The Taylor 1911 9mm compact is a simple gun, but an interesting one. I’ve never had an opportunity to handle a 9mm 1911 so I jumped on the opportunity. I wasn’t expecting a lot, I figured it would be a pretty standard GI 1911. I wasn’t too familiar with Taylor’s 1911s and was more familiar with their western style revolvers. Taylor makes a wide variety of ‘cowboy’ guns and they’ve always been given high marks. I was actually pretty surprised when my FFL received this little bad boy.

Taylor 1911 Overview

Of course, it’s pretty standard for a 1911 it’s not like Sig’s P938 which is 1911 like. Compact is a relative term in handgun size. Most people would call the previously mentioned SIG 938 a compact. This gun is compact compared to a government model 1911, but still a handful. It has a 3 5/8ths inch barrel, and a grip that completely fills the hand. It weighs about 2.5 pounds and the controls are all standard 1911 controls.

A simple thumb and grip safety are present. It becomes a bit more unqiue when you start to go over the gun. The hammer is a combat hammer that is slightly shorter, with a round profile. There is a nice extended beavertail that allows the hand to ride nice and high on the gun. The trigger is also skeletonized and looks very nice.

The sights are Novak cut and made by LPA. LPA makes good gear and I was surprised to see them on this handgun. The front sight is a dovetail, all black sight. This interesting set up is nice, as there is very little air between the rear sights and front post. The Taylor 1911 Compact has a bull barrel and is a bushing free model. I was pretty surprised at the bull barrel especially on an affordable 1911. The grips are a simple checkered wood, mine are a blond wood.

First Impressions

The Taylor 1911 compact 9mm comes with two magazines and functions with any standard 9mm 1911 magazines. I acquired two ten round Mec-Gar 9mm 1911 magazines for testing alongside the gun. The magazines pop out with nice positive ejection and the button has tactile feedback.

When you rack the slide it feels like it’s on ball bearings, it incredibly smooth and super lightweight. Again, for the price of this gun, the quality is impressive. The trigger break is very crisp and nice. The biggest issue I have is the reset. It’s short, but not very audible. I’ll see if it’s a big deal as I put more and more rounds down range.

Overall I’m pretty pleased with this gun. My wife seems to really enjoy it. I had a few friends over and they gave it a spin and were all suitably impressed. My friends aren’t hardcore gun nuts like me, but enjoy shooting. They are amateur shooters but were hitting steel at 20 yards.

This should be a fun, and interesting review. Now I need to find a holster for concealed carry, and put some real lead downrange. I’m about two hundred rounds downrange personally, and a few hundred more will give me a good indication of how functional the Taylor 1911 9mm compact really is.