Opinions on Taurus 9-shot .22 revolvers?

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Elkins45

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I'm thinking of buying one of the Taurus 9-shot DA .22 revolvers as a plinking gun. I know Taurus autos aren't always held in high regard, but what is the talk on their revolvers?

I know it wouldn't be the equal of a nice S&W, but are they at least worth considering for a range gun?
 
I have two; one 4" blued and a 5" blued.
As soon as I find a snubbie model, I'll buy it too.
Not a great DA trigger(very hvy but smooth) but single action is decent enough.
I'd stick with the blued, seems the stainless get more complaints.
It's great to shoot 100 rounds of .22, then pick up my stock 70's era S&W model 10 and realize that the extra concentration and focus required with the -94 pay off greatly, making the -10 feel like a tuned custom Smith.
 
Check it out very well before you buy one,,,

Check it out very well before you buy one,,,
Because the quality control out of their plant is dismal.

Here's why I say that.

I purchased a 6" 970 Tracker in .22 LR,,,
I bought it new so I didn't do a function check,,,
The cylinder would not lock up at all and would spin freely.

No Problem as they have a lifetime warranty,,,
They even pay the shipping in the first year after the sale.

After two trips back to the repair center it still wasn't right,,,
They actually caused another problem while they had it,,,
The LGS eventually refunded my money to me.

I also bought a 4" 990 Tracker,,,
It was also defective right out of the box,,,
I never got Taurus to admit that it was way out of time,,,
The repair center sent it back after doing nothing at all to fix it.

I recently handled a new 990 Tracker at a gun shop,,,
It was very obvious that the barrel was misaligned by 1/4 inch.

Now for the other side of the coin,,,
A friend of mine recently bought a new Model 94,,,
Aside from the trigger being a bit heavy it's a fine performer,,,
It's accuracy easily rivals any of my S&W, Colt, or older Rossi revolvers.

I know several people with very good Taurus revolvers,,,
Unfortunately I know just as many with bad guns right out of the box.

It's not that Taurus designs bad revolvers,,,
It's that the quality control of their plant is somewhat terrible,,,
The Evil Pawn Shop recently received a new 990 Tracker that had no front sight.

So if you are considering buying a new Taurus revolver,,,
Make darn certain you check that gun out as carefully as you can,,,
If you are buying one used, check it out but also try and test fire it if you can.

I wish you good fortune.

Aarond

P.S. I own a Taurus 22-PLY and 25-PLY,,,
They are wonderful little guns,,,
Go figure. :confused:

.
 
They're pretty decent wheel guns for the money. I have a 608 .357 mag and it is extremely accurate and built like a tank. As for the 9 shot 22lr, I've shot a couple and they are definitely not a bad piece.
Most of Taurus's are AL's though, and they have all been 100% reliable, and quite accurate too. I like their guns and I will definitely continue buying them.

GS
 
I have the satin stainless .22 LR "kit gun" Taurus (94 I think the model is) 9-shot, and after shooting this one I picked up a companion Taurus 8-shot .22 mag (this one is a bright polished model with the lugged barrel, forgot the model #)

Both have been serviceable guns, and the triggers were not bad at all. I've taught several newbies to shoot on the 94, and it has served that purpose well. I'm guessing Taurus revolvers are like English cars; some are good, a few are great; but too many of them are iffy at best.

I'll admit they're not S&W fit-and-finished, and they certainly don't have the panache' or resale value of same; but being able to buy both Tauruses used for a bit over $375 (instead of 400-450+ for one Smith) I feel I did just fine for plinking-backpacking-camp pot guns.
 
I'm a Taurus fan, but I really, really like the Ruger Single Six.
With fiber optic sights and a reduced power Wolff trigger spring, mine is a sweet shooter.
 
I picked up an 8 shot Rossi R98 "plinker" w/ a 4" barrel ~6 months ago. I love this little revolver. For a $300 22 revolver, it has a superb DA trigger. I have put about a thousand rounds through it and this revolver can shoot. I think you wouldd be well served if you picked one up.
 
