Congrats on your new pistol!

As with all new Taurus guns, clean it, clean it, clean it! Including inside the magazine.

 

Congratulations on your new PH. Seems like a simple change in ammunition choice may lead to more dependability and less feed issues. There are a large number of Firearms that doesn't card for the brand of inexpensive ammunition.

As for extra magazines, give it time for production to catch up with the market demand. Not to mention, Taurus is known for creating a shortage of magazines that fit their own products.

Given that Taurus now only gives a one year warranty on new models i would focus more on the feed issues than magazines first.

 

I think that you are the first verified TH9 owner ( well, you'll be verified when you post some PICS of that TH9...at any rate ) on the forum. Some of us have been thinking that they were vaporware!

Where was it made, btw? Brazil?

 

Yeah, they are not vaporware and are being made in Brazil and marked Taurus SA on the left side with Taurus Miami as the importer mark on the right. I think I snagged the last one grabagun in Texas had.

 

OK, here's my experience and impression:

Pros:
The grip is comfortable, this is actually the first poly pistol I have liked the grip on. Haven't played around with the thin and fat backstraps but I don't think I'll need to.
The texturing is aggressive but not abrasive.
The slide requires no unusual effort to cycle. It's actually really nice and smooth (once I wiped the rails down).
Its fit & finish are good with one exception, the mag release (see below).
The trigger is actually good. I'm giddy that a $300 Taurus has a trigger this nice. Probably the closest similarity I could draw to this trigger would be a new Beretta M9 with less slack.
It's a hammer fired full size SA/DA with a rail, frame mounted safety/decocker for under $300.
The mags are Mec-Gars. Never had a problem with their mags.

Cons:
The thing was dirty as heck out of the box. I mean dirt. Not powder residue, but it looks like after they got through test firing someone took it to the beach. It's obvious Brazilians still don't know how to clean pistols.
The "ambi" magazine release is horribly sticky out of the box. I've been inserting and releasing mags to help it break in but as of now it works fine from the right side. The left side? Not so much. I may actually disassemble it and see if I can find any dirt hiding in there (I'm willing to bet this pistol went to Carnival and woke up drunk and naked on the beach).
The guide rod is plastic. Plastic. Not even aluminum, and looking at it and the spring setup I know it ain't going to last. I'm currently researching if another model is compatible otherwise I'll either have to wait for aftermarket ones to come out or find a machine shop willing to take on the task.
The manual is horrible. As in worse than Chinese AK manuals. It's got 10x more warnings than actual useful information and instructions. Obviously made to cover their corporate backsides.
It's a Taurus. That means crappy customer service (Here HK, hold my beer) and hard to find spare mags and parts. I went into this fully knowing that.

I now have 150 rounds of Remington UMC 115g FMJ through it, which is the cheapest brass cased 9mm we can get around here. The sights were dead on from the factory and nailing a coke can @ 15 yards is easy. One concern I have is the plastic/poly/whatever guide rod is already showing more wear than I like. Hopefully we'll get some aftermarket guide rods. If it breaks I ain't sending it off for a year+ (I had a PT-92 that I didn't see for 9 months once).

Using the realization I was buying a $300 (after shipping) Taurus it's not that bad. This pistol has such great potential, I mean with a few minor upgrades this pistol could be an XD and even a Glock killer. If Taurus will step up to the plate and up their customer service game they have a serious entry level contender here. I ain't holding my breath.

 

Just a note, first thanks for the review.
I personally wouldn't be to concerned with a poly guide rod myself.
of course a lot depends on the quality of the poly that its made from.
but a lot of new weapons have gone to poly guide rods.
all my CZ I believe have poly guide rods and several are at the plus 7-K , plus 5 -K and so on rounds trouble free.
I think it has pretty much been proven that the choice of poly, aluminum. steel guide rods are a personal opinion/ thought process , much like guide rods in 1911, GI, Full Length, different metal alloys etc.
also It would be interesting to know IF taurus actually test fired the weapon?
to my knowledge this isn't a normal process for them.
wish you luck with your new bull.

 

Yes it had been test fired, and honestly it looks like they used more than a round or two with the amount of residue left in it. If I recall correctly both of my PT-92s were dirty when I got them as well but that's been over a decade ago.

 

Thanks for the excellent review! Well written.

 

Just an update, it's got about 300 rounds through it, a combo of the above mentioned Rem UMC FMJ and some cheap PMC JHP. No feeding problems and it looks like it is wearing in fine. I figured it was time for a full cleaning. Not a problem but I did find that the firing pin has been a bit redesigned since the 809, it has a different profile (more beefy) and the addition of a "sand grove" in the middle. The firing pin spring is also smaller. The firing pin retaining plate is different as well, and has 4 slightly raised dots that form one heckuva interference fit. Like most first time tear downs I had to use a punch and hammer to get it out. Surprisingly there wasn't a lot of anything in there, even carbon. The firing pin block spring seems a little small to me, I expected something a little more. The presence of those dots did require the use of a small punch to get the plate fully seated.

I'm not really impressed by the quality of the springs (reminder: it's a $300 pistol). I think they are adequate, but I expect to have to respring the slide if I keep this thing.

 

Do you like using the dirtiest 9mm ammo on the planet? Because that's what UMC is (Unbelievable Mounds of Carbon). You can buy high quality Sellier & Bellot for less than what UMC costs:

https://www.outdoorlimited.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=sb9a

 

Do you like using the dirtiest 9mm ammo on the planet? Because that's what UMC is (Unbelievable Mounds of Carbon). You can buy high quality Sellier & Bellot for less than what UMC costs

For break in I use it because it's cheap (I get it for 9.99 a box after tax), crap ammo,and locally available. The reason for the UMC is because it's by nature iffy. If a pistol will consistently feed it then I'm happy. Normally I run 124g Hornady XTP for JHP and Win 124g white box for FMJ.

 

Another new owner. Haven't had an opportunity to fire it yet.

 

Congrats on the new pistol, and welcome to the best gun forum on the net.

 

Looks like a decent pistol. Is the similar striker fired TS9 coming to the good ol USA?

 

Tip: Magazines for the 809 fit perfectly.