Range Report: Taurus Slim PT709 9mm

[BlueEagle]

Recently, a friend of mine purchased her first handgun. We narrowed down a lot of criteria, compared a lot of models, let her handle a lot of different guns, and she finally fell in love with the Taurus Slim.

I know there are plenty of Taurus haters out there, but I've owned 5 or 6 of them, mostly autos, with no issues at all, and I have several friends that can tell a similar story, so I wasn't too worried about her getting a lemon or anything.

Anyway, we went up to my local shop, and they cut her a nice deal; Taurus Slim in 9mm with 1 mag and no box for $299. It was some sort of special from one of their suppliers, hence the 1 mag and no box; but the price was right.

So she got it, and I went ahead and made her a holster for it, (IWB, similar to Supertuck.)

We just took it to the range yesterday, and she is quite pleased with it. At 7 yards, (she is a fairly new shooter, so I kept it close,) she was able to put all 28 from 4 magazines into the torso of a standard silhouette with no issues. I put about 2 mags through it; it was hitting a couple inches low and left, but I managed to get my 14 grouped into an area about the size of my fist, with one flier a couple of inches out.

It doesn't like Winchester White Box, (which I expected; the complaints I see about it all online typically mention that.) It does however, run flawlessly with the Remington green and white box FMJs, and with Sellier and Bellot (sp?) FMJs. Also tested a box of Hornady Critical Defense rounds, and they functioned flawlessly. I think the issue with the WWBs is the nose; they are very long and narrow, compared to the Remingtons and the S&Bs.

All in all, I'd say that for $300 brand new, its quite the bargain, as long as you can afford to buy a couple different kinds of ammo to make sure you feed it what it likes. She is very excited about it, and goes to take her Kentucky carry class on the 25th, I believe.

 

[Bapak2ja]

Congratulations on a great price for a new weapon. Mine shoots WWB without difficulty. Bet yours smooths out after a few more rounds.

 

[BlueEagle]

Yeah, I'm thinking that it will probably get considerably better with another 200 rounds or so. We'll give the WWB another shot then, but really its not a problem either way. Price different is something like $2 a box, so its no big deal.

Honestly, my overall impression of the gun was that of a slim, single-stacked Glock plus a safety. And I love my Glocks, (so that isn't an insult, I promise. )

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it again; and there are several "Sub-$300 auto" threads out right now, too.

 

[TankerScout]

I also have a 709 (its my cc) and yes, I had some problems with the Winchester White Box (100 rds) too. But overall I like it. Thinking about getting the 740 version (40 cal).

 

[LPMan59]

like the gun, but loathe the trigger.

 

[BlueEagle]

I didn't mind the trigger, honestly. It did have a bit of "slack" to it, but that only applies for your first shot. After that, the reset is fairly short, and once you get used to it and utilize it, it has a fairly decent trigger.

 

[wild willy]

I almost bought the same gun, and really liked it. But, went with the Ruger LC9 for the same price because of the name and they told me it was a better choice. Both guns are in the ad below.

Grice Gun Shop Shooter's Sale 2012 Catalog

 

[LPMan59]

I didn't mind the trigger, honestly. It did have a bit of "slack" to it, but that only applies for your first shot. After that, the reset is fairly short, and once you get used to it and utilize it, it has a fairly decent trigger.

i agree, the trigger is ok once you are familiar with it. but then again, i thought that about the dreaded S&W Sigma.

 

[Plisken]

Thaks for the range report. Im looking into buying that same pistol for summer carry. Along with a sprigfield xdm 3.8 for other dutys. How does the slim handle in the recoil department could you compare it to something different other types of guns.

 

[swmp9jrm]

My brother has two PF-9's that I've shot quite often. My 709 is MUCH less harsh to shoot. No problem with putting a couple of boxes through it on a range trip. It used to be my carry gun, but is now the lighter clothes alternate to my PT-145. The 709 has close to 2,000 rounds through it and has not had any significant issue. It shoots pretty much anything at this point.

 

[BlueEagle]

Thaks for the range report. Im looking into buying that same pistol for summer carry. Along with a sprigfield xdm 3.8 for other dutys. How does the slim handle in the recoil department could you compare it to something different other types of guns.

I did not shoot it a whole lot, but I honestly did not feel a lot of difference in the recoil between it and my 9mm Glocks. And Catielynnb, (the owner of that gun,) shot it a lot more than me. She is fairly new to firearms, and did not complain about any undue recoil.

 

[catielynnb]

Hey! You're talking about me and my little pistol.

After standing outside and letting my fingers get numb due to the cold I was a horrible shot (and lack of skill), and my hand did get a little ache-y right towards the end and I just couldn't shoot anymore.

Taking into consideration that fact that I've only shot a handful of BlueEagle's when I've been up to visit I'm very pleased with this one. It did take a few shots to get used to the trigger but I like it. Best thing about it for me, is it's small and fits perfectly in my hands. The recoil isn't to strong, although the cold didn't help with my grip...

And yes, CCW class is the 25th, just means I can't fill out and turn in all the paperwork and money until I get back from Illinois... Thank goodness I'm going before I get my license.

 

[catielynnb]

For a girl to carry it and handle the recoil, they'd need to have strong hands.

It wasn't uncomfortable to me and I think part of my strength comes from the martial arts I've done for several years. I've been able to work on my grip and overall strength there...