" Did something happen recently? Did the basic lockworks get changed in the last five years or so? Wonder? "
It's sad, PapaG, but something happened. This is from the link in post 30 of the "Taurus Model 94" thread now on page 1 :
QUOTE
Heffron Firearm Classics
Charles City, Iowa 50616
(641)-330-9560
NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS
3/6/2011: TAURUS and THE STUFF I HATE TO DO: So; what do I hate doing? Well, weeding the garden is no fun. Probably my least favorite is moving snow. Last spring I purchased a skid loader for moving snow. I played with it all summer like a big Tonka Toy. It worked great. When we got our first snow in November, I drove the skid loader about 50 feet and it broke. I just got it back on Friday. Thank goodness for a nice neighbor North of me. But, the thing I really, really hate doing? Announcing a new service and then immediately pulling it. It makes me feel.......... bad!
THE STORY BEHIND IT? Well, Taurus. Through the years, I have received many, many requests from Taurus revolver owners wanting to know If I could tune their firearms. Based on some experience I had with them I always said "no". Then........ I researched this. I worked with a number of revolvers. Some we purchased, some were loaners. We came up with a system of tuning that offered great improvements. The revolvers we tuned showed great promise. This is why we offered the services. Keep in mind, this research was not based on 2 or 3 revolvers either. We worked on good number of them. I felt good about it. Ahem.........
Since marketing the services, we have received 22 revolvers for various levels of tuning. Out of these 22, only 4 were reasonably fit/built/finished from the factory. The other 18? Well, I really don't mean to be cruel, but the words "Paper Weight" or perhaps "Boat Anchor" come to mind. Where were these when we were researching? RRRRRR!!!!!
To get into further detail, please allow me to present the following list with issues found on many, many of these revolvers.
-Grossly oversized throats. Try like .035"+ oversized in some cases.
-Grossly oversized forcing cones. Same dimentional errors as the throats. In addition to this, FAR too deep. Like by...... .080"!
-Excessive endshake. So much so that firing pin impact pushes the cylinder into the rear of the barrel.
-Extremely loose cylinder lockup. If it wasn't for the oversized throats and forcing cone, there would be so much lead shaving one would swear it's a shotgun.
-Poorly fit crane latch. Poorly fit as in........ .100" or so of slop.
-Missing springs. Some of these revolvers actually are missing springs, right from the factory.
-Rough barrels. If I lapped them enough to really get them smooth, the rifling may actually be gone.
-Double Action shooting malfunctions. Such as binding, skipping cylinders and sometimes not moving at all.
Remember the 4 that were O.K.? Well, that is actually now 3 due to double action issues on a .22 Tracker in Kansas.
All of the Taurus revolvers HFC has serviced will have the HFC warranty honored. However, I have no choice but to discontinue service on Taurus revolvers. Our customers expect a certain level of performance. Research years ago revealed that tuning Taurus was a bad idea. Research months ago revealed that it could work. Recent reality has showed that this was NOT one of my brighter ideas.
I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience, but to maintain OUR quality assurance, this is the way it has to be.
Many years ago, I received The Gospel According To Roger (my Dad) which stated: "When it comes to revolvers you've got Colt, Smith & Wesson, Dan Wesson and Ruger. Everything else is just a noise-maker." To that list of the "good ones", I will add Freedom Arms and U.S.F.A., but how right he was; oh yes, he was.
Again, my apologies. I guess as always, we must stick with what works......consistently.
Have a great week everyone and easy does it. -Mike
END QIOTE