Right Out of The Box and initial impressions

Submitted by shredjesse on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 21:10

TheTaurus 740 isn't particularly exciting in the box. It's not an amazing box, the packaging wasn't anything special, and my particular gun was supposed to come with two magazines and only shipped with a single magazine. That was sort of a bummer, but in the end I got an even further discoutn on the gun, so to me it was worth it. Really though I bought a gun not a box... so if this deters you from buying the gun you shouldn't buy a gun to begin with!

The gun fresh out of the box was covered in grease. Not oil, not lubricant.... grease. Thick, smudgy, stick to everything grease. You didn't even want to touch the gun right out of the packaging. I can't complain all that much though since the $1000 AR-15 upper I'd received a few weeks earlier came just as disgusting. Out came the contact cleaner, then the CLP, and the ridiculously gross grease was gone, and the gun moved without issue. It felt great in my hands, everything was snug and tight... so overall I was pretty impressed. at this point Some online reviewers had complained of poor tolerances resulting in a gun that fit together like a childrens model and could be rattled in their hand, but I was seeing no such thing. The gun felt on par with previous concealed carry guns I had dealt with, and was actually superior in quality than my Keltec PF9 from a visual inspection

So here it is, all cleaned up and ready to go. The gun came covered in goo, but a light initial cleaning had the gun quite good and ready to go.The build quality was definitely inferior to Ruger, but better than Keltec... which consider pricewise it sits right in the middle of those two really was to be expected.

Some comparison notes based on previous experiences with comporably purposed firearms:

Trigger Pull: I mostly purchased this firearm as it's trigger pull seemd just like what I was looking for in a concealed carry handgun. The long trigger pull of the PF9 and Keltec I and many others have found made it difficult to shoot accurately. It's not a gun fight if you don't bring a gun... and it's not a gun fight if you can't hit anything with it either. The Taurus trigger has a single action option but still has the long trigger pull. Essentially, when in single action mode, the first 80% of the trigger might as well not be there, you just breeze through it. This pull area is still useful however to prevent accidental discharges, and with the scissor safety it ensures that this gun isn't going off unless the trigger is pulled. I've always been a bit hesitant to carry a round in the chamber, but with these safety features and the slide safety, carrying with one in the chamber is a no brainer!
Concealment: I'm a "good sized guy"... but not in the sense of a lot of "good sized guy"s in firearms. I'm a health 210, I snowboard and dirtbike all the time, so I'm a some what husky and decently athletic build. This, in combination with the way I've generally dressed most of my life (somewhat baggier) I actually pocket carry aGlock 27 frequently. A lot of people laugh at the idea and have comments about printing or it's weight or other excues... but honestly they don't know what they're talking about or are wussies. The Glock 27 is only a 1/4" thicker than this gun, and is a 1/4" shorter in height so it's a wash overall. Still, I once and a while wear some slimmer jeans, and the Glock 27 in those does stick out like a sore thumb due to it's thickness. Also, a pocket is really only so wide. While in slimmer jeans I can fit the Glock 27 in my pants pocket, I can't easily fit the Glock -AND- my hand. So a slimmer firearm is required. The Taurus 740 fit the bill solidly.
Weight: I'm not one to complain about weight, and honestly the difference between the PF9, the LC9 and the Glock 27 are ounces. Full loaded, maybe a 1/4 pound difference exists between the lightest and heaviest of the spectrum. Still though, the Taurus does seem a bit on the heftier side. Part of it is probably the larger bullets, part of it may be the heftier construction needed to handle .40cal, and part of it may be that I'm extremely comfortable carrying one in the chamber adding that extra 1oz of weight while on other guns I am not so comfy. Who knows, but it is a bit heavier of a fiream than the LC9 and definitely the PF9. Does it matter? Have I even really noticed? No. Once I start going about my day I don't even think about it being on me just like any other firearm.
Functional Features:
- Loaded Chamber Indicator: This feature might as well not be there. It's so dinky you can barely see it. It raises half a mm maybe on my gun? I have checked it a few times, but I have never felt confident about it's indication and I always result to visually inspecting the firearm... which you should do anyways and I probably will forever and alwayts do. Any firearm that is handed to me I treat as loaded until I visually check it, even if it was visually checked by the person and handed to me.
- Scissor Safety: Works great, does the trick. I screwed around with it for a bit and it sure keeps the trigger REALLY far away from engaging!
- SA/DA Trigger: feels like a vast improvement over the Ruger LC9 and the Ketlec PF9. In single action it easily moves through the first 80%, builds nicely, and then gives decently at the end. I read a lot about people adding a small bit of black epoxy to the back of their PF9 triggers so the trigger doesn't continue past the point of firing all that far. May not be a bad modification for this firearm. I'll see how it does shooting though before I decide to try anything on my own. Overall though, it's a far more impresive trigger than the LC9 and PF9 and fits my shooting style a bit more I feel. It's still no Glock 27... but I'll take it as is.
- Slide Safety: Feels great to me. It stops the trigger and locks the slide when engaged, and I'm happy about that. It also disengages in a quick and natural fashion with my draw so that's no big deal either. If I forgot it's mere miliseconds away. Some people have complained about difficult engaging the safety... and I do agree, it is hard from a firing hand position to engage the safety. However, this is a self defense firearm, not a range pistol. You don't want the safety to be easy to engage or you'd run the risk of engaging it in an encounter or when your adrenaline is pumping and your hands may get shakey. No... this is a well thought out feature and exactly as it aught to be!
- Slide Release: This isn't normally a recognized feature, but on this gun the slide release was my only mechanical gripe. Right out of the box it digs into the polymer frame, and has carved out a very thin and light channel for itself into the frame. Do I care? Not really, It's taken a worse beating just being in my pocket for a while. Does it make me leery of the build quality? It does a bit... but everything else feels great so I'll have some faith.

All said and done, I'm happy with my purchase at this junction. We'll see how it shoots alongside the Glock 27, but I don't expect this firearm to compete with the Glock 27. They're two somewhat similiar but still notably different firearms. They're in completely different price ranges, with completely different features, and arguably different categories (compact VS Subcompact).