Announced publicly in April 2025 at the NRA Annual Meetings and Events convention in Atlanta, Ga., Taurus USA has filled the traditional double-action void of full-size .380-ACP-chambered handguns within its American catalog by launching the Model 58, a straight-blowback handgun that comes as an update to the older PT58 model. The Taurus Model 58 is a traditionally styled full-size handgun and one that comes chambered for .380 ACP, contains a 4” barrel and is built on an aluminum frame with finish options for either stainless steel or black.
Original Taurus PT58s and their newer Model 58 counterparts are interesting pistols. For those not familiar with these guns, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume they are modeled after the original Beretta Model 84 Cheetah. After all, there’s an obvious Italian-based design inspiration in the Model 58, and not to mention the fact Taurus also employed a Beretta-like straight-blowback action. Both the Taurus Model 58 and its PT58 predecessor, in comparison, however, are larger than Beretta Model 84 Cheetahs—grip, frame and width-wise, Model 58s are the same size as standard PT92s or Beretta’s famed Model 92. Model 58s are also only shorter in overall length, which can best be summarized as a ".380 ACP Centurion," if comparing to Beretta’s previous themes.
Model 58 Overview
As stated above, the Taurus Model 58 is based on the Taurus PT92. It shares the exact style of full-size grip. The bottom portion of its backstrap has a curved hump meant to fill the lower portion of the shooting hand’s palm. Another standout detail is that the frontstrap does not have a small concave lip at the bottom, it’s straight from magwell to trigger guard.
Both the front- and backstrap possess a series of milled vertical mini-serrations to provide a rudimentary amount of traction. The left and right sides of the grips are covered by basic plastic stocks with Taurus’ logo.
The thumb-safeties, trigger bar, trigger, magazine release, slide-stop and takedown lever all have the same matching polished look as the aluminum frame. It is only the Model 58’s hammer, its stocks and its rear sight that are black.
Naturally, the Model 58’s open-top slide follows the same pattern as the PT92. It has a fixed front sight that matches the same brushed-stainless-steel finish of the slide along with the same type of rear slide serrations found on the PT92; these are coarser and have more spacing apart compared to Beretta 92s. They do work well and are easy to pinch. The left rear side of the Model 58 slide has recesses for the pistol’s ambidextrous thumb safety.
Model 58 Specific Features
The Model 58 includes Taurus’ signature dual-function, frame-mounted combination of thumb safety levers. This ambidextrous thumb safety allows the end-user to carry the Model 58 cocked-and-locked. Alternatively, it can be carried in “Condition 0” relying on the longer and heavier double-action trigger-pull like a Beretta 92G, or the classic SIG Sauer P226. Finally, the levers can be fully depressed downward to decock the hammer in a fashion similar to the Heckler & Koch “v1” pistols. Otherwise, the Model 58 functions identically to any other 90-series-pattern Beretta pistols and Taurus clones via its manual of arms.
Unlike the PT92, the Model 58 does not use a locking-block system to cycle .380 ACP ammunition. It’s a straight-blowback pistol, the simplest of self-loading mechanisms that relies on simple physics, since everything has an equal and opposite reaction. The rearward force generated by the fired cartridge directly and immediately cycles the pistol. The Model 58’s 4” barrel sits fixed in place between the slide and frame. And because of cartridge-case blowback, the recoil spring acts independently of the barrel on this model. Simply put, this means that the combination of mass from the slide and spring tension holds everything in place when the Model 58 is "locked and loaded."
The Model 58 uses its own double-stack, .380 ACP-specific magazine. Visually, they appear quite thinner, as they’re shorter to handle .380 ACP ammunition. Not only is it physically impossible to load a 9 mm Luger cartridge into these magazines, it’s also physically impossible to try and ram an improperly loaded Taurus 58 magazine with a 9 mm cartridge through the magazine well. Redundant safety features like these on this pistol make a lot of sense given that it is hard to identify the pistol as a .380 ACP only by merely looking at it.
Taurus Model 58 Accuracy Evaluation And Range Time
It’s my thought that any pistol’s character is revealed through rapid fire. And although I made it a priority to shoot rapid-fire strings, I also extensively shot the gun in both single- and double-action modes. Having not much experience with full-size straight-blowback pistols, I was quite interested to observe the Model 58’s characteristics in action. Thanks to its swift action, ejection was vigorous and reliable.
