Concealed carry handguns are still all the rage at the range. Guns like the GLOCK 43 and S&W Shield are flying off the store shelves as the number of people legally able to carry a concealed handgun skyrockets nationwide. The standard approach gun companies have been taking to satisfy this market is to shrink their existing handgun designs and call it good. Taurus, however, wanted to do something different. They created a gun that was designed from the ground up as a concealed carry handgun, and the result is the Taurus Curve . . .
The first time I saw the Taurus Curve was SHOT Show…2014. Six months before the patent leaked, and eleven months before the official announcement. Mark Kresser was still the CEO then and he brought a bunch of other bloggers and me into a room and handed us the prototype. He talked a little bit about the design goals for the handgun, and my first impression was that this was a brilliant idea. The problem they saw with most concealed carry guns was that they are straight and blocky, so when you try to conceal them under a shirt they tend to stick out and “print” against your naturally curvy body. With the Curve they wanted to create a handgun that more closely matched the contours of your body to better disguise the gun.
That’s not where they stopped, though. The overall curvy design is only one of the changes they decided to make in order to have the gun more carry friendly. They also removed the sights, with the logic that iron sights are rarely used in a confrontation and can get in the way on the draw. As a replacement they added an integrated red laser into the handgun, a much faster and easier-to-use sighting system that also has been known to induce “behavior modification” on bad guys at whom it’s pointed.
Surrounding that laser sight, they also added two white LED diodes to illuminate things and give the shooter a better look at their target.
I thought the concept was brilliant. I loved the idea in theory, and the prototype they had showed a lot of promise. The rounded pistol still had some rough edges and issues to be worked out, but I had faith that they could do it. The challenge would be seeing how well they could execute those ideas and the kind of quality firearm they could bring to market. A little over a year and a half later Taurus sent me a production version of the Taurus Curve to test out.
The packaging for this gun is slick, there’s no doubt about it. Instead of a typical black square box, Taurus decided to make the boxes for the Curve handgun curved, too. The radius of the bend in the box actually match the radius of the curve on the handgun, by the way. Visually that’s a pretty nifty design, and definitely sets their handguns apart from everyone else.
Inside the box, what you see is what you get. There’s the usual assortment of manuals and pamphlets, the handgun, a triggerguard holster with lanyard, one spare magazine (two total), and a set of wrenches to adjust the laser sight. They also added another feature: an integrated lock on the handgun just like the ones that Smith & Wesson introduced that many claim ruined their handguns. I never had a problem with it, so I’m not complaining.
The gun ships with a belt loop clip attached to the gun, but that can be easily removed. The idea is that you can pseudo-Mexican Carry with the gun clipped to your belt and no one will be the wiser. It also lets you carry in pants without belts, such as the Yoga pants and tight jeans that seem to be prevalent in the marketing materials for the firearm. I still can’t fit into skinny jeans so I was unable to test that particular feature of the firearm.
The Kel-Tec P3AT has a similar option which is widely used and appreciated, so it seems like a winning strategy. It should be noted that the clip (not magazine) is not really well placed to allow for pocket carry, as most of the gun sticks out of the pockets I tried. It’s designed to be tucked into a waistband.
When the Curve was first released, there was a manufacturing SNAFU that forced Taurus to recall the initial run of Curves. It seems that they forgot to stamp the caliber markings anywhere on the firearm, which is kind of an important thing to do. They made the announcement about the missing caliber markings in April of this year, and said that everything had been fixed and all subsequent handguns would be properly marked. The Curve I received, which arrived at my FFL directly from Taurus in the middle of July (three months after the recall announcement), clearly has the caliber markings printed on the…
Wait a second. No. I can’t find the caliber marking anywhere on this gun either. It’s supposed to be right on the ejection side of the chamber, but there’s nothing there. No one I asked to look at the pistol could find the markings anywhere on the gun. It’s definitely not where Taurus said they would be.
Their PR rep specifically delayed shipping a Curve to me until the marking issue was fixed, but apparently I still got an unmarked model. That doesn’t seem to bode well for the quality control and inventory control systems at Taurus.
The handgun itself is rather small. Then again, I have massive hands. The grip is roughly the same size as the one on my GLOCK 43, but there’s no included extended baseplate for this gun and it doesn’t really appear that one would work here either. The barrel is definitely shorter than the G43 (or the G42) by about an inch making the overall package more compact.
Holding the Curve in my right hand doesn’t really feel all that different from any other handgun. The same curve that is designed to fit my supple waist conforms nicely into the palm of my hand. That’s just peachy for right handed shooters, but lefties need not apply. The curve in the gun is designed to fit the right hand side of your body and still enable you to properly draw your gun. You can place the gun on your left side, but the gun will need to be backwards to take advantage of the bend and it isn’t easy to draw the gun from that position.
Even if you carry on the left, holding the gun in my left hand feels much more awkward than holding a normal handgun in my left hand. And yes, I do practice left-hand only shooting for those times when stage designers in shooting competitions like to get cheeky and require you to swap sides.
