It seems the end of the road has come for the Taurus View. According to the Taurus USA website, the Model 85VTA – or the View – is no longer in production.
This should not much of a surprise to many observers of the gun industry. The View was an interesting exercise in “how small can we make it” thinking, but suffered from an inherent lack of shootability.
The Taurus Curve is the latest new pistol from our Brazilian friends. Taurus International is now making a pistol that is designed to be carried for self-defense, but could be one of the more difficult designs to shoot.
What makes this pistol different from other designs is that the polymer frame is curved – hence the name. In theory, this could make the gun more comfortable to carry though I have my reservations (more on that in a moment.)
The Curve is chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge and it holds six rounds in the magazine. The barrel is 2.5″ long and has a slant cut at the muzzle.
A bit of an enigma for the past several SHOT Shows, the Taurus CTG29 carbine is now shipping according to the company’s website. The carbine is based on the the SMT 9 and SMT 40 submachine guns the company produces in Brazil.
If you are looking to lighten the trigger pull on your Taurus M380 (or Taurus M85 series for that matter) immediately click over to Pocket Guns & Gear and watch Bruce’s video showing you how to swap out the trigger return and hammer springs.
Bruce uses a Wolff spring kit to replace the factory Taurus springs.  With the factory springs, the M380 had a trigger pull weight of more than 12 pounds (the maximum his gauge could measure.)  Once he got the new springs installed, the weight was reduced to about 9 pounds 10 ounces.  He described the the lighter feel as “a huge difference.”  I don’t doubt it.
The Taurus ST12 shotgun is a pump action, 12 gauge scattergun being made in Brazil. Â The Taurus shotgun falls into the tactical arena, not in the sporting category, and is marketed as such. Â The shotgun is not currently imported into the United States for civilian sales, but it is exported from Brazil for government purchasers.
The ST12 was first shown at the 2011 LAAD (a military arms expo that held in Brazil every two years,) but has yet to be shown by Taurus at the US-based SHOT Show. Â In its stock configuration, the shotgun is obviously designed to appeal to the military and law enforcement markets.
The Taurus ST12 has a chamber that will take 2 3/4″ and 3″ shells. Â The full-length tube magazine will take seven shells. Â Barrel lengths of 18″ and 20″ are available. Â The barrel has a stand off attachment for breaching duties.
The gun uses a fore-end with a Picatinny rail on the bottom. Â Presumably, one could attach a vertical grip or another device here. Â There is a short tri-rail attached to the extended magazine tube that would allow a shooter to attach a white light or another device. Â The front sight is a red fiber optic. Â While I would prefer ghost ring-style sights, the fiber optic is still an improvement over a brass bead.
The Taurus shotgun’s buttstock uses a M4-style six-position stock with a rubber recoil-reducing pad. Â The stock can also fold to the left of the gun, which allows a significant reduction in overall length. Â In some photos, the stock appears to be the ATI tactical shotgun stock they make for the Remington 870. Â In other photos, the stock is shown from the right side of the gun, concealing the folding point. Â On those, the pistol grip now has more of a M4 look and the Taurus logo.
A heat shield covers the barrel. Â The receiver is made of aluminum. Â The ST12 uses a cross-bolt safety like the one used on the Remington 870 line of shotguns.
It is unknown if Taurus has any plans to import the ST12 into the US. Â If they do, the price will certainly be a critical factor for the success of this shotgun. Â Remington and Mossberg have a pretty tight grip on the tactical pump gun market, and those companies already have reasonably priced offerings.