Mike1951 wrote:Just a few notes to go along with the praise I've been posting.
The black finish rusts very easily. This is not really a problem for me, since sooner or later, I plan on getting both of mine done in Black-T.
But, until then, extra care will be required.
If you decide to change grips, you will need to buy a set of grip screws.
The heads on the Taurus screws are too large to fit other grips.
On one of mine, removing the ambi safety for disassembly was extremely difficult. Once I successfully removed the grip safety from the other PT1911 and could see how it was made, I had the courage to force the stubborn one. The right side should come out with jiggling and tugging. I eventually gained enough clearance to get a flat bladed screwdriver with a business card folded around it underneath and pried it loose. It should not require that and I suggest long periods of tugging before going that route. Position of the safety did not seem to matter for the right side. Once the right side is removed, the left side removes as a normal safety from the position between off and on.
From what I could tell after disassembly, Taurus looks to have changed the shape of the Series 80 parts enough to claim that it's not Series 80. But I would say the function is the same.
The Series 80 system is pretty much a non-issue.
The disassembly problem shouldn't reoccur and the grip screws is a one time thing.
The finish won't bother anyone who goes shooting and then thoroughly cleans the gun. It might be an issue for a carry gun, where it is handled a lot and not cleaned as often.
I still think the PT1911's are an excellent bargain and recommend them.
Thanks for the breakdown report...
You just bullet pointed just about everything I saw in my cursory inspection that last weekend...Since I didn't get a chance to field strip it
This nagging little voice in my head told me there had to be something funky in there that would get someones attention...
But then again, nothing I have heard is a show stopper on this pistol...
- New grips and screws (cosmetic)
- New finish depending on the intended use...
And boom, you may have a pretty good firearm there...
I'd almost see if there was anything that could be done to tighten it up even more tolerance-wise, maybe even a trigger job???
Who knows...
With how fast this thing is getting attention, should be fun to check out...