Comments on: Taurus PT709 “Slim” Sub-Compact 9mm

By: Ron in Texas

Ron in Texas — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:35:42 +0000

I purchased the PT709 a couple of weeks ago and aside from only 2 FTE’s after 200 rounds, I am pretty pleased with the results. The FTE’s were with +P rounds, but it handles and shoots great with standard 115 and 124 grain rounds. I did have to adjust the rear sight just a bit to raise it, but all in all I’m happy with my purchase.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:44:23 +0000

Have fired over 300 rounds with the PT709 and love it. Not one issue or problem. This little 9mm is a winner in my book. I like the slim design, light-weight, fantastic to carry. Have a Glock 19 9mm but for carry this puppy is fantastic. Good looking gun as well.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:57:17 +0000

I just picked up a PT709 today and am dying to try it out this weekend. I’m gonna try to put 150 rounds through it, but with two 7 round mags, that should take a while.

If I have any problems, I’ll post’em here.

By: Rus

Rus — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:53:48 +0000

My wife’s new PT709SS had some FTE stovepipes on the first trip to the range. I contacted Taurus International and they sent FedEx to pick it up and take it to Florida for a physical.

It should be returned around Thanksgiving.

It is a great pistol aside from the fwe FTE’s.

I am actually thinking of buying another one for myself.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:32:46 +0000

A relitive of mine had the same problem. She ask me to go to the range with her to see if I could troubleshoot the prob. I noticed with each misfire she was riding the slide forward while racking or had a weak grip of the pistol. Had her to start pulling it all the way back and just release it when racking it and to apply a firm grip to reduce the rise during recoile . It must have been a seating issue with the round because after that no misfires. Hope this helps u 2.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:16:48 +0000

I bought my pt709 a few months ago. First trip to the range I couldn’t get through one magazine without a failure to eject. I sent the gun back to Taurus and they replaced the extractor and sent it back to me. I took it to the range this weekend and the problem still exists but is moderately improved. Had three jams out of 50 rounds (Winchester NATO 124 grain and Remington 115 grain). I am very displeased with this gun. I guess I will try to send it back again but am getting tired of messing with it. Is Taurus capable of fixing this gun or does this model suffer from such poor quality control that it is a lost cause? I would like it if they would just keep this one and send me a new one. Does anyone know if they will do this?

By: James

James — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:41:01 +0000

I purchase my 709 on Sept. 26. Love the gun but I am having some firing issues. I am having a lot of misfires. It might go through a clip without any problems but then you might pull the trigger 5-10 times and nothing happens. Pull clip, clear round, put round back in clip, rerack and still nothing fires. Then finally it will fire. I will be calling Taurus tomorrow. Anyone else haveing this issue?

By: david

david — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:17:54 +0000

I put 400 rounds of winclean 125 grain through my new Slim PT 709 without a problem. Then put 25 rounds of corbon hollow points plus P 125 Grain-which is what I use in my glocks, and had several stove pipes and gun did not handle as well. I called Taurus and they said they do not recommend plus P ammo. So I switched to federal classic 125 grain Hollow points, put through another 50 rounds and that worked great.

Let’s hope we will still see an extended magazine. Great gun.

By: gary r detechke

gary r detechke — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:30:53 +0000

“…Wolf ammo is Russian.”

No, Wolf ammo is garbage.

Bersas (my first pistol) have the same problem. They will fire anything, *anything*. But not wolf. It’s just terrible ammo with low quality control.

By: livefree

livefree — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:51:15 +0000

I shoot winchester from walmart, bulk box 115g fmj. I have had no issues whatsoever. It is sensitive to grip when shooting. With very solid grip and good follow through it is accurate at 15ft. In my hands if I do not pay attention I am shooting low left. I have not had a chance to change the sites but i may. Customer service from taurus has been excellent.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:27:49 +0000

Rus, I have updated it.

