32 PM   #9
wingman
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Yes, it is the pressure from the mag spring stronger then the recoil spring, sometime loading a full mag and allowing it to set for several days will work. Good thing at the range we can load 2 or 3 rounds and see how it functions.
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Old May 29, 2019, 05:46 PM   #10
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Fisherman, Thanks for the review. I think your color choice is great.
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Old May 31, 2019, 09:48 PM   #11
Buckeye!
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A Taurus TCP has been my choice for a pocket 380 for years now ... I bought 3 while on sale at a LGS last year .. gave each of my nephews one ..( that is nephews over 21)
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Old June 7, 2019, 11:11 AM   #12
OhioGuy
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The gun seemed like a very comfortable option when I held one in the store, and I loved the dimensions, but the trigger felt like it had sandpaper in it somewhere. I tried three different guns and they all had that same gritty, crunchy feeling. Did yours, and if so, did it smooth out any?

I ended up with a Beretta Pico for $220 that's run great for me so far and has actual sights, although the Spectrum fit my hand a little better and of course looks cooler. The Pico's mag release is also hard to get used to.
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Old June 7, 2019, 12:41 PM   #13
IdaD
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I've never owned a Taurus so I don't have any first hand experience. I've kind of always been biased against them, though. For not a lot more money you can step up quite a bit in quality (or at least more consistent quality), and you'll spend a lot more than that difference in price on ammo over time.
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Old June 7, 2019, 01:16 PM   #14
OhioGuy
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I've shot 'em -- never had a strong opinion one way or the other on the Millennium G2, or .... the other one I shot ... can't recall! I did shoot one of their stainless revolvers once, and that seemed like a very well made product.

Stories around Taurus often seem to be 90% "never had a problem" and 10% "never had anything but problems."

Your price observation is very true -- Taurus held a place in the budget, but not too budget, category. But when you can pick up new S&Ws, Rugers, Walthers and Springfields for $350 it gets kinda dicey as to Taurus' value proposition, unless their prices completely bottom out. That, and there are about 5 new brands of plastic striker gun announced every week it seems!

Look at our new innovation! It has a trigger, sights and shoots bullets!
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Old June 8, 2019, 09:55 PM   #15
vaskeet
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My only issue with Taurus is that they love to change models and leave the older models with no magazines or other support. If you have A Taurus you like stock up on magazines!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old June 22, 2019, 06:02 PM   #16
flashhole
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I'm no longer a Taurus fan. I had a PT-140 for several years. It would occasionally have feed problems and hang up but I still used it as my concealed carry gun. I tried to trade it in and upgrade and was told no can do. The gun is on recall. I sent it to Taurus asking that they send me a 40 cal replacement but their policy is to only send a 9mm G2C or G2S. I am tooled up to reload 40 S&W and I even cast my own bullets so the 9mm was of zero value to me. I used the new-in-box G2C as a down payment on a Beretta 96A1. Got all of $110 for it. Woo Hoo!

I wouldn't be so disappointed if they had simply sent me a 40 cal replacement. I have in excess of 20 boxes of 40 cal ammo. I did not think that was an unreasonable request to send me a 40 cal instead of a 9mm. The guns are priced the same. No more Taurus for me.
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Last edited by flashhole; June 22, 2019 at 06:07 PM.
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Old June 23, 2019, 12:07 AM   #17
Stargater53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IdaD View Post
I've never owned a Taurus so I don't have any first hand experience. I've kind of always been biased against them, though. For not a lot more money you can step up quite a bit in quality (or at least more consistent quality), and you'll spend a lot more than that difference in price on ammo over time.
I hear you and I concur, except as it pertains to the Taurus PT92 AR, stainless. The company bought the factory from Beretta and they hired the Beretta factory workers, some of them Italian. And the company claims it uses better metallurgy than Beretta --- claims it made when the military models were suffering from frame separation issues.



Back in the 80s I bought a few Taurus 92s, and found them to be as reliable as my Beretta. But alas, the finish and accuracy weren't quite up to snuff. So I sold them and bought a couple of S&W 659s, which I still have and love. But a few years ago I got the PT92 AR. Not only was the finish gorgeous, the accuracy was greatly improved, at least on my model. I shot it once and it's been there ever since. But it's a gun I would recommend to anyone. And the 92's safety system is far superior to the Beretta's. It has a hammer drop and a cock and lock. Plus if you buy the Taurus, you'll have quite a chunk of change left over!

