Taurus Spectrum .380 at Shot Show 2017

A pick for the “best” new product at the Shot Show is a highly subjective thing.  The item that most impressed me was at the Taurus booth.  It is the likely replacement for the Taurus 738 TCP, the Taurus Spectrum.

It seems that Taurus has not been able to keep up with demand for the 738. The 738 has an excellent reputation for reliability. It is small, easy to conceal, and
is in the popular .380 caliber.  I liked the ergonomics of the 738.  So why has Taurus introduced what appears to be a replacement for the 738?

First, a caution.  I have not shot the Spectrum. This is not a review, only my impressions from the Shot Show.  I only handled it and dry fired several specimens  on the Shot Show floor.  I am generally not impressed with multiple colors. However, it is easy to see how multiple color schemes can be a valuable marketing tool.

What impressed me about the Spectrum was the ergonomics, most particularly, the trigger. The trigger is a true double action only. Taurus says that each pull of the trigger cocks and releases the striker, allowing for multiple primer hits. The relatively wide trigger makes the pull feel much lighter than the listed 7-9 pounds.  I was reminded of the excellent double action triggers on some of the older Smith and Wesson revolvers.  The trigger is the same every time.  I believe that with the fixed barrel, the pistol has potential for excellent accuracy.

Taurus includes two magazines with the pistol, a six round and a seven round with a magazine extension.  The magazine extension has an innovative rebated pinky finger spot slightly back from the grip. Most magazine extensions angle the extension forward and down in front. This extension goes down and back.  It fit the hand very well. The frame of the pistol has slightly softened areas to reduce felt recoil.  The engineer in me suspects it will work as designed.  Even a small ability to dampen recoil will likely be noticeable in the very small, light, pistols.

The sights are fixed and large enough to be used.  If they are correctly regulated, they will be serviceable.

The minority of people who actually shoot much, and like to make the most of each pistol, would be a little better served with a simple adjustable sight, perhaps drift adjustable.  Most people are not going to be taking coyote at 40 yards with this sort of pistol. I know a couple of expert shots who have done it. The capability is likely there, if the sights can be made to work. Small pistols are often very accurate. It takes an accomplished, practiced shooter to get the most out of them.

Maybe, in later runs, arrangements could be made for a simple adjustable rear sight.

The pistol weighs 10 ounces unloaded.  It is slightly bigger and wider (.07 inches) than a Ruger LCP. Both are extremely small, concealable pistols.

The proof, of course, will be in the shooting. That will have to wait until production runs become available, probably sometime later this year.