By: Rus

Rus — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:24:00 +0000

I just noticed that the description at the opening of this thread is incorrect. It lists the gun as 8+1 when in reality it is a 7+1. Now that they are really on the street, I think we need to clear up any misconceptions that came with the prototype.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:16:30 +0000

I purchased a PT 709 last month and have shot 200 rds of 115 grain FMJ Monarch brand (Academy branded). No stove piping and recoil manageable. I had to adjust sight using sand bags in a resting position to find out where it was hitting, as I was shooting a pattern of 6″ to 8″ in standing position. I learned that the first round out of the magazine was hitting consistently within 1/2″ of target point at 7 yds in a standing position but realized the trigger was a much heavier pull on any subsequent rounds fired out of magazine. The best I could do after getting it sighted in was shoot a grouping of about 5″ at 7 yds. The SA trigger was a much heavier pull after first round. I took gun to gunsmith yesterday and the trigger pull varied from 3.8 to 4.2 on first round and 4 to 5.75 on any subsequent round fired out of magazine. Gunsmith had never seen a semi automatic with that much variance and said it should be sent back to factory. Called Taurus today and they will pick it up and check it out but trigger will be set at 5 to 5.5 in SA and if there is a misfire then goes to DA at 8 lbs. In my opinion this gun is too small and light to accurately shoot a tight 2″ group at 7 yds with a 5 to 5.5 trigger pull unless you are a professional shooter! I’m taking it to gunsmith dealer I purchased it from to get opinion on reworking the trigger and resetting to 4 lb break.

By: joe

joe — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:37:54 +0000

i purchased the pt709 yesterday and ran into a problem or two(or more) with the firing. i did by the cheapest FMJ ammo for target but 15 out of 40 didnt fire? wolf ammo….anyone had any problems like this? fyi wolf ammo is russian.

By: Rus

Rus — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:05:26 +0000

I just hung up the phone with Taurus International and the official word is they do not make an extended magazine for the PT709. AND, they have no intention to make an extended magazine for this pistol.

So, if you are planning to purchase this weapon with the intent of using an extended magagzine, you will be sadly disappointed.

If I had the equipment, I would become a third party supplier for this item immediately.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Had I called a day earlier, I would NOT have bought this pistol yesterday.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:06:53 +0000

Nevermind. I found the answer. Prototype as opposed to production model. Too bad. I like the prototype better. Taurus turned a handsome prototype into an ugly production model. Everything’s got to look kinetic these days to appeal to kids. (That’s anyone under 40) Smooth graceful lines have given way to angular. And I hope someone from Taurus is reading this. Mechanically, I like the design.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:19:40 +0000

What gives? The PT709 pictured here and various other places across the internet is very different than the PT709 on Taurus’ website. This one appears to be SA, and is described as such by Dick Metcalf in Handguns, whereas the model on Taurus’ website is DA/SA and very different in appearance. Anyone know what I’m missing?

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:11:12 +0000

I just got a 709 Slim on this last Saturday. I really like it. I haven’t had much time to play with it yet. I did clean it and shoot a couple mags through it. The first magazine full of 115gr WWB from WallyWorld had a couple cases that didn’t eject. Infact the case was left in the chamber almost like they were jammed. I thought maybe it was due to the fact that I hadn’t followed up the cleaning with dry patch, so there was oil in the chamber resulting in a alot of force going from the case going back on the breach. ( The fired cases had a differn’t look about them, They looked like they had drag marks from the chamber) I recleaned and dried the barrel and tried with a clip from Remington ammo and had no problems. I then shot some of the WWB and had no problems. I think I just need to break in the gun some more, but if someone could shed some more light on this I would be greatful.

Steve

When you say that the barrel is loose, do you mean with the slide pulled back locked open? If so thats normal, but if the slide if forward and the barrel is locked up and is still loose, that isn’t normal.

By: steve eastman

steve eastman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:07:40 +0000

I just bought my Taurus pt709 slim and when I got it home to clean it I noticed when I pulled the slide back the barrel had alot of play in it, is that normal or should I take it back.

By: livefree

livefree — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:44:10 +0000

I sent my gun back to taurus. Fantastic customer service. They picked it up from my house. I wanted to make sure nothing was wrong with the gun. They changed the extractor pin which I guess is a common problem with taurus guns. Went to the range today and put 100rds of winchester 115g through it. I made some adjustments with my grip and was able to group my shots 8-10 ring at 15ft. I think the reason I was spraying the target before was due to the short grip. The gun shot low because it was slipping down as I pulled the trigger. I needed a firmer grip and good follow through to be consistent.
I am very happy with the gun, and can now recommend it. I would feel comfortable with it at a distance across a street. It definitely took about 400 rds to break it in.
I am still waiting to get an extended mag. I think this would improve the grip and accuracy more.