--
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Old June 23, 2019, 09:15 AM   #18
osbornk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IdaD View Post
I've never owned a Taurus so I don't have any first hand experience. I've kind of always been biased against them, though. For not a lot more money you can step up quite a bit in quality (or at least more consistent quality), and you'll spend a lot more than that difference in price on ammo over time.
I was not a fan or Taurus based on the bashing they were getting but I traded for one to see if they were as wrong as they were about the Hi-Point I bought. The old Taurus 84 I got was a good gun and I ordered a new TCP. I liked it and bought a new PT111-G2 followed by a used 605 and then a new 856. They are all good and reliable guns as is the Heritage Rough Rider (bought before Taurus bought them). I shop around a lot before I buy a gun and the price difference between a Taurus and "brand names" is substantial and frequently the brand names are over double the price of a Taurus. I don't find my S&Ws and Rugers to be a lot better than my Taurus' considering the price difference.
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Old June 24, 2019, 08:17 PM   #19
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I’ve had a couple friends f Taurus and my only complaint is the trigger
The both were reliable and had a decent finish. All in all a good value for the money.
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Old June 24, 2019, 08:21 PM   #20
batmann
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I’ve had a couple of Taurus and my only complaint was the trigger. Long pull.
They were decent guns for the money and mine were very reliable.
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Old June 26, 2019, 01:06 AM   #21
Carl the Floor Walker
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I tested the Taurus. I am a pocket gun enthusiast with 10 years of shooting them on a regular basis. I have to say I was really looking forward for the Spectrum to be a winner when compared to other Aluminum Chassis Pistols like the LCP and the Keltec. I really liked the fact that they copied the modular take down of the Beretta Pico, I thought the grips looked nice and would perform well.
I have never owned a Taurus, but have never bashed their products and know many guys at my club that own them and love them.

I was really disappointed with the test. The gun just did not handle well at all. I found it to be on the sloppy side. Recoil was terrible and the gun might as well not have any sights at all. I point and shoot these small guns but use the sights for fast action in the Peripheral sense. But the Small sights on the Spectrum just seemed to disappear.
I usually do very well shooting all pocket guns, but this gun I was shooting was all over the place. Very hard to get any good groups.

The other problem was constant light primer strikes. It became so frustrating, I just did not want to shoot it any longer. I made it up to 50 rds, but that was it for me. Primer light strikes were on a mixture of ammo.
I did not go into this test to think it was the quality of the Beretta Pico or Kahr CW380, but this gun was not something I will add to my collection.

As far as the New Taurus, TX200, it is something I really want to try out. I have read many good reviews and looking forward to testing this 22. I did have a chance to hold one at the local LGS and it felt very good in the hand. Have to say at this point it is batting a A plus.

Last edited by Carl the Floor Walker; June 26, 2019 at 01:11 AM.
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Old June 26, 2019, 10:00 AM   #22
wingman
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My Spectrum has been excellent, accurate very little recoil, small green dot of paint on front sight does wonders, limp wristing and not cleaning firing pin channel is the big problem with this small pistol. First box of ammo I found trigger to be rough however
after 400-500 rounds that has become more smooth.
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Old June 26, 2019, 10:52 PM   #23
Mosin44az
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If you have a Taurus, better hope you never need any help from them. I’ve been waiting 3 weeks plus for a side plate screw, still no word....
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Old July 22, 2019, 09:55 PM   #24
steve_kyle
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Taurus makes great stuff at a solid price point. But their customer service isn't exactly the stuff of legends...

That being said, my TX22 is fantastic!
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Old July 23, 2019, 06:44 AM   #25
OhioGuy
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Thanks for the review on the Spectrum. I was going to buy one for $250, when I found a Beretta Pico for $220. The Pico definitely had the better trigger and a decent set of sights. Oddly enough my first 100 rounds had failures to feed exactly as you've described here. They eventually went away, I guess it "broke in." Occasionally when I'm racking a first round, the slide will stop just short of fully into battery -- for a second -- and then go into battery. I haven't seen that happen in live fire.

I don't think feeding issues are uncommon with pocket guns. That fact makes me nervous sometimes. If "pocket revolvers" actually fit in pockets, I'm sure I'd be carrying one of those for the reliability aspect. Plus I'd feel much more like Dirty Harry!
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