“Great”, I thought to myself, as I opened the black plastic handgun case, “another polymer pistol, don’t we already have enough of these”? I thought to myself. What more can be done with plastic? The market place is already crowded with polymer pistols of every size, shape and configuration, isn’t it?
Taurus USA already has several outstanding polymer pistols in their stable. I really like their 24/7OSS model in .45ACP, and my wife “stole” my Taurus 24/7 PRO 9mm pistol after shooting it a few times. So, what does the new Taurus 809 have to offer, that the others don’t?
For starters, the 800 series of pistols (they come in 9mm, .40S&W and .45ACP) are modeled after the 24/7OSS pistol, which was designed to compete in the US Military trials for a new Spec Ops .45ACP handgun. No small task, to be sure. The rigid requirements for a handgun for our Special Forces guys must be fool-proof, to say the least. I believe the 24/7OSS met those requirements. So, why come out with the 800 series of handguns?
If I had my druthers, I would have liked to have seen the 24/7 OSS offered with a 4” Bbl as well as the standard 5 ¼” Bbl. Nothing “wrong” with the longer barrel, other than it makes it a bit difficult to carry this gun concealed. So, Taurus now has the 800 series with a 4” Bbl – great!
Ok, big deal, Taurus managed to lop-off 1 ¼” from the OSS length barrel’s length. Gotta be something more here to appreciate in this new handgun. The 800 series is totally ambidextrous – a rarity today. So, if you’re a Southpaw, you’re gonna love this handgun. The safety/decocker, slide release and magazine release are all ambi – and they don’t have to be switched from side-to-side, it’s a full-time ambi handgun, I like it.
The safety/decocker – it’s just what it sounds like. You can either carry the gun in the single-action mode (cocked ‘n locked), or use the decocker and the gun can be carried in the double-action first shot mode. You can also choose to carry in the D/A mode with the safety on or off, the choice is yours. For my use, I prefer the S/A cocked ‘n locked mode – just like a good ol’ 1911 handgun. And, should your round fail to fire, the gun reverts to the D/A mode for a second strike on the primer. Research indicates a 93% or better chance the round will fire on a re-strike. In S/A, mode, the trigger broke at 5 1/2- lbs, in D/A it was about 12-lbs, but it was still smooth. Don’t try to “stack” that first shot in the D/A – just pull the trigger completely through.
One thing that the 800 series has that the 24/7 line-up doesn’t is that it’s hammer-fired, the regular 24/7 are striker-fired. Some people just don’t like striker-fired handguns, I don’t have a problem with them at all. Taurus listened to customer demands and put an external hammer on this baby.
I like the Novak-designed 3-dot sights – they are my favorite – period! The slide is (forged) stainless steel, or it can be had with a black Tennifer finish. An accessory rail is there for lights and lasers, too. The polymer frame has aggressive checkering that grip you back. I should also mention that the 800 series comes with three interchangeable backstraps in small, medium and large – so you can fit the gun to your hand size. Damn good idea. For my hand size (large) the small backstrap fit my hand better than the medium or large size did.
In 9mm, you have 17-rds in the mag, in .40S&W you have 15-rds and in .45ACP you have 12-rds ready to go in the mag. You also get a spare mag, and I tell all my handgun students that they should always carry a spare mag with them when they carry. The 24/7 PRO 9mm mags are just a tiny bit hard to get that last round loaded into ‘em. The 809 has a mag that’s a little bit longer and the mag is easier to get that last round loaded.
I’m not gonna bore you to death with all the stats on the 809, other than the weight, which is 30.2 oz, and that’s a bit heavier than some other polymer handguns. Make no mistake, the 800 series of handguns are full-sized fighting guns; they are all built to take a steady diet of +P fodder. There are no plans to come out with a compact version at this writing. For complete specs on the 800 series, check-out the Taurus website.
Ok, I was starting to get a little excited about “just another polymer handgun” after handling it for a while, and checking out all the super-cool features it had. I played around for quite a while with the different backstrap options before deciding on the small backstrap. I was also impressed with the take-down levers – it’s hard not to compare any polymer pistol to the GLOCK, and the 809 has a take-down similar to the GLOCK, however there’s no need to pull the trigger before taking the pistol apart – that’s a good (safe) thing!