By: Techsan

Techsan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:57:38 +0000

Live Free,

Let us know if you find an extended mag, I’m looking for one also. Apparently some were shipped with 1 of each, but mine had two flush mags. The guy I bought mine from had 6 of them and none of them had an extended mag. We may have awhile to wait as they’re still churning out these dudes as fast as they can make ‘em. I don’t think extra mags are a priority right now.

By: Techsan

Techsan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:54:59 +0000

Tony,

The 709 is a single action only pistol, not double action as you say. It is also striker-fired so it’s lacking a hammer and features a manual thumb safety. For traditional 1911 fans, the combination of single action and striker-fired is difficult to reconcile. Basically, when you rack the slide to chamber the first round and engage the manual safety, it is cocked and locked (condition 1). It is impossible to carry it in condition 2 because there is no hammer to lower. Carrying in condition 2 is usually not adviseable, but I mention it only to make a point. The 709 also has a firing pin safety so, in theory, the gun shouldn’t fire if you drop it. Only pulling the trigger will fire the weapon.

The single action was a major factor in my decision to go with the 709. Most of it’s competitors as well as the little .380’s are double action only. I find double action only guns hard to shoot accurately. You could make an argument with the little .380’s (Ruger LCP and it’s Ilk) that they are close range guns anway and it doesn’t matter because they’re point and shoot anyway. That is debateable, but a 9mm is clearly not just a “fight your way to the car” caliber and reasonable accuracy at a medium range is a big advantage.

By: livefree

livefree — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:48:22 +0000

I finally found some different ammo( winchester 115g fmj, and federal 115g fmj). No problems with either, no ftf, fte. The problem ammo was PMC. Shot 150 rounds at 15 feet. I had 2 friends who have extensive experience, fire it also. We all had the same results. Able to punch the target but not as accurately as I would like( one center, 3 grouped high or low and the rest around the dial). I am still trying to dial in the sites. I find it more accurate at rapid fire. This may be do to the type of short barrel gun: small adjustments make a big difference. Gun shoots well, minimal recoil. Easy to break down and clean. I think I could hit a torso at 15feet but will keep firing it to see if it is easy to aim when it fully breaks in. Interested in others firing the gun. All of the expert reviews say it is very accurate. I hope I can agree with that in the future. I am also trying to get my hands on an extended mag.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:15:47 +0000

I purchased the PT709 Taurus slim last week. I put about 75 rounds through it yesterday, most of which were reloads. I had a box of target 115gr. winchester ammo, but had about 6 or 7 stove pipe on me before i gave up on them. The issue was the actual bullet was exposed just a little more than the reloads, and i suppose the spring on the clip was tight and pushing the unfired rounds bullet into the fired case during the slides ejecting, not allowing it to eject properly. The gun feels great, and with reloads it still grouped about 2.5 inches at 15 yards. I did have issues with it shooting about 2 inches left to begin with but 2 simple screws on the sights got it in the middle. Trigger takes getting used to, but kinda like my Jframe, you learn quiclkly when to expect the strike. For the price and size, given i find a reliable factory ammo, this is a steal compared to a Glock subcompact.

By: livefree

livefree — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:26:45 +0000

question for tony. I just got the slim. Fits well in my hand 6′1″ 250. I fired 70rd pmc 9mm. Had 6 that did not fire( probably ammo), no FTF, but found it very inaccurate. I was surprised. It seemed to fire low. The recoil was very slight. I adjusted the sights and it was better but not as accurate as I hoped. Stayed the same at 25 to 15 to 7 yards. I will fire it more but I wanted to know if you had that problem. I have a xd40 which is very accurate( full size).

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:32:34 +0000

Ive has the 709 for a week and have put about 500 rounds through it ,no FTF or FTE. IT IS a double action pistol. My buddy has the KEL-TEC PF9, and IMO the 709 is easier to control as i can get 4 digets on the handle vise only 3 for the PF9.

By: Jim H

Jim H — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:18:24 +0000

Yeah…… it is single action……
short trigger pull….
the cycling of the slide completely cocks the
striker and the the trigger lets it go…..
much shorter action then the sa/da taurus striker guns…

By: alaskanwarrior

alaskanwarrior — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 14:48:49 +0000

looks almost like a Kel-Tec..

By: sam

sam — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:42:07 +0000

the Springfield XD is also single action striker fired I believe.

By: Pete

Pete — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:17:01 +0000

Looks striker fired. Single action striker fired sounds odd, you sure about that?