Editor’s Note: This article was written by Dan.
I have noticed an increase in the number of officers using/shooing the 1911 style pistol lately. I have used a Glock for my entire law enforcement career, but have been fascinated with the cult-like following of the 1911. I think somebody slipped me some Kool-aid, because at this past SHOT Show, I went in search of a 1911.
If you are in search of a new gun, the SHOT Show is the place to look. I met one of my retired SF friends there and we made our way through the “Disneyland of Guns”. He had a friend who worked at Taurus so we stopped by the booth. I mentioned my search for a 1911 and ha directed me over to their table to show me their new 1911 offering.
Initial Impressions
My initial impression was that it looked like Taurus was getting into the custom 1911 market. This pistol had several custom features that I found out were standard. Some of these features included:
- Heinie Straight Eight sights
- Checkered 30-lpi trigger guard, mainspring housing, and frontstrap
- Ambidextrous safety
- Beavertail grip safety with memory pad
- Target Hammer
- Skeleton trigger
- Polished throat and feedramp
- Lowered and flared ejection port
- Custom internal extractor
- Extended magazine release
- Beveled magazine well
The typical cost for these features is about $1600.00, depending n who did the work. I figured that the price of the gun would reflect this, but was surprised to find out that retail price was around $550.00. I spoke with Matt Joyner who is in charge of Law Enforcement sales to see if I could get one for T&E (Testing and Evaluation). The gun arrived shortly after the SHOT Show.
Shooting
A great looking gun is nice, but if it doesn’t shoot well it is worthless in my opinion. I loaned the gun to my Rangemaster who had some qualifications to run and asked him to put it through the paces. I knew that the gun was a keeper when I asked him how the gun functioned and he said “What gun? You don’t need that back do you?” He said that it shot a ragged 8 round hole at 15 yards. He shot about 500 rounds through it after that doing various drills and the gun functioned flawlessly. He told me that he wanted to buy it and that the 2 other guys who were out there with him wanted one also. He has since put several hundred more rounds through it with zero malfunctions. I called Matt immediately to arrange the purchase of the pistols.
Final Thoughts
As everyone knows I am a Glock guy. However, I can still recognize a good gun when I see one. I can honestly recommend this pistol without any reservations. That is why I bought one. The gun works, period. The fact that it has numerous custom features that come standard is an added bonus especially when you consider the price. The lifetime warranty is pretty cool too.
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I have been carrying a PT1911 for about 8 months now and I love mine. There was a significant increase in weight from the Glock 23 that I was issued, and a significant loss in ammunition with the eight round magazines (which I have remedied by carrying two more magazines) but I haven’t been this happy with a pistol in a long time. It feels solid in my hand, shoots straight and true with the Heinie sights, and there is just a sense that when people see you have a pistol in the holster “cocked and locked”, they know you mean business. It’s the best shooting pistol I’ve carried since I was issued a Sig-Sauer P229. And I was able to get mine from a dealer locally for under $300 after trading another pistol for it. I would recommend to anyone this as a viable 45 caliber solution.