I fired five different types of factory-loaded .380 ACP cartridges through the Taurus Model 58 for this review. Of that group, 80 percent of the ammunition I used came from Hop Munitions, which included both their 95-grain FMJ and their warm defensive 90-grain JHP load. In addition, I also included Federal’s 85-grain Punch JHP and Sierra’s 90-grain SportsMaster JHP loads in my accuracy evaluation. I have no complaints about the pistol’s baseline mechanical accuracy at 15 yards. On the positive side, the 4” barrel with a 1:16”-twist rifling gives a boost in velocity. From the bench however, the stiff single-action trigger made it a bit challenging to shoot neater groups. Keep in mind, this is irrelevant for defensive purposes.
The Taurus Model 58 "Feel"
I consider myself a die-hard Beretta 92 fan, so the Taurus Model 58 felt quite “familiar” in my hands. However, its straight blowback recoil impulse did not make it feel like a “milder” 92. The recoil wasn’t jarring or punishing, but the absence of the locking block to delay the slide from traveling rearward does create a snappier sensation since straight blowback is fast and immediate.
Felt-recoil is subjective, so the best way to describe it is that it reminded me of slim striker-fired polymer pistols like the Glock 48, Taurus GX4XL or SIG Sauer P365, for example. Specifically, it’s because those slim striker-guns have fast-moving slides that accelerate quickly during shooting. By all means, the Taurus 58 is still easy to control, and I average 0.21-second splits during rapid fire.
Like most any new, out-of-the-box pistol, the Taurus Model 58 benefited from wearing it after nearly 300 rounds. I had occasional intermittent stoppages throughout my evaluation period where the slide was not fully going into battery with fresh rounds. It wasn’t until my second range session that I realized I was likely the cause of these stoppages. They were only intermittent because sometimes my thumb would push up against the right side of the slide while riding the thumb-safety, 1911-style, slowing action’s progression. Also, the 58’s thumb-safety levers/decockers are fairly thin and low in profile, so this is something to keep in mind.
Taurus Model 58 Critiques
While I appreciate that the Model 58 uses slotted stock screws, which do look better on pistols, these had no bushing embedded or O-ring to help them stay in place. As a result, I had to constantly tighten them down, especially after spirited shooting.
Out of the box, both the single- and double-action trigger pulls can be kind of heavy. Even shooting in single-action mode, mastering this gun’s trigger requires some deliberateness. Again, from a purely defensive standpoint, it’s a non-issue.
With the understanding that both the original Taurus PT58 and Model 58 pistols have a more “international” context, I hesitate to critique the Model 58 for its size. Objectively, yes, this pistol is large for its .380 ACP chambering. However, the impetus for guns like it come from sales to civilians in other countries where owning 9 mm Luger pistols is arbitrarily verboten; it’s simply because the latter cartridge is associated with military or police duty. Therefore, a handgun like the Taurus Model 58, in .380 ACP, becomes a reasonable solution for those in need of a general-purpose, traditional double-action pistol.
The Takeaway
The totality of the Taurus Model 58 is quite easy to summarize: it boils down to a “Centurion” facsimile without a locking block and with Taurus’ signature dual-function frame-mounted combination thumb safety and decocker.
Some say that the .380 ACP cartridge must be making some kind of comeback in 2025. Perhaps they’re right, seeing how this is the third .380 ACP handgun I’ve reviewed for NRA Media this year.
Centurion is a reference to Beretta 90 series pistols with a full-size grip and magazine topped with shorter slides and barrels, like Colt 1911 Commanders.
Taurus Model 58 Specifications
Importer: Taurus USA
Manufacturer: Taurus Armas, Brazil
Action Type: double-action, semi-automatic, centerfire pistol
Chambering: .380 ACP
Barrel: 4.0” stainless steel
Frame: aluminum
Slide: steel;
Safety: combination thumb safety/decocker
Magazine: 15-round detachable box
Sights: drift-adjustable, three-dot; fixed front, square-notch rear
Trigger: 5-lb., 8-oz. single-action pull; 8+ pounds double-action
Overall Length: 7.20”
Height: 5.59”
Width: 1.61”
Weight: 29.6 ozs.
Accessories: owner’s manual, two 15-round magazines, lock
MSRP: $605 (black or stainless)
