Taurus Signs Jessie Harrison-Duff As Shooting Team Captain
The optimist in me wants to believe that Jessie got a preview of something from Taurus that made her believe they’re changing their stripes. Whether it’s a new gun or a new (and sincere) commitment to manufacturing quality, there must be something that made one of the major female competitors go with Taurus after years at Glock. With companies like S&W and FN actively recruiting major talent for their competition teams, something about Taurus must have been attractive to Jessie.
The pessimist in me, on the other hand, predicts that this relationship will be short lived. The other possibility is that Taurus might not actually expect its team captain to shoot a company gun. There’s a growing trend of competitive shooters using highly customized pistols where the only part actually produced by their sponsor is the frame… if even that. It’s always amusing to read that so-and-so won a match as Captain of Team Whatever, when you know that the only connection he has to Team Whatever is a logo on his jersey. But hey, that’s marketing.
The realist in me is pretty sure that the pessimist in me is right on this one.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
Todd, you are probably right on the custom built gun.
I had a Taurus 1911 for a very short time (got it in a trade) and while the frame and slide looked well made, all the little parts were mediocre at best. This one ended up being sold and I kept the Crimson Trace grips that came on it, which is why I did the trade in the first place.
They could build her a decent gun based on their slide and frame, and small parts from some of the excellent aftermarket selection like Kart, C&S, etc.
I think the pessimist in you is right too. When I saw the news my first thought was “wow, she must have gotten a TRUCK LOAD of cash”. haha
The humorist in me agrees 100% with Krusty the Clown. (Youtube vid)
One can put a lot of cash in a “Taurus”
I assume she will still shoot Open as a member of Team Leupold, but she will probably shoot Limited or Production with a Taurus gun wearing their jersey. I highly doubt she will shoot Single Stack or will compete in L10 with a single-stack frame Taurus 1911.
I still say the smart money is on her having a “Taurus” open gun that looks suspiciously like an STI with a Taurus logo on it.
I’m team Caleb on this one… I saw ‘Taurus’ but I read ‘STI’.
One can put a lot of cash in a “Taurus”
WIN!
🙂
I still say the smart money is on her having a “Taurus” open gun that looks suspiciously like an STI with a Taurus logo on it.
+1 to that…
How much would it take for Taurus to give itself a major upgrade to it’s quality?
Are we talking “If they’d only get a few things better, it would make a world of difference…”
Or is it like “It would take a major change for Taurus to be anything but a bad joke…”
C’mon, how many people really think these folks are shooting the -race on Sunday; sell on Monday- standard-bearer of some pistol company’s product line anyway? Does a person wanting a new car really think Jeff Gordon races a Chevy Monte-Carlo? But that’s what the logo on his car says… And I’ve seen very few open guns that didn’t have everything changed but the frame and slide in the end anyway. And I’ve seen a few SS and L-10 pistols that weren’t much OEM either..
There must be some benefit for Jessie to go with Taurus. Money, self-management, “do what you want just wear our jersey” type deal. Or maybe because there is NO CONNECTION whatsoever to her x-husband.
I’m not sure about the major brands frantic to find pro shooters. I’m talking “get a pay check” shooters, not “wear our jersey” shooters. Glock dropped all but 2 shooters – not sure the Junior is getting paid. S&W has a couple with a big “jersey” crew. Springfield always had Leatham; no one new. (Does Kippi get paid?) FN is all about 3-gun. Sig has Max and a “jersey” crew. STI is all jerseys. Sevigny went to a retailer/distributor, which brings me to all the custom shops. I have no clue how they compensate their shooters.
Maybe the more-than-occasional malfunction drill will be the only way to slow her down… 😉
My guess goes into the Taurus-framed full-custom-house open gun and maybe a 1911 which was hand-rubbed with baby oil and filled with “real” internals nobody would see or know about.
The 24/7 OSS would be the starting point for a run at Production. Find a ‘smith to fit a custom barrel and tune the trigger to something halfway usable and Miss Jessie could get it to run.
Heck, Taurus ain’t hurting for revenue, just common sense and engineering.
C’mon, how many people really think these folks are shooting the -race on Sunday; sell on Monday- standard-bearer of some pistol company’s product line anyway?
I dunno… Sevigny did that with GLOCK pretty successfully. JulieG and JerryM seem to do that quite well for S&W. Angus and most of the team CZ shooters also come to mind. (Team HK is another one…)
I guess I’m just saying that there are some those folks left…
In open division, I think the mindest/equipment is different anyway… There really aren’t that many “off the shelf” open guns anyway (I’m under the assumption that even “off the shelf” S*I’s need to get tuned).
If that is the case, I guess Taurus will be given a boost by hiring a winner, especially one that looks good, as a spokesperson. From a business perspective, I guess that is cool…
I guess if I have to see all the annoying Taurus ads in magazines and on web sites at least they’ll have something other than a rainbow-blued Judge to look at now…
Does it matter? Do any of you make your firearm buying decisions based on who is on “the team?” If Mr Green himself signed on as a sponsored shooter with Bersa, would you instantly order a Shaggy for your new Bersa blaster?
I think everyone is missing the point here, which is that Jessie is hot no matter what she shoots.
The big benefit to this?
That’s one more gun company who’s sponsoring shooters. That’s good for all of us.
And this is great move for Taurus because it lets them say “Look, Glock, S+W, Sig, Springfield all sponsor shooters, and so do we. We’re major league now, and it’s time we start being taken seriously.”
Whether or not they kick out the product to match their marketing is the question that needs to be answered…
I looked all over the Toyota dealership and nowhere on the lot could I find a Camry with the RWD carburetted pushrod V-8 option package like Kyle Busch drives.
At least the cup cars went to fuel injection this year. They are getting closer 🙂
I agree with Exurbankevin. It’s another big company (one that previously ignored competition shooting) that’s sponsoring a shooter. So it’s a plus.
Having said that, I personally like companies that support competitions at the grassroots level by donating to the prize table. Good for Jessie if she’s getting some money and equipment out of the deal, but better for shooting sports if Taurus follows this with support to USPSA/Steel Challenge/IDPA/3 Gun.
Wow!!!! Todd you are surprised that a former Glock team member would switch to Taurus? You are a huge proponent that Gen4 Glocks have major problems. Until Glock issues a recall of early Gen4 Glocks I see no difference in Glock than Taurus. Actually Taurus has a better return policy than Glock. So I reluctantly have to say Taurus has a better policy than the FARCE that is known as Glock. Also this site has failed to acknowledge the fact that Dave Sevigny is no longer with Glock. Why is that? Why is that? I repeat ” Why is That?’ Again, Todd Green, why won’t you acknowledge the fact that the ” Human Robot” has changed teams?
I would also like to note that not every one on this site is so arrogant to think that they would one day be a Supreme Court Justice. Also, not everyone is so blessed as the almighty Todd Green to pick and choose their employer. It’s a bad economy and everyone need’s to work. Work is Work. We don’t always have a choice.
Hey, Rob Leatham rolls with Springfield and the XD. Not hard to believe this one imo.
Some shotgun company should sponsor Dick Cheney.