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Taurus 709 "Slim"

22K views 41 replies 26 participants last post by  GB1990 
#1 ·
My Ol' Lady picked one up yesterday and fell in love with it quickly at the store. I'm away on a trip, so I couldn't even take any credit for her purchase! She already had a PT 27/7 CD S that she Loooovveeesss (it's pink:blink: ), so this is just another taurus in the house!

It's looks pretty sweet, and so far, the reviews that I've seen are good. Anybody here carry one, or has there been a range report? If not, there will be in the next day or two!!!
 
#3 ·
I've yet to locate one at my local gun store. Wanting to handle one and see if the quality is what it needs to be for EDC. I have one Taurus and it's been to the range and passed my trials for a home defense weapon.

Kinda nice to see a dependable compact 9mm to compete price wise with Kahr and a few others without compromising quality and reliability.

Interested in your upcoming range review.:22a:
 
#8 ·
Roger That, av8er... Standing by for range report! Looks like a sweet pistola!
 
#9 ·
I had a PF-9 on order (for 3 months!), but really liked the 709 when I saw it at my LGS. Posts on the various sites seem to suggest that a good number of PF-9s require some 'intervention' to make them reliable, while most of the 709s seem to be pretty good right out of the box. Admittedly, there are a lot more PF-9s out there, so this isn't really a valid comparison of how well the two compare. For me, another plus is that the 709 is SA/DA and has a manual safety. So I canceled the PF-9 order and bought the 709. More money, but the fit and finish seems better than the PF-9s I've handled.

This gun is a skosh bigger than a PF-9 or a PM-9, but I'm still able to pocket carry it in loose jeans. Got it to the range yesterday, and put 100 rounds of various (UMC, PMC, American Eagle, and Golden Bear) ammo through it with only a single misfeed (PMC) about 80 rounds in. Sighting was just a tad high. I shot the very first shot off a rest, and the rascal bit me! It's just a little too small for me to use on my cheap rest AND keep my weak hand out of the way. Fortunately, it was just a grazing strike on the thumb, but it bled like a stuck pig!

Other than that, I'm very impressed with this little gun. The felt recoil isn't nearly as bad as I had expected, and the gun is easy to shoot accurately. At the end of the run I was shooting 3 inch groups without the rest at 7 yds - not bad for me. I think about another 100 rounds of FMJ and then some HP to check function and I'll be ready to call this a carry gun.


 
#10 ·
Taurus 709 Slim - range report

I purchased one yesterday,8/29/09, and took it to the range today. TOTAL DISASTER...Fired three rounds and had constant FTE problems after that. I mean constant... I could not get two round to cycle consecutively after many many attempts. Not a confidence builder. The ink isn't dry on the warranty card and I allready have to send it in.
 
#13 ·
709 slim rang report

What ammunition were you using? Hate to ask, but did you clean it good before you took it to the range?

Yes I did clean it and got all that white stuff out. I was using Winchester 115 FMJ ammo and when I would take a loaded mag and cycle it by hand it would empty the clip no problem. Only after being fired did it have a problem getting the spent casing out. I don't get it..any suggestions??
 
#15 ·
I was using Winchester 115 FMJ ammo
IIRC, there has been some discussion over on the Taurus forum that Winchester White Box doesn't feed well in some 709s. There is also some talk about some of them having extractor issues and magazine issues.

I've put Remington UMC, PMC Brass, American Eagle, and Golden Bear through my 709 without any issues. I would suggest that you first try something other than WWB, and if you continue to have problems call Taurus customer service.
 
#17 ·
Sent it off and got it back in a week. What ???? Makes me wonder if they did anything to it...

They said that they adjusted the extractor and slide and after looking at the extractor it did look like they had filed a burr off. As far as adjusting I really cannot tell. I have not had a chance to try it out yet but before I sent it off I did run some Monarch, (all that was available for purchase), through it with better results however still had occasional FTE but not as frequent. I'll get back with the results of the repair after testing it out.
 
#19 ·
Like ive said before. I think at least half of problems with Taurus are the thin gage steel mags they use. I noticed on "guns and gear" that Taurus has finally started using stainless on at least one of their guns. I think it was the 845 full size. I will never buy another Taurus semi-auto(besudes the pt92), but I think they do make good revolvers for the price. I have a PT745 that I need to sell. If I cant fire 100 rounds without a jam, then I cant rely on it. This is just my experience with Taurus. Some people have many semi-auto Taurus's and never had a problem. Stay safe.
 
