Taurus PT140 Mag Dropping

[Hawaiian Shooter]

Aloha everyone,
I just bought a brand new Taurus Millenium pro 40 sub compact, took my son shooting and after shooting a few rounds the mag kept dropping about 1/2 " so the next round would not feed. Can anyone give me some advice on how to correct the problem. Has anyone had this happen to them ? When the mag stayed in the gun shot great.
Thanks in advance for your help

 

[lukem]

I don't remember this happening to me when I had mine. Does the magazine drop after the exact number of rounds each time? Have you tried not loading the mag all the way and firing it through?

I also moved this thread to the handgun discussion and renamed it.

 

[Hawaiian Shooter]

I don't remember this happening to me when I had mine. Does the magazine drop after the exact number of rounds each time? Have you tried not loading the mag all the way and firing it through?

I also moved this thread to the handgun discussion and renamed it.

Aloha lukem,
Sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn't. I'm thinking the recoil is maybe shaking it loose the mag doesn't drop all the way out. And when I try and pull on the bottom of the mag it feels secure when not shooting.

 

[Ryan H]

Had this same problem happen to my Kahr P40, the magazine catch had worn out from abuse. I dropped my mags in sand when I practiced reloading and didn't clean them off, this eroded the mag catch eventually after about 100 drills. Kahr fixed it for free and replaced the entire slide assembly because it was developing the old peening issue they had for a while.

I would suggest you call Taurus, they were very speedy to send FedEx out to pick up the gun and they paid for all of the shipping. They never fixed my gun right, but they were nice enough to pay for the shipping 3 times! :laugh: Oh yeah, I had a PT145 Pro. Had to ditch it due to constant problems...

 

[AZSATT]

Weaver thumbs?

If it's a relatively new gun I'm guessing it's not worn out.

If the mags are as new as the gun, I'm guessing they're not worn out either.

Do you happen to shooting using a weaver stance and grip - with your thumbs hovering over or onto the mag release?? Sounds silly I know, but I find weaver style shooters sometimes inadvertently drop their mags just because their thumbs are so near the release - and recoil happens.

 

[astute]

If it's a relatively new gun I'm guessing it's not worn out.

If the mags are as new as the gun, I'm guessing they're not worn out either.

Do you happen to shooting using a weaver stance and grip - with your thumbs hovering over or onto the mag release?? Sounds silly I know, but I find weaver style shooters sometimes inadvertently drop their mags just because their thumbs are so near the release - and recoil happens.

I'm going to take a wild shot and agree. This is a very common problem. You let your thumb sit too close to the mag release and inadvertently hit it on recoil. Been there-done that. Next time to the range watch this to make sure it doesn't happen then you will know for sure if the gun has a problem. I have a PT-145, a 24/7-C compact 9mm, and an 24/7OSS 9mm. All have the same mag mechanism and work fine.

 

[Swede]

PT 140 mag dropping

I also own a Taurus PT 140 with less than 250 rounds shot through it. I bought it brand new in Aug. of 08. This month while shooting at the range the clip would disengage while firing the weapon. I took the gun to a friend who is a gunsmith, he removed the magazine release and found it to be defective. We called Taurus, initially they told us the part was on backorder and we could not place an order for the part. Reason given it was not due in for 2 weeks and they were not sure if they had enough coming in to handle their in house back log. I called back a week and a half later and they took my order for the part. It has been one week since this took place and I have not received it yet. Some of our local gun dealers have said, they have sent back these guns for the same problem. Swede

 

[Tactical Gunslinger]

Check the screws that hold in the grips, if they are too loose the mag might shift more easily, if you tighten them too much you will not be able to insert the mag. Experiment with it a little and you can loosen the grips just enough to get the mag in usually this solves the problem.

 

[Daugherty16]

i don't know this gun, per se, but is the mag release reversible? If the problem is your thumb, switching the release to the other side of the grip would be easier than shooting from the opposite side. (Although, i strongly recommend everyone practice weak side shooting). Anyway, it's just a thought.

