Not being a big fan of the 9mm cartridge, when I saw my first PT709, I thought..."Gee, wouldn't it be nice if they made that in .40 S&W?". Danged if the didn't come up with one a few months later. I had to have one!!
It is a great concealed carry gun. You can almost forget that you are carrying it. Fit and finish are good. All controls are in familiar places, function well and are within easy reach. The "memory spots" are a nice touch for a repeatable grip.
I have put over 300 rounds thru it, both 180 grain hardball and 180 and 165 grain hollowpoints. I found that there was not enough travel in the adjustable rear sight to bring 180 grain bullets to point of aim. At maximum elevation they still hit about 1/2" low at "fighting ranges". 165's, with less recoil, were much easier to shoot and could be adjusted to point of aim.
There is a lot of trigger take up before the single action (striker fired) engages. It is not a heavy trigger pull,about 5-6 lbs and fairly clean, but it takes some getting used to. The second strike (double action pull) is also a nice touch that will probably never be needed, but still nice to know that it's there.
Keeping in mind the intended purpose of this gun, I find that it meets and exceeds job requirements. My only beef with this little belly gun (If you have a belly like mine, you understand the term concealed weapon!!) is the 6 shot
magazine. Taurus mentions future availability of an 8 round extended mag in the paper work, but I haven't seen it yet on the Taurus web site. Soon I hope
!! I'd rate it about 8.5 out of 10. When the 8 round mags shows, it could be a 9!
After about 500 rounds and a lot of frustration, I finally admitted to myself that I could not get used to the trigger on the 740 Slim. With a hand as large as mine and the large amount of take up for the single action (first strike) trigger pull, I found that I could not have any real control of the trigger. For someone used to putting all rounds thru one ragged, center of mass hole, this was not acceptable.