As expected, there are no sights. At least not the regular kind of sights we’d expect to see. The gun ships with that dedicated laser and light combination, and the rear of the gun has white markings that should enable the shooter to get somewhere close to on target. I tried using the painted-on lines for a few rounds, and while it definitely isn’t ideal it’s good enough for a ~20 foot shot on a human-sized target when aiming for center of mass. But you’re not going to be hitting any small targets anytime soon.
The one thing that might double as a set of iron sights is the loaded chamber indicator on top. It pops up when loaded, and there are two little prongs on either side that kind of look like traditional rear sights. That could be useful, but there’s no corresponding front sight for alignment.
Something else is missing from the gun: a slide release. The handgun will lock open after the last round in a magazine is fired, but there’s no slick way to drop the slide when a new magazine inserted. You need to physically rack the slide in order to get it closed, which takes a little longer than just using a release. I get it — less stuff sticking out that could cause a failure. And most trainers teach manual racking rather than using the lever. Fortunately, Taurus made the scalloping on the side of the slide quite nice and grippy. Still, I prefer my guns to have a slide release button.
Like I said, the sighting system for this firearm is a laser that’s housed in the front of the gun. There’s a problem though: the laser is too weak, and the surrounding lights are too bright to properly use the laser. That’s not to say that the lights need to be dimmed — in fact, they could probably use some beefing up. But overall it’s very hard to pick up that weak red laser dot either at home in the dark or out on the range. I would have much preferred if they’d gone with an easier-to-see alternative like green.
Despite being very cool, the laser isn’t standard equipment. The base model of the Curve, in its purest and cheapest form, comes with only the hash marks on the back of the gun for sighting — the lights and lasers will run you a little more.
A for run time, the light and laser will last a while. I say “a while” because I ran it for a few hours, and while I’d love to test it until the battery wears out I really don’t have that kind of patience. There’s a timer on the electronics that turns it off automatically after a few minutes, and I have better things to do with my day than to sit here flicking a switch for hours on end. Fallout 4 is coming, I need to finish running through the rest of the series again before release day. The battery is easily replaced if it ever wears out.
Flipping that laser and light combo off and on isn’t nearly as easy as it should be, though. Crimson Trace sets the industry standard for how a laser should work on a gun with their “instinctive activation” method — just grip the gun normally and the laser comes right on.
With the Taurus Curve, you need to specifically activate the light and laser by pushing a button. You would expect that the button in question would be conveniently placed in the depressed area at the top right portion of the above picture, right next to where your indexed trigger finger would sit. You would be wrong. The real activation switch is the ridged button just below, forward of the trigger. It needs to be flicked forwards to be activated. Simply pressing down isn’t sufficient.
Did I mention that the actuation button is only on the right hand side of the gun? Yep, another blow to lefties.
It looks to me like that upper depressed area was originally intended to be the laser button, but something went wrong and they had to engineer a quick fix. The reason I say that is because the owner’s manual diagram labels this as the “front button” but it doesn’t actually do anything. Stripping the gun doesn’t require the button to be pressed, and as far as I can tell it isn’t attached to anything.
That’s disappointing since the laser and lights would have operated much more smoothly using that “front button” than the fiddly little side switch. I found it difficult to use in a hurry, and I couldn’t reliably get it to light up the laser on the first flick.
For the magazines, Taurus decided to go with a more European style mag release system. The normal release on most pistols works by pushing a button on the frame of the handgun to drop the magazine. That allows the shooter to change mags without significantly changing their grip on the gun.
The Curve has the release integrated into the mag itself, with the release button on the left side of the gun at the bottom of the magazine. The main benefit is that this can be easier to manufacture when trying to make the gun as slim and sleek as possible since there’s no protruding button to hide (or catch on clothing during a draw). The downside is that this is also somewhat difficult to use under pressure, and only really works for right handed shooters. And removing magazines from the gun as a leftie is downright impossible.
Which brings us to the trigger. Taurus claims that this is a double action trigger, and while that is accurate, it isn’t the whole story. A good double action trigger will allow you to “re-strike” a bad round, pulling the internal hammer back again and striking the primer multiple times until the round fires without needing to cycle the action. With the Taurus Curve, the double action trigger requires the slide to cycle before the trigger can be pulled again. I think this is a huge oversight, and something that should be fixed.
But wait — the trigger gets worse.
You feel two clicks as you reset the trigger in the Curve. The first click is rather short, while the second click is out at the full reset length of the trigger. In order to fire a second round, you need to release the trigger all the way out to that second click. If you only release the trigger as far as that first shorter click and pull again, the gun won’t fire. At this point even if you fully release the trigger and try again, the gun will still refuse to fire until you…cycle the action.
People are going to short stroke their trigger, especially when they are in a high pressure environment like a gunfight. A good gun will let them quickly fix their mistake by resetting the trigger all the way and pulling again to fire. But in a short stroke situation, the Taurus Curve requires the shooter in such a situation to cycle the action before they can continue firing. That’s a lot to do when seconds matter. Having a true double action trigger would have solved the problem.
