A little while back during the summer I went to our monthly Backup Gun Match with, of all things, a Taurus Curve. Why do I even own one of those? Well, I found one new in the box at a local gun show for less than $200. Because it is such an unusual gun in a bunch of ways, I figured it really deserved a place in the Forgotten Weapons Collection. So, I bought it, and just left it in the box. Several months later, debating what to run at the match, I realized I still had that Curve, still unfired in the box. Well, 90%+ of the people who bought one of those would have done nothing but load a magazine and stick it in a pocket, so why not run it just that way? All I did was check to make sure the laser’s batteries were still working.
…not that the laser ended up making any difference. This was my worst Backup Gun Match that I can remember. Hopefully all the failure is at least entertaining!
Also, thanks to Roger for rescuing me with his G1 Yeet Cannon on the last stage!
Rather sad when a Hi-Point outperformed the Taurus
The C9 has surprised me on many occasions. Yes it’s made mostly of zamak and “high tech polymer” (PE plastic) but it will generally hit what your aiming at and not have stoppage problems. It’s funny that this pistol ranks number 2 in Ian’s and Carl’s Arizona diarrhea aka mud test. There’s a lot to be said for that. As a back up gun that won’t rust to death in the constant temperature changes in the vehicle or a pistol for something like a storage tube it would be well suited. I plan on adding one to my toy box in the future.
A comparison between the two is quite interesting. The Curve offers laser, light, compactness, and apparently saves compromises reliability. The Hi Point has no special feature, doesn’t care about compactness, and is reliable. Two different approaches to low cost guns.
I am morbidly curious to see Ian do an entire 2 gun match with a Hi-Point C9 pistol and a 995 carbine now.
I second the motion!
They’d work just fine. But he’d have to actually zero the adjustable sights, lube the guns, and make sure he knew how the trigger works. Hint…they aren’t 1911 style triggers. They are a lot like a Glock trigger, really. Mushy, and a bit heavy.
The Curve is a right-hander’s firearm. It is curved that way. It is not intended in any way for Lefties.
It’s intended as a carry gun, not a nightstand gun, hence the curve. Even poor CHL holders may oil their firearm, which the lack of may well have contributed to the malfs.
Lasers should be zeroed to the specific ammo being used, same as any other optic. It’s a daylight capable laser on a 5 yd gun, and Ian was trying to use it, unzeroed, at ranges well more than 5 yds – and it would have worked if only he’d zeroed it.
Cheap click-bait slam on Taurus. About what I expect from other gun channels, not FW or InRange.
“(…)Even poor CHL holders may oil their firearm, which the lack of may well have contributed to the malfs.(…)”
Conclusion of this test might be also that this automatic pistol does not work reliable with ammunition which was used. So far I know available 9×17 Kurz loading vary significantly ballistic-wise or at least so it seems looking at this table:
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/380auto2.html
therefore further test would be needed to detect if said automatic pistol is generally unreliable or only unreliable when combined with certain loading.
“(…)curve(…)”
When looking at this automatic pistol, it reminded me about Streamline Moderne architecture. But there are decades apart. Now I am wondering what would be effect of tasking Salvador Dali (designer of CHUPA CHUPS logo) or Raymond Loewy (designer of COCA-COLA bottle) with design of weapon…
So you think that a proven good shooter scoring minus 4 with a Taurus, and plus 36 with a Hi Point Yeet Cannon, shows he was doing it wrong?
The gun is purely a right-handed gun to the extent that it curves to fit the right hip, and Ian is a known lefty;
He intentionally didn’t sight in his one available adjustable sight, and despite it actually working in daylight at the ranges he was shooting at, wasn’t able to use it b/c of his lack of preparedness;
He admittedly didn’t oil it;
He didn’t test it before the match w/ the ammo he was going to use at the match.
You think that’s a fair shake for a firearm?
I’m with backbencher on this one.
+1.
Any other gun is being oiled, test fired and zeroed. Not that the Taurus Curve would not still make problems as other testers have found over the years, but still. It should have been given the same baseline of care as any other firearm.
You make a lot of excuses for a gun that didn’t function with normal ammo, didn’t shoot to the point of aim with the supplied laser sight, and generally didn’t do its job.
I don’t know if you’re a shill or just a jerk, but shut the hell up and never open your mouth again.
How many guns do YOU have with a laser? Apparently none, or you’d know….they have to be zeroed.
I have three.
Howe many excuses do you want to make for a rude jerk who presented his arguments with neither class nor etiquette?
I suggest your answer had better be zero, or all the laser sights in the world won’t save you.
Aw, hoes mad.
I second the comment.
But then, I own both Hi Points AND Taurus handguns, so maybe I’m just a sensitive cheap gun owner.
Despite being such a foolish man, I actually DO break a new gun in, check the sights and adjust if possible, or learn the holdover if they are fixed, then clean and properly lube the guns for next use. So none of my Taurus’s or Hi Points has ever failed like that.
To be clear…I was agreeing with Backbencher…
Well, it is a lesson on how some weapons become forgotten.
Not that I want to introduce anymore click-bait, but given a choice, which would be best for getting out of an unwanted bar brawl?
