Taurus Pt-709 “Slim”

In 2008, Taurus introduced a new pistol they referred to as the Slim. Since this little tease, people,

including me, have been falling all over themselves trying to get additional information on this slick

looking little pistol. During the next year little details were available. In July of 2009, the Slim became

available at the Distributors for purchase. Needless to say, I grabbed one and put it through testing.

The original images of the Slim were of a non-descript smooth surfaced pistol with a standard

Millennium Pro style trigger. Most felt that this model would

be a single action only type pistol.

A year later, at the

2009 Shotshow, an

up-styled PT-709 was shown. It sported design changes from

sights to the magazine floorplate. Most notable are:

• Low profile adjustable sights

• SA/DA trigger with trigger safety, as well as a frame

safety

• Memory pads for easy finger placement

Three models of the Slim are being offered; Blue, Stainless Steel and Titanium. All have 3.2” barrel,

three dot sights, 6.24” overall length and a weight of 19 ounces empty, 17 ounces for the Titanium

version. Included are two 7 round magazines. An optional 9 round extended magazine is available as

well.

Crisp has been the term used to describe the trigger on the new Slim, I’d have to agree. The trigger

pull is short, light and provides restrike ability. The presence of a trigger

safety is hardly noticeable and should not present a problem for most

shooters.

The trigger safety prevents the trigger bar from traveling rearward and thus will not allow the pistol to

fire. The firing pin block will prevent the firing pin from striking the primer. It remains in place until

the trigger is in its final rearward position. Both of these devices are in place to prevent the firearm

from firing if it is dropped.

Additional safety features include a standard frame mounted safety. In the up position it locks both

the trigger and the slide. In the down position the slide and trigger are operational and the pistol may

be fired. In the top rear center of the chamber, you’ll find the loaded chamber indicator. When a

round is present in the chamber, this indicator will present a visual red flag and can be easily felt. And

if all this wasn’t enough, Taurus also provided the Taurus Security System. It’s located on the right side

of the slide just below the rear sight.

Speaking of the rear sight, most concealable pistols have either no sights or

something that barely allows you to acquire a target. The Slim sports a set

of real three dot, adjustable, (both elevation and windage), low profile

sights.

The magazine release is very low profile and reversible. I found that the

mag did not always drop free, but had to be convinced to slide free.

So, I can hear you asking right now, “How does it shoot?” - well, really well. But we’ll get to that in a

minute. First I want to show you how the Slim looks next to some other compact carry favorites.

I’m sure you’ll recognize the foursome

to the left:

Top Left – Glock 26 Top Right – The Slim

Bottom Left – Walther Bottom Right – Ruger

PPK/S LCP

The Slim and the Walther PPK/S The Slim and the Glock 26

The Slim and the Ruger LCP

And for you PT-111 fans…

At the range, the Slim performed well for me. I fed it Winchester White Box FMJ, Remington FMJ,

American FMJ and Winchester Silver Tip.

With the first magazine, I had one Failure to Eject. I stopped, ejected the mag and cleared the brass.

After I re-inserted the magazine, I realized that I probably didn’t have it completely inserted the first

time. Once I made sure to properly seat the mag, I had no further issues with feeding the Slim.

With my big hands, the Slim is not difficult to master, my little finger

found no home around the front of the grip, however, I was able to

comfortably grip and control the Slim. (There are rumors of a 9 round

extended magazine available.)

The sights were easily acquired, that crisp trigger was a consistent

pleasure, always breaking evenly and cleanly.

There was a gentleman at the range shooting his PT-111. I offered to let him fire the Slim. When he

finished and handed it back to me, he stated, “I’m gonna have to get one of these.”

My final 50 rounds on a clean target

posted at seven yards shown here.

Fit and finish of my Slim was very good.

You will notice that the Slim will make a

nice little line down the top center of

the chamber, it looks superficial to me,

but I’ll keep an eye on it.

So far, I am very pleased with the Slim

and its performance. My plan is to

continue to test and track round counts

and keep this review updated as I

progress.

A final thought on cleaning, those of you with Glocks will be familiar with the Slim’s takedown, for the

rest of us however, the manual does not make it clear that you will have to pull the trigger to get the

slide off the frame.

By Phil Bratton, GeeksFirearms.com

©2009 GeeksFirearms.com

I am a freelance writer; all products mentioned in this article were purchased by me.