Out on the range, the Curve does okay for a while. There were a few instances where the larger, aggressive hollow point on some Liberty Ammunition .380 Auto rounds got caught on the feed ramp and jammed the slide from going forwards, but these were usually quickly resolved. I fired hundreds of rounds of various hollow point and round-nose ammo through the gun, and encountered the same failure (above) with both.
The magazine release button is perfectly placed for my hands such that my fingertips rest very close to it. Every so often, however, about halfway through a magazine I accidentally hit the magazine release button during recoil. When I fired the next round, the magazine popped free and the top round will fail to feed into the gun.
This isn’t a mechanical issue — this is a human/machine interface issue.
The end result of my time on the range was a feeling of unease as far as trusting the gun. Some ammo ran really well (like the Winchester white box .380 round nose ammo), and some ammo ran rather poorly (like the Liberty Ammunition rounds due to their large hollow point projectile). Mechanically the gun seemed to work just fine as long as the rounds made it into the chamber, and I had zero failures to eject or lock back. But the frequent accidental magazine releases make me a little nervous about trusting it with my life.
Accuracy is acceptable. For a mouse gun like this, a palm sized group at 10 yards is good. We’re not going to be winning any shooting competitions with this thing, but that’s not what the gun is designed to do.
That group above was shot using the laser. When you turn it off and shoot with nothing but the hash marks on the back of the slide (as on the base model) things get pretty terrible. “Minute of paper” is about the best as I could do, which is in fact unacceptable. Sights — even the rudimentary ones on most pocket guns — really do make a difference with accuracy. In a defensive situation, when you’re potentially going to be shooting at a moving target with innocent bystanders around, you want to be sure that you won’t miss. Unless you work for the New York City police department.
Back at home, field stripping the gun is simple, but definitely not something I would call “tool free.” There’s a small pin that holds the whole gun together, and you will need a small tool or casing to pry that pin free. Once released, the gun comes apart rather neatly. It isn’t terribly complicated, but none of my other carry guns require any tools to maintain them other than my fingers and a rag.
Note in the above picture that the barrel has a definite curved muzzle on it. That curved area has no rifling, so it won’t impact the path of the bullet. The purpose of that curved area is to ride in the slide and guide the barrel, and also to provide a little downward pressure on the muzzle like a Soviet AK-47 slant brake. It works pretty well.
Overall I’m not impressed. I absolutely loved the concept behind the Taurus Curve, but in practice I’ve found the execution to be rather poor. The gun really only works for right-handed shooters, which is good news for about 90% of the population but leaves the rest out in the cold. The magazine release system is strange and can interfere with the safe and reliable operation of the gun. The trigger is a wonky bastardized version of a double action trigger and short-stroking it can temporarily disable the gun. The laser isn’t bright enough to use in the daytime and gets washed out by the lights at night. And the activation system for that laser is neither fast nor intuitive.
If this were a prototype I would be extremely excited about this gun — with a little more polish this could be a real contender for a good self defense pistol. The problem is that there are simply too many quirks and issues in this full production version to gloss over. Why is the light switch so awkward? Why is the trigger so terrible? Where’s the caliber marking? Can we do something about the magazine release system? Fix these things and we might have a really cool gun. Until then, I’m going to stick with my GLOCK 43.
Specifications: Taurus Curve
Caliber: .380 Auto (I think)
Action: Semi-auto
Barrel: 2.5″
Size: 3.7″ tall, 1.18″ wide, 5.2″ long
Weight: 10.2 ounces
Magazine: Two proprietary 6 round magazines included
Street:Â $379.99
Ratings (out of five stars):
Accuracy: * *
Acceptable. Minute of bad guy at normal self defense ranges. But without sights, there’s nothing to help you take a longer shot when you need to.
Ergonomics: * *
The trigger is a little painful to pull. The grip is very small, and the curve of the gun doesn’t help the ergonomics in that department.
Reliability: *
When the round makes it into the chamber, the gun goes bang. But there were more than a few times when that didn’t happen.
Customization:
There aren’t even replacement magazines available yet.
Overall: *
Somehow I get the distinct feeling that more time was spent on the marketing for this gun than the actual R&D. It’s a really cool design that is nearly killed by some really terrible quirks. All of these problems can be fixed though, and I truly hope that Taurus listens.
I’m sure more reviews will reveal the same shortcomings (its Taurus after all) but I have a feeling this will sell regardless. Its cheap and tacticool looking.
They need to make a Judge Curve in .410/.45! 🙂
They have a polymer framed judge now. That tacticool enough for you?
Does it have a bayonet??? 🙂
If the Remington R51 was any indicator, the print magazines will have nothing but praise for it. Particularly ones with a full page Taurus Curve ad on the back.
That trigger reset / slide rack issue sounds like it could quite literally be a fatal flaw. But I’d never have gotten one anyway, because it curves the wrong way, and all the controls are on the wrong side.
Don’t be silly Jason, no magazine has ever or will ever have a full color ad on the back page that isn’t Kimber.
As a lefty, I don’t see this in my future gun purchases. I suppose you could call it tacticool, in the same way that staple guns are tacticool. I’m much more into practicool.
Looks sci fi like. Nice little toy. I say toy because I do not trust 380 as a pistol caliber. Just my 2 cents worth.
