Taurus 1911 Commander, 45 ACP, 4.25" Barrel, 8rd, Rosewood W.Bonded Ivory Flag Grips

I didn’t want this model firearm when I started looking for a 1911. Taurus makes a commander model that has an OD green frame with green G 10 grips that I wanted. The only one of those that I could find was in South Carolina and it marked up beyond MSRP. I don’t deal with companies that take advantage of political conditions to raise the prices on their customers, so I didn’t consider that one. In the long run, I realized I was being too picky. Specific guns are hard to find and substitutes sometimes need to be considered. I ordered this model and figured I would Duracoat the frame and find my own G10s to get the look I was wanting. I really thought the flag grips that came on this gun would look “cheezie” and all my other 1911s have flat black metal. I should have known that Altamont grips would be better, but I was somewhat taken aback by the look when it arrived. The grips were quality from screw to screw and the flat black finish on the metal was better than at least two of my other 1911s. I changed my mind within minutes of first handling the gun. It was destined to stay stock. It also comes in a better than average plastic case. I have seen a lot of these cases where the hinges or latches seem to be engineered to brake on the first use. This one is nice and definitely beats the cardboard ones from some makers. The pistol is well balanced, and you know you have a 1911 in your hands. They have always fit my hands better than most other pistol types and this one seemed to have been made for my hands. Commander size 1911s are also my favorite but I will shoot any of them given the chance. The sites are three dot white but are not nights sights. I would not expect them to be at the pistols price. Both the front and rear sights are dovetailed into the barrel and are driftable after turning out the screw in the center of each. The flat black on the top of the slide keeps the glare down adding to the sights performance. The skeletonized hammer and trigger are a good looking and complement the American flag on the grips. Are there negatives to this pistol? Of course. It is not a $5,000 custom and the final product reflects that. It comes with one magazine. Really? I personally think that any pistol deserves two from the factory. Taurus does offer factory magazines, but my Wilson Combat ones do just fine. The sites may get switched out to night sites. The stock ones are good, but night sites would be better. The slide to frame fit is one of the roughest I have encountered. It almost feels like rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together. Reassembly is where this is most noticeable. The barrel bushing is also rough and difficult to turn to disassemble the pistol. However, I was surprised how loose it was when I removed it. I may have to invest in an aftermarket barrel bushing just because. The recoil spring does seem to be able to over come that friction after a thorough cleaning. So, how does it shoot? That is after all a pistols “bottom line.” I took it to the range and put 100 rounds of Blazer Brass and Remington UMC through it. My other 1911s all shoot these two brands without issues so I thought that they would be a good benchmark for the Taurus. I did not use any handloads. Sometimes the first few rounds through an autoloader can be frustrating. Call it what you want, break in, wear in or shooter break in. Most will function well, others not so much. I disassembled the pistol after the first 50 rounds and cleaned and inspected it. I noticed a much smoother slide to frame action without a lot of wear marks. I fired the second 50 rounds for accuracy and was pleasantly surprised. It would easily find center of mass at 50 feet. 100 rounds of range ammo without a single failure; no failures to feed, extract or eject. Not too bad for a moderately priced pistol. While I have never been a big Taurus fan, I do know my way around 1911s and this one fits in the safe nicely with my Colts. Springfields, Remingtons, and Sigs.