Range Report: Taurus Spectrum

Geezer

Geezer

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A few weeks ago @Button Pusher was at Battery Oaks and he had his usual array of firearms. I noticed the Taurus Spectrum and the thing that caught me eye was how rounded it was, no corners or edges anywhere. James let me shoot it and I liked it. I was thinking about it last week and ordered one from Bud's Gun Shop for $139 delivered.

It came with 2 magazines and felt good right out of the box. I took the slide off and wiped everything down, lubed it up, and put the slide back on. I took it to Battery Oaks today to try it out.

spectrum.jpg

I loaded up the magazines with some odds and ends of hollow points that I had and started firing. Some of the ammo was old and I took advantage of the Spectrum's second strike capability. I had three rounds that wouldn't fire on the first trigger pull but did fire on the second pull of the trigger. Second strike is nice.

Here are the first six rounds out of the gun at 7 yards.

spectrum2.jpg

Not too bad for a gun with hardly and front sight. After I used up all of the old hollow point ammo I settled on fresh 90 gr hardball. When I carry this gun I'll carry hardball and not rely on the magic bullets. Placement and penetration is more important. And we we like to say, "They all fall to ball."

I tried a magazine on the hostage target and had three hits out of the six rounds. But, I didn't hit the hostage, either. This was also at 7 yards.

spectrum3.jpg

spectrum4.jpg

All in all, 150 rounds were fired through the little gun with three different shooters. The gun functioned flawlessly, the slide locked back on each empty magazine, and the little pistol seemed to be pretty accurate.

The trigger is wide and smooth and that makes the trigger pull feel lighter than it is. The trigger pull was a little gritty at first but smoothed up quickly. One thing that we all noticed was that is much more pleasant to shoot than a Ruger LCP. It is nearly identical in size to the Ruger but feels better in the hand and with not nearly the amount of snappiness of the LCP.

150 rounds is not enough to determine if a gun is reliable so I'll run at least another 150 through it before I carry it. So far, I am very pleased with the Spectrum. For $139, it is an entertainment value.
 
Oh, and on the side of the frame looks to be a big slotted screw, it's not. You turn it 90 degrees and the slide comes right off. No pulling the trigger, no lining anything up, just turn the "screw" and slide the slide forward. When you put the slide back on the frame, the "screw" turns back into the locked position automatically. Very easy to take down.
 
Will have one ASAP for folks to try out when they are here. Again, thanks to @Button Pusher for this jewel. As my Pard said it is a strange feeling to shoot this thing. Something about the layout that soaks up any recoil. If you are used to a LCP as I am, this little gun is a "softy" in the recoil department. No Probs with head shots at 10 yards.
 
Round 2

I took the little .380 back to Battery Oaks today and I thought I would use up some odds and ends of ammo that I had gotten in trades over the years. They all had magic bullets in them. Speer Gold Dot and Federal Premium Hydra Shock ran perfectly. @Burt Gummer was there and he wanted to shoot it. I loaded up some Pow R Ball and gave it to him. He had 2 FTF in one magazine. The plastic ball in the end of the bullet would cause a malfunction. I tried to run another magazine through it with the same results. I went back to the Gold Dot and normal ball ammo and it continued to run like it has all along. After I shoot up all of these "premium" bullets I won't run anything but ball. I'm going to now declare the little gun reliable and good for carry.

Here is the ammo that wouldn't run in the Taurus. Luckily, I have only one box of these.

pow r ball.jpg
 
Geezer said:
150 rounds is not enough to determine if a gun is reliable so I'll run at least another 150 through it before I carry it. So far, I am very pleased with the Spectrum. For $139, it is an entertainment value.
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Yeah, my slim was flawless for the first 300 rounds or so, then it turned into an FTE machine.

I so want to trust a Taurus, they seem well made for their price point... but I will never trust a taurus
 
Jeppo said:
I’ve got some overpriced and leftover .380 magic bullets you can buy if you wanna continue the testing. :rolleyes:
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@BatteryOaksBilly and I have 1000 rounds of .380 being delivered on Thursday. But if you need someone to shoot it up for you, I'm your guy.
 
DrPhudd said:
Yeah, my slim was flawless for the first 300 rounds or so, then it turned into an FTE machine.

I so want to trust a Taurus, they seem well made for their price point... but I will never trust a taurus
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Funny how no one says that when they have to have their Springfield, Kimber, etc. tweaked by a gunsmith.
 
