Taurus 24/7: improving the plastic pistol

American Handgunner, Nov-Dec, 2004 by Charles E. Petty

The long awaited, much delayed and mightily ballyhooed Taurus 24/7 is finally here. Taurus has joined the polymer frame pistol clan and, along the way, honed the plastic pistol concept to a new level. It would be hard to say the pistol breaks new ground, because it's a striker-fired polymer-framed 9mm, but it does bring some good features to the table. Foremost of these is, simply put--feeling good. Even though we're being protected with magazines that can only hold ten rounds, the double-stack magazine could hold more but it does that without making the gun feel as if you are trying to get friendly with a 2x4.

The grip is ergonomically shaped, and the polymer material is partially overmolded with a softer compound, in what Taurus calls the "Ribber" configuration. Think of it as grooved rubber giving the hand a cushion. On the pistol, that surface is just on the front strap and in the shape of mild finger grooves.

The trigger is double-action only and is one of the nicest around. The pull weight varies a little from shot to shot but averages 8 1/2 pounds, with only the smallest amount of spring stacking right at the end. It's very nicely-smooth and easy to control. The trigger does have a second strike capability, and this needs some discussion. The original concept of DAO autopistols was to emulate the revolver action cops were used to. So some of the early pistols that didn't have second strike were criticized--wrongly, I think.

When you pull the trigger again with a revolver you bring a fresh cartridge up and everything's fine, but with the pistol all you do is hit a primer again that may be dead. The immediate action drill for any autopistol that doesn't go bang is to tap the magazine to be sure it's seated and then rack the slide to eject the bad round and get another into the chamber. With today's ammunition it's really rare to get a dud, but it does happen; and the last thing in the world you want to do is stand there going click-click when somebody is shooting at you. There's no harm in having second-strike capability, just don't use it.

24/7 Control

While we're talking about the frame, there are a couple of other things to mention. The 24/7 has a safety on the left that flips up and locks the trigger. You may question whether you need one on a DAO, but they do score political brownie points and make lawyers happy. And it doesn't hurt anything either. It operates easily--pretty much like the 1911's--and it would provide a little extra security in gun-grab situations. As long as the user trains with it all will be well. The Taurus also has a built in lock on the right side of slide permitting the owner to disable the pistol by turning a key.

On the left side of the frame are three controls: the safety, slide latch and takedown key. The field stripping procedure is not entirely intuitive, so it pays to read the directions. Field strapping is accomplished by locking the slide back and then pivoting the takedown pin 90 degrees. It lifts up a bit and then can be pulled all the way out. Then release the slide and pull it off to the front. The recoil spring is a captive unit which lifts right off, and then the barrel can be lifted up and out in the usual manner. That's all the disassembly needed for cleaning, and any further attempts are ill-advised. As we always say, "Reassemble in reverse order." That's true, but there's a pretty stiff spring bearing on the takedown lever and I find putting it back in is facilitated by a gentle tap from a nylon hammer.

Surprisingly Nice

Shooting the 24/7 has been an altogether satisfactory experience. There've been no malfunctions and, after allowing for a few shooter errors while I learned the trigger, accuracy has been very good. The pistol didn't seem to care much about ammo and digested a wide variety with both ball and hollowpoint bullet styles in weights from 115 to 147 grains. A couple of P loads were included without incident.

The pistol has the obligatory polymer pistol light rail, and the new little Surefire X200 slipped right on. I have mixed feelings about hanging lights on guns and generally prefer night sights, but the fights are getting so much smaller some of those objections are fading. I still think the idea of using a pistol for a flashlight is poor in both tactical and political senses, but cops now have a convenient belt carrier from Michaels of Oregon that letting them have one close by to slip on if the situation warrants. Homeowners may find the idea appealing for a bedroom gun.

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the 24/7 is the grip. Now 9mm pistols are not exactly hard kickers but the over-molded rubber section really cushions recoil, and even with the hottest amino recoil simply wasn't a concern. And that includes some of the dreaded P stuff that seems to find its way outside law enforcement circles anyhow. In fact, the grip is one of the best things about the pistol.

How can I put this delicately? The majority of high-cap pistols used in law enforcement feel sorta like trying to hold a 2x4. And even though most have some sort of molded-in texturing, they can still be slippery when wet. The "ribber" construction is softer, and the slightly flexible finger grooves on the front strap really do a lot to stabilize the grip.