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We had several requests to review the Taurus TH45 and were lucky enough to get our hands one. The good news or bad depending on your opinion is that it bears a striking resemblence to the TH9, it's just bigger.
What Is It? The Taurus TH45 is a double-action/single-action doublstack chambered in 45acp. The polymer frame helps keep weight down, and thanks to 45 acp ammunition size 13 rounds fit in the full-size grip. The barrel may not be of the length SAAMI uses to standardize 45acp ammunition, but fortunately the gun is +p rated if you feel the barrel's too short.
Who's it For? Contemporary standards might say the TH45 is a bit large for carry, but ultimately that's up to the individual's needs and preferences. I've carried guns of the same size in cooler months, and could certainly see it as a "field gun" type of handgun. The 4.25" barrel should provide decent terminal performance while still being small enough to carry without feeling like a stint has been installed. No changes have been made from the TH9 line aside from scaling for the cartridge.
Get a closer look at the Taurus TH45 in the tabletop video below:
Specs:
Barrel Length: 4.25 In.
Overall Length: 7.80 In.
Overall Height: 5.80 In.
Overall Width: 1.43 In.
Overall Weight: 28.50 Oz. (Unloaded)
Twist Rate: 1:16 - in RH twist
Grooves: 6
Ambi safety/decocker
Ambi magazine release
MSRP: $530.99
Pricing found as of 29MAR24
It had been a while since I've shot 45acp, and even longer since a doublestack like the TH45. In hand it didn't feel overly-large like some double-stack 45acp 1911s can feel. Keeping with tradition, and keeping the review relevant to the hundreds of other handguns reviewed on the channel, the standard GBGuns Range Review protocol was followed including:
Cold Shots: Truly the first rounds through the gun.
Full Magazine +1: Suprisingly some modern guns still struggle with this. It's a test of how much play is in the magazine as well as how the slide cycles with pressure. This is also when I do my best to learn the trigger.
What's For Dinner™: A test to see what ammunition the gun will eat. Does the gun feed the round from slide lock, will it cycle and feed another round of the same type, does the slide lock to the rear on empty, and is there any notable point of impact change with different loads.
For this gun we used the following ammunition:
Priced and linked where found at the time this article was written
78gr Liberty Ammunition Civil Defense $29.79/20 at Firearms Depot
185gr Steinel SCHP
185gr Hornady Critical Defense $26.99/20 at Brownells
230gr Blazer Aluminum $23.08/50 at Sportsman's Guide
230gr Federal HST $43.99/20 direct from Federal
230gr Sig V-Crown $24.99/20 direct from Sig
230gr Speer Gold Dot $30.67/20 at Global Ordnance
230gr Armscor JHP
230gr AMMO, Inc JHP
230gr Remington Ultimate Defense Golden Saber $30.39/20 direct from Remington
Range Ammo was 230gr PMC Bronze $26.99/50 at Brownells
Sights & Trigger Control: on a 6" spinner target at a distance of 12 yards. We got this from Titan Great Outdoors and use it to gauge how learnable the trigger is and usable the sights are for forced, timed, precise shots.
Practical Accuracy: Five shots from a distance of seven yards at a one inch target. This isn't so much about printing a tight group as it is a culmination of our shooting experience and time for us to collect thoughts prior to making a conclusion.
After Shots: Final impressions and reflections from the range session.
The entire process can be seen in the Shooting Impressions video below.
Ammunition seen in our Shooting Impressions video was made possible by our Patrons and supporters of our ammunition savings account through Ammo Squared.
On the Range the TH45 did great. I struggled a bit to learn the double-action trigger and found it a bit undefined, but that's just my shooting style and preference. As a pull-through trigger it's fine. Perhaps a bit heavy, but likely as a safety measure since the gun can be carried decocked with the safety off. I felt like the TH45 wasn't quite fitting my grip, changing the backstrap would likeky help.
Reliability was flawless, and aside from my own shooter error the TH45 proved very accurate. I did not chronograph any loads, but even though the barrel's shorter than what 45acp ammunition might be made for, the spinner target definitely showed that the TH45 can hit hard.
