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Photo From: Mark Freburg - Album: Handguns--Modern

Description: I've always been a sucker for gun "portraiture," and this is a decent one.  As a 1911 lover however, this Taurus puts me off a bit.  Let's count off the issues I have with this pistol.  Most obvious, the off-side safety lock is held down with the stocks, a cheesy arrangement that look terrible on an otherwise nice pistol.  Even some of the "best" makers resort to this cop-out.  These levers should be held in with double hammer pins.  The hammer itself is a rowel type, but there is enough steel in that one to make it the opposite of the lightweight hammers in vogue to day.  Next, the mag release protrudes on the right side--this screams poor fitting.  The slide lock pin is extra tall.  With the modern tendency to rest one's trigger finger above the guard, this extra pin protrusion can cause the pin to be inadvertently pushed out.  The modern approach for many is to flatten the pin nearly flush with the frame.  I've seen uglier forward slide serrations but they all encourage one to get his hand forward of the muzzle when racking a live round into the chamber--simply a dangerous practice.  The next may be a trick of photography, but it appears the barrel bushing is not centered on the recoil spring plug.  One hopes it is but if it isn't that's an issue.  Then let's look at the photo.  Nice, but it suggest a reality that we know doesn't suggest--a military application.  The U.S. flag patch is nice, but Taurus 1911s are not in use by the U.S. government.  If it's meant to suggest another "Americanism" to the pistol, the whitened "Made in Brasil" lettering prominent below the ejection port of the slide tend to counteract that suggestion.  I've never owned a Taurus 1911.  They appear well-made, but Taurus has a reputation for make a great gun one day and a shoddy one the next.  There are so many good 1911s that can be had for the same price point I've never been able to pull the trigger on a Taurus purchase even to check them out. Uploaded: 1/16/2017 by Mark Freburg