Narrow Rainbow: The Short-Lived Taurus Spectrum

The 2010s saw a ton of growth in the pocketable concealed carry pistol market. The vast majority of states liberally issued CCW licenses, and the shift to permitless carry was just beginning to gain steam. 

There were a lot of companies trying out new things, and while most of these ideas didn’t stick around, you can still come across curiosities from that era. And come across one we did — this is the Taurus Spectrum, a CCW meant to appeal to the widest possible audience both in terms of aesthetics and ergonomics. This one even came with a laser and only cost $160 — we couldn’t resist. 

TAURUS SPECTRUM

First announced in early 2017, this .380 Auto has all corners rounded and edges trimmed to reduce snagging, and soft rubberized inserts take the place of sharp serrations or stippling. While the pistol you see here is basic black-on-black, at its peak Taurus offered a lot of quasi-custom color options: frames were available in three colors, slides in two, with plans for nearly two dozen shades of rubberized inserts. The idea was something like a semi-custom gun out of the box. 

Most .380s on the market are simple blowback affairs, but the Taurus Spectrum is recoil operated with a tilting barrel. There is no manual safety, Taurus instead opting for a long double-action-only trigger with this striker system. In terms of concealed carry, frankly it’s not a bad idea at all and something that would be nice from some others in the future.

MSRP sat around $300, a model equipped with a Viridian E-Series laser like you see here later followed for $359.

Though it was announced in early 2017, it didn’t ship until the following year. The anticipation was over, and importantly by the time anyone could actually get it … SIG Sauer shook the CCW foundations with the P365. And there were some other problems, too, which we’ll get to — by 2022 the Spectrum totally disappeared from the Taurus catalog.

Is it still worth your time? Let’s see. 

TAURUS SPECTRUM SPECS

• Caliber: .380 Auto
• Capacity: 6, 7
• Overall Length: 5.5 inches
• Barrel length: 2.8 inches
• Weight (unloaded): 10 ounces
• Price Paid: $160

THE AWESOME

Thanks to the recoil action, despite the size, the Spectrum is a relatively soft shooter. The DAO trigger makes dry-firing easier than even with a revolver, and these pistols can now be found for a song. Even though this gun is no longer made, at the time of this writing you can still directly purchase some parts from Taurus like spare magazines and even barrels (though we’re sure they’re not making any more). 

THE OK

As the Taurus Spectrum was so short lived, regarding holsters you’ll mostly be using general/universal holsters for it or going a custom route. The sights are a guttersnipe-type, meaning that they mostly serve as a reminder that guns are supposed to have things on them for aiming.

Disassembly requires a tool, but not a specific one. All it takes is rotating the toggle on the right side of the frame with a coin or flathead to remove the slide (and there are corresponding graphics). But disassembly is also a place where people really start to run into problems with this one. 

The Taurus Spectrum came with a two-piece guide rod, and one that’s quite difficult to reassemble if you aren’t familiar with the process. There’s at least one aftermarket captive recoil spring assembly available to address this issue. 

THE AWFUL

There are two main complaints about the Taurus Spectrum: reassembly, which we already covered, and far more serious is the fact that many examples suffer from light strikes. As in, some of them fail to reliably ignite ammunition. This ghost was hard to pin down, and undoubtedly a major contribution toward Taurus dropping the entire line. 

Compounding this issue is many guns that Taurus fixed were reportedly even harder to reassemble after the fact.

There’s no surefire way to tell if a Spectrum you’re inspecting will reliably run or not either — you have to shoot it with your desired ammunition to really know. The DAO trigger does give you a second-strike capability, meaning that if it doesn’t fire your immediate action is to just give it another go — but we all know that it’s best if it doesn’t happen like that in the first place. 

LOOSE ROUNDS

There was a lot going for the little Taurus Spectrum, but there were just too many problems stacking up. Announced too early or released too late, teething issues that were never really satisfactorily pinned down, and the market gleefully moving on meant cutting the slingload from the Spectrum was the right decision. Far too many companies (and people) like to throw good money after bad, but it is interesting to consider what might have been. 

Back in CONCEALMENT Issue 10 we featured another inexpensive pocket .380 Auto, the Sigma SW380, and it has since lived as part of a car kit. That Sigma is now retired, and this newer, better Taurus has taken its place — but only because we’ve tested it extensively. 

Because you have to take the time and money to tell if one of these is even worth your time, this otherwise 3.5-star pistol goes down to a 2. After all, you don’t want to throw too much good money after bad. 

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