As I mentioned in another post, I got a chance to shoot a Taurus G2 and liked it well enough to buy one of my very own! It showed up yesterday, and I field stripped it a few times, ran a Bore Snake through the barrel a couple of times, greased the rails, and then started gathering ammo together for a shoot out. Went out early this morning and wound up shooting 192 rounds (16 magazines) through it, slow fire and rapid fire. Not a single FTF or FTE's. Shot everything from FMJ's to JHP's; bullet weights from 50 grains to 147; factory loads and hand loads. It ran perfectly. Very pleasant to shoot. I'm going to keep hammering away at it to see if I can get it to fail. I took some pics to compare it in size to my Glock 43.

How does it feel in your hand? What mag capacity?

n ice gun

One of the reasons I bought one is because, for my hand, it felt great. And it points "naturally" for me. I really like the strongly stippled patches on the grips. As we say, so far, so good. . . The really important thing to me is the reliability factor, and I'll continue to chase that issue with lots and lots of rounds down range.

Forgot to answer: mag capacity is 12 rounds. So one in the pipe and 12 in the mag should meet my social needs at less than 7 yards!

Buzzsaw, so far, so good. But 200 rounds into the testing, and having a sample of only one pistol, isn't a whole lot to go on! But I do intend to pursue this little project and will let y'all know what I find as I work with it.

But will it cycle snake shot? I was surprised when my shield 9mm cycled it. Everything I read said semi autos have a hard time cycling it. Nice gun by the way.

Sapper, I haven't tried snake shot yet. I am primarily focused on what rounds could possibly used in a PD scenario or just out plinking with the family. I'll dig out a few snake shot rounds and see how they do once I think I've about worn out all the other options on this pistol. My Glock isn't real pleased with them, as the shot cap doesn't take to the ramp very well; I wind up with a situation where the pistol doesn't quite return fully to battery, and when I extract the offending cartridge, the cap is noticeably scored. I'll eventually get around to testing everything a 9mm Luger is supposed to be able to digest!

I was just giving you a hard time about the snake shot but it is a plus when it will cycle it.

I agree with you, and it will be tested, I assure you!

My son has one. The first hundred rounds or so were frustrating due to a number of FTFs. However, it has since smoothed out and he has pumped hundreds of rounds downrange without incident, even with it extremely dirty. It's really not a bad little pistol

Just got back from the range and shot another 16 mags (192 rounds; 318 so far, to date) through the Taurus. This time I did a "scramble;" I poured cartridges from all the factory and home made loads into a pile, scrambled 'em up, and began stuffing them into the magazines without regard to their manufacture or bullet weight/configuration. Again, no FTF or FTE. The reliability, thus far, has been solid. BTW, I did not clean the pistol during the firing of the first and second 192 round range sessions. I field stripped it and cleaned it after I got back home. Next up on my testing will be accuracy and velocity. It will be interesting to see what the MV out of the 3.2 inch barrel is going to be compared to what is published on the box. My off-hand, informal accuracy testing indicates that 3-4 inch groups at 7 yards is the norm in that mode. I'll see how it does off the bench and bags as soon as I can get around to it and will report what I find here.

Seems like a nice gun, especially for the price

Yep! So far, I'm impressed. And for a street price of around $200, the price is certainly right. (I paid $600 for my Kimber Micro, and a shade under $500 for my Glock 43.) But the proof is going to be in how the piece stands up to lots of rounds being pumped through it, and will it really shoot where you aim it, at 5-10 yards, every time you pull the trigger? I heard one of the gun gurus state that "the purpose of a hand gun is to fight your way to a long gun." I'll be finding out how my tiny sample of one does in making me feel like I can depend on it to do just that over the next week or so. But the bottom line is that it ain't about price, it's about performance/reliability, especially if you are shopping for a PD piece to tuck into your waistband or night stand. This pistol has impressed me, but it hasn't won me over.

My Taurus pistols are by far the best combo of price, ergonomics, and reliability. Glad you like yours.

10/4 on the ergos, patriot07! I actually prefer it, feel-wise, to some of my pricier pieces. Taurus dehorned it quite a bit so it's smooth out of the leather; and the stippling on the grips works really well for me. But if I can't depend on it to shoot reliably and accurately, it's just an ergonomically, well-constructed pistol to play around with at the range and at family reunions when we have our little informal shoot-outs!

If you guys like stippling, check out the grip on the new .45 Shield.

Mikei, keep up the good work! I look forward to more results.

It is a nice looking pistol. The price is kind of amazing.

