Suppressors New EDC for the wife - Taurus 738

[jujutsuka]

The history- Wife got her CCW a few months ago and we have been talking about what she would EDC. The discussions ranged from where to carry (I told her that if she decided she was going to purse carry that we were buying a Draco and putting it in the diaper bag, "Come on! I already have mags and ammo for it!"), wheel gun/auto, cal, etc. After a lot of debate she decided that she wanted a pocket pistol. She is simply not ready to dress around a gun. She also wanted an auto, the airweight we borrowed was too bulky for her jeans.

I comprised a list of guns that might suit her (pushing her towards what I wanted - obviously) with the caveats being that I could duty BUG it. We looked over the list: SIG: 238, 232, 239. Kahr: PM9, P380. Walther: PPKS, PK380, PPS (9 and .40). Rohrbaugh. Desert Eagle Micro. Taurus: 111PT, PT709, 738. You can see from the list that for me to BUG it, it had to be .380 or bigger. Well, we went to the gun show and after looking at almost all of these (no one had a rohrbaugh, but we didn’t have that much cash anyway) she decided she wanted the Taurus 738.

She made her choice based on the following-
It was small enough to pocket carry but it also wasn’t so small that she couldn’t get a solid grip on it.
Taurus is not known for their reliability, but with a full lifetime warranty if I have to send it back to get it tweaked- so be it. I fully expected to have to do this.
There is an extended mag in the works.
Finally, the thing she liked best, is it came with a blackberry-like hip/belt holster . Unlike me, this was a huge determining factor in her choice, even after we looked at similar holsters that would fit any of the guns mentioned above. I don’t know why.

Range report – I brought the lil Taurus to an outdoor range shortly after the purchase with the hopes that it would be flawless. It was not. I have only shot a 380 once and it was a keltec...fail city. This gun performed well to start – my first 2 mags (14 rds), standing at about 10 yards shooting PMC 90gr.jhp had a 8" vertical spread and a 4" horizontal spread.

In shooting this set, I was not overly concerned with accuracy, as I consider this to be a “Get the EFF off me!!!!” gun; I am sure I could tighten the groups considerably if I tried. 7 mags shot through it and I was so happy, only one FTF. I am not sure if this was a light primer strike (looked like a decent dent) or the ammo. I checked the round and refired it again without issue. And then... at just over 50 rounds, the gun started to fail every 2 or 3 rounds. It would eject the empty case fine, but the new round failed to go completely into battery. It was blatant. Because the gun was hot, or dirty, or because I switched to a different box of ammo (the same kind though…) I am unsure. I thought maybe I got complacent with my grip and limp-wristed it, but this would not cause this sort of failure (I believe).

I am hoping that after cleaning, I can get through another 50 before FTF. If this is ALWAYS the case, I will be fine with it- the wife only has one extra mag for real world carry anyway (currently).

I have a qual this week and the 738 will make the trip with me. If it hiccups much it is going back to Taurus for a looking over. We will keep sending it back there until it runs well.

So there you go, as always YMMV.

 

[Powder_Burns]

Re: New EDC for the wife - Taurus 738

Taurus is a local business, still wouldn't give them my money despite their guns coming with a life-time warranty and their repair center being in driving distance. YMMV for sure

 

[bachelorjack]

Re: New EDC for the wife - Taurus 738

Maybe you should get rid of it and buy something else. Not made by Taurus.

This isn't like the warranty that comes with your Sam's club car battery. You don't want to keep taking it in for a new one.

The first time it fails, may be YOUR last failure...

I guess it depends on how much you like your wife.

 

[jujutsuka]

Re: New EDC for the wife - Taurus 738

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jujutsuka</div><div class="ubbcode-body">She made her choice based on the following-</div></div>

Guys, maybe you missed it, but it wasnt my choice. I carry a Glock 22 on duty with a Glock 27 as a BUG. I was hoping she would go for the 23 to complete the set and have common cal and mags.....

The best tactical gun in the world does SQUAT if the Mrs leaves it at home because she doesnt like it....

 

[bachelorjack]

Re: New EDC for the wife - Taurus 738

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jujutsuka</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Guys, maybe you missed it, but it wasnt my choice. I carry a Glock 22 on duty with a Glock 27 as a BUG. I was hoping she would go for the 23 to complete the set and have common cal and mags.....

