The new Taurus PT 1911 comes standard with a full-length solid guide rod and a skeletonized match-type trigger.

The newest auto pistol from Taurus (Dept. ST, 16175 NW. 49th Ave., Miami, FL 33255; 800-327-3776; www.taurususa.com) is a very old familiar friend: a Government Model 1911.

The official name is Taurus Model PT 1911, and this .45 ACP pistol was introduced at the 2005 S.H.O.T. Show in January. It now becomes the firearms industry's latest testimonial to the world's seemingly insatiable demand for this most classic of all classic pistol designs. I got my hands on a preproduction model and can testify that it is a real tribute to the Model 1911.

Fully loaded with premium accessories, with individually tuned and fitted features, the PT 1911 leaps from the box already equipped to go head-to-head with the current Model 1911 market's most dominant names, with more trimmings than even many custom-built competition guns. All that at half the recommended retail price of any other equivalently equipped Model 1911. In fact, once the initial rush is over, you're gonna be able to buy a PT 1911 for the same real-world price as most other companies sell basic plain-vanilla Mil-Spec 1911s.

Here's a close look at the PT 1911 package.

The fundamental format is a standard full-size Model 1911 with a five-inch barrel, built exactly to the U.S. government's final official specifications set for the gun (circa 1947) and manufactured entirely by Taurus in its ultramodern Brazilian facilities.

An ambidextrous thumb safety and a beavertail grip safety with memory pad are also standard features on the new PT 1911.

It is available either in blued-finish chrome/moly steel at $599 MSRP or matte-finish stainless steel at $619 MSRP. The stainless version is stainless in all major components with "stainless-appearance" flash-chrome heat-treated carbon-steel working parts where appropriate (of course, sights, grip panels, and magazine components are also not stainless). Both versions feature plain black checkered rubber grip panels.

Taurus's "Custom Shop" Approach
For all intents and purposes, the PT 1911 is assembled with what we in the U.S. would call a "custom shop" approach. Slides and frames on both the blued and stainless versions are Taurus-forged, not cast, and are individually hand-fitted to match-level tolerances during assembly.

The forged match-grade barrels (stainless on both the blued and stainless guns) are also individually fitted, with a polished feedramp, polished barrel throat, an air-gauged solid barrel bushing, plus a hardened barrel link and lug for long wear and an enduring fit in heavy-duty use. Each PT 1911 hammer/sear/trigger setup is individually fitted and tuned, receiving a U.S. gunshop-equivalent "trigger job." The internal extractor is individually tuned. There are no "drop-in" parts. All accessories and operating controls are individually fitted.

Each PT 1911 comes with Heinie Slant Pro combat sights that feature the Straight Eight two-dot aiming system.

The list of those accessories is impressive. For lockup stability and forward weight the PT 1911 has a full-length solid guide rod and open-front spring plug. The extended competition/combat-style manual safety is ambidextrous. The hammer-cupping beavertail grip safety has a raised boss at the bottom to ensure that it engages even if your grasp is slightly offset in a rapid draw.

The internal self-engaging firing pin safety is a new Taurus design that involves neither the trigger pull (as do Colt Series 80 Model 1911s) nor the grip safety (as do Kimber Series II Model 1911s). The lightened and ventilated match trigger is a newly patented Taurus design that incorporates an internal self-compensation for overtravel. There is no adjustment screw to tinker with. The PT 1911 hammer is skeletonized for rapid locktime.

Other nice touches include a flat mainspring housing, checkered rubber grip panels, eight-round magazines with extended bases, and a skeletonized hammer.

The only "signature" accessories on the PT 1911 gun are the sights. They are Heinie Specialty Products's SlantPro Straight Eight two-dot system, which a rapidly growing number of law-enforcement and military operations units are adopting as superior to any type of existing three-dot sight. The Straight Eight consists of one white dot in the semi-Patridge front blade and one white dot directly below the bottom of the square rear sight notch.

Both the front and the rear sights are drift adjustable for windage. And varied height front blades are available. Unlike three-dot systems, which can confuse the eye with lateral spacing and alignment, the Straight Eight acquires immediately. All you do is "stack" the dots. If one is above the other, you're aligned.

SPECS Taurus Model PT 1911 .45 ACP Seminautomatic Pistol
Distributor:	Taurus International
Model:	PT 1911
Operation:	Recoil Operated
>Caliber:	.45 ACP
Barrel Length:	5.0 in.
>Overall Length:	8.7 in.
Weight, empty:	38 ounces
Safety:	Extended ambidextrous manual safety; hammer-cup beavertail grip safety; passive firing pin safety
Sights:	Heinie two-dot Straight Eight sights; front and rear drift-adjustable for windage
>Sight Radius:	8.8 in.
Rifling:	6 grooves, 1:16 RH twist
Stocks:	Checkered black rubber panels
Magazine capacity:	8 rounds
Finish:	Stainless or blued
Price:	$619 (stainless); $599 (blued)

I have Heinie's Straight Eight sights on all my personal pistols--I'm simply quicker on target with them. The sight dots on the PT 1911 are nonluminous, but Taurus will install the self-illuminating tritium configuration unit upon order, or you can get them directly from Heinie Specialty Products (Dept. ST, 300 Oak St., Quincy, IL 62301; 217-228-9500; www.heinie.com). Incidentally, Taurus is also installing Heinie Straight Eight sights as standard equipment on all Taurus Model 24/7 pistols as of this year.

Other performance-enhancing refinements on the PT 1911 include slide serrations at both the front and rear, to aid in manual cycling and clearing; a lowered and sculpted chamber port for reliable and consistent case ejection; an extended magazine release button; and a beveled magazine well for positive engagement and easy insertion with rapid reloads. Each PT 1911 comes standard with two eight-round .45 ACP magazines with thick black polymer bumper pads for positive seating upon insertion and to cushion impact and resist magazine damage. The PT 1911's straight-back mainspring housing, the frontstrap of the grip, and the underside of the trigger guard are all checkered (30 lines per inch) to enhance security of grasp in either one- or two-hand hold.