1. Taurus Curve
2. Gabilondo Ruby
3. Nambu Type 94
4. Colt Police Positive snub-nose revolver
5. Smith & Wesson Model 27 (3 1/2 inch barrel)
6. Reihenfeuer 08 (full auto Luger!!)
7. Lupara
8. Trench mace (Why the heck did I bring this into a bar!?)
9. Screw the budget and get your favorite toy into this big ball of violence!!
Note that this post has been done just for laughs and should, in theory, not be treated seriously. PLEASE DO NOT THROW LITERAL FLAK AT ME!!
Thank you,
Cherndog
I don’t think 5 belongs on this list. 4 doesn’t either if it’s in 38 special.
Okay, please name your best substitutes for those choices aside from a Rohm RG-14…
The lupara, or any other sawn-off shotgun, hands down.
Nothing says “get out of my way” like a big muzzle that everybody knows can deliver a spread of buckshot. Except maybe a pair of them.
https://ravenswoodleather.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/1575.jpg
cheers
eon
Why not a Diablo pistol aka black powder lupara?
Sure, just 2 shots…but what Bar did you walk into?
And if 2 lupara blasts doesn’t do it you can always club them with it.
I’m inclined towards #5 although I prefer my S&W in the more wieldy K frame. As an alternative a Ruger P series P89, P90 etc. makes an excellent bludgeon in addition to being an ugly but reliable pistol
At least I didn’t suggest an old Gasser revolver…
» …which would be best for getting out of an unwanted bar brawl?
A LeMat in 12mm Perrin, w/24 ga barfly shot load, of course.
…err, not being a US citizen. Is there a set of minimum thresholds that a gun has to pass to allow it to be sold? i.e. if it utter ****** (translated – ‘useless’) as opposed to actually dangerous to the firer. Can you still sell it?
You can sell as bad of a gun as you desire so long as it meets state safety requirements.
OMG. You had a Viridian Instant On! ™ laster on that. Not the green one, but the more pedestrian (and invisible in daylight) red.
I worked for them trying to sell these for about a year several years ago, and they were forever hitching their wagon to the wrong gun. Like this. Or the Remington 51. or the Mossberg MC1sc. Made it hard to get much traction at distributor shows when the guns they designed them for in advance of release didn’t work…
I can wholeheartedly agree with the previously stated sentiment that ‘when you’re in the firearms industry, you never get to shoot’. I worked there a year and never went to the range for the company once. The company is the brainchild of two semi retired bankers who have more money than sense, but who want to be in the ‘industry’, I recall.
And that made in the USA line they use? Unless they’ve changed, or China has become the 51st state, their moldings came from the PRC when I was there…
I have never really been a fan of Taurus auto loaders, too many problems. But Hi-point, now there is a different story. A Hi-point will never win an award for design, or looks. They have the well deserved nickname of “the brick”. BUT, they almost always work. Years ago I bought one (C9) because they were so cheap that I figured I could play around with it and even if I destroyed it, I would not be out of much. I abused the hell out of it, and it kept working. Finally sold it. If it was all you could afford, the Hi-point is not the worst you could do, and they are made in the USA.
Considering at the price point, the Hi-Point line is a high point of engineering. (pun intended). They do actually work and are safe to use. And meeting that low price and still keeping it function properly is a laudable achievement. Not much more expensive guns are markedly less reliable.
I legit lost it at “Yeet me”
I’ll take options 10, 11 or 12, in that order…
10) The door
11) The toilet window
12) hide behind the enormous pair of saggy Tits that I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to get the bar maid to keep out of my pint glass all evening.
If all of those fail, start swinging bar stools
Okay, you got me. Those were completely valid options, although option 12 seems a bit silly.
In all fairness, the gun should be cleaned, oiled, zeroed with self-defense ammo, broken in with a couple hundred rounds, and loaned to Karl at InRange for a right-handed test. (However, Karl has written that he avoids Taurus “like cancer.”) In extra fairness it ought to be tested from a draw at the basic self-defense 7 yards in conditions that make the laser useful and test the odd sights. Where did Mr. M got his info about the “average Taurus Curve buyer”? It might be slander.
You shouldn’t have to fire a few hundred rounds to have a gun that works.
I don’t care if its a Taurus, a Walther or a Smith and Wesson, its the manufacturer’s job to properly finish the gun, not mine.
Friends,
I think this is an important video.
My bias about the need to lubricate pistols and match the ammo to the pistol stands confirmed.
Ian, thank you for your excellent in-service.
Best,
Q
Thanks, it was fun.
The presence of lubricant should not affect reliability so much.
Perhaps, Ian was simply used to more massive pistols, so he didn’t hold tight enough.
Such crumbs, under such a cartridge, must be held very tightly.
Otherwise, there will be problems with hits and stoppages.
Friends,
And another takeaway.
Out of the box, bone dry, difficult to chamber, no laser return and I thought I heard him hit the steel target at least a couple of times.
Not bad.
Q
How about shooting a BUG match with abTaurus View?
Milky udders, click, click.
Ian mentions that he used the “pistol” right out of the box. I really don’t think it would have mattered but I believe a”break in period” would have helped