[Cimarron]

My PT 1911 arrived this afternoon, and for the last several hours I have been studying it and arriving at some opinions.

First, I am surprised that I liked the Big Billboard as well as I do. My intent is to cover it over with H&K semi gloss black, but it is more because of the durability issues with the current bluing. I am also surprised at the fit and finish of the gun. It is tight without barrel wobble. There are no exterior tool markings. I would have been delighted to have seen the deep satin black of my FN Hi-Power, but this will beg the issue of duracoating.

I field-stripped the gun several times and I'm surprised how handy the bushing tool is in handling the FLGR (full length guide rod). I have begun to personalize the gun by polishing the barrel. I intend to highlight the frame and accessories by taking them to bright metal and either clear coating, or cover it with stainless steel duracoating. I ultimately want a gun that is close the this...

I removed the grips and found the shipping oil had pervaded everything. The grips were easy to remove with the correct hex head driver (the hex wrench is for the removal of the rear sight only), the grip bushings were in place and had the double notch to allow a screw driver to remove them if you wanted to use stainless. The black plastic grips are an interesting element... they look tacky, but these thin grips would make for a small package for concealed carry. I would not have considered the thin wood grips (I have ordered a set of Packmyer ALS grips), but after handling it with the plastic... it would be a definite consideration.

I even removed the right ambi safety, it required removing the right grip and a thin bladed knife for leverage. Detail stripping the gun will be an easy task. There is a posting in the smithing section http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/index.php?topic=1775.0 on the details... hopefully I'll be able to add pictures with that now.

The gun felt tight... no barrel shake when I waggled it with my hand. The trigger felt good... had to guesstimate, however I'll be surprised that it was over 4-5 lbs. This can be taken down with some polishing of the sear and disconnector... and lightening the spring just a tad.

It is a good looking gun, feels solid in my hand and definitely a keeper. This gun begs you to put a bit of yourself into it with the
action, coloring... and "bling" that has become so popular.

I'll post picture tomorrow when I can take it out to shoot...

 

[flgunner]

Re: PT1911 First Report

Now that you have one in hand, any further comments on moving the rear sight?

 

[Cimarron]

Re: PT1911 First Report

OK... took the gun to the field this morning. Ran about 250 rounds through it... a mix of hard ball, 230 gr Jacketed Hollow Points, 230 gr lead semi-wad cutter... very flat pointed as you can see in the pictures, and 185 gr LSWC. The gun feed with no problems.

It almost sounds inappropriate, but there was nothing extraordinary about shooting the gun. Everything worked like it should and it was a blast. This isn't my first 1911 so I pretty much expected that things would run normally, so I was looking for any babbles or unusual events... there was none.

The most pointed item to note was that at 10 yards the sights were dead on...

And the gun groups very well! These were all shot with 2-3 clips of ammo... or until shooting at the same point of aim, there was nothing to show... only a large ragged hole!

I have listened to the "nay-sayers" about the gun... and have nothing to fuel any fires of discontent.

• The trigger is crisp and about 5 lbs but that can be enhanced with a little polishing of bearing surfaces... the on the sear, but the disconnecter and the trigger bow
  
• The gun is tight and it is reflected in the grouping
  
• I actually am starting to like the thin grips... perhaps not the black plastic, but something to my tastes in thin grips... I'll know better after I get the Packmyer ALS grips and try them out. I always liked the Hogue wrap around grips, but I wanted something more colorful on this gun.
  
• The reliability is a presumed issue... any good 1911 should feed what you can stuff in the clip... it is only when it won't that there is a point to note.
  
• The gun will get an adjustable rear sight. The straight 8 sights would be great if this were a carry gun, but I have a PT145 that is lighter and carries more ammo for that task. This gun will be a target gun and should have sights that can be tuned
  
• I'm not sure about the rest of the upgrades. I bought it with the intention to keep me busy with the "bling" effects to the gun, but it is pretty impressive just as it is!
  

One guy said... this is a great gun for the money... But in reality this is a great gun!

 

[Qwiks draw]

This test might deserve a sticky as we have other tests, but no such in depth reporting ,as this with pictures no less.