Taurus G2 Pistol Improvement

Among the most popular Taurus International handguns of the previous decade are the PT111 Millennium G2 and G2c series. I have tested these handguns extensively and have a generally favorable opinion of them—at least related to the price point. However, nothing is perfect and these handguns like most inexpensive handguns have their share of breakage. This seems true of the 9mm and .40 versions. Common sense tells us the .40 has more momentum but either handgun may show up at the shop for similar complaints.

The improved Taurus Millennium G2c may address most of these problems. As one example, an early model Taurus PT111 Millennium was examined with a dead trigger. The owner had been in a shooting session and had fired perhaps 50 rounds in the pistol. The pistol’s lifetime round count, he estimated, was 250 rounds. The trigger was dead, with no movement under pressure; it simply hung in its midway travel point. The pistol had fired and the striker had cocked for the following shot, but the pistol would not fire again.

The shooter had safely unloaded the pistol but it could not be disassembled as the trigger could not be convinced to release the striker. The solution was to lock the slide to the rear and disassemble the slide by moving the slide plate and then removing the striker. After removing the rear slide plate cover and removing the striker the pistol was decocked and disassembled in the normal manner by taking the slide off the frame.

This rear plate is plastic so care was taken in the removal. 40 is an acceptable defensive firearm but could stand some improvements. The problem demanded some investigation and a hard look at the internals of the handgun. After this initial disassembly I found the rear part of the trigger bar, the section that meets the sear, was damaged. The very end had snapped. Taurus pistols have a lifetime warranty and it isn’t any problem to

There are no discernible tool marks. send them back, although there is often a four to six week stay. So, the owner had me replace the trigger bar. It is very simple and straightforward and required less than an hour of work. This prompted me to examine several PT111 G2 pistols at a friend’s shop. The result was interesting. As many of you know the PT111 G2 is in anew generation known as the G2c. The G2c is an improved pistol in most regards.

The most notable difference is that the slide is no longer finished in a bright blue but rather a dull matte finish. The pebbling of the grips is different and the trigger safety bar is now solid rather than a hollow design. This would seem to be a more robust design. Looking over several Taurus G2type handguns I took a hard look at the trigger bar. There seemed to be room for improvement.

Note, this type of work may void the generous Taurus warranty but it also may improve the pistol’s long term reliability and function. The trigger bar is between the trigger and the sear. Pressure on the trigger is relayed to the trigger bar and the trigger bar trips the sear releasing the sear which in turn releases the striker which is under pressure from the striker spring. I think that the design will benefit from the trigger bar being modified in order to strike the sear more squarely.

The tip of the trigger bar that strikes the sear can be bent over a bit so that it strikes the sear squarely. This is among the very few gunsmith operations in which a pair of needle nose pliers is the proper tool. The original design is at an attitude that allows the trigger bar to contact friction between the sear and mechanism support. Another interesting situation that occurs fairly often with the Taurus PT111 G2 is a well-defined click in the trigger action as the trigger is manipulated.

The Taurus features a blade in the trigger face similar to the Glock pistol that prevents lateral discharge if the trigger is pressed to the rear from the side. The safety lever must be pressed flat into the trigger. This makes for a safer system, especially coupled with the pistol’s manual safety. The spring tension on the safety lever is loaded to prevent lateral discharge and sometimes causes the trigger to rub against the safety lever. The safety lever tends to rub when it retracts.

This often results in an audible click. When the handgun behaves in this manner, turn the handgun upside down for an examination. (Be certain the pistol is triple checked and that it is unloaded.) With the pistol upside down examine the trigger lever or trigger blade as it retracts under pressure. You should see the hook on the safety catch of the trigger. There is a slight edge on this hook. By carefully polishing this edge the action becomes smoother.

Do this with a proper, very thin file or screwdriver wrapped in fine grip sandpaper. Magnifying glasses are needed for this type of work. Be certain the shooter is properly pressing the trigger lever and not simply pressing the side of the trigger. The lever must be properly depressed to release the trigger and fire the handgun.

After working through some of the early Taurus G2 pistols I discovered several complaints concerning the magazine latch. When an unloaded magazine is in place the catch is very difficult to actuate. The slide lock is rather heavy and may bind. By looking at the receiver from above with the slide removed, you may see the tip (toward the muzzle) of the slide lock. It may bind on the frame and even the magazine. Carefully polish and shape the magazine latch.

By addressing the tip of the slide lock, the action becomes much smoother. Those who have addressed similar issues with the 1911 Government Model will be well equipped to perform this operation. The drill is similar. Modify slowly until the action is smooth and crisp. Disassembly isn’t required. The trigger bar sometimes binds on the polymer frame.

If you remove the slide and hold the frame in the right hand and keep the frame (receiver) perpendicular to the line of sight, you should see a slight gap between the trigger bar and the right hand side of the frame. There is enough room to slip a very thin screwdriver, file, or other thin, stiff tool. The trigger bar may be carefully polished at the end of the bar toward the muzzle where the trigger bar meets the end of the trigger. A device with apiece of sandpaper on the end may be used.

This action results in a smoother movement and in the end the trigger action will operate more smoothly after this work is done. There is a feeling in the trigger action that lacks smoothness and is addressed with the outlined technique. Another shooter brought a pistol in and did not like the feeling he described as "notches in the action." This is another thing altogether. When the trigger is moved to the rear and the trigger bar moves, at some point a hook reaches what some call the striker block actuator.

As the hook interfaces with the striker block actuator there is some roughness in all pistols I have examined—and more in others. All striker fired pistols operate in a manner similar to the G2c. In this particular pistol the hook contacts the striker block actuator and moves it to the rear, breaking the striker against the striker spring and firing the pistol. While the trigger bar’s polish results in greater smoothness, the notch-click effect must be addressed in another manner.

If properly done the result is a much more precise feel. The striker actuator is fairly rounded. It may be polished around the edges and made much smoother. A caution is that it seems possible to reduce friction to the point that the striker may not strike the primer with enough of a blow to properly ignite with consistency. The surface must not be rounded to the point there is no friction. After all, the action works by an interface that involves a certain amount of friction.

The Taurus G2 and G2c pistols are affordable and seem reliable. The operations outlined here will result in a smoother action and one that makes a trained shooter more capable with his chosen handgun. By reducing wear, especially eccentric wear, we may make for a handgun that will be subject to less wear as well as being smoother in action. That is worth the time and effort. With aforethought and study the time spent on each individual handgun is minimal for the improvement realized. AG