Review: Taurus PT1911 AR (Accessory Rail)

[Mr. Wolf]

Hey folks,

I've been very busy of late, but had a chance to shoot the PT1911 AR in an IPSC match today.

The first round was rather difficult. Due to the lack of practice and unfamiliarity of shooting the weapon under stressful situations, I felt like I was all thumbs. I held the 1911 like I would my XD-9 service, with my thumbs forward and slightly pointed up. This caused several accidental activation of the safety and some failure to eject. Shot ~175 rounds of 230gr @ 875 fps ammo.

The second stage was a bit better. Less malfunction but accuracy was a bit off... not due to anticipation, or the sights, but because I had to shoot through a barrel and the barrel retained the 45 ACP brass and seared some flesh.

Next stages were a joy to shoot. The added heft of the 1911 and the rail really made the big bore a pleasure to shoot. Follow ups were quick and easy to control. Getting major power factor with the 45 ACP also helped with the gamesmanship of going for a safer C zone shots on some targets while only losing 1 point vs 2 points and 10 for hitting the no-shoot if I were shooting minor power factor.

Went through ~175 rounds total and after the first 50 rounds (when I decided to put my thumb on top of the safety) zero malfunctions. No FTF, FTE or FT anything. The sights took some getting used to, but were quick and spot on.

Total round count = 600, satisfaction = total.

Cheers,

[Delija]

Originally Posted by ghettocruiser

Hmm.. I never liked the 1911s with the acc. rail. However...seeing yours with the TLR-2 mounted changes my mind. That looks pretty cool..

Yeah, I agree....I never liked the looks of the 1911s with the full length dust-cover/rail. But this short rail looks great. Pretty much the same lines as a standard (no rail) 1911. Very nice!!!

Good luck with it and happy shooting.

And that price....wow....can't beat that for a 1911 with all those bells and whistles! As far as "breakage".....I would think if anything goes, it would go pretty quickly. And the MIM stuff (which may be the more likely stuff to fail) would probably give you problems right away or not at all. And most of the MIM parts are cheap enough to replace and don't require smithing...stuff like the slide stop, hammer, even the sear if you can take the gun down beyond a field strip. Only thing I would not mess with myself would be the safety and maybe the disconnect.

Parts like the grip safety take almost zero stress, (same with the mainspring housing), so if plastic is good enough for Colt, I'd assume MIM is good enough for any gun




Peace,
D.

[charlie.45]

great gun and price..i do not like light rails on 1911's so unless it was a super good price like 300 or cheaper i'd never get it,i also do not like the ambi safety and would be going back to a stock safety..i think for that price i'd buy a SA GI and get the slide cut to fit some tfo's. and mayby depending on how accurate me and the gun are and get a match grade barrel oh and it would be a ss as well. but anyways it is a nice gun for one with a rail looks real accurate too.

[AnimalMother]

What kind of holster are you using? I am having a very hard time finding one that goes over the rail on mine

[MasLakas]

Great Post! I have a PT1911 and of all the problems I have heard of (I have had zero trouble with mine), I feel that using it for IPSC will show any manufacturing or quality issues faster than the occasional range trip.

I am considering shooting the local match this summer and have yet to decide if I should use my XD45 or 1911. I will consider what you said about your fist two stages when I go.

[Liquid Rhino]

Nice write-up, Mr. Wolf. Sounds like the PT1911 is a solid value!

[Mr. Wolf]

Originally Posted by AnimalMother

What kind of holster are you using? I am having a very hard time finding one that goes over the rail on mine

It was rather awkward, but I shot with a Blackhawk generic nylon holster in a OWB concealed carry fashion.

I've looked everywhere including comp-tac and no luck with a holster yet.

If I find a good holster that fits the PT1911-AR, I'll post it here.

Cheers,

[Mr. Wolf]

Originally Posted by MasLakas

Great Post! I have a PT1911 and of all the problems I have heard of (I have had zero trouble with mine), I feel that using it for IPSC will show any manufacturing or quality issues faster than the occasional range trip.

I am considering shooting the local match this summer and have yet to decide if I should use my XD45 or 1911. I will consider what you said about your fist two stages when I go.

Glad I could be of help. I mainly bought it because our group of friends shoot 1911s and figured that it would be neat to compare apples to apples during the competitions. It also serves as a bedside night weapon with the TLR-2 light attached to it.

I'm a strong believer in shooting in competitions. I've shot at the range, among friends, made up on the spot shoots, weapons training etc... but nothing (save a real use situation) is as stressful to the shooter and the weapon like an organized competition event. I found about my thumb issue only at the competition. At the range or shooting for fun, this never showed up in the 400 rounds I've shot.

The PT1911 is a great platform to learn and expand upon. IMHO, the best "bang" for the money in the wide wide world of 1911s.

Cheers,

[slugger6]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wolf

The PT1911 is a great platform to learn and expand upon. IMHO, the best "bang" for the money in 1911.

I've had mine for about three weeks now, but I've only managed to put 50 rounds through it....too busy. I'm looking forward to spending some quality range time with it soon. It's a keeper IMO. I'm looking for a good leather OWB holster that I can use for IDPA and IPSC, by the way.

[bigjimmy57]

I'm pretty sure Bladetech sells a holster to fit over the rail.