TCP 738 reliability enhancements

[44wcf]

I believe that the lip you are describing may be the loaded chamber indicator. (I can't see that indicater extended out the side of the slide) It normally would be moved outside during cycling. I also have noticed that the lip at the rear gets marked or chewed up. I believe this is from the extractor moving forward over the lip during cycling. Because of this I try not to re chamber the same round more than a couple times. Mine is a "B" serial number and hasn't let me down at all in 200 rounds. (Federal FMJ, Winchester FMJ and 20 rounds of Horniday Critical Defense)
If you haven't already read them,,, The first 2 or 3 pages of this thread have some excellent tips.

the rim of the cartridge should ride up under the extractor from below, the extractor should not be snapping over the rim.

[USN2Pulpit]

Hey everyone...thanks for this thread, but my question: wouldn't making these mods void the warranty? I understand for people experienced on working on firearms, this isn't an issue...

[GreenWolf70]

I have a heavily modded 738 that I sent back to Taurus when it had FTF issues and essentially the rep said that as long as the mod was not the cause of the breakage, they will honor the warranty. In my case, on my early "Model A", they replaced the barrel, extractor, and both magazines. My slide had those square corners rounded off, the breach face polished, a black Duracoat finish and the sights heavily modified. The barrel they replaced had the ramp, hood and chamber polished along with the top and outside of the barrel.

None of the mods in this thread should cause any warranty issues as long as you remember what people in this thread are telling you, i.e., don't change any of the angles, don't grind off any metal, only polish.

[cesarfi]

I have a heavily modded 738 that I sent back to Taurus when it had FTF issues and essentially the rep said that as long as the mod was not the cause of the breakage, they will honor the warranty. In my case, on my early "Model A", they replaced the barrel, extractor, and both magazines. My slide had those square corners rounded off, the breach face polished, a black Duracoat finish and the sights heavily modified. The barrel they replaced had the ramp, hood and chamber polished along with the top and outside of the barrel.
None of the mods in this thread should cause any warranty issues as long as you remember what people in this thread are telling you, i.e., don't change any of the angles, don't grind off any metal, only polish.

Greenwolf, i'm sending my model A to taurus as well. How is yours behaving after repairs? And could you post some pics? Im curious to see how it looks with Duracoat. I was actually considering trading my SS slide for a Blue one if i find someone willing to trade, but not sure if that's a good idea anymore, but duracoat or cerakote are good alternatives. Thanks.

[GreenWolf70]

Mine works fine, but with a new barrel I am back to sorting out what ammo it favors again. I've come full circle with my 738, from SS to black Duracoat to a distressed look and back to a sandblasted SS finish again. I used GunKote on another pistol that I finished and it is a harder finish, although it requires baking the finish, so if I did it again it would be a GunKote finish.

Here's the black finish:


Here's the distressed look:


And here's the sandblasted SS and the modded sights.

[cesarfi]

Greenwolf, it looked good with the black finish, but for what i've read about the different finish products, i think i'll leave mine alone as it is. It's been at taurus for two weeks now, can't wait for it to come back and take it to the range.
Thanks for the pics,
Cheers

[GreenWolf70]

I took the sharp corners off the slide right after I got it so I had to refinish it. That was the original reason I finished it in black. But a couple of years going every where with me, the finish took a lot of abuse. This time I just took the easy way out and sandblasted it, much easier and apparently more durable finish. I just filled the lettering with black and rubbed it down with oil after sandblasting it. It will be OK until I start modifying it again.

[1guyin10]

Thanks for the thread. Some very good information!

[cashonly]

the rim of the cartridge should ride up under the extractor from below, the extractor should not be snapping over the rim.

When I put a round in the chamber and release the slide, the extractor rides over the cartridge rim. Have to make sure I "snap" the slide from fully back to get it over. I tried filing the extractor a little as recommended, but it is still stiff.

[GreenWolf70]

I hope you mean you are inserting the magazine and then pulling back and releasing the slide. Because you should never put a round in the chamber and release the slide. It is a good way to break your extractor.