Good luck - that problem is annoying at the range, but could be very bad for your health if you ever really needed to stop a BG (and the mag dropped out).

 

[chroode]

As a LEO my duty weapon was a Sig 226.

I'm a lefty and the PD armorer said he would switch the mag relase to the other side for me. Great idea right??
Wrong, the pistol functioned fine until the switch. Then what happenned? My thumb started hitting the relase with every shot. I had him switch it back to original the same day.

Personnely I think the release is best on the opposite the thumb side anyway. You can drop the mag with your middle finger and never have to cant or turn the pistol away from the target to reload. If you know somebody that can switch it, try it out. It might take some getting use to but you may like it. :biggrin:

 

[t.c.business]

I'm coming in a little late on this topic...however...I have had the same problem. I bought a taurus millenium pro pt-140. The first time I took it to the range the mag would drop, released by the recoil of the weapon. This especially happened when I would double tap, because I was not getting a good hold on the handle. being a polimer body, it does not have grip screws to tighten, so that is not an option, the thumb is not hitting the mag release. The release is just very shallow.

So...I have solved this problem.
Here is what you will need...1 roll of black gaffer's tape (like they use for video, photo, stage productions). It's a lot like duct tape but has a cloth back instead of the plastic that duct tape has. It also will not leave a gummy sthicky residue like other tapes. You can pick this up at a local stage shop, some camera stores, or bhphoto.com online. It will run about $13.
Cut a small strip about as wide as the clip and about 3/4 as long as the clip and place it on the left side of the clip (if the gun is in shooting position, pointed away from you). This will solve 2 problems - 1. It will shim the magazine a bit closer, causing the mag retainer to go deeper, and add a bit of friction to the mag so the recoil does not cause as much tension. The type of tape is important - black - so it doesn't look stupid, and gaffer - for the friction, and the lack of gummy residue inside your pistol.

later guys! hope this helps. Sure...I guess I could have sent it back, or got it gunsmithed, but I think this will be an ongoing issue, and so far this seems to have done the trick. see ya at the range! If anyone is interested in seeing photos of what I'm talking about, let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

-t.c.

 

[Brashnak]

not a good idea. friction on a magazine is a bad thing, you want them to drop out when you press the mag release. Ive had two PT140's prior to the one I currently own. Both of them have had the same problem. The shop I bought mine from was nice enough to trade out for a new gun each time since I had only shot around 50 rounds through each. The problem is in the mag release and more-so in the design of the mag release. The catch is very shallow and the release itself has a tendency to get sand, dirt, etc stuck between it and the inside of the grip, so it doesn't fully return to its set position. Send it back to Taurus and let them do the dirty work. I'm having trouble with one of my mags being slightly too large and wont drop all the way out on its own as well. Taurus isn't so appealing to me anymore...

 

[FN1910]

I had a P3AT that had this problem with one of the two mags. I fonally figured out that the catch was not seating in the mag properly and would lightly catch and any vibration would shake it loose. I also noticed that the mag release button was not resetting to the proper point when the mag was loaded. Finally I took out my dremel tool and ground off about .001" of the hole in the mag where the catch goes in. Now it properly seats and no more problems. It may very well be that the catch itself is misaligned or too big. Or it may be that the hole in the mag is out of specs. Does it happen with all mags or just one?

 

[daytonaredeye]

I'm a little late to this discussion as well and it seems my concerns have already been expressed by more than one responder but I'll post it anyway

I've never had that happen with my PT140PRO but I did shoot someone else's PT111 (9 mil) once and it happened a couple of times. That gun is a little small for me and I noticed my right thumb "leaning" into the mag release button with the recoil as well as my little finger pressing down on the forward protruding part of the mag butt plate (sorry, I don't know what that thing is called) and as soon as I compensated for these things, the problem ceased.

Hope this helps. . . .

