Taurus's Millennium 140 G2

Brief Taurus company background

Originating as a tool and die shop in 1939, producing firearms since 1941 and selling into the U.S. market since 1968, Taurus has a long and dynamic history as a firearms manufacturer. If elements of their mainstream revolver product line seem familiar, that could be a reflection of technology sharing between S&W and Taurus when they were both owned by a common parent. Bangor Punta owned controlling interest in both companies from 1970 and 1977, just before it was purchased by its current owners.

In 1980, when Beretta’s contract to supply firearms to the Brazilian Government expired, Taurus purchased Beretta’s Brazilian manufacturing facilities, along with all of Beretta’s drawings, tooling and machinery and retained Beretta’s trained work force. Taurus then revised and refined Beretta’s Model 92 design and released the Taurus Model PT-92 and PT-99. Since the acquisition, Taurus has gone on to  acquire Rossi, Heritage Manufacturing and Diamondback Firearms.

Taurus’s Brazilian facilities have been expanded by 30% to service growth. Taurus has also grown into a 100,000 square foot Miami Florida facility where 40% of its floor space is dedicated to the U.S.A. manufactured Taurus PT-22/25 and Heritage Rough Rider product lines. A participant in the aerospace and defense industry, firearm sales account for 66% of the company’s approximately $300 million in annual revenue. Taurus holds 90% firearms market share at home and has garnered 15% of the U.S. firearm market.

Taurus’s Compact Frame 40’s

Taurus offers two compact autoloader models chambered for the. The Model PT-740 Slim with 6+1 capacity and, pictured below, the Millennium PT-140 G2 with 10+1 capacity. Both have poly frames and either alloy or stainless steel slides. Both are SA/DA firing pin preset strikers.

The PT-140 G2 has a distinctive Taurus contemporary look. The  slide scalloping, transitional blending at the front and rear of slide and fame and ergonomic contouring at the grip are aesthetically pleasing. The features also reduce weight, aid in concealment and ease movement in and out of a holster.

Function in form, the G2 front rail is Picatinny MIL Std 1913 standard, facilitating the use of tactical lights, lasers and overhead optical sight mounts. The pistol’s extended magazine floorplate provides useful gripping real estate.  The curved leading edge trigger guard is purely functional although somewhat of a source of reading entertainment today.

Scanning message board explanations of this type of guard dating back to the year 2000 showed folks patiently explaining to new shooters how the curved surface of the trigger guard can be incorporated into modified Weaver stance. Three fingers of the weak hand grasp the strong hand and its index finger pulls back on the pistol’s trigger guard to form a push/pull dynamic.

With both hands exerting force parallel to bore center line, the gun’s sights are steadied and both recoil and muzzle climb are suppressed. Jack Weaver, an L.A. County Sheriff,  was a dominant force in competitive pistol shooting in the 1960’s and a student of Col. Jeff Cooper.

Message board exchanges, 2012 through current, find a sea of Internet consensus seekers universally scoffing at the use of the trigger guard, but agree that the guard does “look cool”… their word not mine. They go on to cite the latest self defense book and the style taught at the last tactical school dude ranch as foundation for their expressed beliefs. Except for one guy who just said the trigger guard made his  hands feel “funny”.

I’m a relic, so I can use archaic methods with impunity and justify my decision by holding up a target with the bullseye chewed out. Fortunately, the Taurus Millennium G2 fully supports either gripping technique with ease; properly gripping the trigger guard with the index finger or gripping the pistol incorrectly. I apologize for the short vacation from the subject at hand.

How much safety can one gun have? Apparently quite a bit

The TSS, Taurus Security System, (Top Left)  is key actuated and locks the manual safety in the “safe” position and prevents the trigger from being pulled. With the TSS not engaged the manual safety can be engaged or disengaged (center).

The third safety is hinged in the face of the trigger. In the absence of finger pressure on the trigger safety, trigger bar movement is blocked, which means the firing pin block (arrow) is not raised and the firing pin can’t move forward even if the pistol is dropped. The Millennium G2 does not have a magazine disconnector. Below, while not a safety, the loaded chamber indicator embedded in the top of the slide pops up to provide tactile and visual indication of a loaded chamber.

Nifty sights

The Millennium G2 has a low contour 3 dot sight system, which is actually a Patridge sight system, that has the unique feature of being adjustable for windage and elevation. They are clean sights, quick on target and with high visibility. The front sight appears to be staked, but it is actually secured with a machine screw from inside the slide. For folks who like fiber optic sights, Williams offers a Fire Sight set for this model.

Size in context…

I realize the Taurus’s dimensions are indicated in the spec box, but sometimes comparisons are needed to put the numbers into proper context. Below, next to a Commander size 1911, the G2’s compactness is obvious.

With a little bit of staggering, the short gripped Taurus holds 10 rounds. The grip is hand filling and comfortable shooting, but fits even average size hands. The thumb safety and magazine release are just a thumb swipe away. Though weighing on at just 22 ounces, even heavy 40 S&W loads were very manageable.

Personality

The Taurus 140 G2 and 40 S&W cartridge set the combination well beyond the capabilities of  subcompact 380 autos and 9mms. After several weeks of shooting various types of practice and defensive ammo, the firearm never jammed, failed to cycle or feed and shooting out one inch bullseyes at 7 yards was routine. The short 3.2″ barrel gave up a little velocity, which is to be expected. Speer Lawman 180 grain rated at 985 fps generated 884 fps from the Taurus. Remington 180 grain rated at 990 fps clocked 910 fps. Winchester 165 grain white box rated at 1060 fps was recorded at 926 fps. We’ll wrap up in detail in Part 2.