Have you seen any of the .380 ammo quest videos…? 90gr XTP rounds meet the FBI minimum penetration testing criteria.
I believe the TCP suffers from the same false reset.
Funny, people used to say the same about 9mm.
FBI is switching back to 9mm
I give Taurus props for trying. Other reviewers have been more kind. I just don’t see how hard it is carrying or concealing a TCP(or LCP,Pico,S&W 380,Kahr,Keltec etc.)is…and I had a TCP which worked perfectly and had a great trigger. Now I wouldn’t carry smaller than 9mm or 38. It does look like a toy though(very similar in size to my Kimber Pepper Blaster)…
The TCP has exactly the same trigger as this curve. It too suffers from the “two clicks reset” and likely will not fire if not fully reset.
You know, I would be much more interested in a full size semi-auto pistol with a curved handle. Like you said, it isn’t hard to conceal the subcompact pistols.
“If this were a prototype I would be extremely excited about this gun — with a little more polish this could be a real contender for a good self defense pistol.”
Sure looks that way. The ideas behind the features look solid but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The lack of caliber markings reminds me of the Van Halen brown M&Ms deal. A very minor oversight can be telling.
Successful defensive shooters do use their sights. This myth that you will never need or use sights is crazy. The fact that they want you to rely on a laser but then make turning it on a pain is enough for me to walk away. This is the epitome of the fatalistic thinking of “I’ll just use it at super close range” as if the criminal doesn’t have a vote as to how the fight goes down. All these negatives just to conceal it slightly better than much more effective firearms. Sheesh.
I know right. I dont think i could just throw up a gun and rely on the laser. Even with one on the gun i still use the sights with the guns i have a laser on. I seriously doubt if i ever use a gun in the heat of the moment i wont use the sights. Its just habit and safer that way
Just depends how far your threat is. If he’s 1-15 feet away I’m probably popping him before I even fully extend my arms while drawing. Using the thumbs forward method enables the natural point of aim to do the trick nicely.
Any further than that and absolutely, sights are a must. I personally don’t feel comfortable carrying a gun with NO sights at all. Even with the front sight ramp and trench rear of a snubbie like the LCR will let you take care of business up to 25 yards if you practice. And I don’t much care for lasers, they wash out and are more prone to failure than fixed sights on a handgun.
The Ford Edsel and AMC Pacer were designed from the ground up too. It’s new….it’s curved…..wow. The entire premise rests on the belief that a slightly curved frame is next leap forward in concealable firearms. It’s a pocket gun. Who can’t conceal that?
Hey now…our family had a Pacer and laugh all you want it was a real comfortable car 🙂
I have a Ruger LCP but by all accounts Taurus did a terrific job with the TCP. Sad to see how they took some big steps backward with this release.
I also have a TCP, and like it fine. I find the trigger is much smoother than the LCP.
Judging by the marketing Taurus is using for this gun, they’re target market here is women. Which makes some of the choices here make more sense. Women often have trouble concealing comfortably, and switching among five different carry systems depending on your outfit is not ideal. So a curved gun that can be comfortably and safely tucked into any waistband might be a great idea for such users.
Too bad about the reliability, though. It would be interesting to see if someone with smaller hands has the same issues Nick did.
As for the lack of sights: point shooting. Snubby revolver guys have been doing that for decades with good results.
I think you’re right; my wife, for instance, probably could conceal this thing, whereas she would not be very able to conceal a LCP (for example). Not that she would ever carry this; she’s left handed and brand conscious, and I’m resistant to convince her to get a gun that has the trigger flaw, weird not-really-double-action-but-that’s-what-we-call-it that is so common with mouse guns, and the useless aiming guides that this thing has.
It is too bad; maybe Taurus will make a Mk. 2 that fixes all this (well, except the brand consciousness).
By using the term left handed you validate their sinister nature by allowing them a word. The correct term should be “non-right handed”. /humor
Innovation often gets spoiled during execution. It’s “phase 2” syndrome. http://southpark.cc.com/clips/151040/the-underpants-business
I’ve always preferred “God’s other children ” as a means of self identifying as a southpaw.
I believe our (lefties’) taxonomic classification is homo sapiens supernus.
The man in charge of purchasing at the local range made sure to get holsters in both left and right handed versions. One each got actually put on the shelves, and of course the right handed one disappeared immediately.
It’s tricky, truly it is, to accomodate the ten percent without impairing the 90 percent sometimes. I do appreciate the effort though. I don’t shoot pistol left handed, but I do write left handed and so I am conscious of these issues. (I call myself ambiclumsy.)
I like the idea but the execution has 2 problems IMO: 1) it’s a Taurus pistol, and 2) it’s .380 ACP.
Think I’ll wait until Ruger, S&W or Beretta release something similar in 9mm. 😉
You might have to wait a while. I think Taurus has a patent on the idea. Depending on how broadly that’s written, they might be the only ones making body-contoured pistols for a couple decades.
I know, not in any hurry to have one. I don’t trust Taurus pistols anyways, just a few of their revolvers.
Big props to Taurus for innovation in an industry where innovation usually dies of neglect. As far as the execution is concerned, all can I say is — it’s pure Taurus.