 

[Ozark_II]

I have a new PT-145. One day at the range I had a mag drop during firing. I realized my normal grip had caused me to press the mag release during firing just enough to cause enough pressure during firing to release the mag. I was able to reproduce it. It is a bit disconcerting because in the heat of a "situation" it may prove costly. So I have to practice and modify my grip if I plan to carry the PT-145 regularly.

 

[Swede]

Taurus PT140 mag dropping

After waiting now since March for Taurus to send me the replacement for the defective internal mag release. I guess I am going to have to send the gun back to them for the repair!!!! I will not buy another Taurus semi-auto handgun!!!! I will stick to S&W, Beretta, or Kimber!!!! After talking with Taurus numerous times now they will not admit there is a problem. Yet they have a backlog of guns waiting for the same part!!! As for the people that have suggested that myself and the gunsmmith were hitting the mag release button on firing, we intentionally turned the gun sideways with no part of the hand contacting the button!!!! Let the Buyer BEWARE!!!!

 

[Brashnak]

this is not an issue of hitting the mag release. I put less than 100 rounds through my first PT140 and the mag started dropping. Luckily the gun shop just traded it out for a new gun and sent the old one back. The new one I got only has about 50-75 rounds through it and the mag wouldnt even stay in without shooting it. you could stick the mag in, slam it as hard as you could, and it would just fall right back out. I took the mag release out and the tab that holds the mag in is already beveled to the point of no return. I switched it to the left hand side for temporary fix and it worked (the bevel is now on the bottom instead of being the contact surface). Taurus still hasnt sent me a replacement part. Skip the Taurus and buy an M&P.

 

[t.c.business]

the tape!

I think that if you are going to keep this pistol, that sending it back or replacing the part is not going to help. There is too much pressure during recoil on the bottom plate of the magazine, and the mag release is simply too short. I have solved my issue with two things. The first as I mentioned before is a small piece of gaffers tape on the inside of the gun on the mag lenghthwise. This adds just enough tension, and you can still release the mag. However, I have also now added a hogue handall to it to further relieve tension from the mag base plate. This seems to have solved the problem...and I didn't have to hassle with taurus, or send it back. However, next time I'll just shell out the bucks for a Sig228 and skip this alltogether! Best of luck!

-t.c.

 

[chrisa02]

I have carried a Pt-140 pro for about 2 years and have never had a problem like this. I think you have one of two problems. Either you are accidentally pressing the mag release while firing or you have a defective magazine. I have two Taurus mags and two after market mags and have never had a problem with either. I have found this weapon to be very reliable. It has gone boom every time I pulled the trigger.

 

[steve5k]

same problem!

I just tried out my brand new pt140 last weekend with dismal results. The magazine falls out after the first shot every time! At first I thought I was hitting the release but after trying different holding positions it still did it every time. Then I let my buddy try it...same thing. Put two rounds in the magazine and it stayed in. So 50 rds later I was pretty disappointed with the whole thing. I noticed that the release wasn't ever flush with the grip on the right side of the pistol, mag in or out so I suspected there was a burr or something not allowing the release to go fullto the left. I found an online video showing how to remove the release and took it out. Upon removal I found the "stop" on the release button that goes into a vertical groove in the grip was to wide and would not allow the release to "close" all the way. So out came the file, I narrowed up the stop and reassembled the gun. At this point the release was flush with the grip on the right side like it should be. Test firing confirmed the problem was solved. No more mag drops. Having said that I must say I was not real keen on tearing apart a new pistol but I was planning to take a class with the pistol and did not want to send it back to Taurus. I did however call taurus to ask them to send me a new release. LOW AND BEHOLD that part is on backorder! HHMMM. I found this out after being on hold with c/s for 23 minutes. They did offer to pay for me to ship the pistol back to them for repair since the part was unavailable, To which I replied " You want me to send it back for repair and the part you will need is back ordered, is that correct?" and the c/s rep said "yes thats right" . WTF.................
Any way I am supposed to be recieving the release someday when it becomes available. (sure) This left me with a bad opinion of taurus which is too bad because I really like the pistol other than that problem.
I don't know if I will ever trust the pistol. I think I am done with taurus.