Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Handgun Review Taurus 840

I have owned several Taurus pistols over the years the last a PT92 which was a great pistol and currently own a M85 which always goes bang. I got a sales circular from one of my distributors with the PT840SS on sale for a song. I decided that the gun has several features that require investigation. (I swiped these images off the net, this is not my firearm or house for that matter)






My current pistol is a SA XD40 tactical which I have just started shooting IPSC with but shoot "Limited 10" due to the magazine capacity. The Taurus 840 has a 15 round mag which adds an advantage according to the IPSC crowd and allows me to shoot "Limited". The gun features interchangeable back straps on the grip, ambidextrous controls which includes a thumb safety/decocker lever, SA/DA trigger, a hammer and "Second Strike" capability. If the gun does not ignite a primer, the gun resets to DA mode allowing a second hammer strike. An interesting feature. Novak 3 dot sights adorn the top which use a set screw to fix them in place. I assume that is because on a budget gun the dovetails are loosely cut, but I do not have experience with Novak's otherwise. The barrel ramp was chromed which I assume is a cost saving measure, but nice and bright and shiny. Otherwise the stainless has a matte blasted finish.

I received the pistol last Monday and brought it to the range for some shooting. I am shooing 180 grain lead bullet at about 950 fps for an IPSC load. I wiped it down prior but not a lot of grease was present so an easy job. I shot several magazines thru the gun on day one with no difficulty, I would guess over 100 rounds. Initial impression for the double action trigger pull was heavy and long. I was quite impressed at the short stroke reset of the single action trigger, considerably shorter than the one on my XD. I can feel a slight tic on the trigger which feels to me like a burr on the trigger bar, but it does not interfere with the shooting of the gun. I do anticipate that to disappear after a little more shooting or a fluff and buff treatment.

I decided to try the gun shooting at a local IPSC match yesterday. Remember I just started shooting these so I really suck. One advantage to using this gun is the hammer and thumb safety, which allows me to shoot cocked and locked in Limited, so I can avoid that DA trigger pull for the first shot. I shot all five stages without the gun malfunctioning, I did have one "failure to ignite" or perhaps failure of shooter but the gun did not go bang when I pulled the trigger. Of course I forgot about the Second Strike so merely cycled the action and was not able to test that feature. Again, I was shooting a stage so I can not determine what was up with that shot, I just did the Old Faithful and cycled the slide by hand.

Overall the gun performed well. It disassembles like a Glock. The molded rails are a lot like a Glock. The slide fit is a little on the sloppy side like a GI 1911. Grip angle is like a 1911 or XD (which I am more familiar with). It does have a little molded bump which guards the mag release from you thumb, a problem I have with the 1911. For me I think a Hogue Handall would improve the hand fit for me and a fiberoptic front sight will help my aging eyes find the front sight. I was not dead last in the shoot this time, but the Eleven year old girl did not beat me this time (she actually did not shoot this week).