It’s annoying that they couldn’t put the catch for the mag on the front or back of its interface with the grip as opposed to one side. That would have made it ambi.
Also, perhaps sights that can be held under a catch with spring resistance that would allow them to be deployed and retracted would make sense. They can lay flat unless pressed in and disengaging the catch.
Maybe they could address the shortcomings with a Curve 9mm
Until then I’m still leaning towards a J-Frame
I’ll give it 5 stars in innovation. 0 for performance. It needs to get that stuff worked out.
No caliber markings but a curved box. I see their priorities.
Despite it’s shortcomings, it’s refreshing to see actual innovation in the market, rather than rehashing the same thing over and over. I hope this sparks more advances in the realm of CC-specific guns.
I don’t see the point of putting a curve on such a small pistol. That size pistol doesn’t need to curve. I want a full size pistol to curve because that might acutally make it print less.
I am glad someone is trying to think outside the box just for once, instead of doing what they did a few years ago and shorten the grip on a gun that was thick as a brick and all corners (I’m looking at you, Gaston–thanks for working on “thick as a brick” more recently), then calling it good.
The pistol is curved because otherwise the grip will tend to stick out. But then, they still don’t give you much of a grip anyway, not a big enough one to put all of your fingers onto. One’s mileage might vary, but I can even make a RAMI disappear (it’s even a double stack) and it is probably about the same size. So the curve buys me nothing (and would be detrimental for people of the opposite handedness from the pistol) even though it COULD conceivably make an all-finger grip an option.
I CAN put all my fingers onto the grip of my Makarov…but that’s because it is a blowback and doesn’t have half an inch of innards directly below the barrel.
A more useful thing would be to come up with an action which can handle 9mm in the same size package, and let you put all fingers on the grip. I think that’s what the R51 was supposed to be; too bad the execution was so incompetent.
A little overly critical to me in regards to accuracy and ergonomics with some important parts left out.
In regards to accuracy, if you pull your concealed carry to fire in self defense at someone very close – who has time of aiming? The majority of people would pull in fire center of mass – not line up their sight picture and align the front and rear sights.
Your review on accuracy and ergonomics seems a bit too subjective. We get it. You didn’t like it. It was very obvious to me this gun was not for lefties given that it was curved for the right side of a persons body, but you reiterated that again and again as if some kind of con.
I wanted to see a picture of the front of the gun and you didn’t provide it. It took me a awhile to find the switch you were talking about as well.
Also – you didn’t mention this part which I read from another review on a different site:
“By default, both light and laser turn on. Holding the switch for five (!) seconds switches to laser only mode. Five seconds more, to light only. Five seconds more, back to both on. The mode can’t be selected quickly during a fight.”
That is kind of a critical piece of info.
You didn’t mention the trigger cover which I didn’t even notice on your review but found on anothers.
You didn’t mention that it has a magazine disconnect safety. I thought that was a critical tidbit as well.
I agree with you in regards to reliability. This seems to be fairly common on reviews for this gun.
Its their job to be overly critical. Thats what an honest gun review site does. So we know before we buy pieces of SHIT. Need I remind you of the Remington R51??? They nailed that review spot on!!
Nice review Leg, I have been a little suspicious of the 3-4 star ratings that have been ever prevalent for most reviews. I have always read the gun and gear reviews and I started to think it was just PR ratings and back rubs, but its nice to see the stars get low. I wish the rating system was a bit more detailed, as it seems “most” tend to all fall under 4 stars.
It’s new! It’s improved! “What were we using before? Old and crappy?” Michael Stivic, aka, Meathead.
Hammerless j frame. The classics never go out of style.
I love concealed carrying a revolver because I find it much more comfortable that most semis and I actually end up carrying it everywhere instead of leaving it at home.
The first time I did my secondary qual with my LCR .357 I was astounded that I could pump 5 rounds from 5 yards into a decently sized circle nearly as quickly as I could my Glock 26.
I still want one.
Everyone knows the opposite of righthanded is wronghanded.
Sinister.
Sights on a pistol are too “snaggy” during the draw — since when? Properly designed sights should be no problem in this area.
Does not work for left-handled folks — there goes 10% of the of your market, right out the window.
Light/laser activated by the trigger finger — multi-tasking for this important digit is not a good idea. It should only have ONE JOB when using a defensive handgun; asking it to do anything else under stress is asking for a AD/ND.
Overall, the pistol is as thick as a double-column-mag-pistol, but can only use a single-column mag due to the space restrictions of the curved frame.
Short-stroking the trigger causes a stoppage that must be cleared by manually cycling the action — fail. Just plain fail.
They did not curve the magazine well. They added extra wide plastic to the grip which is curved. This conceals no better than straight magazine well.
The result is a mag well that is wider than it needs to be on a gun with an awful trigger, no sights, a useless laser and even more difficult to use with the left hand. I will pass, thanks.
