Full disclosure: While many are not fans of Taurus as a brand, I would consider myself a bit of an admirer. I own four; a six inch .44 Magnum revolver, their 1911, a model 85 snub-nosed .38 Special revolver, and a PT-111 Millennium G2 9mm. Only one I've had an issue with has been my .44 - after a few thousand rounds, the cylinder release button came loose and spun around. Fortunately it was an easy couple second fix with a small screwdriver and some Loc-Tite. I now own five Taurus pistols. I'd kicked around the purchase for a while, and had yet to put hands on one due to my local gun stores apparent inability to keep them on the shelves, but managed to score a pretty good deal on one at a gun show yesterday. I thought I'd give a short preliminary review. First some pictures (apologies for the backdrop; our cats love to demolish this ottoman):As found in the boxRight sideLeft sideSlide backWith trigger cover installedIn handSize comparisons: Left to right: Millennium G2 , Curve, M85 Revolver - the Millennium G2 is a bit thicker than the Glock 43 but very similar in all other dimensions, and the M85 is similar to the Smith and Wesson J-frame.Another angleCurve vs. iPhone 5Curve vs. iPhone 5 switchedThe Curve doesn't feel as small as it is while holding it - feels slightly blockier than the M85 as to be expected, but is just as easy to hold. While holding it you would think the curved shape of the frame would feel awkward, but you don't really notice it. Unloaded it feels slightly front-heavy, but with a loaded magazine the pistol has a very even and solid feel. This was a concern of mine as I had assumed the Curve would feel very chintzy, but it feels pretty solidly built. The built in laser and flashlight on/off switch is a bit loose, and takes a bit of practice to get comfortable switching it on and off. In well-lit conditions, as I had expected, the laser and light are essentially useless. In low-light conditions however, they are pretty nice. The Curve came with two magazines, a hard sided plastic case that is also curved, a free one-year NRA membership registration card, and two keys for the Taurus Security System that I'd imagine zero people use - I sure as hell don't. The kydex trigger cover clips onto the trigger guard very snugly, yet pops off with what I feel is just at the right amount of force.I took the Curve and 195 rounds to the range this afternoon - two boxes of 25 Hornady Critical Defense 90gr FTX, three 50 round boxes of 95gr. Winchester white box FMJs, and a box of 20 Buffalo Bore 100gr +P Harcast flat nose to see how the little pistol would perform. I started off with the Winchester white box FMJs, which the Curve ate up no questions asked. (Side note: the laser was set at the factory way low - I had to adjust the elevation quite a bit until it would hit relatively close to point of aim.) Using the weird sights was odd to get used to - Taurus did not give the Curve conventional sights and decided to go with a "bore-axis" setup in which there are a horizontal and a vertical painted groove in the back of the slide - the theory is that you should place your point of aim directly where the two lines cross, but this felt awkward to me. I eventually ended up using the slide's loaded chamber indicator as a front sight, which seemed to help. The trigger is....okay. It's not great, but it's not awful either. The reset is crisp and the trigger pull is very smooth, despite both being deceivingly long. It didn't seem to like the Critical Defense much - every other magazine it would tend to lock the slide back after the fourth round (which now come to think of it may be a magazine issue rather than an ammunition issue). I ran the Buffalo Bores at the end of the session, and the Curve seemed to like those as well, although their point of impact was significantly higher than the point of aim. (If there's any interest I'll try to post up some targets next time I go for another range session - today's range trip was relatively impromptu, and I just ended up cutting up a few cardboard boxes for targets - not exactly scientific!)As for how the Curve carries, I've been trying it out at home for the last couple days. It seems perfect for what I intend to use it for - light clothing summer carry. This thing just disappears to the point I forgot I was carrying it - it's very comfortable. My biggest complaint is that with the clip, if you push it down to the point that you are using the entire pants clip, the grip of the pistol is almost entirely below your pant line - making for an awkward draw stroke. I found that if I didn't push it down all the way it was much easier to draw, although I'd imagine after a full day of carrying the pistol it would most likely work its way back down again. I think this would be a great candidate for AIWB, although I admit I haven't tried it myself.Taurus Curve .380 Auto The good: Nice small size, about as close to no printing as can be, very easy to control recoil, built-in laser and light. The bad: Weird sights, somewhat difficult to draw, iffy laser/light on-off switchIt's definitely unique and definitely not for everyone but I certainly like it in my short time with it, it seems to fit my summer needs well, and surprisingly for a 10 oz. pocket pistol it's pretty damn fun to shoot. I'm looking forward to future range sessions with it!Edit: formatting via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/29w6ox3
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