Taurus patents new curved handgun design

[Bill DeShivs]

I consider lasers to be toys on a pocket gun.
Small, pocketable gun-yes. Curved one-no. The gun is still thicker than many, it's bulky, and it's expensive.
Recoil- my bet is that it's a blowback pistol. They kick harder than locked breech usually.

 

[Dragline45]

If they spent as much time on quality control as they do pumping out new designs every year they would be a much better company.

 

[Pond James Pond]

Recoil- my bet is that it's a blowback pistol.

I'm no expert, but wouldn't the tilting barrel with the slide back imply that it is not a blowback design? I thought they were all fixed barrel...

Whilst I would not probably buy one, I like it when companies think outside the box.
CCW is required? Printing is a problem? A curve gun is a clear way around the issue. And probably pretty comformtable.

Good luck to them...

 

[motorhead0922]

Recoil- my bet is that it's a blowback pistol

In the specs I posted above, Taurus states that it is locked breech.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

This discussion is taking place on other forums. On one of those forums, the participants are claiming the Curve is much larger than the spec sheets show. One participant claimed that it was bigger than his LC9 and PM9 when, if you look at the spec sheets, it's smaller. Here's what I posted, there -- the LC9 and PM9 discussion came in a later post.

...it's actually smaller than you realize. More importantly, it is NOT SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER than any of the guns mentioned above. It is heavier -- but that may be a positive. Even though it's heavier, it's still not a HEAVY GUN. (You'd be hard-pressed to wear it on a necklace as I've seen done with the Keltec P32, but it should ride comfortably on its hanger inside your waistband, and it will probably fit in any of the pockets the other guns cited below fit -- the differences are not big.

Please note: I'm not a Taurus Curve advocate -- The smallest gun I'm going to carry is 9mm -- but some folks are making claims here without doing their homework! Here are some comparisons, all based on guns specs available at the makers' web sites. These are shown without a LASER system installed, so that probably accounts for a LITTLE of the weight differences. (I couldn't find good specs for the other guns WITH Lasers installed.) None of the other guns offer a LASER and a LIGHT -- and together, they've got add some weight.

Curve vs. P3AT
It's .105 of inch wider than the P3AT -- .875" vs. .77"
It's .075 of inch shorter (length) than the P3AT -- 5.125" vs 5.2"
It's .25 of inch taller -- 3.75" vs 3.5"
It's barrel is just .05 longer -- 2.75" vs. 2.7"
The Curve IS much heavier -- 14 oz. vs. 8.3 oz.

Curve vs. LCP
It's .055 of inch wider than the LCP -- .875" vs. .82"
It's .035 of inch shorter (length) than the P3AT -- 5.125" vs 5.16
It's .15 of inch taller -- 3.75" vs 3.6"
It's barrel is the same -- 2.75" vs. 2.75"
It's 4.6 oz heavier than the LCP -- 14 oz. vs. 9.4 oz.

CURVE vs. P389
It's .125 of an inch wider than the P380 -- .875" vs .75" or 1/8th of an inch!
It's .225 of an inch longer than the P380 -- 5.125" vs. 4.9"
It's .15 of an inch shorter (height) than the P380 -- 3.75" vs. 3.9"
It's .barrel is .22 of an inch longer than the P380 -- 2.75 vs. 2.53
It is 4 oz heavier than the P380 -- 14 oz. vs. 9.97 oz.

CURVE vs. TCP
It's .005 inches wider than the Taurus TCP -- .875" vs .87"
It's .075 shorter than the TCP -- 5.125" vs. 5.2"
It's the same height as the TCP -- 3.75"
It's barrel is .09 of an inch shorter -- 2.75" vs. 2.84"
The Curve is 3.8 ounces heavier than the TCP -- 14 oz. vs. 10.2 oz.​

It may not be your cup of tea. It's not mine. I want a 9mm when I'm carrying. But others are comfortable with the .380 round. It's their gun and their money. But the price is only $392, and includes both light and LASER. If it works -- and that remains to be seen -- it seems like a bargain.

Note: I later found that the Taurus site shows a width of 1.18 inches -- but that's with the belt clip installed. The Guns & Ammo gun did not have the clip installed -- but the article mentioned it as a user-installed option.

On my PF9, that sort of clip adds about 3/8th of an inch to the gun's width (or. .375"). That would account for the difference between the figures cited above -- from the Guns & Ammo article. The Taurus site also shows 10.2 ounces, rather than 14 ounces for weight. If that lighter weight includes the laser and light system, that's impressive.

.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

I should have seen that it is a locked breech gun!

 

[Pond James Pond]

I consider lasers to be toys on a pocket gun.

Having thought about this, I'm not sure I agree.

People seem to like pocket guns: convenient and easy to carry in a variety of clothing. Great for concealability, terrible for efficacy.

As we know, pocket guns are small. Small probably means pretty awful sights and sight radius. This means that at anything more than handshake distance, one's aim is severely hampered. I know lots of SD situations occur at those distances, but not all and with 7 shots, you want them to count.

A laser, properly set up, seriously helps in that department.