My local Academy has had the curve on shelves now for about 4 months. When i asked the guy how many they had sold he laughed and said 1. And that person tried returning it even thou they dont do returns on guns. Another local gun shop said they almost refuse to even carry it because the gun is such a joke. A flimsy pocket clip on a gun……ummm……no. Thats just a recipe for disaster trying to draw the weapon. The person who came up with this should be fired on the spot. A dumb idea. I wish they made a curved gun with no sights…..said no one ever!!!!
Those kinds of belt clips have been around for years for guns like the P3AT and LCP. Before that, they had the Hip Grip grips for snubnose revolvers. Never heard of one causing a disaster on the draw. My only beef with them would be that they leave the trigger exposed, and Taurus includes a trigger guard for that.
Sounds like there are some other problems with the gun, but the clip doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me.
Not a fan of the Kel Tec or the Ruger either. Ill pass on the clip. And your right. I think the gun itself has more issues from what it sounds like than the clip. This gun will only be bought by women and yuppies. Im neither. But i guess Taurus figures what the hell.
The clip is handy believe it or not. I like it. (P3AT) In the car I clip it on the sun visor or on the door pocket. Just about anything you can think up you can do with it.
I love Taurus but it seems rather deceptive that Taurus does not acknowledge or mention the Curve model (1-180031 UPC 725327611493) which does not have the lights or laser on their web site. I believe many people unknowingly purchased this model, via online, thinking it has/had the lights and laser.
Man I saw the picture of the gun in your hand and thought ‘Is the gun really that tiny?’ but no, it’s just wrapped in a canned ham.
Does a canned ham go with a supple waist?
Nick – Two observations –
1 – What’s with the stethoscope hanging next to the house alarm keypad? Playing ‘Dr. Leghorn, MD’ with un-suspecting dates?
2 – The bar next to your front door. In my drinking daze, I’d give that a solid ‘9’ for style, great planning for getting down to inebriation business within seconds of getting home.
PS – The Curve isn’t for me.
Jeeze the stethoscope is for cracking his honey’s gun safe!
That’s actually an un-canned ham.
Some people have a lot more curves than others. Haha
Does the curve really make that much difference on a gun that size?
Nice review.
I think sights, and a not-curved weak-hand-friendly design are a must though. Anyone who has any remote semblance of handgun competency is going to want those things and a design that may specifically appeal to someone who doesn’t have this may backfire. But the clip is cool, the trigger cover is cool. Don’t really need a slide stop on a gun like this if it locks open on the last shot. A slide stop on a handgun is not akin to a bolt release. Racking is the reliable method.
Curious… can a small person rack this slide easily? My girlfriend loves the Kahr 380 but can’t rack the slide back on an empty magazine to slide lock. She can rack a S&W bodyguard no problem though. How’s this one rack?
-D
I thought the Curve was strange so I bought a TCP since it has last shot hold open and was $200. I have been very pleased with my Taurus.
Taurus = POS. I’ll lick a bear’s ass before I buy another Taurus.
I’ll keep carrying my P3AT…….not the ruger rip-off. Until they release the Plasma Defender!
If Taurus would only ensure that their pistols actually worked, before coming out with another model, that would be great. I’m sure there are some that swear by them , but a lot swear AT them. Taurus products are geared by and large, for the non shooter that buys a gun for protection and a single box of ammo, throws the gun into a drawer, and it sits for years, “just in case”. They are super reliable in this stand by mode.
As others have mentioned, it seems like the trigger mechanism is the same as the TCP, with a false reset and no restrike capability. I would rag on Taurus, but the P3AT and other mouse guns of the same size and shape have the EXACT SAME shortcomings! I’ve just had to train to let the trigger out completely.
Thanks for the write up, Nick. I felt you were entirely fair. I thought a curved gun would be a good concept for carry, but I didn’t think that it was practical enough for a reliable weapon. It looks like Taurus has produced a working gun (whether consistently will remain to be seen), but it sounds like execution suffered. And the trigger is especially bothersome. I will be leaving this on the dealer’s table.
Erm…well, if 98% of DGU’s don’t involve a shot being fired, it’s probably necessary the Perp recognizes it’s a gun you have pointed at them and not a Dymo Labelmaker.
“Glock” is not an abbreviation or an acronym, despite what Glock (proper noun) thinks. Why does everyone accidentally hit the caps lock key when they type it?
Great review, sounds like the trigger suffers in a lot of the same ways that the SCCY CPX did. Also, how pumped are you for that weapon crafting system in Fallout 4? Retro-futuristic ARs as far as the eye can see!
I’ve read TTAG for a while, saw this article, read about a particularly horrible gun (If it’s not lefty friendly, it’s not carry friendly), and then found out that Nick Leghorn plays Fallout.
I no longer need other gun review sites.
Got FO4 pre-ordered already >:D
It seems to me that it is simply the TCP modified to be the curve? The TCP is an excellent, underrated pocket .380 that only the snobs will disdain. All things considered, I’ll keep the TCP and do the same job. The curve does indeed seem to be a neat idea but, as per the author, what would make it really sell?
1) Thinner? Ahem
2) Brigther lights and stronger, green laser
3) rudimentary backup sights aka TCP style
4) Longer grip or extended mag option, length is fine
5) Texture the “button” that the author talks about as I feel that is probably a trigger finger rest? Think Smith.
