Taurus 709 SLIM: Single Stack 9mm, Adjustable Sights, Bulldog Soft Carry Case

With the 709 SLIM, Taurus has really made a push to claim the leadership role in concealed carry handguns. The single stack 9mm handgun is very easy to conceal, and weighs only 19 ounces, making it darn near the perfect pistol for discreet carry by the armed citizen.

The 709 feels good in the hand, and has significant texturing molded into the polymer frame, ensuring a solid grip even with sweaty hands. No doubt, the 9mm cartridge is a stout round to fire in a such a small package, but the gun is accurate and controllable. Even though it is almost as small as the current crop of .380 pistols, the 709 offers the added firepower of 7+1 rounds of the combat proven 9mm.

Another feature of the SLIM pistols is the inclusion of real sights! Unlike the bump and ditch called sights found on many small pistols, the Taurus 709 has a very visible front sight with a fully adjustable rear. Sights are set up in a three-dot configuration.

If you are looking for a concealed carry pistol in a major caliber, and want the utmost in concealment, take a close look at the Taurus 709.

The 709 comes with two 7-round magazines and an integral locking system. Like all of their firearms, Taurus backs this pistol with a lifetime warranty.

This Taurus 709 pistol ships with a Bulldog soft carry case.

A review of the Taurus 709 by Robb Allen

One of the joys of being a gun enthusiast is taking new people out to the range to shoot for their very first time. Practically everyone I have taken has been eager to learn and it makes me feel good to know that they are learning about firearms in a safe and fun manner.

In my opinion, nothing beats a good .22LR pistol for a first outing. Minimal noise and recoil, plus my Ruger Mk. III 22/45 is equipped with a red dot and even beginners can chew away at the bulls eye with little fatigue or worrying about a loud report.

Eventually though, they want to move on to a centerfire cartridge, and sadly I haven’t been the best equipped for that. I’m not letting them shoot the P3AT since I want them to enjoy the shooting sports, and unfortunately for me, the next calibers in my line up were .357 Magnum, 10mm, and 45 ACP. Not exactly the best next-step up.

So when I got the chance to pick up the Taurus 709 in 9mm, I was glad I was getting a pistol in a caliber that would be a better choice for centerfire introduction.

The 709 has a 3.28” barrel, an overall length of 6.25”, is .961 inches at its widest, and weighs in at 18.9 oz. unloaded, which to me seems a silly measurement as unloaded is useless unless you’re shoving it in a sock and treating it like a sap. It has a capacity of 7+1 rounds, low profile adjustable sights, SA or DA trigger, trigger safety, a loaded chamber indicator and the Taurus Security System, marketing speak for a screw lock.

I was expecting a lighter pistol, but was surprised at its heft. The fit and finish right out of the box was admittedly better than I was expecting. The Taurus 709 Slim is an inexpensive pistol and I was picturing it as being a little rougher in finish than it was however it appeared smooth and polished. The polymer frame has divots located toward the front as well as on the sides to assist your fingers in finding their spots and my left thumb jumped instantly to where it should be.

The sights on most compact pistols usually leave a little to be desired, but the adjustable sights on the 709 were quite serviceable and fairly easy to pick up. Adjustments can be made with the provided tool which also serves as the key for the security lock. If you don’t have the tool on you, apparently a Bowie knife will work too being that I watched one guy at the range try to adjust his 709 with (I let him use mine out of fear of him slicing off his thumb).

The trigger is a true double action as well as single action. The DA is rated at 5.75 pounds. It’s fairly consistent the whole way through. The break is crisp enough, however for my tastes it’s a bit further back than I like. Single Action breaks at the same spot, and it took a while to get used to it so far back but eventually I did. I doubt it’s going to win “Trigger of the Year” any time soon however the break was predictable which when you got used to it, did not pose a problem at all.

Overall, the pistol was much more comfortable to shoot than I was expecting. The 9mm is far from a punishing round, but I was assuming that the lightweight pistol wouldn’t absorb much, however I was surprised to find that there was little fatigue in shooting it for an extended amount of time. The texture on the grip is pretty good and I didn’t find myself readjusting my grip after shots. It is a little on the thin side for my hand size, however I didn’t find myself having to grip extra hard to compensate for it. Its shorter height meant my pinky had to slide under the magazine but I was used to that from shooting the Glock 29.

Out of the box it was hitting low and to the left, but 20 rounds and a few turns of the sights later and I managed to get a 2.5” grouping offhand at 10 yards. I had 2 feed issues where the next round never left the magazine - a quick rack of the slide corrected that tout de suite. Those were the only feeding problems I had with no failures to eject, failures to extract or jams at all.

The one problem I did have with my pistol is that I couldn’t get the slide to lock back after the last shot. Looking inside, the little nib that catches on the follower seems to be in the correct spot and if I rack the slide on an empty magazine it locks just fine. However during firing, I had to either count rounds or get to see exactly how bad I was flinching as I pulled the trigger on an empty chamber.

The magazines ejected freely and the release is perfectly located under my thumb. Granted, I’m right handed so it’s simple to do. Lefties would have to actuate it with their trigger finger more than likely. I’m not the best judge on left handed people. I still laugh at my dad when he writes.

Overall, I was impressed with the Taurus 709 Slim, especially given its price point. From what I’ve read about it online, it appears to be a fairly reliable pistol and its diminutive size, while not pocket-ready like some of the .380s, is perfect for concealment. I’m a firm believer that the 9mm is an effective and adequate round for self-defense and the 709 was easy enough to control that I would have no problem handing it to a new shooter and letting them empty a few magazines with it. It was as accurate as I could be and outside of the slide lock issue, reliable with all the ammo I put through it.

If you’re looking for a quality 9mm that’s inexpensive without being ‘cheap’ in construction, the Taurus 709 Slim might just be for you.