 

[IdahoG36]

Taurus can't even build a regular pistol that well. What are they doing heading into uncharted waters??

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Lasers are not a substitute for learning to shoot.

 

[Pond James Pond]

Lasers are not a substitute for learning to shoot.

Quite so, but then I never said they were.

Learning to shoot, at least for me, has meant (amongst numerous other things) mastering sight picture.

That gets quite hard if there are no sights or they are so small as to be virtually non-existent.... I also would not recommend someone get a Curve, or LCP or other pocket gun to learn on.

But if I had a Curve, I am pretty sure my aim would be improved by having the laser rather than trying to sight-up along a smooth, featureless, matt slide.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Lasers are not a substitute for learning to point shoot, either.
They can be a good (or bad) training aid, and could be useful in odd situations, but point shooting accurately is very important.

 

[Pond James Pond]

Lasers are not a substitute for learning to point shoot, either.

I didn't say that either.... but I will say that I would not want a gun where point shooting is my one and only option (which the Curve would be without a laser).

 

[Microgunner]

Oh, I'll definitely be having one of these just for the novelty of it.

 

[skizzums]

Taurus makes me sooo mad. I love the curve, have been watching it since it was sketched over a year ago....then they make it a danged .380 ARGHHHH

 

[Dragline45]

I consider lasers to be toys on a pocket gun.

I agree, it's one of the reasons I sold my BG380, I hated that built in laser. Now that they released a non laser version I will be picking one up.

Lasers are not a substitute for learning to point shoot, either.

I didn't say that either.... but I will say that I would not want a gun where point shooting is my one and only option (which the Curve would be without a laser).

The thing is in a SD situation point shooting is most likely what you will be doing. Point shooting in my mind is one of the single most useful skills you can have under your belt. I can point shoot well enough with my carry gun that I have absolutely no use for a laser and consider it a hindrance. You could take the sights off my gun all together and I can guarantee I can put all shots on a man sized target at 25ft no problem.

 

[Cheapshooter]

Taurus has certainly out done itself on the dumb idea front. First, an otherwise great revolver with a clear plastic side cover. Now this stupid looking answer to a problem that didn't exist!

 

[Pond James Pond]

I can point shoot well enough with my carry gun that I have absolutely no use for a laser and consider it a hindrance. You could take the sights off my gun all together and I can guarantee I can put all shots on a man sized target at 25ft no problem.

That is you.
Is that the vast majority of shooters? Most on here seem to agree not.

Toys are objects that serve no real purpose other than entertainment so, question:

Do you believe that the only use of a device on a gun that allows the user to see exactly where the barrel is pointing by way of a bright point of light on the target is to provide entertainment?

 

[Walt Sherrill]

The thing is in a SD situation point shooting is most likely what you will be doing. Point shooting in my mind is one of the single most useful skills you can have under your belt. I can point shoot well enough with my carry gun that I have absolutely no use for a laser and consider it a hindrance. You could take the sights off my gun all together and I can guarantee I can put all shots on a man sized target at 25ft no problem.

And how does a LASER hinder your ability to point shoot?

If your point is that relying solely on a LASER is a point of concern I'll agree -- as electronic devices can fail -- but having it as a tool available when needed, isn't bad. If you can point-shoot other guns, you can arguably point-shoot a Curve.

And, while point shooting IS an important skill/technique, aimed fire is also important, and the difference in the time required isn't always that great. Try point shooting in an IDPA match, sometime -- no aimed fire -- I think you'll be surprised at the results. Its one thing to hit a stationary target that you know is there, from a standing position; its quite another when either are moving, and you don't know exactly where the target might be.

What happens at the range isn't always what's going to happen in a real-life Self Defense situation. In the real world you may be forced to shoot from cover, from a kneeling position, from a crouch, while pushing a companion out of the way, etc, etc. When that happens, the practiced (muscle memory-affected) skills don't always kick in as they should or kick in in ways that are unexpected. I've seen in matches where friends who've spent years shooting using the Weaver stance have problems when forced to shoot from off-side cover, or from kneeling or prone positions.

Being able to use any appropriate technique makes sense. You don't have to turn that LASER on!! And, when point shooting, you don't need sights!

Given my natural inclinations and presence of mind, if the Curve were mine and I had no warning, I'd probably FORGET to turned the damned LASER on -- and point shooting would be my real-world response. But if I had a little warning the LASER could be a big plus!​

I'm not really disagreeing with your assertions above, but am saying that there's more than one way things can be done, and having access to more options is not to be disparaged.

.

 

[Microgunner]

Taurus will be offering the Curve with or without a laser.
Weapons light appears standard on both.

 

[Dragline45]

And how does a LASER hinder your ability to point shoot?

I didn't mean my ability to point shoot when I said a hindrance. The only experience I have with a laser on a gun is the Bodyguard which has to be switched on manually, so I consider that a hindrance if I chose to use it. If it was something like a crimson trace that's switched on with the pressure of your grip then not so much.

Try point shooting in an IDPA match, sometime -- no aimed fire -- I think you'll be surprised at the results.

I plan on getting into IDPA this coming year so I may have to.