Japan has the Samurai, most of Western Europe has knights, and America has the cowboy. The American cowboy mythos is strong in our culture, and we still love cowboys. Ask yourself why a show like Yellowstone is so dang popular. People like the rugged man doing a hard job in the face of a brutal world, and alongside the cowboy always sits his faithful six-gun. Everyone in the gun world loves cowboy guns, and today I’m bringing you the new Taylor and Company TC9 1873 revolver.
Companies like Cimarron, Taylor and Company, Uberti, Pietta, and many more create all manner of replica cowboy guns. This includes Colt clones, S&W clones, Remington clones, Winchester clones, and more. The TC9 1873 falls into the Colt SAA clone territory.
The Taylor and Company TC9 solves the main problem I have with cowboy guns, and that’s ammo cost. Have you seen the price of .45 Colt? Even .38 Special has gotten pretty dang expensive. The good news about the TC9 1873 is that it shoots the world’s favorite caliber, the 9mm. Yep, it’s chambered for George Luger’s namesake, the 9mm Luger, so this is a cowboy gun that’s affordable to feed.
I know that rimfire options exist, but a rimfire revolver just doesn’t replicate the feel of a big, hefty-duty cowboy gun.
Enter Taylor and Company TC9 1873
The TC9 might seem like sacrilege to the cowboy market. How dare a cowboy gun not come in a caliber that doesn’t start with a four? Well, I want to shoot a cowboy gun without having to pay a fortune for it. A box of 9mm costs nothing compared to a box of .45 Colt.
I am guaranteed to get more time behind the TC9 than anything that shoots a more traditional caliber. 9mm ammo is widely available, comes in various loadings, and can be found in bulk on the cheap. Plus, most of my other guns shoot 9mm, and I already have piles of them.
With mild loadings, the TC9 can be easily handled by any shooter, much like those soft as cotton .45 Colt loads designed for cowboy action shooting. Outside of affordable ammo, the gun itself isn’t overpriced either. You can find them for less than $600.
Specifications and Features
- Barrel Length: 5.5 inches
- Overall Length: 11.10 Inches
- Weight: 2.5 pounds
- Capacity: 6
- Caliber: 9mm
- MSRP: $619.77
These specifications are directly tied to this model of firearm. The TC9 comes in a few different configurations, and this particular model with the checkered wooden grips and 5.5-inch barrel is the most expensive. There is a 4.5-inch model, and recently they introduced a 3.5-inch barreled model with a stainless finish and bird’s head grips that I might have to add to my gun safe.
The TC9 is a single-action army design, and there is no need for moon clips due to the ejector rod. Since 9mm is ‘rimless,’ Taylor and Co. had to machine a shoulder into the cylinder to allow the round to headspace on the case mouth. The rounds just drop in, and you’re good to go.
The checkered wood grips are quite nice. To me, they’re worth the little extra they cost. The design utilizes the classic SSA setup. We have an easy-to-reach hammer, a trench sight, and big front sight. The finish is quite nice and looks great all around. It certainly lends itself to the classic cowboy look.
At the Range With the TC9
With a heart full of hope, an ammo box full of 9mm, and a few dozen targets, I hit the range and let it fly. My first impression was positive but surprising. When you shoot 9mm through an automatic, you know it will be mild recoiling and easy to control. You forget that the nature of a semi-auto pistol reduces the perceived recoil due to the operation of the gun and the need for a slide to reciprocate. In a single-action revolver, though, that isn’t the case.
You get all the perceived recoil. Luckily, 2.5 pounds of metal and wood does absorb some of that recoil. The TC9 isn’t harsh, but it’s surprising for such a big revolver firing such a mild cartridge. The TC9 doesn’t buck or try to run away, but it certainly gives you the recoil you expect from a big cowboy revolver.
As you’d imagine, the TC9 is quite reliable. There isn’t exactly a lot to go wrong with a single-action revolver, and the gun eats through 9mm without a problem. The gun went through hundreds of rounds and didn’t have any functional problems. Steel-case ammo will tend to stick in the cylinders since it expands but doesn’t contract like brass-cased ammunition.
Landing Hits
The TC9 was a little tricky in the accuracy department. The front sight is huge and tall, and the point of impact doesn’t align with your point of aim. Big sights like this can be filed down, and that’s what you might need to do to get the POI/POA on point. I found a sweet spot on the sights and marked it with just a little paint.
Once I found the right height to align the front sight with the rear sight, I was burning it down. The great single-action trigger and long 5.5-inch barrel give you a great sight radius. You can punch out some very nice groups with the gun, and for a variety of people, it’s easy to shoot. During some Father’s Day range time, both my wife and oldest son enjoyed the cowboy action of the TC9 while ringing steel quite easily.
At 25 yards, I enjoyed watching a 6-inch gong swinging back and forth over and over, round after round. It shoots better than I can, and it’s been a cheap way for me to practice shooting revolvers and learn how to handle a single-action revolver.
Keep It Fun
The Taylor and Co. TC9 1873 is a blast. It’s a cheap way to play cowboy at the gun range. It is affordable, reliable, and accurate, at a great price point. The TC9 is a great way to get into the world of cowboy shooting, although I don’t know if the TC9 would be SASS legal.
The TC9 isn’t super handy for any practical tasks, but it’s fun to shoot, and sometimes a gun can just be fun. It bears mentioning Taylor and Co. makes some awesome revolvers, so give them a look.
