Taurus PT 709 Slim report

[Armor Snail]

Well despite good and bad reviews on the web. I purchased a Taurus 709 Slim at my LGS for $350. It is the "blued" version.

First impressions are wow, this is slim. The grip is short but a pinky extension will be on order soon. Still working out how to grip it with the best accuracy.

I bought it as a deep conceal (work) gun to replace my CZ 70. It is close to the same size and weight but a much slimmer grip and more power(9mm vs .32).

Carried out at home a bit after cleaning the packing grease out. Very comfy. Almost unnoticeable. It fits very secure in my nylon CZ iwb holster surprisingly.

Finally got it to the range on Wed. Loaded up and said here we go. First 8 shots were 147gr American Eagle. No issues. So far so good lol. Was a little low and left. Which I understand is how the sights are often out of the box. Damn. Forgot my screwdriver. No sight adjustment today. Grouping was ok. I'm no marksman but do ok. This ain't no target pistol either.

Next I went through a box of 124gr American Eagle. No hiccups. Did I get a functional Taurus? Next I fed her 50 rounds of 115gr Federal Champion. Ammo that I read the 709 can disagree with. Any 115gr I read. Balderdash. Chewed right through the snappy little fireball makers. Then I switched back to the 147gr and shot 20 more.

Next was time for Critical Defense. If it doesn't like jhp then what good is it? Loaded a mag up and ate them for breakfast. Went through 20 of them without incident. Except for one thing.

Mag issue. I tried loading 5 at a time rather than the whole mag. Every time they would nose dive into the lower feed ramp and jam there. With the mag full no problem. Fed fine once started. Just not chambering from a non full mag. Using the release or slingshot was futile. No big deal though. Why I would load a half mag to carry is beyond me. This only happened with jhp. Fmj was, fine with five.

Back to 30 more 147gr. Then 2 mixed mags of all 4 ammo.
Good enough for the first time out. 194 rounds of 4 different ammo types without a single fte or ftf.

It seems early 709s had a lot of extractor issues. Mine must be newer. I have only two gripes. Both estethic

The finish on the slide is very thin and weak. It rode home in a soft case with my CZ 70. It now has a few light scratches on the slide. Another is that atop the breech is some swirling.

Both can be taken care of with Cerakote. A trip down to EFR seems in order.

All in all. Not bad. It is no CZ though. Its loose and rattles but it shoots everytime so far. I plan on sending more ammo through it this week. Wwb, umc, reloads from the range. Blazer, other jhp I can find. Will update then.

The one thing this little striker gun does great is chuck brass. None of that annoying, wimpy Glock extraction that hits you in the face.



Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk (I wish)

[ReconLdr]

Thanks for the write up. I've been seeing these at LGSs and have considered getting one. Like you, I've read good and bad reviews on this pistol and since I gambled on a Sccy CPX1 (and won) I figured I wouldn't tempt fate with a second 50/50ish kind of pistol without a little more homework.

[SauerGrapes]

I bought my 709 when they first came out. Your correct, mine stove piped on every mag. Good news is I sent it in and it has never skipped a beat since.
I haven't found any ammo it wouldn't feed. I wanted a single stack 9mm, I quite happy with the 709. I've run about 1,200 rounds thru mine since it came back with no issues.
Funny, you say yours rattles, mine locks up tight and is very accurate for a sub compact.

[psucivil]

I bought one about 3 weeks ago, it would be my first true gun for carry purposes only. So far I have had no issues with mine what so ever. I have the blued version as well. I have not had any of the issues you mentioned with starting from a half full mag. I have about 350 rounds of mixed WWB, Federal, Wolf, Tula and a handful of critical defense ammo through mine. I will say that I do like the double-strike capabilities.....

Me being cheap, I bought the first and only box of tula ammo I will ever purchase. In a box of 50 I had 3 bad rounds that failed to fire upon first trigger pull but a second pull in double action fixed 2 of the bad rounds and the third round was just a plain dud. I suppose for $9 a box you can't expect match grade. lol

Im glad you likes your because I sure have been impressed with mine and the price for it was also hard to beat.

[Armor Snail]

Thanks for the write up. I've been seeing these at LGSs and have considered getting one. Like you, I've read good and bad reviews on this pistol and since I gambled on a Sccy CPX1 (and won) I figured I wouldn't tempt fate with a second 50/50ish kind of pistol without a little more homework.

Sure thing. I like it so far, still planning on a CZ 2075 RAMI for primary when generic CC. This is for at work. Wife will prob steal it anyways.

I bought my 709 when they first came out. Your correct, mine stove piped on every mag. Good news is I sent it in and it has never skipped a beat since.
I haven't found any ammo it wouldn't feed. I wanted a single stack 9mm, I quite happy with the 709. I've run about 1,200 rounds thru mine since it came back with no issues.
Funny, you say yours rattles, mine locks up tight and is very accurate for a sub compact.

It rattles when slide is locked. In battery it is fairly tight. I'm sure it will be quite accurate with properly adjusted sights.


You get a lot of value with this gun. That is for sure. SAO with double strike, manual safety, nice sights, lifertime warrenty.

Might have to give a PT 92 a shot or one of their wheelguns.

[Armor Snail]

I bought one about 3 weeks ago, it would be my first true gun for carry purposes only. So far I have had no issues with mine what so ever. I have the blued version as well. I have not had any of the issues you mentioned with starting from a half full mag. I have about 350 rounds of mixed WWB, Federal, Wolf, Tula and a handful of critical defense ammo through mine. I will say that I do like the double-strike capabilities.....

Me being cheap, I bought the first and only box of tula ammo I will ever purchase. In a box of 50 I had 3 bad rounds that failed to fire upon first trigger pull but a second pull in double action fixed 2 of the bad rounds and the third round was just a plain dud. I suppose for $9 a box you can't expect match grade. lol

Im glad you likes your because I sure have been impressed with mine and the price for it was also hard to beat.

Nose dives only happened with Critical Defense with five loaded in the magazine. If you would be kind enough to test that on yours next time you shoot that particular ammo I would appreciate it.
Not a big deal though.

[psucivil]

[QUOTE=Armor Snail;1946448]Nose dives only happened with Critical Defense with five loaded in the magazine. If you would be kind enough to test that on yours next time you shoot that particular ammo I would appreciate it.

I put two full mags of critical defense through mine and didn't have any trouble through mine. I put a couple half mags through it with WWB because I was a game lands shooting range and they limit you to 6 in a handgun. I will test out the half mags of critical defense next friday when I shoot.

Did you notice your gun get smoother with more rounds through it? My gun was really tight when new and had really became quite smooth after a few range trips and cleanings.

[Armor Snail]

Cool. Thank you.
It was fairly smooth at the range. That was my first time out with it.
I cleaned it initially with Remoil and lubed with Hoppes. I also left the slide locked back a few days and loaded the magazine with 147gr rounds to loosen everything up.

I also did a fair amount of racking and dry firing and dry firing the DA mode prior to shooting it.

[psucivil]

I never thought to keep it with the slide locked back for a while, thats a good idea. I cleaned mine well prior to my first range trip with it. It was caked with white grease from Taurus and didnt want it to get gummed up.

[JeeperGuy]

thanks for your post, ive been shopping for a small carry gun , was looking at the LCP but i like this as its the same caliber as my other pistol, ill have to look for one to handle