The best tactical gun in the world does SQUAT if the Mrs leaves it at home because she doesnt like it.... </div></div>

Come to Columbia and we'll go out drinking. I let you choose a shot for us to take and if you pick one with milk in it I will override your decision. Point in fact, I'm lactose intolerant.

If your daughter wanted to leave the house dressed like a whore, would you let her? If you son wanted to ride his bike without a helmet would you let him? If you saw a child running with scissors would you stop them?

As most of us know, women can be easily convinced into liking ANYTHING. She married you and I continue to pull quality tail. It's your job to ensure she ends up with something that she not only likes, but will also perform if she ever needs to use it. I have yet to see any product made by TAURUS that I would trust my life on. So the question I still have for you is how much do you like your wife? Your answer to that question will determine if you still have some work ahead of you or if you can move on to another project.

 

[Spazz.]

Re: New EDC for the wife - Taurus 738

Hey, what are the odds that carrying it around every day it could get dirty and have a malfunction like the ones you were experiencing? I mean, it's not like <span style="font-style: italic">if</span> that were to happen someone's life would depend on it, right?

My friend got a Taurus PT140, and it started randomly spitting the mag out every now and then. Inconvenient? Sure. If it were to do that in a self defense situation, there would be no, "Hang on bad guy, let me pick this mag up and get it re-situated in here." Taurus "fixed" it for him twice, and the third time they just sent him a new mag release that was made of metal. It didn't fit well, but he filed it down until it worked kind of reliably. Then he sold it to somebody (fully disclosing everything about the gun as well - they knew what they were getting) and bought a 3" XD 40. Three weeks later he gets attacked by 2 130lb Rotts and has to pop both of them. <span style="font-weight: bold">If</span> he had still been carrying that Taurus, there's a decent chance he'd have been in the hospital, if not worse off.

I carry a gun that I've never had any issues with, it's a S&W M&P 40 compact. Goes bang for 10, 11, 50, 200, whatever rounds in a row with no hiccups. I keep it clean, well-fed, and happy. Not everybody is meticulous with gun maintenance, and if you slip up and there's a piece of dirt in that Taurus, regardless of whether they "fixed" it or not, it could be the last hiccup it has.

There <span style="font-style: italic">has</span> to be something reliable that she likes too. What's wrong with a Kel-Tec P3AT or Ruger LCP? They both already have Crimson Trace grips available for them for when she encounters a lowlife in low light, since from what I saw of the 738 the sights are crap if there's less-than-ideal light.

 

[jujutsuka]

Re: New EDC for the wife - Taurus 738

Good (and bad) points by both; let me address some-

BJ: +1 on the milk shots. Rather a nice scotch anyway. Now, I love (and like) my wife deeply, and am so thankful that I have a woman that not only would take the time to get her carry permit, but would also invest the effort to pick her own EDC and actually carry it. Is it perfect? No. But at this point, a weapon she has decided on, likes and will carry trumps any perfect pistol that sits in a safe at home. It is a step. You say you can "pull quality tail"- awesome, but that has little do with the dynamics of a true partnership. She is fully aware of the benefits and detriments of this weapon, and me harping on something like this only makes her avoid such conversations. She has made a decision. I will support it the best way I know how while trying to get her to see things from my perspective.

Spazz - all weapons fail. Nothing man-made is perfect, and I can say that with well over 3000 hiccup free rounds through my glock 27 and more through my 22. If your weapon fails in a self defense scenario, you had better have a decent skill set(and preferably a lot more weapons) to back it up. She is working on this too.

Taurus had ftf after 50 rounds, and she carries 14. Holster and maintenance prevent it getting too dity.

The sights are meaningless on this gun. If this is drawn in real life, it will point and shoot. Think your buddy focused on his front site when the rotties were charging? This is a "get off me" gun at best, not suited for past 10 yards. It is what it is... until she decides it is time to step up. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Spazz.]

Re: New EDC for the wife - Taurus 738

Good points made, but he did actually focus enough on the front sight to put the first round dead-center between the first dog's eyes before it got to him. I see your points, and I think it's a good thing that your wife is getting into carrying. It's an imperfect world, yeah?