I just purchased one of these after quite a bit of research...at about 1/2 the price of comparable sub-compact, hi-capacity .45's, I could find little written that would convince me that I would regret this purchase. The weight, balance and simplicity of the weapon combine to confirm alot of what I read. Build quality is higher than expected for the price ($389 + tax), and except for a [major] assembly/packaging quality issue with the magazines, I bet it will shoot as expected, also.

Unfortunately, I think the popularity of this gun has Taurus rushing to ship to keep up with orders- my assumption- because there can be no other excuse in my mind for assembling and shipping (obviously untested/checked) magazines with incorrect followers for the caliber intended. BOTH magazines included with the gun were stamped as ".45 cal" and BOTH contained .40 cal followers, preventing 1) proper presentation of the 1st round for feeding into the chamber- the slide flew right over the top of it, and 2) preventing ANY rounds subsequent from feeding after maniputating the first round into position to feed. In this unique "single shot" mode the gun performed well, meaning it fired the first round, hit the target and ejected the shell. It then fed air or stovepiped the second round...it took several "looks" at the system and comparison to the follower of my old Para 13+1 .45, to determine that the follower was the issue. In fact the tall Para magazine worked well enough to feed a few rounds so I could shoot a little and get a feel for how smooth and tight this gun really is. I spoke to Taurus and they said ship us back the mags and we'll send you new ones when we get them in, but we don't have any now...so back to my dealer I went and when he (to his surprise) confirmed that the mags had the incorrect followers, he loaned me one from a used PT he had in the showcase and is in the process of getting mine exchanged for the correct ones. The difference between the correct follower and the ones in my mags is significant. I have not yet returned to the range to try the gun with a correct magazine. I will update this review as soon as I get a chance to shoot again.

In the meantime, I like the "straight 8" sights that came on the gun (my first experience with this configuration). All functions seem to work very smoothly and surely. Trigger pull is crisp and not too heavy; fit and finish is very good. It took me a little while to make the disassembly process work (I found the instructions in the manual to be a little cloudy) but once I learned to make it work, it is a relatively simple and fast process. The frame is light and egonomically correct for my hand- actually presenting a very comfortable hold and the grip design feels very "grippy", meaning I anticipate little to no ride-up or slip in rapid fire (when I get there!). Having 11 rounds of .45 at my disposal in such a compact package is very comforting and I am looking forward to some fun with this gun- it is much more comfortable to carry than my big Para...I'll let you know...I'm giving it a 7 rating only for the magazine issue at this time- hopefully my opinion will change for the better later.