New PT-145 bought, we'll see if I made a mistake or not...

[Forseti]

Well, I went ahead and bought one...a PT-145 (upper in stainless). Seems to be very well constructed, very light weight, even with a full mag. Stellar price.

I haven't had any time to test fire it, however. May have to wait quite a few weeks before I can get to an outdoor range.

I plan to run a few hundred rounds of FMJ 230 grain through it...if it feeds it all, it seems I will have a winner.

The gun has a high serial number that indicates manufacture is Aug 2002, so I am hoping all the frame cracking stuff is a thing of the past.

If everything goes as it should, this gun looks like quite a performer...

[denfoote]

The gun has a high serial number that indicates manufacture is Aug 2002, so I am hoping all the frame cracking stuff is a thing of the past.

Personally, the PT145 is a fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me thing.

I would check it often and then check it again!!
I trust Taurus not!!!

[McKamie Wilson]

Forseti:

I had a PT-145 just like yours and it fed everything I put in it and never once had a malfunction. It fired in every position imaginable. I liked it a lot. Unfortunately, after just a few hundred rounds, the frame cracked. It was a late 2001 model so it was right in the middle of the group with the problem frames. Good luck with yours and keep us posted with range reports.

Mac

[New_comer]

Good luck?

[SouthpawShootr]

Please remember us when you have about 1000 rounds through it. I'd be interested to hear how it's holding up. I was all set to get one when the frame cracking stuff came up. Got a Glock 30 instead, but would still like to have the 145.

[Forseti]

McKamie Wilson, got a question for you...was it the plastic of the receiver that cracked, or the underlying metal liner that sits in the plastic receiver? Now that I have taken a PT-145 apart, I see that the top metal slide "slides" along a metal liner along the top of the gun. That metal liner is encased in plastic that forms the lower part of the gun. With that kind of construction, I can see how some people in the past said the plastic cracked, but the gun continued to function...

I wonder if it was the metal insert in the lower "banging" against the back of the plastic receiver that caused the problem...

I realize that there are quite a few posts on bad customer service (and some good ones) on Taurus...I am hopeful I will not need to take advantage of the lifetime warranty.

Customer service (whom I called BEFORE I purchased the gun) said they did have plastic frame cracking problems that was early in the year. With the high serial number I have, based on Taurus's numbering scheme, I am sure I have one that falls outside of the problem range...

I think one of the reasons I got a good price on the gun is the bad rap it has gotten. If Taurus has fixed the problem, I am hopeful the bad rap saved me dollars, and has not resulted in a badly designed product...I'll post what I find...

[satxman]

Forseti,

Yeah, the cracking ocurrs just below the rear of the slide in the polymer grip area. The crack ran about 1/4 inch. Posted earlier that I keeping shooting for another month and had no issues.

Taurus acknowledged receipt of mine on Nov. 21. 2002. Backing out Thanksgiving, I should be seeing the gun next week as they stated in their confirmation that it should be about 4 weeks.

I had 1,500 through mine without any cracking but ran some +p and the grip cracked. Really miss having it and look forward to checking it out.

At least I have not hear of any "shut the gun down" issues like broken rails, broken firing pins or screwed up magazines. It has never fail to perform, yet.

Good luck.

[Lennyjoe]

Forseti, do a search on the PT-145. I believe Stratfordholdings (TFL member) has a website for the PT-145 and it has pictures of the areas that crack on the frame. That way you can keep an eye out for possible failures. Keep us posted too.

[Blackhawk]

Good for you, Forseti!

[JackDRipper]

What is a good price for the PT-145? (Non cracked version.)
JR

[Forseti]

NIB was $365 for a stainless steel slide version. Blued was cheaper still. Pretty good for a small, accurate .45.

I finally got a chance to shoot it, and posted info in another topic heading....

[McKamie Wilson]

Forseti:

As I understand from all the threads I read about the PT-145 back in January thru April of this year, there were two types of problems:

1) The first was that the plastic pins that held the metal internal frame in the grip cracked. That prevented the gun from being safely fired.

2) The second problem (and the one that occured the most) was the plastic grip cracked at the back just under the serial number, usually on the right side as you look at the rear of the pistol when you fire it. This is what happened to my PT-145. This crack does not prevent the gun from being fired and, in fact, if you didn't look for the crack you might never see it. After I heard about the cracking problem, I would sprinkle some talcum powder in my palm, rub the rear of the PT-145's grip into my palm, blow away the loose powder, and inspect for the crack. If it's there, the talcum powder will find its way into the crack and it will show up clear as day.

Hind sight is 20-20, right? If I had known that Taurus was going to fix their problem, I might have kept the PT-145. However, at the time mine cracked, Taurus was still playing deaf, dumb, and blind about it. So, I moved on.

The PT-145 is a nice weapon. Accurate, feeds everything, and conceals well (although it is a tad wide). I liked it. I read you range report in your other thread. I wish you well. And, please, keep us posted. There's a lot of interest in the PT-145.

{Sorry, I forgot to add this: I paid $365.00 for mine in December 2001.}

Mac

[highcenter]

I purchased a PT145 about a year ago. I probably put about 200 or more rounds through it in a month and have not had problem 1. The one thing that I really enjoy about the PT145 is that it is easy to tear apart and clean.

[Kevinch]

Forseti, I too would be interested in how your gun treats you. I've considered 1 of these little guns in either .40S&W or .45ACP for some time now, but have hesitated due to the frame issues.

I've always liked Taurus handguns - I hope they have this problem worked out!

[Forseti]

Kevinch, if your decision was between the .45 and the .40, go with the .45. The .45 is different in construction from the .40, even though they look similar. Fewer plastic rivets in the .45. Look at the pics, count the rivets. Looks like they beefed up the .45 version more than the .40. Price difference is very small. Pay close attention to the serial number, make sure it starts with NV...the N=.45 caliber, the V=2002 (next year Taurus told me it would be W=2003). The third letter indicates month of manufacture, A=Jan, B=Feb, etc. Get a high serial number.

Now I've started to carry the gun, and I like it a lot. Smooth edges don't catch on things. Its easy to find a low cost holster to fit it, since it has such "regular" lines.

I even like the locking mechanism. You can engage it if you want, or not...I am now totally sold on having new guns come with an integrated, unobtrusive lock.

[Forseti]

Also, I put up a "range report" in the posting cleverly titled "Range report on new Taurus PT-145 stainless"


You can read it here