#22 ·
I bought my PT709 in Stainless on Sept. 24 and when I went to the range I had multiple problems. The gun constantly failed to eject the spent round, it would partially extract the cartridge and then the next round would jam under it. This happend with both magazines and with several different typse of FMJ ammo ( Winchester WWB, Federal American eagle and CCI Blazer brass). The other problem I had was accuracy .. there was none. The gun shot very low and way left of POA. I tried to adjust the sights and it didnt seem to have much of an effect. All my shots were bench rested to try to eliminate movement and deviation between shots, all shots were from 10 yds. I had not even had the gun for a week and already it had to be sent back.
When I called Taurus I found them easy to deal with, I explained the problems, they gave me a repair number and had Fed Ex pick the gun up the next day returned overnight air. This is my first Taurus, it appeared well made and was very comfortable to shoot, although I am disappointed with the guns performance I'll reserve judgement for my next range session. This was to be my everyday carry gun but before that happens I need 100% reliability.
 
#23 ·
Just bought 709 a few weeks back and finally got to shoot it this week. Only got to fire about 30-40 rounds through it and it jammed on me three times. Empty Casing on the way out and live round on the way in. Same situation each time. I feel the problem is either going to be the weird feel that one mag has or the WWB ammo. Going to have to try to deal with a different ammo and work on the mag. The Accuracy of this 709 was great, I went from shooting center mass silhouette targets to shooting soft drinks cans off the ground. Mine you that most of our (my wife and me) target practice is usually at 25ft. So I am well pleased with my 709 to this point. The Taurus Site has a lot of similar threads going concerning the mags.
Btw: If I get a chance, I may trade my PT111 Millennium Pro on a Slim because I don't (Just me now) like the straight 8 sights on the Pro.

Take Care
Boze
 
#24 ·
I bought one of them about a month ago. Have fired nearly 100 rounds and have not had any jams or misfire. I love it! My dad bought one at the same time and he too has had NO problem what so ever.
 
#25 ·
Report on 709 slim - back from Taurus -extractor problems

FWIW - If you've been following previous posts in this thread you've seen that people, like myself, have had major FTE problems with the Taurus 709 slim while others have had none. Like I said mine jammed constantly on the first trip to the range and I had to send it back. since I got it back it has performed well and after 300 rounds no FTE's & no jams of any kind.

After having all the problems at the range the first time and subsequent disassembly and cleaning of the gun I naturally looked around to see if my pea brain could detect anything wrong. I did take a shell casing and slide it up under the extractor to look at the relationship and see how the two fit together. The casing slid up under the extractor and butted up very easily even having some play. Of course I did not know what the relationship shoud be so I thought it normal.

Having the gun back now, and working properly, I have noticed that when disassembled it is very difficult to slid a casing up under the extractor. It is a very snug fit that, when reassembled, takes the weight of the slide coming forward to push the shell home.

On return of the gun from Taurus they did say that they adjusted the extractor and the slide.

I just thought that this might be of some help to someone else out there who was having the same problems with this gun. Evidently they have some 709's that make it out to the marketplace which are not adjusted properly.
 
#26 ·
There's probably gonna be some unavoidable 1st run bugs to work out.
 
#27 ·
I had a lot of FTE's when shooting reloads but when I switched to store bought ammo I didn't have any issues. From everything I have read and seen I think the gun is just picky on ammo.
 
#28 ·
I just got my 709 back this morning after a 2 week turn around. According to the enclosed repair sheet they did the following:
1..adjusted the extractor
2..Slide adjusted
3..Rear sight adjusted
4..Enclosed a target to show accuracy
I went to the range right after the gun was delivered and it appears their adjustments did not correct the problems. After 50 rounds I started getting the half extractions and jams with every magazine, accuracy was a bit better but no where near where it should be and the front sight fell off. I found the sight and screw only to notice it was stripped, so along with the problems not being repaired I also need a new front sight. So far I have 2 calls in to the service rep who initiated the first repair and he has not called back. The gun is not reliable to carry and everything I have heard about Taurus service seems to be correct, its pretty bad. I tried to give Taurus a chance as this is my first Taurus product, at this point I think it will be my last. They dont seem to anxious to replace the gun, if they can fix it the gun its gone.
 
#31 ·
Well its going back again for a second try. The customer service rep that handled the first repair never called back so I tried calling a third time and got someone who actually seems to care. I asked about a new gun and was told this will be evaluated by a supervisor when they check the gun again. I asked if they were having problems with the 709's and they did admit that they were having some extraction and jamming problems but it was limited to a small amount of guns produced. Update to follow
 
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