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Taurus’ PT-845B .45 ACP Pistol By David Tong  Forjas Taurus of Porto Alegre, Brazil, is a major manufacturer of modern semi-automatic handguns. As any casual observer has noticed, they occupy a lower price point, which leaves many serious shooters questioning whether they are worth their price. In addition, their history
of copying other manufacturer's designs and rapid CAD-blueprint-to-production
process has made some wags question their R&D, quality control and customer
services processes. This author has been among them. The pistol reviewed is a
follow up to the Model 24/7 polymer framed, striker-fired series, available in
calibers 9mm Parabellum, .40 Smith & Wesson and .45 ACP. My test example is
in the latter caliber. The prior 24/7 has, in the
author’s estimation, a fatal flaw, in that disassembly requires the removal of
a very small lever, which can be easily misplaced or lost. Curiously, their
entry in the now aborted “Request for Proposal” U.S. Joint Services Pistol .45
ACP of 1996 featured this lever, in the model “24/7-OSS-DS.” This alone would
have made the weapon a non-starter in any kind of military trials. One can
imagine if troops had to strip the pistol in the Sandbox and lost the part,
rendering it hors de combat. When I examined the OSS-DS,
I wondered, “What if they could produce this pistol with a captive disassembly
lever, improve the trigger system both in release quality and reset distance
and, possibly, return it to a hammer-fired system, as most military forces
prefer this visual and tactile indicator of state of readiness? Six months after thinking
this, my local shop, Albany Guns (Oregon) had this pistol on the shelf. By
taking one feature of the Glock, the twin sliding disassembly switches located
on the front sides of the frame, adding the 1911-style manual safety plus de-cocker
first seen on the Heckler and Koch USP and providing fully ambidextrous
controls, including the slide release, safety and magazine release, they have
created an interesting entrant into the world of polymer framed pistols. It was
almost as if they had been reading my mind. Specifications
As can be seen from the
above figures, it appears that Taurus started out with the .45 ACP frame size
and simply modified internal parts and different magazines for the smaller
calibers. This can be seen by the unloaded weight, with the .45 being the
lightest of the trio. The internal components
appear to be largely either stamped sheet steel or metal injection moldings,
which is typical for a modern autoloading pistol. This is not necessarily an
indictment, as it appears the use of steel forgings in frames or small parts is
on the wane because of cost and due to the public’s preference for lightweight.
In addition, these easier to fabricate components have proven quite reliable in
a number of newer pistol designs. The PT-845 has three
interchangeable backstrap designs, to better fit one’s hand size; size medium
is fitted as delivered. Taurus provides a small drift pin along with their
integral locking system on a single key chain device to facilitate changing
them, along with two magazines and a polymer loading tool. All of this and the
pistol are housed in a polymer case lined with foam. The PT in .45 ACP is my preference. While all pistol rounds are velocity dependent to a certain degree, if one views the vaunted Evan Marshall study on stopping power, the smaller 9x19mm and .40 S&W rounds require both more rounds on target and higher pressure and velocity from their lighter bullets to effect the same incapacitation with center mass hits. Elite law enforcement and military units seem to agree with this assessment, which is why they continue to specify the caliber 99 years after its initial issuance to the U.S. Army. In addition, since the U.S. is a signatory to the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions, which “Declaration III” specifically prohibits the use of bullets designed to deform or upset, or whose jackets are notched to provide expansion, .45 ACP remains the best pistol caliber for short-range military purposes. (This, of course, has no relevance to civilian use. -Editor) The PT design provides an external hammer, whose sides are relieved to lighten the part and provide quicker lock time. Trigger take up on single-action is approximately 5/16”, followed by an unacceptably heavy, but crisp, release of 6 pounds, with no over-travel. More important to rapid fire shooters is the trigger reset distance, which is less than 1/8”. This means that the experienced shooter can pre-stage the trigger, bypassing the take-up, and fire successive shots very quickly. This reset distance is bettered by only two designs, the Model 1911 and the Glock. Fit and finish of the
pistol is average for its type. For some reason, Taurus has left the chamber
block area (visible in the large ejection port) and feed ramp polished “in the
