Held a Taurus 709 "slim" today.....Meh.

[TN_Mike]

I held one. Fondled it and, long story short, I don't like it.

1. The grip is almost too slim. Hard to hold it securely.

2. The trigger guard dug into the middle finger on my storn hand where it meets the grip front strap. It just seems badly designed there ergonomically.

3. I would say forget about doing any kind of speed reload. No beveled mag well and when I inserted the magazine, I pinched the palm of my left hand between the mag and the rear or the grip. It hurt.

4. Honestly, the grip is the only part of the gun that really seems "slim". The slide and upper frame seems to be pretty much normal to me.

In the case right next to the Tauri offerings were all the Kahr Arms guns and they were MUCH better feeling in my hand and had a much lower bore axis.

All in all, now that I have held one, I am completely un-impressed. I'll pass.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[harley2007]

Yes, I too have fondled them and the Kahrs (PM9 which I own) and my lcp fit the bill better...not sure what everyone else sees in them....I think they fit a non-existant niche!

[Keltyke]

It's a Keltec PF-9 on steroids. Larger, heavier, same round count, top heavy, too-small grip. The only improvement is the single action trigger.

[Rollo]

Things I love about the 709.

It is thinner and lighter then a Glock 26
It has a external saftey
It has a trigger satey
It has less recoil then then the Kahr and the Kel-tec (Havent shot a 26)
I can carry it OWB with just a t-shirt covering it.
It has a adjustable rear sight
It is incredibly light
The trigger is great

I can understand why people with large hands would find this gun uncomfortable. However I am 5'9 170 and it fits my hands perfectly. I can get a full three fingers on the grip and my fingers don't touch my palm when I grip it. I can reach the mag release and the slide lock without having to tilt the gun or adjust my grip at all.

All in all a fine weapon.

[tpurdin]

I agree. I am 5''7, 190 pounds ( Insert fat joke here ) anyway I bought the 709 to carry and I shot it several times and I love it. I get all my fingers on it accept the pinkie which rest under the mag. I can group shots from it very well. I gave the gun to my wife and bought a Kahr cw9. The kahr seems a little heavier and a little more recoil than the taurus slim but shoots just as well. Seems to be put together very well and tight. Honestly for me I love both the guns.

I don't think we can knock taurus on this one, they make really good firearms in my book. I think that it's more of a personal opinion/prefrence and obviously has alot to do with how big your hands are

[nolt]

i much prefer the PPS

[rhkirk1]

I much prefer the price tag on the Taurus. I bought a stainless one and I love it. It feels good in my hand, is a surprisingly soft shooter and carries great. I have had no problems with mine.

If you can afford the Walther, that's great, but I think the Taurus is a great gun at a reasonable price.

[nolt]

agreed that the walther is really not economically competitive. i considered pointing that out in my post.

[gwlammers]

I own a Kahr PM9, Kel-Tec PF9 and a Taurus 709. All 3 are very accurate shooters for their size. The Kel-Tec is lighter and thinner, but feels like a pipe bomb going off in your hand. The Kahr is only 4" high and I can only get 1 and a half fat fingers on the grip. The Kahr likes to jump around in my hand. The Taurus is 4.3 " high which allows me to get 2 fat fingers around the grip. It is heavier than the other 2 but this helps with recoil a LOT.

[Theman9mm]

I own the 709 and im a big guy and love the gun. I have not yet to find anything wrong with the 709. Its all in the person and all hands are diffrent. Out of all the guns i have the 709 is the one i walk out the door everyday with..

[rhenriksen]

Haven't had an opportunity to shoot the 709 yet, but I'm glad to see more single-stack, *flat* options in a decent self defense caliber coming on the market.

That said, I was at the range today w my wife, and shot my 9mm PPS & the XDm .40. The XDm is a great shooting gun, throws bigger bullets, lots of capacity, but... still, I like shooting the PPS even better! I marvel at it every time I shoot it. :-)