6) Fix the trigger. Just use the TCP setup. Good enough. At least it’s consistently smooth through it’s stroke
7) Texture the grip?
so sad i really like the design im not going to aim take a breath slowly squese the trigger while being attacked im good a quick shoot so even with a huge loss of accuracy i expect i can put more than half in center mass if you say you’d hit everyone your either a lair or an idiot you loose a lot in combat but jams i cant handle that love to no parts to get caught up when concealed but if i need it to survive i want it to shoot
I love the idea. And it curves the right way for me. I see no need for proper sights on a dedicated concealed carry gun. It is designed totally as a self defense weapon, and your target is likely to be a sub human at close range. It definitely needs some improvement. I like 9mm, and my personal carry gun is a Beretta 900S. I loved it when I first bought it back in 2002, and still do, but I can now find room for improvement. I am 6′ 240, and mostly wear t-shirts and jeans, which can make concealed carry a problem. This seems to be the best designed gun available for carrying in your right jeans pocket. They definitely need to fix the trigger problem. I understand they gave the trigger a long pull for safety reasons, but not pulling it far enough to fire should not disable the gun. However, in a self defense situation, I would simply pull the trigger all the way instantly. I can live with the magazine release, in a self defense situation, it is highly unlikely you would need to change magazines. The light/laser system definitely need improvement. My little pencil sized laser pointer works great at over 100 yards. The switch is also a no go. I have seen several ideas for a fix, mine is that a slight pull on the trigger should turn it on. But you should be able to release the trigger, then pull it again and the gun should fire. Fix these issues, and I would likely buy this gun, even at a higher price. I think a concealed carry gun should be foolproof, even though I don’t think that fools and guns are a good match. You would likely have milliseconds to draw the gun and fire it, and no amount of practice at a firing range under safe conditions is going to prepare you for instantly having to defend your life.
@Nick Leghorn. You mentioned accidentally releasing the slide during recoil. Could you explain in a little more detail how this happened? Nice write-up. eaton
I read about the Curve and thought “now that is a cool idea, better than my Keltec for sure.” My wife gave me one for Christmas yesterday and I was shocked to say the least. After I first read about it I started reading reviews and was disappointed at all the negative comments and figured oh well guess I will wait for a 9. Surprise Merry Christmas and off to the range I went today. I LOVE THIS LITTLE GUN. Hit paper at 15 yards and then 25 and still hit paper at 50 yards. My son could not believe it either. Shoots great and BEST of all, can carry in front RIGHT shorts pocket and no print no show. I am blessed to be right handed and pretty lucky to have a wife who got me a Curve. Goodncool
Give them credit for the concept. S&W, Colt, or Ruger have nothing like this. This is a great foundation to build on.
I’m seeking honest feedback, and not input from name brand snobs, please. I have a decision to make. I am female, 60, disabled, and in the market for a handgun. No weapon experience. Probably a pistol. Small. Lasor. Affordable. For protection. I’ve been online researching the Curve and Body Guard.
I will appreciate your time and comments.
Thanks
I don’t own a curve but I do own a bodyguard. Two thoughts on that one. First, the trigger is absolutely horrible. As in, it makes it very difficult for anybody but a full sized man with strong hands to use it, horrible. I replaced my trigger with a Gallaway trigger and it is very usable now. Second, are you sure you want something this small? Unless you are planning to conceal it on your body, all of these very small pistols are incredibly uncomfortable to shoot. .380 is a small round but it is a LOT of recoil because of the even smaller platform. I would encourage you to expand your options to something a little bigger with a bit more mass. Just my opinion.
I agree with Robert on a few points… I, however, do own both a Bodyguard and a Curve and I’m a 30 year old female, 5’2″, 110lbs. The Bodygaurd is a hard and long trigger pull but it’s a well-made and consistent piece. However, the Curve is a smoother, lighter, but still quite long trigger pull with what seems to be close to equal quality. The biggest question for you to decide is how you plan to carry or protect yourself? If you’re considering concealed carry then I would recommend the Curve, it’s my daily carry and I rarely notice it inside my waist band. However, if you’re thinking more home protection then the Body guard might be a better option when comfort isn’t the priority. To explain simply, if it’s not comfortable to wear, then you won’t carry it. Hope this helps!
To the lady called “Me” choosing a carry gun. Go to several gun ranges with rental pistols. A reputable range can tell you on the phone what models & calibers they have to rent/shoot. Shoot different rental pistols in a caliber and size you are comfortable with, and shoot at least 25 rounds per gun. Shoot as many different models as you can.
Consider going on a weekday, many ranges are very busy on Saturday and Sunday. This gets you familiar with several guns to meet your needs in a calm & unhurried environment. Now, you can select a gun that you are comfortable with and that you have experience with, not just following advice you hope is good.
Yes, there is some expense in this, but how much effort should you take shopping for a car or a house? Once you select and buy your gun, continue to visit a range and shoot for practice. This builds your confidence, and ensure your ammo and holster choices work reliably for you when you need them. Continue to take firearms training classes, also.
