Insights on Taurus’ New PT 19 And Its Possibilities for Custom

"ve I never dropped a loaded M1911 or M1911A1 on an unyielding surface from a "significant height’ to see if the impact would rebound the firing pin enough to touch off the chambered round. Be that as it may, I’ve always felt confident that John Browning knew what he was doing when he designed the grip safety on the pistol. It blocks all rearward movement of the trigger unless and until the grip is squeezed. Doing so raises the safety’s trigger stop and allows the trigger bow to push back the disconnector.

The disconnector disengages the sear to release the hammer and then Ol’ Slabsides lets loose. Moreover, I’ve always trusted the opinion of U. S. Army Ordnance, which has persistently maintained it’s impossible to fire a M1911/ M1911A1 without pulling the trigger. And, for that matter, I’ve never figured out just how high a "significant height" really is.

Nevertheless, the frayed nerves of firearm-safety engineers (and corporate attorneys) were calmed a bit after they saw to it that a firing-pin block, block spring, block lever, and triggerbar lever were added as extra insurance against a .45 being dropped on a slab of concrete and discharging accidentally. Regardless of whether this extra precautionary measure was necessary, the Colt Series-80 M1911A1 arrived and the Series 70not equipped with the extra internal hardware’faced extinction. Not.

It’s very true the Taurus PT 1911 is a Series-80 clone, complete with all the extra moving parts. But this Series-80 comes with a key. All Taurus Firearms do these days. This key blocks the hammer with a clockwise turn and unblocks it with a counterclockwise turn. When the hammer is blocked, the pistol is solidly locked up because the slide can’t move. In that respect, the key lock might be thought of as a back-up to the standard thumb safety, which also locks the slide. It isn’t intended to be.

In my opinion, it is a well-thought-out measure of extra protection against legal actions, mostly frivolous and mostly brought on by dedicated antigunners. On the other hand’and again, this is just my opinion’t he stuffing of a firing-pin block into the Series-70 succeeded only in messing up a great pistol. That said, there seems to be no end in sight for John Browning’s legendary design. Manufacturers who have never built a pistol, or haven’t built one for decades, are adding a M1911 to their commercial offerings.

Taurus, of course, is no stranger to handguns, and the company’s handgun experience shows on the PT 1911. The PT comes in either a blue or stainless version, and is available in .45 ACP in both a full-size (5-inch barrel) and a compact model known as the PT 1911C. A full-size stainless-

Their opinions are noted in the text. steel version is also available in .38 Super. The pistol’s primary components are forged from premium steel. Matching the excellence of materials is the skill applied to their assembly.

Equaling both, and making the PT 1911 a superb value for an out-of-the box Series-80, are an excellent slide-toframe fit, lowered ejection port, polished feed ramp, target trigger with overtravel screw, low-profile Heinie sights, and a low-slung beavertail grip safety machined to accept the rear of a hammer in recoil/cocking mode. (Thus there’s no danger of nicking up the delicate web between thumb and index finger here.) The PT 1911s two magazines already wear bumper pads.

Finally, sluggish as many Series-80 triggers are initially, this one was not. The trigger on the pistol I worked with here broke nicely at about 4-1/2 pounds. All in all, the PT makes for a fine defensive pistol as it reaches the buyer’s hand. And for that purpose, I wouldn’t change a thing on or inside it. Oh, I might polish up those firingpin-block components to a mirror finish to help make the trigger pull even smoother than it already is.

As for disassembly and reassembly, we’ve covered the M1911 many times before, and the Taurus breaks down just like any other Series-80. Instead of covering old ground again, in the rest of this article I’ll tell you what I’d want to do if a customer wanted to transform his PT (or any other Series- 80) into a target gun capable of equaling the performance of a Series 70.

Target Conversion: Step One Fully realizing that what I was about to do would place all risk of any litigation resulting from an accidental discharge squarely on my shoulders, I called my insurance company, placed my fears behind me, and charged ahead. Initially, though it seemed it did, I had to be certain the Taurus frame matched the specifications for a Colt frame. If it did not, I would be unable to utilize parts that did meet those specifications.

Having several Colt frames on hand to use as a reference, I shunned them all and relied on a set of technical drawings I bought years ago from Brownells, a section of which is reproduced herewith their permission. As you can see, most of the dimensions for a Colt radiate from the hole for It’s available from Brownells and is reproduced herewith their permission.

the slide-stop pin. Any non-Colt M1911 frame I build up or overhaul had better match these dimensions exactly. Imagine the problems presented if one hole, say the hammer pin or sear pin, doesn’t match up. I could return the frame for a replacement, perhaps get one and proceed. Or, I could weld up the out-of-spec holes and drill new ones, thereby running up the cost considerably for a customer because I basically had to remake the frame provided.

One other factor arises in the event of the latter: I don’t have a manufacturer’s FFL, and what I would have to do to a nonspec frame to make it meet specifications would be considered manufacturing by ATF. (Who needs the jail time?) Step Two Parts are parts? Not necessarily. Some parts are forged, others stamped, still others are injection molded. Usually, you’re pretty darn safe using factory replacement components, but you can’t always get them because many critical ones are restricted. Sears are among them.

And a sear/ hammer fit is as critical to a trigger job as women are to motherhood.

For restricted 1.1 Slide 1.2 Front Sight Insert 1.3 Front Sight 1.4 Front Sight Screw 1.5 Rear Sight Insert 1.6 Rear Sight 1.7 Rear Sight Screw 1.8 Extractor 1.9 Firing Pin Stop 1.10 Firing Pin 1.11 Firing Pin Spring 1.12 Firing Pin Block 1.13 Firing Pin Key Block Spring 1.14 Barrel Bushing 2.1 Barrel 2.2 Barrel Link 2.3 Barrel Link Pin 3.1 Recoil Spring Plug 3.2 Recoil Spring 3.3 Recoil Spring Guide 4.1 Frame 4.2 Slide Stop 4.3 Plunger Tube 4.4 Slide Stop Plunger 4.5 Plunger Spring 4.6 Safety Lock Plunger 4.7 Hammer Pin 4.8 Sear Pin 4.9 Ejector Pin 4.10 Manual Safety Lever, left 4.11 Stock Screw Bushing 4.12 Grip Panel 4.13 Grip Screws 4.14 Ejector 4.15 Disconnector 4.16 Trigger Bar Lever 4.17 Firing Pin Block Lever 4.18 Sear 4.19 Magazine Catch 4.20 Magazine Catch Spring 4.21 Magazine Catch Lock 4.22 Manual Safety Lever, right 4.23 Mainspring Housing Pin 5 Sear Spring Taurus PT 1911 Semi-Automatic Pistol (Specifications subject to change without notice) 6.1 Trigger 6.2 Trigger Bar 6.3 Trigger Screw 7.1 Key Lock 7.2 Hammer 7.3 Key Lock Spring 7.4 Key Lock Ball 7.5 Hammer Strut 7.6 Key Lock Pin 7.7 Hammer Strut Pin 8.1 Mainspring Cap 8.2 Mainspring 8.3 Mainspring Housing Retainer 8.4 Mainspring Cap Pin 8.5 Mainspring Housing 9 Grip Safety 10.1 Magazine Body 10.2 Magazine Follower 10.3 Magazine Spring 10.4 Magazine Plate 10.5 Magazine Buffer