Looking At a Potential Carry Piece…

Ya know, you could always just forget the whole thing and buy an MP-5. Sure, it’s not as concealable, but imagine the looks you’ll get!

I like mine, but again it’s a 3rd gen PT-145 pro. Makes a BIG difference.The 3rd gen “pretty much always SA” trigger is fine.The finish on the chamber/rifling is a little rough but fine for a sub $300 gun, and it shoots just fine. I load mine up with just a little over +p 185 grain handloads and it never fails to hit what I’m aiming at.

I have two in .45, one DAO and the other SA/DA “single action with restrike capability” (2nd and 3rd generation respectively). Both have been reliable through hundreds and hundreds of rounds (have shot over 400 rounds in a single session with no issues), and I really like them a lot.Taurus customer service doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy vibe, however. So, the gun is a really good one(if you don’t get a lemon), but if you do have an issue, have a spare pistol handy and be prepared to w a i t…

I need to recheck if bazooka is still illegal to tote and around and use in the US.Apparently the ATF gets pretty rowdy when you want to carry an anti-armor piece. Also, I’m not going to tell you how I’m going to conceal it.

“<>Apparently the ATF gets pretty rowdy when you want to carry an anti-armor piece. Also, I’m not going to tell you how I’m going to conceal it.<>“Thunderwear…

See if they’ll let you shoot it first. Short of a woman, there is NOTHING that is more specific to a man’s individual tastes than a handgun. No one can pick a handgun for another person, and expect to find the right gun, outside of a complete fluke. Hell, my boy LawDog loves this heavy-triggered old Ruger .357 that I would only carry on a dare, or if ordered to. And I trust LD’s opinions on things. (Except, possibly, trigger jobs. )It’s all about individual tastes.

One thing to watch is that I have heard a number of complaints about the issues with the firing pin.Personally it felt like a log in my hand, and wouldn’t be one that I would pick. Seriously I would get it checked by a gunsmith before parting with that hard earned cash

Make sure it is something you can easily conceal. Nothing is more embarrassing then sitting down in a nice pizza parlor with your family, to find every other customer giving you a cold look. You look down to see you pistol is sticking out from under your shirt. It is right up there with walking around with your fly open, exempt no one calls the police when your fly is down. Well, they may if your not wearing any underwoos, but they normally don’t.The .45 is a good caliber, but I am willing to trade a heavy bullet for something easy to conceal. I used to hate .380 short, until a friend pointed out you don’t need a round that lands a block away after passing through your target, just so long as it passes through.

AD:Personally, I have not been a fan of the Taurus product line since the 1980′s when I saw some very shoddy work by them. Things may, and probably have changed since then, but I’ve noticed already a couple of QC comments. It may be worth some consideration on your part.It depends on how much you’re willing to spend for the weapon. If price is not a barrier – then I would consider Sig first, HK next then Colt/S&W/Glock. (However the last Sig I played with was a top eject and I kept getting pinged in the center of my forehead with a spent casing – about twice per magazine.)If price is an issue, certainly take the weapon out and put several hundred rounds through it before you purchase it. If the seller won’t let you do that, then walk away.Just my thoughts…take or leave as appropriate.