I ordered a new Model 94 from a local shop. When it came in, I looked it over carefully, and this is what the cylinder looked like.(see picture below) I asked the owner to send it back to the distributor, and get me another one. He refused and told me to send it to Taurus. I decided I wasnt sending my brand new revolver away, and decided to shoot it and see if it was going to be a problem. It shot decently enough, but was leading the cylinder horribly. I have since smoothed the chambers, and have reduced the leading to an acceptable level for my tastes. I wont buy another Taurus revolver ever. I do have a Model 905(9mm revolver) and its a decent revolver. I also have a PLY-22 like aarondgraham, and its a supurb little pistol. The 94 is built in Brazil, and the PLY-22 is built in the USA. I know we have pride in the products we build here in the USA. I dont know what the attitude is like in Brazil. I say buyer beware of any Taurus revolver

CCWPics034Large.jpg
 
Examine them closely when you buy them. I'd say they're hit or miss but honestly, what company isn't in the age of mass production?

At least they've got a good warranty and so far my luck with Taurus guns has been pretty good.
 
If you were in the market for a parachute would you buy the best one made or a South American knock-off with a history of quality issues?
 
I was all set to buy a 990 tracker and then discovered a S&W 617 while in the shop and bought that instead. I have been completely happy with the exception of a much lighter wallet.
 
If you were in the market for a parachute would you buy the best one made or a South American knock-off with a history of quality issues?

We're talking about a .22 plinker here - so the parachute analogy is a bit over the top.


The OP already said he knows it "wouldn't be the equal of a nice S&W". Then again, it just wouldn't be a Taurus thread if you didn't have at least one of these posts.
 
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I have purchased Taurus guns in the past knowing that there is a chance they will need work or finishing to work properly. Not all Taurus guns are this way but it's hard to predict which ones will need it. If I purchase another Taurus I will be looking it over very well before I hand over my hard earned money at the gun counter.
 
I too wanted a 22 revolver. The Smith won out for me. I don't see anything wrong with a Taurus. As a company I do feel they try hard to be innovative. More than I can say for Smith currently.
 
If you were in the market for a parachute would you buy the best one made or a South American knock-off with a history of quality issues?

If you wanted to take your kids, your brother, your sister-in-law and your nephews parachuting, all at the same time, would you buy one really good parachute or a couple of cheaper parachutes to share?

I've had good luck w/ the Taurus, both the 94 and the tracker. DA trigger pull is awful on the smaller one (94?) and not really wonderful on the bigger one, but single action both are fine. It goes bang every time. It's (IMHO) safer for kids to load and easier to "show clear" than a single six.
 
I have had two M94's, 4" and 4" blued. Both went back for warranty work. One had a timing issue and the other had a firing pin issue. Got them back and they worked fine.

Heavy DA triggers, like most DA rimfire revolvers. Rough cylinders so the brass gets sticky after a bit. Crude rear sights.

Both are very accurate and do not seem picky about ammo.

I paid around $350 for each one and in retrospect, I do not think I got good value for the money spent. I could have bought a S&W 617 for the price of two Taurus', and that is what I should have done.
 
I am going to re-iterate what has already been said. I have no huge problem with Taurus but their quality control stinks. I bought a Rossi 92 a while back (they are made in a Taurus factory) and I love it but it had some quality control issues that caused me some problems. Little things like the feed tube screw not being drilled cleanly made the tube wander and their customer service (at least my own experience) was such a pain and was so time consuming that I finally just disassembled the gun and fixed it myself. If you are comfortable enough to look the gun over and thoroughly check it out before you buy it, I would say go for it, if you are not sure you know what to look for, either take someone else with you who does or don't buy it.

While I have seen a lot of very reliable and fun Taurus stuff out there, I would encourage you to look at other models like the Rugers as well. I know price is an issue but, IMHO, you might just find something you like better even if the price is a little higher.
 
