Taurus Spectrum .380 at Shot Show 2017

Gun Watch ^ | 20 January, 2017 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

A pick for the "best" new product at the Shot Show is a highly subjective thing.  The item that most impressed me was at the Taurus booth.  It is the likely replacement for the Taurus 738 TCP, the Taurus Spectrum.

It seems that Taurus has not been able to keep up with demand for the 738. The 738 has an excellent reputation for reliability. It is small, easy to conceal, and
is in the popular .380 caliber.  I liked the ergonomics of the 738.  So why has Taurus introduced what appears to be a replacement for the 738?

First, a caution.  I have not shot the Spectrum. This is not a review, only my impressions from the Shot Show.  I only handled it and dry fired several specimens  on the Shot Show floor.  I am generally not impressed with multiple colors. However, it is easy to see how multiple color schemes can be a valuable marketing tool.

What impressed me about the Spectrum was the ergonomics, most particularly, the trigger. The trigger is a true double action only. Taurus says that each pull of the trigger cocks and releases the striker, allowing for multiple primer hits. The relatively wide trigger makes the pull feel much lighter than the listed 7-9 pounds.  I was reminded of the excellent double action triggers on some of the older Smith and Wesson revolvers.  The trigger is the same every time.  I believe that with the fixed barrel, the pistol has potential for excellent accuracy.

Taurus includes two magazines with the pistol, a six round and a seven round with a magazine extension.  The magazine extension has an innovative rebated pinky finger spot slightly back from the grip. Most magazine extensions angle the extension forward and down in front. This extension goes down and back.  It fit the hand very well. The frame of the pistol has slightly softened areas to reduce felt recoil.  The engineer in me suspects it will work as designed.  Even a small ability to dampen recoil will likely be noticeable in the very small, light, pistols.

The sights are fixed and large enough to be used.  If they are correctly regulated, they will be serviceable.

The minority of people who actually shoot much, and like to make the most of each pistol, would be a little better served with a simple adjustable sight, perhaps drift adjustable.  Most people are not going to be taking coyote at 40 yards with this sort of pistol. I know a couple of expert shots who have done it. The capability is likely there, if the sights can be made to work. Small pistols are often very accurate. It takes an accomplished, practiced shooter to get the most out of them.

Maybe, in later runs, arrangements could be made for a simple adjustable rear sight.

The pistol weighs 10 ounces unloaded.  It is slightly bigger and wider (.07 inches) than a Ruger LCP. Both are extremely small, concealable pistols.

The proof, of course, will be in the shooting. That will have to wait until production runs become available, probably sometime later this year.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

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[Paal Gulli]

"James Bond carried a Walther PPk. And he got laid a lot."

Bond's Walther was chambered in 7.65, not .380.

[advertising guy]

My proof is in my pocket, a Bersa Thunder CC
excellent 380 pistol !

[SparkyBass]

"If I want a .380 I’ll get a Bersa Thunder."

Got one in the drawer next to me now. It's a beauty for IWB conceal carry.

[Jmouse007]

Berea Thunder 380: Outstanding weapon. Much better than the Taurus and an excellent alternative to the Walther PPK.

The build quality, smooth-light trigger pull, reliability, low recoil and accuracy of the Berea Thunder 380 is well documented.

The YouTube video reviews and owner/user reviews on the Bersa Thunder 380 speak volumes as to how consistently fine this weapon is. And with the right defense ammunition the 380 ACP is downright lethal.

[Chode]

that's not the point, i have a .32 Tomcat and a .380 Ruger and a .380 Walther PPK/S and their purpose is to GET OUT of what ever situation required them being drawn, NOT a gunfight... YMMV

[Chode]

pls see post #25, these guns are made so you can disengage and live to fight another day, not duke it out

but that's just me

[bravo whiskey]

I carry a GLOCK 42 (.380) around the house with Hornady critical defense. It is my get to the big gun gun. Aldo wear it when working out at the gym. But I is not my usual ccw carry.

[T-Bone Texan]

I bought a Taurus revolver, .22 cal, that held 9 rounds.

I bought it mainly because it held 9 rounds.

Boy, was THAT a mistake.

[riverrunner]

It is obvious that we have different standards of what is needed in our handguns.

[MHGinTN]

I have a Taurus 45acp Tactical that is striker fired, with the same repeat strike capability. I trust my life with it as my home defense go to pistol. Eats any ammo I feed it. Loaded with Remington Golden Sabers for greeting purposes (12 + 1)/

[Chode]

yup, each of us values their own life in their own way

[Chode]

have you had the 42 long? i read how it had been a problem getting them into the country for some bizarre technicality

[left that other site]

same Issues as mine?

[Celtic Conservative]

I’m sorry you’ve had bad luck with them. I’ve owned 3 and each one has performed as advertised. The 2 I own now figure prominently in my EDC rotation. One s a PT856 6 shot snubnose revolver and the other is a PT740 striker fired semiauto in .40 S&W. The 740 kicks like a mule, but I kinda expected that going in.

CC

[T-Bone Texan]

It was stolen from my truck a while back, this being Houston and all, but my main memory was the sucky trigger.

The movement was not smooth.

I never had a revolver before, so I didn’t really have anything to compare it to.

[left that other site]

Revolvers have been my favorite since the time hot brass got stuck in my bra! Hee Hee Hee!