Taurus TCP - Not a Happy Camper

[SevenMilePete]

TCP is hammer fired.
Avoid models with an "A" serial (although my dads "A" runs good.
They are made in Florida.
Mine "B" has run very well since I bought it.
It doesn't like steel cases though.

Mine is a D serial number. I've had it almost a year, and have put about 800 rounds through it, from defense rounds to WWB, no problems. The trigger is better than the LCP, and I've heard some horror stories about LCPs too.
Cover up the Taurus on the slide, and the Ruger, and the anti-Taurus snob would certainly pick the Taurus over the LCP after shooting them. Oh, that's right, he's also against the .380. Never mind.

[ls81]

i have the lcp my wife has the tcp both are fine at doing what they are intended for. are they made for shooting all day of course not they are tiny, hard to grip, hard to aim, save your ass pistols that get carried a lot shot a little.

My wifes tcp came with a bad magazine as well. it would do exactly what you described accept hers came with both 6 round mags. I had a rather unsatisfactory dealing with cs on the issue and so i just purchased an additional magazine as i wasn't willing to wait over a month for backorder. upon having 2 good mags i tore the other apart and inspected it carefuly. one of the coils of the spring was bent in such a way that it would bind on the side of the magazine body. after some careful bending and tweaking it fit and functioned perfectly. I have marked the base of that magazine so it will never be carried but it is functional.

[pittstang5]

This is a D serial number.

[harold63]

Sorry for the long post. I just hope Taurus fixes the problem the first time. I've read stories where people have sent guns back for warranty work multiple times until problems are fixed correctly. If anyone is interested, I'll update when I get the gun back.

Rant here is ok. Rant at gun fixer is not. It isn't conducive, at all. I had to send two Tauruses back for repair (out of a total of 29 owned)...a tracker .44 for timing issue and a 1911 for an alignment issue. I had positive experience both times. I was told 6 weeks for the Tracker, but it was back in just under 4. I was told 3 weeks on the 1911 and it was back in 9 days. Both were fixed the first time, though I didn't tell Taurus about an issue on the Tracker that I wanted corrected, also. When I called them back, they said they would pick it up, again, and cover, since they felt they should have caught the problem when it was there the first time. I bought the 1911 with the problem known, so Taurus picked up shipping on that, as well.

The key to getting Taurus to cover shipping is test the gun ASAP. Most things they'll cover for the first year, shipping wise, depending on what it is. This is my experience and what I was told by their CSD. Since a minor injury was involved with the Tracker, obviously they picked up shipping on that, but they really didn't have to the second go 'round. I kill them with kindness when I talk to them and if I don't understand the rep, I just politely ask for another. No one is any more of a man by being rude to someone who has no control over how a gun is built, and anyone who buys a Taurus needs to understand the risk of issue with an inexpensive, mass produced pistol built with man made machines, run by men. At any rate, let us know how you were taken care of.

You could prolly get your 8 round mag to work right by adjusting the feed lips a bit. If they are opened too much, the round getting ready to feed could be tagging the inside of the slide stop and bumping it up to lock position. Closing the feed lips or the box section just under the feed lips probably will correct this as long as the mag release catch slot in the mag is cut in the right spot.

[sonnyroofy]

I would also try reversing the spring in the 8 round mag if you haven't sent it back already, sounds like its not seating the follower properly.

[92gli]

This is one of the byproducts on shopping with price as the prime motivation. Evidence of price being the primary motivation is in the second sentence, the very first quality mentioned that was a positive for the TCP was "price." Caveat emptor is the phrase that applies.

Price is always a consideration, yet it should not be the first and most important consideration when choosing a tool that is intended to defend ones life. I would suggest that quality and reliability be the sought after attributes well before price.

Far too many times people try to pinch pennies while completely missing the whole picture. Ammo for a .380 costs more than 9x19 and a serious defensive pistol should be shot extensively. Over the course of a year or two the ammunition cost should far outweigh the cost of the pistol. Add to that extra magazines, holsters and other accessories to make it work "just right" for the user the cost really climbs.

Taurus makes shit guns, period. Some people are fans of Taurus and most of this is due to the cost of entry and their specific budgets. Taurus suffers from the tri-fecta of issues that no gun company should tolerate, poor build quality, weak engineering and terrible customer service.

I shoot more than most people (not all) and I have never seen a Taurus product I wanted to buy. You will also not see many used in IDPA, three gun or steel challenge!

I know this is a bit of a rant and I really did not go down the rabbit hole of why I think .380 is unnecessary and the opposite of cost effective...

I just got one and it runs perfectly. Doesn't seem like garbage to me.

Price was just a bonus. I handled all the popular 380s and it has the best trigger by a long shot, stays open upon firing the last round, and its profile is very smooth. I would have spent $200 more if something else better suited what I was looking for.

[pittstang5]

Just an update.

Gun was shipped on Nov. 12 and made it to Taurus in FL on Monday, Nov. 17. I just received an email confirmation yesterday, Mon. Nov. 24, a week later, saying they received my firearm and it could take up to 6 weeks.

I had been checking the repair status online from their website up to this point. No information had been available. I just checked again - still no information is available. Why have online repair status, if you're not going to update it? Taurus is not impressing me. I guess I should be happy that they at least emailed me, although a week later, to tell me they received my gun.

[harold63]

Just an update.

Keep us updated. Curious to see what it was.

[larryinpa]

Just an update.

Gun was shipped on Nov. 12 and made it to Taurus in FL on Monday, Nov. 17. I just received an email confirmation yesterday, Mon. Nov. 24, a week later, saying they received my firearm and it could take up to 6 weeks.

I had been checking the repair status online from their website up to this point. No information had been available. I just checked again - still no information is available. Why have online repair status, if you're not going to update it? Taurus is not impressing me. I guess I should be happy that they at least emailed me, although a week later, to tell me they received my gun.

My bet is it'll get done a lot sooner. I wouldn't be expecting daily web updates though.

[pittstang5]

Update

Sorry to take so long to update this. I'm trying to remember all the details.

I got the TCP back before Christmas. Total time was about a month. I had received a letter from Taurus, probably about two weeks after they received the gun, confirming they received it and were working on it and it would be approximately 6 weeks out from when they received it. Redundant because I had already received an email stating the same thing. Whatever - It's their money, not mine.

I made arrangements to pick up the TCP at the Fed Ex hub, due to a signature required. Picked it up and opened the package in the Fed EX Parking lot. They sent a new 6-round mag, as I had requested, and kept the 8-rounder, which they told me they would do. The letter with the gun stated that they replaced a spring - the slide catch spring, which made sense to me. Looked like they test fired it too. I can't remember how many times, but quite a few.

I was only able to test fire it a couple weeks ago. I tried all kinds of different brands and rounds - it ate it all up - no issues. However, after a rapid firing of a 6-round mag (Herters, 95 gr. FMJ), I noticed that damn "Disassembly latch" worked it's way out again. So, I pushed it back in and rapid fired another 3 mags with the Herters bullets and no issues after that. I tried pulling the latch out by my finger nail and couldn't (I could before it went back to Taurus). So, I think it may have been loose to start.

So, I'm happy with the pistol and Taurus. I'll continue to keep an eye on that latch during practice sessions.