Shield or Taurus Millennium G2 9mm

I do not have anything good to say about Taurus, so I will not say anything.

Wait - there is one thing good about Taurus. . . Jessie Harrison-Duff (Jessie Duff) is one of their factory shooters.

I have a PT92 and an older production 66 revolver, both are well made guns that I would trust my life to (even though they normally just sit in a safe). I have looked at their newer stuff including the G2 with interest and curiosity, but a trip to my local gun shop where I was able to handle one resulted in no more interest or curiosity. The gun felt low quality to me and the trigger reminded me of an old circuit breaker switch. I was much more impressed by the PT709 next to it. If my choice was a Shield or a Taurus I would definitely buy another Shield. but if I was forced to buy a Taurus I would go with the PT709.

I checked out several of the compact and sub-compact 9mm pistols on the market today, including the Shield and M&P 9c, but I kept coming back to the Taurus PT-111 Millennium Pro G2. I finally bit the bullet and purchased one a week ago. The reason I went with the Taurus instead of the others was mainly because of the full three finger grip. The rest of the field have either a two or two and a half finger grip, and I wanted more control than that. It is a natural pointer and the trigger is also excellent. It is mainly a single action, but has a double strike capability. The difference in pull between the two is only a pound or so, with SA being around 5 pounds, and DA being around 6. I've only put 90 rounds through it so far, but they've been flawless. My EDC load is Hornady Critical Defense, and it shoots them very accurately. If you have not held a PT-111 G2, try one and see how it feels to you.







The holster above is a N8² Tactical tuckable that I use with my EAA Tanfoglio Witness full size 9mm pistol, but the PT-111 G2 fits fine. It's extremely comfortable since there is no part of the pistol that touches my skin and it's thickly padded.

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback. Since my post on this topic both the Shied and the Taurus Millennium G2's have vanished from the LGS. I'm still looking. Jim.C

That G2 is a good looking carry gun. Let me toss in my 2 cents. I own a PT101 that I bought over 10 years ago. While shooting with a friend, he shot some reloads through it. he had 2 squibs and fired a round behind them. the only thing that happened was the barrel swelling just a little. It still shot excellent groups. some time later the rear sight was falling apart so i had it shipped back to Taurus to repair that. When I received it back, It had a brand new barrel in free of charge. So after that Ill be a Taurus fanboy unless something gross happens to me by them.

The reason you can't find anything bad is because those who do buy them hardly ever shoot them. People go to the range shoot a hundred rounds and proclaim it's 100% reliable. Taurus isn't know for longevity.

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I too had reservations about Taurus. I have repaired several over the years. And yeah, getting parts for them was getting to be a major PITA. Thank you , Mark First!
The US CEO Mark Kresser seems to turning Taurus into a good company. He appears to be going thru every aspect of taking care of business, and fixing what used to be a pretty poor excuse of a firearms manufacturer. So far, I have been impressed insomuch as Taurus seems to be cleaning up their act. And I have not been a fanboy for Taurus in the past, either.
On to the Shield Vs G2, I have owned both, more than once. My biggest problem w/ the Shield is capacity. And, I realize to some that is not a problem. I am an LEO and after considering some of the Crazies shooting episodes these days, I decided I needed something for off duty work w/ more rds available. I decided to try the G2, as I liked how it felt and and the capacity. I looked thru anything I could find on the pistol, and to my surprise, no one seemed to be having any problems with them.
I bought the stainless version from Academy, and promptly sold the laser site that came with it. That put me into the pistol at roughly $350. Everything on the pistol seems to be made well enough, castings on frame trunnions are a little rough but clean enough where need be. And someone in the Engineering Dept. has been paying attention, too. Extractor, and striker assembles can be removed from the slide with almost no tools, A la Glock. Nice. And cleaning issues with the frame and slide trunnions can be addressed w/o dis-assembly, as the frame lock work is similiar to the M&P/XD series of pistols, save for the "Double Strike" capability of the trigger. Frame rail, single action style trigger, like an M&P, and, as someone mentioned, a thumb safety that can be used, if you prefer. Sites are plastic, but seem to be well made and the rear site is adjustable. And I believe the sights are the same as the 24/7 series(I may be wrong.) and aftermarket stuff is starting to become available. Little pistol is about the same size as a Shield, albeit a little thicker, and fits my hand well w/o using a magazine spacer. And, as an aside, it just so happens that the G2 fits a Blackhawk SERPA model perfectly. H&K 2000 holster model. Oh, and believe it or not, magazines are available, too. The G2 eats every round I have fed it , so far, w/o a prob. All in all, I think Taurus has a winner here. It's what I now carry off duty. Time will tell. Of course. YMMV.
Ofc.JL

I've been researching the PT-111 G2 too, but not for me. My daughter has been considering buying a pistol. Out of the pistols and revolvers I have, she loves shooting the M&P9C best. But, it costs a little too much for her budget. I considered recommending the G2 to her because of its similar size and characteristics with the 9C. As I looked at less-expensive alternatives to the M&P, I've boiled it down to suggesting either the G2, or a SD9VE. She didn't particularly care for my single-stacks, or revolvers and her next favorite was the FS M&P40 (she apparently has good taste. If it was me and I was trying to save money, I'd go for the SD9VE, but she did like the size and feel of the compact and my experience with Taurus has been OK. Does anyone know if there is much difference in recoil between the G2 and the 9C?

