Well, they used to be.
I have a Taurus revolver and it's fine. Like has been said above, it is not a shining example of flawless craftsmanship, but that's not what they were going for. Mine is a police trade in 4" .38 Special that I paid $200 for. For that gun at that price, it was worth it.
But now you see threads where people are asking if they should buy a particular Taurus revolver for $900 or something like that. That's where they lose me.
It's like buying tools at Harbor Freight. If you don't want to spend a lot of money and need to get the job done, it will work fine.
But the prices have been going up with Taurus. If Harbor Freight tools cost what Snap On or MAC costs, no one would buy them. I feel like Taurus is moving that direction.
Inflation, rising labor costs, and rising material costs is causing EVERYTHING TO BECOME MORE EXPENSIVE.
I still think anything over $300 for a bog-standard S&W Model 642 is too much. Yet they go for more than that these days. Heck, used run-of-the-mill S&W Model 10s are $500-$600 guns these days.
Look at Ruger GP100s, they're in the $700 price range online. And that's before you add shipping, FFL transfer fee, background check fee (some states add that), and sales tax. To me, a GP100 is a $400-$450 gun because prior to all the craziness for the last decade. That's what they've been priced at..
Yes, Taurus is rising their prices. But so is everyone else. With the dollar being weaker, overall, guns are staying the same in the pricing hierarchy.
Also, Taurus is rising their prices for another reason. The buying public perceives a higher sticker price to mean higher quality. I'll give you a great example. Back in the 1980s when HK released the P7 to compete against the Beretta 92, the P7 was actually priced lower than the 92. They didn't sell. So, HK raised the price and labeled it as being a luxury quality item and suddenly, the gun sold.
Look at foreign car manufacturers too. Hyundai used to be a basic 4-banger econo-box sedan. Nothing fancy, nothing special. Just a low-tier car for folks. Now, they have a luxury brand, are making sports cars, and their base brand is far more expensive and viewed as a quality product.
Taurus is one of the largest firearm manufacturers in the globe. Outside of the US, they're viewed in better regard. My contacts in South Africa love 'em because they're reliable and cheaper than GLOCKs, Beretta, CZ, S&W, etc...
As for the Executive Grade line. They took a standard stainless 856, gave it a satin bead-blast finish, had Altamont make some fancy (useless) stocks for it, had the laser engrave a different logo on it, and throw it in a fancy package.
People will buy it and are buying it.
But inside, it is a bog-standard 3" Model 856.
revolverguy.com