Jeppo said:
You’re gonna run 1,000 thru a Taurus? :eek:
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I have distinct plans for mine Jep. One hundred rounds of Ball and then put away for deep concealment. I currently have a Sig, a Llama, 2 LCPs, and this Taurus Spectrum in .380. All run fine and I trust them for sometimes carry. They are always carried in pairs for Murphy. Right or wrong I do Not believe these guns are meant to fire thousands of rounds. I do not buy or carry them with those expectations. My expectations and their use are in a limited "Spectrum".
 
Our 9mm Heavy Hell Loads were a rousing success today. All guns ate them and the targets were trying to avoid being hit by them. Thanks to @Michael458 for all his work. As with our 35+ years of conspiring, he has never let me down. While I on the other hand have cost him 100s of thousands of Dollars. Damn!!! Ain't life grand!?!?!?
 
Jeppo said:
You’re gonna run 1,000 thru a Taurus? :eek:
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That’s the little engine that could. Damn thing shoots good. I’m gonna have one soon and I swore I’d never have another .380
 
Burt Gummer said:
That’s the little engine that could. Damn thing shoots good. I’m gonna have one soon and I swore I’d never have another .380
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I'll give ya the rest of the box of Pow R Ball to get ya started.
 
Geezer said:
I'll give ya the rest of the box of Pow R Ball to get ya started.
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I’ll shoot em and load em single shot if I have to.
 
For those of you keeping count I am now SCCYless again. They are great little guns and I enjoy shooting the snot out of them and giving them to folks with a clear conscience. They work! STILL, I am inclined to think you maybe should run a couple of hundred through them and put em in your pocket. I have put over 1,200 rounds each through 2 now. My first failure was a 1,200+, a failure to extract. Then the same thing again a hundred or so more. There is great factory support but as for me and mine, shoot a little and carry a lot.
These aren't the only guns I feel this way about.
 
Took mine out today for the first time. 90 flawless rounds. 80 normal, and 10 SD. Quite a difference from my experience with their previous 380 product (768 TCP, or whatever it was called). Not much felt recoil. Definitely a keeper, and may be what changes my mind about Taurus.
 
Some guns can be picky on. 380 ammo. I have a Bersa that will not cycle PPU ammo. It's really a great price. But the PPU measures .982 OAL. The other .380 I shhot with no problems come in at about .975 or less.
 
Ive been following this thread closely. I don't have a mouse gun, and been considering getting an LCP for that once in a while carry that my 442 is taking care of now. But for less than $150, this may fit that slot.
 
Geezer said:
Round 2

I took the little .380 back to Battery Oaks today and I thought I would use up some odds and ends of ammo that I had gotten in trades over the years. They all had magic bullets in them. Speer Gold Dot and Federal Premium Hydra Shock ran perfectly. @Burt Gummer was there and he wanted to shoot it. I loaded up some Pow R Ball and gave it to him.

View attachment 143516
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I am almost positive that I have some 22LR ammo that makes more energy than that (from a 16" barrel ;) )
Lol.

Dammit @Geezer now you got me shopping for cut rate mouseguns for the wife's 'date purse'
 
I swore off 380s but, after reading this and other online reviews, I may have to give one or two a try, especially for the price point. I hate this forum (more accurately, my wallet does)
 
Ikarus1 said:
I am almost positive that I have some 22LR ammo that makes more energy than that (from a 16" barrel ;) )
Lol.

Dammit @Geezer now you got me shopping for cut rate mouseguns for the wife's 'date purse'
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Yeah, but try to stick that 16 " 22LR in your front pocket.

B00ger said:
Ive been following this thread closely. I don't have a mouse gun, and been considering getting an LCP for that once in a while carry that my 442 is taking care of now. But for less than $150, this may fit that slot.
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I have absolutely no use for a gun that won't work. This one worked so well that when Billy wanted one, I ordered another one. It works just as good as the first one. Billy's is more of the same. This is a sample size of three guns and they work. For the price, I think they are a great bargain. And, they come with 2 magazines.
 
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fsj80 said:
I swore off 380s but, after reading this and other online reviews, I may have to give one or two a try, especially for the price point. I hate this forum (more accurately, my wallet does)
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Just dirty paper til you turn it into something......repeat 10K times.
 
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