So did you buy one or the other? I looked at both guns too back in November and bought the Taurus Millennium G2 9mm. The feel, price, and capacity made the decision. At the time the G2 was $130 less than the Shield. No regrets so far, couple hundred flawless rounds of all kinds. It's very nice.

turn off the radar and get the Shield, you'll thank me later.

Taurus makes guns for people who don't really need a gun. They are not reliable, period. Customer Service are two words the company does not understand. I teach the required class for a carry concealed license in Kansas. Out of hundreds of students who have shot in my classes over the years, five guns have failed so miserably they had to be replaced during the 25-round course. All have been Tauri. The new CEO can say anything he wants. And of course I'm all for Jesse. But they make **** guns out of **** parts and they don't last. Yes, they are cheaper.

I would never consider a Taurus for a defense gun.

Outside of Brazil, How many Police Departments or Militaries issue Taurus handguns? There is a reason the won't trust their life to them.

Go with the S&W.

I can't say which is better but I got the Shield. I'll be dumping my LCP for the new M&P bodyguard when it's available too. I like a manual safety. I know everybody has an opinion on the thumb safety. That just happens to be mine.

Linejudgemick said:

I've been researching the PT-111 G2 too, but not for me. My daughter has been considering buying a pistol. Out of the pistols and revolvers I have, she loves shooting the M&P9C best. But, it costs a little too much for her budget.

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Well, as her dad, maybe you could kick in the difference over what she can afford, and let her pay you back a little at a time...or make your contribution a birthday present or Christmas present to her. (I mean no disrespect with this comment.)

It'd be nice if her gun could be the one she actually likes the best, instead of one that she can afford.

GKC said:

Well, as her dad, maybe you could kick in the difference over what she can afford, and let her pay you back a little at a time...or make your contribution a birthday present or Christmas present to her. (I mean no disrespect with this comment.)

It'd be nice if her gun could be the one she actually likes the best, instead of one that she can afford.

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Very true... but she generally opts for something different at those times. Perhaps I'm just energized that she actually enjoys target shooting and it's more my perception she "wants" her own pistol. She isn't interested in having a pistol for SD, just target shooting. I think she actually just enjoys shooting someone else's pistols and ammo...

Linejudgemick said:

Very true... but she generally opts for something different at those times. Perhaps I'm just energized that she actually enjoys target shooting and it's more my perception she "wants" her own pistol. She isn't interested in having a pistol for SD, just target shooting. I think she actually just enjoys shooting someone else's pistols and ammo...

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Sounds like my kids...they were always up for whatever I'd pay for!

When they were young and getting an allowance, they wanted me to buy stuff they wanted and still get their allowance too. (I told them we weren't Democrats, and it didn't work that way.)

I think the 709 slim is a little closer to the shield than the millinium. Both are single stack and both comparable in size. I have both and prefer to carry the Taurus 709,(just a little narrower) I have never had an issue with the slim and it shoots anything I feed it. In fact the Shield is a little more picky. Just me, but I shoot the Slim a little better.
The isssue with Taurus is the lack of after market items to accompany it. ( holsters, sights etc.)
I know people have favorites, but it almost sounds like a bunch of "block snobs" in thier attitude towards the Taurus.
I have full size and compacts in S&W and Taurus in 9 and .45, they are all great guns, I have never had an issue with the Taurus.

krtstrk said:

I have full size and compacts in S&W and Taurus in 9 and .45, they are all great guns, I have never had an issue with the Taurus.

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This is what Taurus owners in my classes have always said right up until the time their gun fails or jams up so bad you can't unjam it.

NO 2 TAURUS

I've owned hundreds of handguns over the past 40+ years and the ONLY one that failed on me (3 separate times over 10 yrs of ownership) was my Taurus (PT-145). I loved the look and feel but here are three separate failures: 1) what I would call the slide stop spring; it broke and made the gun totally un-fireable; 2) a few years later, the manual safety actually fell off the side of the gun; while the gun would still fire, I didn't know if the safety would engage on its own; 3) the final straw was in the 10th year of ownership when the trigger mechanism (plastic) actually broke apart inside the gun. Needless to say, after the FIRST incident, that gun was never carried again, just a range gun. I know it's one individual gun, but 3 catastrophic failures is enough to make me NEVER buy another Taurus ....

I've never owned a Taurus or shot one. My buddy has a Taurus .38 cal revolver & loves it. Coming from a S&W collector that's saying something. All I can say is that guns like S&W & Glock have been well documented for their reliability & customer service. There can be dogs made by any gun manufacturer but I'd say that for all the many people with M&Ps & Glocks there are far fewer. There probably isn't a gun forum that doesn't have complaints about S&W & Glocks but for the sheer quantity of them owned by shooters & carriers it's not many.

You'll have to continue your research, rent some, shoot them, compare them & make your decision.