white,” while the rest of the pistol is a uniform matte black color. No more
than minor tool marks were visible when inspecting the stripped pistol and none
that would interfere with the proper smooth function of the arm. The slide has slant cut
grasping grooves fore and aft, to allow for easy slide retraction or
“press-checking” for loaded chamber confirmation. While the pistol has a loaded
chamber indicator located above the extractor, I do not believe there is a
substitute for actually looking at the cartridge case. A short range session at Albany Rifle and Pistol Club’s 25 yard range produced the following average results of three, 5-shot groups from a bench rest:
The sights appeared well
regulated and shot to point of aim/point of impact with both loads tested. While
the trigger pull is heavy, it is actually decent against the modern pistols I
have reviewed, especially the striker fired variety. I was able to hold the
front sight steady with either (single) hand during single-action (crisp) presses
and the lack of over-travel was quite refreshing. However, there were several
malfunctions during my brief test session. My preferred load, Federal’s Gen. II
230 grain Hydra-Shok failed to feed four times in three magazines, mostly being
caught by the fixed ejector and failing to feed from the magazine. The sights, supplied by
Wayne Novak’s shop, are of the “3-dot” variety and were easy to acquire, with
plenty of light around the front sight for short range fire. It is not a target
weapon, though I suspect that the trigger, if anything, will improve with
shooting and the grip width is easily managed by anyone with small to
medium-large hands, something that cannot be said of many high-capacity
pistols. Ergonomically, the pistols
molded-in widely spaced “finger grooves,” flat faced checkering/grooving and
gently curved rear strap were all comfortable, though I would prefer a flat
magazine floorplate rather than the extended triangular shape provided, at
least as an option, to aid in concealed carry. (It is unlikely that most shooters would choose a full size, 28 ounce
[without loaded magazine] service pistol that is nearly 8" long for
concealed carry, in any case. -Editor) Long-term durability is
something that is outside the purview of this review. Obviously, there are
other designs on the market that have stellar reliability and durability, but
they cost a more, which in these economic times might be the difference between
having a pistol or not. Regarding quality control,
I noticed several things, all of which are magazine-related. First, some
magazines do not drop free from the pistol when the magazine catch is
depressed. I am not sure whether this is a dimensional inaccuracy in the
magazine tube, or, less likely in the thin plastic frame molding, but it is
somewhat bothersome. Second, when the magazine
is fully loaded with 12 rounds, it would not drop free when the magazine catch
was pressed. It is likely that the extended magazine floorplate was
intentional, to aid in the mag’s removal during administrative handling or a
range cease-fire; some older European service automatics also had magazines
that did not drop free, so that soldiers would not lose them in the field. The
problem in the PT-845 could be caused by the use of too thin sheet steel in its
fabrication, insufficient heat treatment of the tube, or both, which may be
causing expansion of the tube when loaded. Third, when the fully
loaded magazine is latched into its well, it is very difficult to rack the
slide to load the piece. I found it far easier to rack the slide and lock it to
the rear, inserting the magazine, and then racking the slide to load the piece,
then topping it off. While not a QC issue, the
very strong magazine spring initially made the included polymer loading tool
mandatory after seven rounds were loaded. This means that, if one forgets the
tool, topping off the magazine in the field or at the range is going to be a
problem. I suspect that the spring is intentionally strong to ensure reliable
feeding with the lightweight milled steel slide and stout recoil spring, which
must cycle very quickly. Of course, every Taurus
firearm is covered by a limited lifetime warranty, retroactive to July 1975,
for defects or workmanship, though one would wish that this minor quibble could
have been dealt with out of the box. The company is ISO 9001 compliant and has
passed the tough German “TUV” standards for quality control. This does,
however, make the minor magazine quibbles I experienced a bit perplexing, as
the ISO rating of the manufacturing process is supposed to ensure the
consistency of quality. At the time of writing (July 2010), your local dealer may have additional discounts available on new inventory of these pistols; at under $400 discounted retail, the frugal pistol packer might find a PT-series pistol to be a good deal, with some reservations regarding its magazine system and some sensitivity to ammunition. NOTE: This review is mirrored on the Product Reviews page. |