My mom had one that had issues with the . . . . . . . well, it is hard to explain. It would usually do okay, but every once in a while, I would pull the hammer back and it would "fail to lock back", so I would have to bypass that round and go to the next. Sold it eventually.

My dad has a Rossi 357 snubbie that works well enough.
 
I bought a new one four years ago that was so badly built, the cylinder didn't sit square in the frame.

Last year for $150 I bought a "used" LNIB 4" stainless model made in 1991 that has to be one of the most accurate and reliable .22s I've ever owned. Go figure... :scrutiny:
 
A 4" 94 that has been going strong since the early 90's here. Then a more recent 2" Ultra-Lite Stainless that is really nice. The trigger is a bit tough at first but does break in nicely with patience. If you don't have a 2", grab one as they are quite fun, very pocketable and in many cases a better carry than larger caliber brothers. Especially for dispatching gophers, snakes, etc. while mowing the yard, hiking in the woods, etc.

I'd buy a 2nd 94 Ultra-Lite in order to have a blue sample and have seriously considered a 22 Mag snubbie, although so much is lost balistically from the short barrel it seems like a serious flame-thrower.
 
Not a great DA trigger(very hvy but smooth) but single action is decent enough.
Agree....

But I have a blue one that has been a great revolver. I always always check lockup and timing on any revolver I purchase new or used.... No matter who made it!
 
I really, really like the Ruger Single Six.

I really don't like unloading the empties one at a time. I briefly owned a Single Six but sold it for that very reason. My buying interests are limited to a 9-shot gun with a swing out cylinder.
 
I own a 94 new model which has the full underlug compared to the older 94 (which I owned an example).

Never have had a problem with it.

I did however have to lighten the and smooth out the trigger pull. That's true for all the .22lrf revolvers I've owned regardless of the brand.

I used .22lrf snap caps ( some people use #4 drywall screw anchors) and did some dry fire practice over several days. Did about 500-1000 repetitions.

The Wolf spring replacement thing works for some and not for others.

The 94 is my understudy gun to my larger centerfire revolvers.

I picked up a Taurus 990, 9 shot revolver with a 6.5" barrel a couple of years ago at the LGS. It has the smoothest,crisp,light trigger pull, double action or single action, of any revolver I've owned.

The accuracy is phenomenal. It equals anything shot with a S&W 617.
 
I have a number of Taurus revolvers along with Ruger and S&W revolvers. I never had a problem with any of them. My target Taurus with 6" barrle outshoots my S&W target 38spl, if that means anything. I have a Taurus snubbie that I have shot and gotten clover leafs at 15 yds with it. My Taurus 94 in 22lr is a pretty good revolver. It's 4" which makes it quite handy. Accuracy is decent, but I have only shot Federal .22lr through it so far. I got the revolver for shooting matches where I am. It's speed shooting at 5-15yds at metal targets that are 8". No problem hitting them,BUT the trigger is quite hard double action. I did a home gunsmith job and cut 2 coils off each spring and it's much better! It's still reliable, never misfires. I'd buy one again.
 
I used to shoot a nickel HR 930 swing out until the cylinder rod holder separated from the crane. It was bought in 1973 for my baby doll. We used it to kill "wild and vicious" cans at the local dump while in college. Later I used it to get the need to burn powder out of my system and warm me up for serious center fire shooting at each range session. Cheaper that way! Anyway I went about year, before I found a used ss 22lr Tarus 94 with a 5"barrel (not including cylinder, 6 5/8 including cylinder). I was told it was only used in ccw claases and only had 400 rounds fired through it. I paid $ 300 out the door. It has been a great pistol. True to its history, it has also put two more women through ccw class. It has been and will eat the bulls eye out at 25 yards. I really wanted a Smith K22, but at $ 1000, I'm happy with my purchase. Buy it.!
 
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