Taurus Titanium Millennium

Guns Magazine, Oct, 2000 by J. I. Galan

The Tragedy Of Clintonista Hysteria

Taurus handguns are "politically correct" in the current climate of hysteria regarding trigger locks and other gun-safety devices that has been generated by the Clintonistas and their bottom-feeding fellow travelers in the mainstream press. The patented Taurus Security System already used in this company's revolvers is also incorporated in these Millennium pistols.

The clever system consists of a key-activated action lockup mechanism that renders the gun totally inoperable -- even preventing racking of the slide. All of this is accomplished via a one-quarter turn of the key -- two of which are supplied with each gun.

Firing tests with the three Millennium pistols were carried out using a fairly wide variety of fodder for each of the three calibers. None of the three pistols experienced a single malfunction during testing, regardless of the ammo used. They all performed flawlessly, placing round after round inside the "boiler room" area of the regulation "Smurf" combat silhouette target. Most of the shooting was done at a realistic combat range of seven to 10 yards, usually in rapid-fire cycles that included double- and triple-taps.

The 9mm PT111 was fed a diet of Federal 124 gr. Tactical JHPs, as well as Federal 115 gr. Hi-Shok JHPs. This was followed by Remington 140 gr. JHPs and Winchester 147 gr. Silvertips. The firing behavior was quite agreeable with all of those loads.

The .40 caliber PT140, in turn, digested a steady diet of Winchester 165 gr. SXTs and 155 gr. Silvertips without a hiccup. Ditto for several magazines of Remington 180 gr. Golden Sabers.

The Model PT157 also sailed through several boxes of .357 SIG ammo that included Speer 125 gr. Gold Dot HPs, Remington 125 gr. JHPs and Federal 125 gr. FMJs. As expected, both the PT140 and PT157 generated a bit more recoil and muzzle blast than the 9mm model. The slightly more pronounced firing behavior of those two models, however, was still entirely manageable even with all the hot loads they were fed, and we can heartily recommend any one of these autoloaders even to the distaff side.

The fairly long double-action trigger -- which averaged 11 to about 13 lbs. - was uniformly smooth, contributing its fair share to the tremendous shootability of these pistols, both in rapid-fire and in more deliberate, aimed fire at longer distances.

Take-down of these pistols for routine cleaning and maintenance is a cinch. Simply remove the magazine and ascertain that the chamber is empty, then lock the slide open. Rotate the take-down latch fully forward and pull it out of the frame. At this point the slide can be pulled forward and off the rails to allow removal of the barrel, guide rod and recoil spring in the normal manner. Reassembly is just as quick and easy.

Taurus has definitely scored another huge triumph with these Millennium pistols retail priced from between $380 and $400. Aptly named, these autoloaders mark a bold milestone in personal defense firearms as we enter a new era.