Time will tell about general accuracy and reliability of the design, it is hard to judge that based upon one sample.

It sounds like the one that mikei has is a good one.

My favorite inexpensive 9mm pistols are no longer in production. - The Star model 30, and the Astra A-100.

The more research I do on the internet, the more it looks like my little sample's performance is not unusual. Use your favorite search engine and the key words "Taurus PT111 Gen 2 Reviews" and see what comes up. It's interesting that most of the reviewers who appear to be "professional gun testers" are very hesitant to say good things about a Taurus product, but they really struggle trying to find something serious to complain about on this particular model. The worst I've seen is they don't care for the "mushy trigger." It doesn't break like an icicle, but I've sure experienced worse triggers in considerably higher priced guns. Since this one is a DA/SA pistol, the initial take-up is loooooong, but the break is OK and very predictable. The trigger resets very quickly, so subsequent shots do not require a total release back to the rest position to get off the next round.

It's not just that model. It's nearly all Taurus pistols.

I went out and did MV and Accuracy testing on the new pistol. I shot from a range of 7 yards, from sandbags on a shooting bench. I set my chronograph 10 feet from the end of the bench. The temperature was in the mid-70's and there was no wind. I used 5 shot groups for both MV and Accuracy measurements, and ran a Bore Snake through the barrel after each group. I made no attempt to allow the piece to cool before each session, so the cooling time was only for as long as it took me to stuff 5 more rounds in the magazines, reset the chrony, and/or change out the targets. I tested only factory ammo and will test some of my hand loads when I get around to it. But since you all will probably not be shooting any of my reloads, I didn't think it made any sense to waste your or my time testing them. I've arranged the results of my testing in ascending order from lightest bullet weight to heaviest: 50 grains to 147 grains; Manufacturer, Bullet Weight, MV, Group Size measured Center-to-Center.

Liberty Civil Defense 50 grains, 1870fps, 2.6 inches
Federal Personal Defense 105 grains, 1021fps 3.00 inches
Winchester White Box 115 grains, 1050fps, 3.4 inches
Freedom Munitions 115 grains, 961fps, 3.6 inches
Hornady TAP FPD 124 grains, 1001fps, 2.7 inches
3-D Remanufactured Ammo 125 grains, 990fps, 3.0 inches
Federal Personal Defense 135 grains, 978fps, 3.1 inches
Hornady TAP, 147 grains, 964fps, 3.4 inches

My conclusion is that it provides adequate accuracy for social encounters at 7 yards. With 13 shots at your disposal, chances are pretty good that you can at least stop the threat and protect yourself or your loved ones with any of these munitions From a reliability standpoint, I can say that after 424 rounds through the pistol without a single FTF or FTE, I am gaining confidence in its performance with each range session. I'm still waiting for something to break, and over the next few weeks I'll continue to pound rounds down the barrel every chance I get, but it will be primarily reloads, since I can't afford to keep buying factory loads for testing. If anything fails, I'll let you know.

One of my shooting buddies asked me if, based on the results of my testing, I would recommend this pistol as a personal defense piece. My answer is "I absolutely would not!" My sample size (one) is too small; I do not conduct my testing under clinical conditions; I'm not qualified nor certified to do "real" gun testing of any sort. All I can do is provide the information I collect to whomever might be interested to assist them in making a more informed decision about buying a PT111 Gen 2. I'm reporting, not recommending!

If you did the same testing on a Glock and had the same preliminary results, would you recommend it for personal defense?

Once again, I think people are skeptical due to the price point and the lack of marketing from Taurus - not at all due to a poor experience with an actual Taurus product.

No, patriot07, I wouldn't. Not for my Glock, my Desert Eagle, my Ruger LCP, my S&W or my Kimber. And for all the reasons I stated above. I wouldn't recommend any firearm I tested for PD based on my funky little test protocol! I really don't have any idea how to conduct real stress testing. Maybe if I had a copy of the guidelines used by the U.S. Military or the FBI, and had the tools and test equipment they have to do the testing, I'd be more comfortable with making a recommendation. But me running around in the pasture shooting up boxes of ammo probably isn't a valid test!

And you're correct on the damaging influence of Taurus' past firearm failures. Lots of gun folks I know are totally intolerant of these failures and do not appear to be capable of ever giving Taurus another chance with a new product. That's their call; because, after all, when you're talking PD weapons, mechanical failures are not an option, and if they've personally experienced them, it really burns. Yes, too, on the price point hovering at $200! That's Saturday Night Special Territory, and no serious gun buff goes there.