Shop for Taurus Spectrum online at GunBroker.com

The diminutive and extraordinarily affordable 6+1/7+1 round Taurus Spectrum .380 Auto (.380 ACP) conceal carry semi-automatic pistols melt the familiar striker-fired profile into an even smaller shape with big rounded corners on the slide and deep concave recesses behind the trigger and the beavertail.

It’s uncommon to run across an unusual gun design. But this one is just that and in a good way. The Spectrum’s top half is forward leaning and evokes a canine’s snout. The TAURUS SPECTRUM lettering across the frame flank is very modern and techie. Moving down, the grip has a near-vertical axis. The trigger guard’s top leans forward too so the area enclosed within it widens as it goes up.

The Spectrum avoids any sharp edges using a “melted” style cladding that is easy on the eye and quite functional for holstering. Gone are the common front or rear grip serrations. Instead, there are two quasi airfoil cross-section soft-touch overmold rubber pads set into two longer airfoil recesses sculpted into the slide back.

The gun has a nice short beavertail and a high-hand position as is common on striker-fired semi-automatics, but in this case the texturing is done via another rubber pad. The grip sides are also rubber pads. All the pads have a sideways flowing diamond hatching pattern.

After the design, it’s the Spectrum’s subcompact engineering that most intrigues. Using .380 ACP rather than the larger 9 mm permits smaller inner dimensions and thus smaller outer ones too. At core is a 2.8” barrel that keeps overall length to only 5.4”. Thanks to its compact design and integrated low profile front and rear sights, height is barely 3.8”.

The slide is made of stainless steel. The finish on it is either black Melonite or matte stainless steel. The frame is made of aluminum while the barrel is either alloy steel or stainless to match the frame.

Mechanically, this is a striker-fired gun with a double-action trigger. Taurus Spectrum’s frame wraps around a single stack magazine inside, so, perhaps it’s little surprise that maximum width is only .9”! It’s less than that in many places as there are deep scallops such as behind the trigger on the grip and tapers that combine with a plethora of curves. Total weight, unloaded, comes in at a feathery 10 ounces.

The takedown pin is just above the trigger. It’s been reimagined so that it is turned using a flat-head screwdriver. The trigger is wide across the curved face, ensuring a good contact pad. Trigger pull is factory set at 7 to 9 pounds. The oval magazine release button is can be configured to be on either side.

The Spectrum comes with two magazines. The 6-round magazine fits flush with the backstrap’s tail and the 7-round extended magazine has a base cap pinky extension. Either way, the magazine comes with counting holes.

These guns come in two standard guises: stainless steel and matte black. However, there are many color options, hence the Spectrum name.

The frames come in three colors: matte black, matte gray and white. As mentioned before, the slides can be finished in either black Melonite or matte stainless steel. That’s already six color combinations. The overmold pads that grace the slide backs, grip backs and grip panels can be had in 20+ colors that include black, FDE (flat dark earth), cyan, mint, pink, red and many more.

One all-black model features a red laser Viridian Grip to give users dual sighting with either the laser or across the iron sights. It adds a nominal amount of weight bringing total heft to about 10.5 ounces.

The gun lacks the usual manual thumb safety at back, but it does have a striker block safety. The Taurus Spectrum is Made in USA.

Do you have a Taurus Spectrum for sale? click here.