The 809 balanced very well for me, better than the 24/7 OSS does, in my humble opinion. I liked the extended tang on the back of the frame, and the gun seemed to sit lower in my hand than the 24/7 line does – again, that’s a good thing in my book. I placed the LaserLyte subcompact laser on the accessory rail, fit like a charm. For home owners, who don’t want to spend a lot of money for a light for your handgun, the little LaserLyte is a great way to go. The three little LED lights give you more than enough light to light-up the largest room in your house at night. That’s just what you need for home-defense at night. The little LEDs are bright enough to temporarily blind an intruder, too.
I’m beginning to really like the 809 sample, and I haven’t even fired it, yet. I like to take most of my photos for an article before firing a gun, but this wasn’t gonna be the case this time around. I noticed that the gun was packed with white grease – thick stuff to be sure. I swabbed out the barrel and took the gun out to see how it would function with that thick grease in the gun. I fired two magazines full of Winchester USA 9mm 115-gr FMJ through the gun – no problems. I was sure the gun would choke with that thick grease in there – it didn’t!
I figured I’d better get to some photos before I did any more shooting – don’t want to show you photos of a dirty gun after all. After a thorough cleaning and lube job, I was ready for some serious shooting with the 809. I had a good assortment of Black Hills Ammunition and Winchester Ammunition on-hand for testing. As already mentioned, I had the white box Winchester USA fodder, which is always a good performer, I also had a very limited supply of the new Winchester Bonded PDX1 9mm+P 124-gr JHP Personal Protection load – this stuff is hot, but the 809 handled it just fine. Winchester also supplied me with some of the 124-gr FMJ NATO 9mm ammo. I had a partial box of the long-discontinued Winchester Black Talon 147-gr SXT JHP load – I’ve been hoarding this stuff! In my Black Hills Ammunition locker, I had their red box (new) 115-gr JHP, 124-gr JHP as well as their blue box reloaded 115-gr FMJ and 115-gr JHP.
I didn’t have any failures of any kind with the 809, and I fired a little over 500-rds of the above types of ammo through the gun. Most groups were in the 3 ½”- 4” range at 25 yards, however, one group broke that at 3” – that was the Winchester Black Talon load. I only had a partial box of this ammo, the 809 really loved this stuff. The BHA 124-gr JHP was hot on the heels of the Black Talon in the accuracy department.
During my 25-yard shooting (I also shot farther and closer) I found that I had to use a bulls-eye hold instead of my usual six o’clock hold. Using the six o’clock hold, I found I was hitting about 3” below the center of the target, and even with the bull’s-eye hold, I was still about an inch below the center of the target with all loads. The gun was also shooting a tad to the left – which will be corrected by drifting the rear sight to the right just a little bit. I think the gun can do (much) better – I just need to get used to it. The 809 is also very soft-shooting – you don’t notice recoil as much in this polymer gun as in many others. Additionally, we had rain on the day I was shooting for groups! I don’t do my best shooting between cloud-burst.
My initial impression of, “just another polymer handgun” has changed. I was prepared to be bored testing another plastic gun. However, once you take the time to really appreciate all the features the 800 series has to offer, you’ll come away as impressed as I was. There was nothing not to like on the 809 I tested – NOTHING. Changes? Yeah, one I’d make – add night sights!
I once said, that if it were the end of the world, and the zombies were attacking me, I’d reach for my Taurus 24/7 OSS. I might have changed my mind, I’d now consider reaching for the 809. While there’s nothing “wrong” with the 9mm round for self-defense, assuming you are using a JHP round, I’d rather have a .45ACP. So, my one regret is, I didn’t choose the 845 (.45ACP) instead of the 809 in 9mm. However, I still think I’d consider reaching for the 809 when the zombies are at my door. The Taurus 845 (.45ACP) is on my wish list!
As with all Taurus firearms, you have a lifetime warranty – new or used guns. At this writing, Taurus also offers you a free one-year membership in the NRA with any new gun. What’s not to like here? Taurus usually hits a home run with their guns. In this case, I believe Taurus hit it out of the ballpark this time around. Feature-laden, combat accurate, well-built, super-strong, priced right – what’s not to like? If I were a cop again, or on active duty in the military, I wouldn’t hesitate carrying the 809 on my hip.
