709 Slim Feed Issues

[SurrealBullet]

Hey everyone,

Got my 709 a couple months ago, and the first thing I noticed when I field stripped it was the rail guides on the frame already had the bluing chipping off, the barrel in some of the crevices had some bluing on it, and the top of the barrel had a wear line down the middle of it where the slide rubs it. After that I thought to myself what piece of crap did I just buy. My first gun was a SIG P229 Elite 9mm so I have to say I had high expectations for quality and my second was a M&P 9mm which also has impressive quality. After cleaning it up I took it to the range and immediately had feeding issues. The round would get jammed on the feed ramp. It normally happened on the first our second round so I attributed this to the magazine spring being too tight and needing some break in. After 150 or so rounds it got worse though. It seems all though the feed ramp is very polished it gets very dirty causing the rounds to not slide up very well. I've used Walmart Federal, PMC and Blazer and all have the problem. What I also noticed is that after I chamber a round, if I pull out the magazine the next round is always moved out by a few mm which I'm sure is contributing to the feed ramp issue. Lastly, 3 out of 5 times when the last round is fired, the slide does not lock back.I was again attributing this to possibly a tight spring on the slide and hoped it would go away after a few times to the range.

All in all I've put 500 rnds through it. The last time I was at the range I put 100 rnds through it and while it was a little better than the first two times it still had all these issues.

Did I get one of the bad ones? Should I send it in for service? At this point I do not have confidence in this weapon to use as my CCW.

[olfarhors]

well only YOU can answer the question "should i return it for repair"
if you are content with the function of the weapon then its good to go, if not then you need to do something, and certainly returning it for repair/service is a viable option.
personally every weapon that i own functions 100% (including my 22 plinker pistols) but hey thats me.
I no longer own a 709 but did and must say my particualr pistol was 120% reliable on every round that i ever put in it, including some 8-10 different manufactures and 5-6 different projectile types including hollow points.
there were things that i did Not like about the 709 but reliability ceratinly wasn't one of them.
rails, slides, barrels wearing is simply a part of an automatic seating itself together, every auto that i have has some matching wear somewhere on it.
BY the way welcome to the forum.

[whodog]

Welcome from N Carolina!!!

Was your gun new when you got it?

[Guineabear]

I have a new 709 and have had no feed failures in 200 rounds...Mostly Federal. I have 3 failures to fire, which I attribute to the ammunition, since none of those 3 would fire with the 2nd and 3rd double action hit. Still want to run another few hundred rounds through it before I'll be comfortable carrying it.

Sounds like you have different problems and I would consider returning it to Miami.

Good luck

[JerryMac]

welcome to the forum, i suggest with that many rounds n still having issues, i would personally return it, i have not had to use the taurus warranty but hear they are great and easy to work with, but sounds to me like it needs to go back, i want one that shoots every time, period.

[SurrealBullet]

@WHODOG Yes, it was a new purchase.

Thanks for the warm greetings and for the input. I'll look into sending it for repair and report back the experience.

[jbtty]

no matter what you have with it. Taurus will make it better.

[bytexas]

Surreal -
I have exactly the same problem with my 709 since I purchased it new four months ago. I mormally shoot (for range ammo) Winchester 115 gr white box and Hornady Critical Defense and every session was the same - jams on the feed ramp exactly as you described every 3 or 4 rounds. This is not my first Taurus - my 2 24-7's function flawlessly. This has been very perplexing as I have tried everything I can think of to change my grip, etc.

This week, however, as a last gasp before I send it to Taurus, I tried Remington 115gr ammo and have had no problems at all. I've now shot about 400 rds of that without incident. Also, I shot a box of Federal Guard Dog 105 gr through it with no problems. I'm going to keep monitoring it and I may yet send it off, but for now I'm going to use the ammo that appears to work.

Having talked to a few gunsmiths about this, they seem to think it might just be a case of how the gun tolerates certain ammo.

Keep us posted.

[Chuck500]

Welcome to the forum.

While certainly no expert, sounds like sending it in for repair may be warranted (pun intended).

Your experience is almost the exact opposite of mine with the 709. I bought it because of the size and look (yes, I know). After well over 1,000 rounds, maybe close to 2, I have had two miss fires and one failure to feed. The FTF was due to not seating the magazine fully during a reloading exercise in a tactical pistol course. Mostly I shoot Federal or Winchester ball ammo.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[CTHUNTER]

I had no issues when I had the 9mm. And none with the .40