I was looking for a small CCW 9MM at a local gunshop. Like I need another one:-) After some looking at various pistols I decided to take a closer look at the Taurus 709 Slim and I’m glad I did!
Taurus has been very active in the last few years creating some interesting designs for just about any purpose. This little pistol is very light and points naturally when brought up to eye level. The grips are aggressive enough to provide a good grip without being abrasive in the least. All edges of the gun have been mildly rounded to prevent any snags or those annoying cuts to your hands.
The sights are adjustable and have a very low profile. They use the standard three dot system. The trigger is very good especially for a stryker fired pistol. The slack is reasonably short with a crisp break. It also has the double strike feature should a round fail to fire on the first trigger pull. The center of the trigger has the usual plastic piece as a safety as well as a manual safety located in the same area as a 1911. The ejection port is completly open on the top of the slide which helps with positive ejection. The extractor is located on the outside of the slide. When a round is chambered the extractor protrudes a bit so that you can feel a round is chambered. It also has a red line on the top of the extractor.
| Model: 709B | Finish: Blue | Status: Available | |||
| Caliber: 9 mm | Grips: Checkered Polymer | UPC: 7-25327-60562-1 | |||
| Capacity: 7 +1 | Weight: 19 oz | Barrel Length: 3″ | |||
| Construction: Steel | Frame: Compact | Action: SA/DA | |||
| Front Sight: Fixed | Length: 6″ | Order #: 1-709031 | |||
| MSRP: $483.00 |
This shop has an indoor range and fortunately for me they had a rental Taurus 709. I loaded up with 100 rounds of 9MM and headed into the range. I shot groups from 7, 10 and 15 yards. The little pistol performed very well with no malfunctions of any type. The group at 7 yards averaged just inder 2 inches with those at the 10 yard line ran 2 1/3 inches. From 15 yards the groups opened up to 3 inches. This is good combat accuracy and would be very suitable for concealed carry defensive situations.
The grip feels good with a size that is not to small for normal size hands but not to large for small hands.Taurus did their homework on this design. I dropped this pistol in my front jeans pocket and it disappeared and would never be noticed if you choose to carry that way. I would counsel using a holster however.
Takedown is simple in fact very much like a Glock. There are two plastic pieces just above the trigger guard that are pulled down at the same time. You simply pull the slide off. Note that the pistol must not be cocked to do this. That’s all there is to it.
I can recommend this Taurus for CCW and would feel well armed carrying it with a spare magazine. If you have any questions or comments feel free to send them in and I will answer them as soon as I can.
Happy Shooting!
Gunner's Journal 