Make your own decision from experience, do not just borrow someone elses opinion. Good luck to you ma’am, and I hope you find a good choice for your needs.
The Curve seems to have a lot of misconceptions within the world of firearms and I have never reviewed anything online before but I feel this handgun needs a little more positive publicity. The facts about this piece are the sights are “odd” to any individual who has only ever known the more traditional sights, it does have safety features built in that take time to master, but as far as a comfortable to wear concealment option, it is made perfectly for that. I am a mother of two and I’m very petite (5’2″ and 110lbs), which both making concealment challenging. My husband is a military sharpshooter so I’ve had the opportunity to get acquainted with numerous hand guns at the range. As far as carrying a concealed weapon, if it’s not comfortable I’m simply not going to carry it. At the encouragement of my husband, I looked into the Curve. The built in belt clip makes it holster free and I literally can go all day and forget its on my hip. I can wear my normal, form fitting clothes and it doesn’t print through, bonus for us women! I’ve been timed drawing and hitting a target at variable close distances and it is as accurate as I will ever need it to be in an emergency. No, this isn’t a gun I would take to the range and expect to be shooting all day long in a tight grouping from all distances, but I do feel confident enough to keep my shots within a small body mass consistently. The fact is that no matter the “oddities” of the gun, it’s comfortable to wear and therefore more likely to actually be on your person in the event of an emergency.
It’s for women, ya knuckleheads. Tight shirt and tight pants won’t conceal an LCP, Kahr, Sccy, snubby, etc. I’d rather have my wife (who’s not a shooter) with this gun on her hip than a 9mm 3″ barrel in her purse.
(This is assuming it’s reliable…)
Bought a Curve last week, no time yet to fire it, but here are some things I noticed by taking time to check more closely. Trigger terrible. LASER DOES HAVE modes that I set up. Just cycle to the mode you prefer, and the next time you activate it, the laser will respond with that specific mode. Very strong red dot only mode (my favorite), or for example spotlight with a week red dot simultaneously, OK in darkness. Just set it the way you want it. And this gun is for up close and personal, not out beyond 21 feet where you might face serious legal issues in many states. I have the 10 round Kel-Tec, which also works with Smith & Wesson 15 round mags. I will continue to study this little pocket gun. Interesting.
I bought a new Curve and had have nothing but poor reliability problems with it. I carried it mostly on walks and bike rides for country animals more that human aggressors due to its lightness. I sent it back to Taurus because the slide kept locking out with ammo in the clip and locking spent shells in the chamber. They sent it back and I shot it and then cleaned today and the shell locked into the chamber part way and the clip would not release even with pliers. This gun scared me it might go off any minute so I took it down to my dock and pitched it into the lake. Several hundred dollar loss but my life may some day rely on a reliable gun. Second gun from Taurus and not the only problem with quality and reliability.
I have had my curve for several months.I agree with most of what is said about it good and bad but I can say after shooting over 500 rounds I carry it all the time.never had any issues with jams,stove pipes ,no nothing.i have run hollow points,ball,flat tips and it eats it all.only issue I have is when I clear chamber too clean I sometimes get that round stuck.but only then when I hand rack to eject.ball ammo only. Never with hollow points.i think this happens due to small area to place fingers for ejection.but under it’s own recoil never a miss feed. O yes one issue,the lazer could not be adjusted left or right.up one, down dead on but just no adjustment up and down.well I called Taurus and they said call lazerlyte.well l called them and much to my suprize the kind lady at lazrlyte asked for my mailing address and said I should receive a brand new one in the mail……really dint have to mail my gun or lazer in . Just returned bad lazer after I received My new one.now that’s costumer service.
A local machine shop was able to flip the belt clip to the other side. Works well.
I wonder if the author understands this is not meant to be a tactical ,or a gun lovers pistol but just the opposite .This is meant for the woman in your life that,although is not against guns,but not the super chick that is going to the range with you to fire the glock she open carries.This is made for my daughter and many of her friends who have purchased one since they saw the one I got her.It is in her purse unnoticed and un encumber some throughout the day.but on the dark nights ,as she leaves her job in the dark and goes to her car with her key in one hand and purse over her shoulder,this is in her right hand to use the light to guide the key in her dark car door,in a dark place ,I can’t say how much safer this has made her feel as a dainty,feminine young lady with a few thousand dollars in the deposit bag in her purse.I personally took her to test fire the weapon ,and have taken it alone to test .all I can see if a person or animal is within threatening distance of me ,her or I can pull the trigger enough times to stop the threat,no question.it does what it is made for,very well at a reasonable price,and no it is not a range or a macho guy gun.I think it is time someone did this for non gun lover but needful folks.I think your review is very biased and narrow minded.thanks
Thanks. This is exactly why I’m still thinking about getting one – 3 years later – despite the multiple “gunmaster” reviews. It’s not for fun; it’s for protection and a tiny girl cannot carry a standard concealed-carry gun. So you either fit the body or don’t carry at all – and the one thing that the Curve guarantees is that it will fit the body. That being said, the reports of misfires does concern me. It would really suck for it to jam in the moment of truth, but the “truth about guns” is that’s an inherent risk with any semi.
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