[egumpher]

Hello,

I purchased a Taurus TCP 738 .380 a couple months ago and recently made a few small refinements that help the little pistol cycle much better.

Admittedly, I’m a tried and true 1911 guy and know very well how to make a 1911 hum so I decided to try a few small improvements to the “clunky” TCP .

I broke the sharp corner of the MIM extractor claw that was digging into my ammo case bevels:

I rounded off the sharp corner on the back of the slide stop lever to remove the offending metal that interfered with ammo as it cycled from the magazine into the barrel.

I polished down all the heavy tool mark on the barrel that dragged across the slide as the slide cycled.

These three small improvements transformed a clunky little pistol into a smooth cycling kitten.

Best regards
Eric

 

[jwc007]

Very interesting! Thanx for posting this info!

 

[GreenWolf70]

Now, I'll have to go back and look at my 738. Nice work Egumpher.

 

[egumpher]

Hello and thank you for the kind words.....

The slide stop and extractor mods make the biggest difference. To be honest, the extractor mod is an old 1911 trick but the slide stop mod is a true TCP only enhancement.

Rgds
Eric

 

[GreenWolf70]

I went back and looked at my 738 and your first two mods will be performed on my 738 soon. Also, I think you have addressed something that has been bothering me for a while. Some folks are reporting that their Loaded Chamber Indicator (LCI) is not working, but they are experiencing no extractor issues. It may be that the extractor is holding the round slightly off the breech face thus not engaging the LCI. Your second mod to the slide release may also address some ammo feed issues that are being reported.

Taurus should probably add this mod to any 738's coming back for LCI, extractor or feed issues.

Suggest the Forum Moderator make this a stickie.

 

[egumpher]

It may be that the extractor is holding the round slightly off the breech face

Hello,

Having the case not sit flush with the breech face will also promote light primer strikes because the firing pin needs to travel beyond its normal travel. This condition might contribute to the failure to fire that some TCP experience.

Rgds
Eric

 

[Redleg72]

Eric,
Man...I wish you had posted this a few weeks ago! I recently sent my TCP back to Florida with extractor issues and I wonder if these mods could have solved my issues (FTE spent casing and next round in magazine becoming stuck). In any event...how did you "brake" off the parts? Did you have to disassemble the extractor? Did you use a Dremel or hand files, etc? Thanks for sharing this info with us!
Ian

 

[egumpher]

Hello,

I used my jewelers files and Arkansas stones for both the extractor and slide stop while both were still installed in the slide.

And a little TLC............

Rgds
Eric

 

[Redleg72]

Thanks Eric. Hopefully I will not need to do this when the pistol returns from Florida...but I will keep this in mind in case I still have issues.

 

[GreenWolf70]

Well, took my 738 apart to go over it with these mods. My barrel doesn't have any machine marks on it so I didn't feel a need to polish it. I looked at the slide and it looks like the edges were broken when they put it together, but I buffed it with a small felt wheel and jeweler's rouge on the lower edge where it had been filed. Then I looked at the slide release and ran my magazines through it to see how they were mating up and decided to only knock off the top edges and leave the lower side where it contacts the mag follower alone (I wanted to leave as much contact area as possible so the slide locks back when empty) and then buffed the it with the felt wheel.

Actually, I feel pretty good about my 738, after looking at it in terms of these mods, as I realize that the gunsmith who built it spent some time with it and did a good job.

 

[MilProGuy]

Thank you for the tips!

 

[james]

Good Post! Thanks

 

[egumpher]

Hello again,

I was asked ever so kindly to share some more things I did to enhance the feeding/cycling reliability of my TCP.

All of the refinements shown below are 1911 refinements that reduce or minimize drag, friction or possible interference with chambering a round into battery.

I Polished the disconnector rail. Note that the TCP doesn't have a 1911 disconnector but rather this rail cocks the hammer only. It is important to make this surface as smooth as possible because not only does it drag across the hammer but it also drags across the next round in the magazine. Too much friction here can possibly pull the next round in the magazine forward and allow the feedlip of the magazine to loose control of the round.

Next I broke the sharp corners that transition the cartridge from the magazine to the breech face. The goal here is to eliminate any interference that may rob recoil spring energy and interfere with chambering ammo.

Then I polished the top of the barrel chamber to allow ammo to slide easily into the chamber:

Lastly I polished the breech face to allow the case rim to slide easily into position to allow the bullet to fully chamber. This also allows full case rim contact with the breech face so that all of the chamber pressure pushes the case back on the breech face, thus pushing the slide out of battery after the round has fired:

That's about it.....

Enjoy
Eric

 

[chicharrones]

Great photos and tips! :thumb:

 

[camaro*73]

Very nice tip's and photo's. Thank you very much! ;D

 

[egumpher]

Well, took my 738 apart to go over it with these mods.......... Then I looked at the slide release and ran my magazines through it to see how they were mating up and decided to only knock off the top edges and leave the lower side where it contacts the mag follower alone (I wanted to leave as much contact area as possible so the slide locks back when empty) and then buffed the it with the felt wheel.

Hello,

The tell tale sign that the slide stop is a problem is brass shavings in the mag well or around the slide stop. A dirty pistol tells many tales ....look for brass shaving after your next trip to the range....hand cycling isn't the same as shooting....my particular TCP had chunks of brass around the slide stop.....

Rgds
Eric

 

[GreenWolf70]

I didn't have any brass shavings in the receiver. But I went ahead and broke the top edges of the slide stop and then buffed it. The other stuff you posted I had already performed when I dehorned the slide. Still these are good tips. Glad to see the mods made this a stickie.

 

[egumpher]

Hello,

Just in case anyone was worried about rounding off the slide stop like I did. Here is a picture that shows the results. I personally think that the rounded corner is better than the factory square corner......I guess that this is obvious because I did the work ;D

Rgds
Eric

 

[andylibby]

Eric, I am a bit surprised you didn't mention polishing the feed ramp which is one thing mine needed and I did it with noticeable positive results.

I will follow your advice and directions on the other enhancements.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Gord]

Hi,

Can you elaborate on reshaping the extractor? It's a little hard to tell what exactly you did - as I'm reading (and seeing) it, it looks to me like you beveled the bottom corner at a ~45* angle?