I just wanted to add my .02 to this.
I picked up a Taurus PT1911 a few weekends ago at a gunshow. Got it NIB for $515 out the door. I simply would not pay over $550 for this.
I've only shot a few hundred rounds, but accuracy is great! I've only had one FTE as of now.
My complaints:
1.) The mags that come with it are "meh" at best. Seem like they may die rather quickly. I've already picked up some Wilson Combat 47D's.
2.) Finish does indeed wear quickly. It's such a thin finish! Really a shame that they skimped on this area of the firearm. I'm debating if it's worth spending another $120-180 for hard-chroming. Supposedly, you can send it back to Taurus for free re-blueing. I have not confirmed this yet, but other users have said that customer support has said they'd do it.
3.) Customer service is flaky. Although their warranty is killer, turn around time on service has ranged from quick to MONTHS. It's really a toss up on how they act. I've heard horror stories and I've heard about great customer service. (P.S.- I did find out that if you refinish the gun, it only voids the 1 year finish warranty. The lifetime warranty stays in tact. Whew!)
4.) Taurus uses MIM for their molding, and there has been high debate about this process. Some say, if done right, MIM is as strong as forged, just simply at a lower cost. At worse, if it's done wrong or bypasses quality control, space can be developed between the metal during the process, thus leading to cracked parts (and a useless gun). There are all different methods of MIM, and I know Colt uses it as well, but I still think it's worth pointing out. Some also say that MIM leads to a softer steel than forged. This I haven't seen confirmed, but again, it might be worth some debate.
Overall, it is a beast of a gun for the price. For the price, I'd easily easily choose this over other liked priced guns (Springfield GI + Mil-Spec, Rock Island Armory, etc). Trigger is very smooth, although it could be just a TINY bit less lb pull. Feels like it's built very solidly, and it's still a complete mil-spec 1911, so any gunsmith can work on it easily, and you can do all the do-it-yourself drop-in's such as magwells, safeties, etc.
Minor rant: I dislike the front slide serrations. They're pointless. But many manufacturers do this. Also, the hammer is a bit of a let-down, with their little "locking" mechanism in it. They should have just gone with a lightweight hammer (at they did in their prototypes). No biggie though, and this can be swapped out with another hammer easily.
If you're in the sub-$600 price range, GET IT. If you can afford to jump to 700-800+, I'd definitely go looking at Springfield, Kimber, etc. The Taurus is a very underrated firearm though.
