I've been thinking about a sub caliber 1911 for a while, and received a sale catalog with the Taurus 1911 on sale in 38 Super caliber. I've owned a couple of supers in the past, but it's likely been 15 or more years. I did a little research and found most are produced with .355 barrels now. This little bit info made the 38 more appealing, as I have a plethora of 9mm bullets on hand. I received the stainless 1911 last Friday. I had reservations about the Taurus name on such an American icon, but I have to admit that I've been pleasantly surprised. The fit and finish is far above what I expected for a pistol in this price range. The plastic grips were replaced with a set of DD walnut grips. The trigger pull and grip safety are very hard, so I replaced the sear spring with one I removed from a factory S&W. This spring brought the grip safety down to a reasonable level, and the trigger breaks @ 5.5 lbs. It's still too heavy for target work, but very usable otherwise. It came equipped with Novak sights that seem to be well regulated to the pistol. The point of impact with most of my loads is perfect with a six o'clock hold at the 33ft I've been shooting at. I loaded some mix headstamp brass purchased from Ga. Arms using Fed small pistol primers, a dose of Accurate #7 and bullets from the 115g Winchester .355 FMJ to 147g Hornady XTP's. I cleaned and lubed the pistol before going to the range. Other than an odd looking black lock recessed in the hammer, it looks like a 1911 inside and out. I installed an Ed Brown extended slide release while reassembling. At the range, this thing really impressed me. My biggest relief was just how well it shoots the .355 bullets. At eleven steps, with a full 9 rounds in the mag I was able to shoot more than one silver dollar sized group. I didn't everytime, but I'm pretty sure it was shooter error when I didn't. The worst groups I shot were more than acceptable for me. I'm going to do a bit more trigger work, and get some .356 HAP bullets to see what this thing may be capable of. I put more than 200 rounds through it without issue. Bottom line; If I had the money, I'd buy another, this thing's a shooter. When I'm looking down the sights, I have no idea who's name written on the slide, and when I'm looking at the targets, I don't care who's name's on it.
