Para or Taurus?

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Para or Taurus?

Postby hans on Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:05 am

Hey I don't know if this kind of post is frowned upon or not but I need help deciding. I have 1911 fever and really want one.

I saw a used Para EXPERT 1911 in all black at cabellas and they would take $475 I went to do the back ground check and got delayed. After I left I found out that mills fleet farm has the Taurus PT1911 on sale for $469 new.

I don't know what I should do. I like the styling of the Para better but I dont mind the Taurus and since it's new for less money it seems like a far better deal. The para has a scratch ontheback of the slide and other than that it's clean. The part I find unpleasant to look at on the Taurus is that goofy looking hammer.

This gun is going to be used for fun purposes and will be carried every once in a while.
Do I get the used para? New Taurus? Different make and model?
Any thoughts or opinions would be nice
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Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby mmcnx2 on Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:50 am

If they were both new I'd lean towards the Para. Given the new/used situation I'd go new Taurus. 1991's are great and addictive. Para makes a nice one, but used you have no idea of the history or what some basement hack may have tried to do to it. Taurus has a good warranty and they are solid.
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Para or Taurus?

Postby gun_fan111v2 on Mon Apr 13, 2015 12:35 pm

Between those two, I would get a Rock Island Armory (RIA)... :)

Edit: RIA are inexpensive guns that work, which is what you seem to be looking for. Plus great reputation for customer service and warranty work.
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Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby Eric Marleau on Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:09 pm

Para hands down. No contest. For lower cost 1911 you can't beat the Para. I picked one up just for fun last year, liked it so much I even had a trigger job done.
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Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby UnaStamus on Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:14 pm

I could go on a diatribe about how poor my opinion is of Taurus, but I would instead recommend that you spend some time online researching Taurus and their reputation before you commit to one.
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Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby linksep on Thu Apr 16, 2015 11:35 pm

UnaStamus wrote:I could go on a diatribe about how poor my opinion is of Taurus, but I would instead recommend that you spend some time online researching Taurus and their reputation before you commit to one.


Agreed, read lots of recent reviews about Taurus because recently Taurus has a MUCH better reputation than they used to have. Sure the guns are still filled with grease and metal chips when you buy them but who doesn't thoroughly clean their gun before firing the first round? I have shot two Tauruses and they are both reliable accurate high-value shooters. What other calibers do you currently shoot? If it were my money I'd be getting a Blued Taurus 1911 in 9mm because I'm always swimming against the current... .45 is too expensive to shoot in mass quantities and a 1911 isn't an EDC gun IMO so if it's a range toy you might as well shoot it cheap.

http://grabagun.com/taurus-1911-9mm-5-9rd-sts.html
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/prod ... 45ACP+5%22
http://www.gunsandammo.com/reviews/taur ... ss-review/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LxWq8QlzJY
http://www.fourguysguns.com/articles/ta ... 911-review
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Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby shotz90s on Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:25 am

Boy I must be lucky to have two Taurus' that work flawlessly, one a 1911. That said, my cousin has a Para he likes too. Taurus has great customer service and I think the bad rep comes from the older days when yes, they were crap guns. Not so much anymore from what I've heard.
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Re: Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby gun_fan111v2 on Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:31 am

linksep wrote:...a 1911 isn't an EDC gun IMO so if it's a range toy...


Ouch:). Have you taken a look at the large selection of CCO size pistols available these days? (Not to get off topic... :))
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Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby UnaStamus on Sun Apr 19, 2015 1:49 pm

Rob Pincus is a total clown, but he wasn't wrong when he made his video (even a blind squirrel eventually finds a nut) about how compact 1911s as a whole are not ideal for carry due to reliability issues. Several instructors nationwide have noted reliabilty concerns with many factory compact 1911s, and seeing these problems occur in training.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that it shouldn't be done, but I think that one would want to exercise due dilligence and put their compact 1911 EDC gun through its paces on the range with a substantial round count before putting it "into service" as it were. Something that would not be as necessary with say, a Glock, Sig or HK.
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Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby mmcnx2 on Sun Apr 19, 2015 6:24 pm

UnaStamus wrote:Rob Pincus is a total clown, but he wasn't wrong when he made his video (even a blind squirrel eventually finds a nut) about how compact 1911s as a whole are not ideal for carry due to reliability issues. Several instructors nationwide have noted reliabilty concerns with many factory compact 1911s, and seeing these problems occur in training.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that it shouldn't be done, but I think that one would want to exercise due dilligence and put their compact 1911 EDC gun through its paces on the range with a substantial round count before putting it "into service" as it were. Something that would not be as necessary with say, a Glock, Sig or HK.