If it fits you well, you like the price, etc, go for it. MOST of the Taurus Milleniums I have sent across the counter have been good guns. The exception to this was a Lightweight in 9mm that kept breaking pins in the slide assembly. Two trips to Taurus, and it still didn’t work. The owner wound up dumping it. Have not had any problems with the later generation guns. YMMVAs to some other points raised, (for example, shoot before you buy), however, as a counter guy and gunsmith in a range/gunstore, here are a few things to consider.1. If I have a new gun in the counter, you are <>NOT<> going to be firing it until I have cash in my hand a 4473 cleared. If I let you go out on the range and put a hundred rounds through it, and you decide you don’t want it? I have a used gun on my hands now, that I will never get a new price for. Cleaning it doesn’t matter, I can look at most firearms and tell you about how much they have been fired, no matter how well you clean it afterwards. If I can tell, so might the next guy that wants to buy it.New gun, and you wanna shoot it? Put your money down.2. Used gun? Now, this is a different story. If you want to put a mag or two, or a cylinder or two, through it, it’ll happen. Hell, I’ll probably lay the ammo on you. But you had better be serious about it, or it might not happen too many times.3. But what if it breaks? This may sound hard-assed, but, guns break. This is the very reason I give you free range time, targets, and all the rest of the goodies the day you buy it. So you can go out on the range and shoot it. If there is a problem with it, tell me that day, right then. I will fix it, or arrange to have it fixed for you. Believe it or not, we make it a policy to take care of our customers. But if you come back two months later, complaining that something broke on it the day you bought it, and you didn’t tell us then, and now you are all pissed off and want your money back? Don’t expect much sympathy. 3. Consignment guns. Unless the owner of the piece is standing there beside you saying that “Yes, this is cool with me!”, again, it is not happening. That is not my property, and I am not taking chances with it. I have checked it over when it came in, and found nothing out of sorts with it, which is how it wound up in the case. But it is still my responsibility to the owner of it to keep it in the condition in which it was in when he or she walked in the door with it.Sorry, you are not shooting it. The same thing applies as above, you will still get the range time and targets, and I will still help you out on fixing any problems it has. If you tell me right then and there, right after your range session, that there is a problem with it.4. Now, you want to shoot a particular gun I have in the counter, but all I have are new ones. That is what those forty-some guns hanging on hooks on the wall are all about. Those are rentals. Tell me what you are looking for/at, and I might just have one hanging up there in plain sight for you to try. Try it out, pay for the ammo, put some rounds downrange. If you like the way that Glock 19 or Smith M&P9 feel in your hand, and you buy one… Gee, rental fee? What rental fee? Range fee? What’s that? Targets? Did you use targets?Now, some commenters are going to think I sound like total hard-nosed a$$hole about some of this. Sorry folks, if that is how you feel about it, but that is the way it is. Buying from an individual, (assuming it is legal in your state), you might be able to “put several hundred rounds though it” before you buy it. But not in a store, unless you and the owner (or the manager/counter people), are REALLY good friends. Just the way it is, peeps.As far as the Taurus goes, AD? If the money is right, go for it. If you can pull the trigger on it first, even better.I have previously owned several of them, still have one or two around, and other than a weak trigger return spring in one of the (early 80′s) revolvers, have not had any problems with them.Just see how it fits you, and if you like it, go for it!

If you are wanting the pistol for a concealed carry pistol you may prefer one that has a single stack magazine. The width of the grip on double stacks often times makes them more difficult to conceal especially in warmer weather. I am required to carry an H&K USP .45 on duty. It’s a good gun and I like it but it is like trying to conceal a brick. Off duty I carry a full size Kimber 1911 in a Milt Sparks Versa Max II IWB Holster in the summer. The manual of arms is very similiar to the H&K and I can carry the 1911 wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and none has a clue that I have it. The holster is so comfortable sometimes I forget that I have it on.A friend of mine recently purchased a Taurus 1911 for about $500. I haven’t shot it but he likes it fine. It is about half the price of the Kimber. I’m saving up for a Wilson Comabt CQB. They are about $2000. They’ll build it the way you want it. They make a great family heirloom. It’ll be my gun till I’m gone and then my daughter will have it.

Had one. GAVE it away. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it, as I didn’t want to take someone’s money for that POS. Every time I fired it the magazine dropped about a half-inch. I wasn’t hitting the release, different mags had the same problem. I’m sure there was a cure. My temporary one was to curl a finger underneath to keep everything seated.Additionally, the center of mass is kinda strange – the barrel is so short that the weight of the ammo wants to pull the weapon out of the holster.

“sir guido” makes a couple of good points. I’d never ask to fire a new gun. Used ones OTOH aren’t usually under factory warranty, so I think I have the right to be sure it works. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t serious, as I think was clear.The Rental guns OTOH are a great way to try a bunch of different stuff and decide what you like.Shooting a used “for sale” gun is not a “let’s see if I like this” proposition. It’s a “let’s be sure this thing works before I buy it” proposition. I’ve almost a gun I didn’t like in exactly that way. Shooting it was no fun, but it worked flawlessly, and I wasn’t about to wreck my reputation with said dealer by reneiging. After completing the transaction and cleaning the pistol, I asked him to sell it for me on consignment. He looked at me like I was nuts — I probably was — but understood I was a man of my word. Priceless, that…He talked me into keeping it to see if it grew on me — it didn’t. Sold it to a friend and broke even.DD