Taurus TH45 45 ACP Pistol 4.27 in. Black 13+1 Safety Decocker Picatinny Rail – Superbly Underrated

Description

The Taurus TH45 45 ACP is a full-size hammer-fired .45 that holds thirteen in the magazine – a number that sounded impossible on a .45 twenty years ago and still catches people out. It runs a 4.27-inch matte stainless barrel under a matte black serrated slide, a polymer frame with a Picatinny rail, and interchangeable backstraps.

It is double action / single action with a combined safety and decocker, which is the layout a lot of shooters grew up on and a lot of newer polymer pistols no longer offer.

Part number 1-TH45041, UPC 725327623625. Two in stock.

What the Taurus TH45 45 ACP is

• Full-size .45 ACP, 13+1 capacity
• 4.27-inch matte stainless steel barrel
• Matte black serrated slide over a black polymer frame
• Picatinny rail moulded into the dust cover
• Interchangeable backstraps
• Double action / single action with a manual safety that also decocks
• Three-dot sights, drift adjustable rear

Hammer fired, and why that still matters

• On the Taurus TH45 45 ACP the first shot is a long double action pull and every shot after it is a short, light single action. That takes practice to shoot consistently, and it is the reason a lot of ranges and older shooters still prefer the layout
• The safety lever also decocks. You can lower the hammer on a loaded chamber deliberately and safely, then carry with the hammer down and a long first pull, which some people much prefer to a striker with only a trigger safety
• A hammer can be seen and felt. You can tell at a glance whether the gun is cocked, which a striker will not tell you
• Second-strike capability: if a primer does not go off, you can simply pull the trigger again rather than clearing the round
• The trade is complexity. There is more to learn than on a striker pistol, and the transition from the first shot to the second is a genuine skill

Taurus TH45 45 ACP specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 1-TH45041
• UPC: 725327623625
• Calibre: .45 ACP
• Capacity: 13+1
• Barrel: 4.27 inches, matte stainless steel
• Slide: matte black serrated steel
• Frame: black polymer with Picatinny rail
• Grip: interchangeable backstraps
• Action: double action / single action, safety-decocker
• Sights: three dot

A correction to the old listing

The Taurus TH45 45 ACP was previously listed here as a 15-round pistol. It is not. Sports South list it as 13+1, and the factory TH45 magazine we stock is a 13-rounder, so thirteen is correct and we have fixed the description. Fifteen is the TH10 in 10mm. We would rather tell you the smaller number and be right.

Thirteen rounds of .45 ACP in a grip most hands can still manage is genuinely good going – the double-stack .45s of the 1990s held ten or eleven and were considerably fatter.

Ammunition

.45 ACP is standardised by SAAMI. It is a low-pressure cartridge that pushes a heavy bullet slowly, which is why it recoils as a shove rather than a snap and why it is pleasant to shoot out of a full-size pistol. Standard 230-grain ball is cheap and it is what the gun was designed around; there is no need for anything exotic to practise with.

The rest of the TH line

The same pistol in 9mm with seventeen rounds is the TH9, and in 10mm it is the TH10. In .40 S&W there is the full-size TH40, the shorter TH40 Compact, and a grey-framed TH40. All of them share the same controls, so anything you learn on one carries straight across.

Why the Taurus TH45 45 ACP earns its place

• Thirteen rounds in the Taurus TH45 45 ACP, which is two or three more than most of the classic double stacks
• A proper safety-decocker, which is getting hard to find on a modern polymer pistol
• Full-size and rail equipped, so it works as a nightstand gun with a light on it
• Interchangeable backstraps, which matters more on a wide .45 grip than on a 9mm
• Two in stock and the distributor is out

The honest caveat is the trigger transition. A double action first shot followed by single action shots is harder to shoot well than a consistent striker pull, and if you are not going to practise it, a striker pistol will serve you better. Anyone who learned on a hammer-fired pistol already knows this and will be perfectly at home.

The other point: .45 ACP costs more than 9mm and always will. Budget for that, because the gun is only worth having if you shoot it.

The Taurus TH45 45 ACP is one of the better-value full-size .45s on the market and it gets far less attention than it deserves. MAG5 Firearms ships to your FFL.