The new Taurus PT709 Slim 9mm semiauto pistol represents a significant departure from Taurus' existing pistol platform designs, embodying a unique combination of tried-and-true traditional compact-auto operating features with several 21st century innovations.

It is an ultra-compact, recoil-operated, polymer-frame, striker-fired single-action with a manual safety, slide lock and excellent handling characteristics. At only 19 ounces, it may not be the smallest medium-caliber auto pistol Taurus has ever produced, but it is the slimmest, and it is designed specifically as a concealed-carry gun.

I have long been a fan of the entire Taurus autoloader line, which up until about a dozen years ago put me in a minority among American handgun enthusiasts, who back then mostly viewed Taurus as a second-level overseas fabricator of inexpensive (and unreliable) clones of brand-name guns.

That reputation was not really deserved then, and it is certainly not deserved now, because the fact is that Taurus today is a truly different company than it once was (see accompanying sidebar), and under the leadership and creative energy of Taurus' U.S. CEO Bob Morrison, it has emerged as a leader in handgun design.

TAURUS PT709
Manufacturer	Taurus, www.taurususa.com,
Type	recoil-operated striker-fired semiauto
Caliber	9mm Luger
Capacity	8+1
Barrel Length	3 in.
Overall Length	6 in.
Weight	19 oz.
Sights	3-dot low profile
Trigger	single action, 5.5 lb.
Grips	integral polymer
Price	$375

Operationally, the PT709 has John Browning's classic recoil-operated mechanism, whereby the slide and barrel move backward a short distance together upon ignition of the fired cartridge until a camming lug on the bottom of the barrel engages a ramp imbedded in the frame, causing the rear of the barrel to unlock from the slide and drop slightly downward.

This allows the slide to continue its rearward motion, against the pressure of the captive recoil spring/ guide rod system, extracting the fired case, resetting (recocking) the firing mechanism and then returning forward to pick up and chamber a fresh round from the magazine. The slide locks open after the last round in the magazine is fired.

The slide/frame interface that supports this mechanism is distinctive. A solid steel cam block (or frame block) is held solidly in the polymer frame by the steel trigger pivot pin, reducing the number of moving parts in the system and minimizing the number of frame-weakening holes.

The result is a strong steel-to-steel bearing surface between slide and frame, and slide-to-frame alignment and repeatability of lockup are enhanced by two sets of molded-in guide rails in the frame itself: one set immediately forward of the cam block that also houses the spring-loaded crosspin takedown lever; and one at the far rear of the frame.

Compact polymer-frame auto pistol designs in general are frequently criticized for having an "insecure" frame/slide fit to the detriment of accuracy. Anyone who thinks this might be true of the PT709 needs only to look at the accuracy results in the accompanying table to realize otherwise.