Sorry, total crap about compact 1911's not being reliable. 99% of the 1911 issues are from hack smiths swapping parts, fixing triggers or polishing surfaces.

I've had numerous compact including a Taurus and they all ran 100%, the EMP in 9mm I currently have is a ammo eating machine and brutally accurate.

Most compacts, indifferent of mechanical type, can have feed issue due to limp wrist shooters, which in part is due to the small grips.

As a pro staffer I get to shoot almost every brand and the compacts I see with the most issues are 380 Sigs.
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Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby Erik_Pakieser on Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:40 pm

Seen a lot of ultra-compact .45s in classes - Kimber, Sprinfield, Para included. They all run like crap.

The good news is, by the end of the day, students who bring them get really good at clearing malfunctions.

Anything smaller than a Commander size seems to be asking for trouble.
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Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby UnaStamus on Sun Apr 19, 2015 9:21 pm

.380 anything in the compact/pocket rocket size is always a concern regardless of manufacturer. Among the many reasons why I won't carry a .380 off duty is the sketchy reliability of them. Hell, look at Glock's troubles with the G42. All subcompact style guns are far more prone to malfunction regardless of maker. There are ways to mitigate this, like buying one in a sufficient caliber or buying from a reputable company.
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Para or Taurus?

Postby gun_fan111v2 on Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:03 pm

Erik_Pakieser wrote:Seen a lot of ultra-compact .45s in classes - Kimber, Sprinfield, Para included. They all run like crap.

The good news is, by the end of the day, students who bring them get really good at clearing malfunctions.

Anything smaller than a Commander size seems to be asking for trouble.


Thanks for sharing this! Have any of your students had Springfield 4" offerings? I read good things about those and my RO Compact has been 100% through its first 300 rounds. Nothing like taking it through a few classes though...
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Para or Taurus?

Postby Erik_Pakieser on Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:52 am

gun_fan111v2 wrote:
Thanks for sharing this! Have any of your students had Springfield 4" offerings? I read good things about those and my RO Compact has been 100% through its first 300 rounds. Nothing like taking it through a few classes though...


The 4" M1911 is the "Commander" size I was referring to, which seems to work pretty well. But the only way to know for sure is to take it out and run it.

My Father-in-Law had a fully restored 1957 Chevy show car. He rarely drove it and never took it outside when it looked like might rain. Too many people treat their self-defense guns like that.

Your self-defense gun should be like a dinged up old pickup. Practical, tough, proven and reliable. It's amazing what students discover about their gun after running 350 rounds through it in a day.

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Re: Re: Para or Taurus?

Postby linksep on Mon Apr 20, 2015 11:06 pm

gun_fan111v2 wrote:
linksep wrote:...a 1911 isn't an EDC gun IMO so if it's a range toy...


Ouch:). Have you taken a look at the large selection of CCO size pistols available these days? (Not to get off topic... :))


Well, I guess I managed to derail the thread... I meant no offense to anyone, nor did I intend to cause an excrement tornado.

Let me clarify: For me and my body-type and attire, a 1911 wouldn't conceal well, plus I would take an 8lb trigger with no safety compared to a 4lb trigger with a safety for EDC... personal opinion and your opinion may vary.

Since I like to hear bang and I'm not worth my weight in gold bullion I find .45 to be a little too spendy for me.

Taurus is a brand with a shoddy reputation on the interwebs, but the Taurus experiences I have had have been better than the Ruger experiences I have had.

I don't own a 1911, but a 1911 is easily in the top 4 firearms on my wish-list. Since a 1911 will be a range toy (to me), I'm "frugal" (fine if you read that as cheap or poor or both), I march to the beat of my own bagpipe player, and Taurus is batting a thousand in my limited personal experience; my first 1911 will probably be a Taurus 1911 in 9mm.
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