Taurus 66 a nice surprise

[BullRunBear]

A LGS had a Taurus 66 357 mag, adjustable sights, blued, 4"barrel, 6 shot. It was made in 1989. It was listed as used but looked like it had spent the whole time in a safe: no signs of wear at all, tight lock up, pristine bore and chambers. If it was fired it couldn't have been much. I know some people knock Taurus but for $225 I thought it was worth a try. And I'm not likely to find an S&W K frame near that price.

This thing is accurate! With my forearms braced I was able to keep some groups under two inches at 25 yards. That was single action and slow fire. A couple of three shot groups touched. Clearly I was having a good day but the gun works well. It really liked the 148 gr. WCs and some 132 gr. PMC commercial ammo in 38 Special. The commercial 357s weren't as accurate for me but handloads should make an improvement. The 357 recoil is okay but I'll save most of them for my Redhawk and Contender. This Taurus is so comfortable with 38 specials I'll stick with them.

This thing was as accurate as my K-38 in this brief session. The double action trigger is nowhere near as good as the K-38 (the best DA trigger I've ever used) but it's still decent. The single action trigger is light and crisp.

Anybody else have such experience with Taurus revolvers? Like I said, after all the negatives I've heard, this was a heck of a nice surprise.

Happy New Year! (I hope.)

Jeff

 

[Haywood]

A 4" Taurus 66 was my first 357. It's a great gun. Never had a problem.

 

[Kiln]

Sounds like you did good. Taurus normally covers even second or third owners under warranty but I'm not sure about a gun that old.

Either way I think that both Rossi and Taurus make decent revolvers, regardless of what the web says.

 

[Stumpknocker]

I have the 66 4 inch in stainless. It's a pleasure to shoot, and the trigger is smooth in DA and SA. I think you got yourself a great pistol, and hope you enjoy itt!

 

[CajunBass]

I had one of those, but the seven shot version. Good gun. I wish I still had it. Good looking gun. Shot great.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

A Taurus Model 66 (blue, 4" barrel) was my first-ever firearm.

I've been a fan of Taurus firearms ever since.

 

[Ifishsum]

First handgun I ever bought was a 4 inch blued 689 - still have it and it still shoots very well. I've bought 3 other Taurus handguns since, two revolvers and a pistol.

 

[dusty14u]

My first revolver was/is a 6" stainless Model66 with a 7rd cylinder. It has been one of my best guns. Taurus gets a bad rap but I believe the M66 has the fewest complaints I have read about. IMO they are the best gun produced by Taurus. The trigger on mine is much better than my buddies GP100.

 

[MedWheeler]

The M66, also in blued, with the four-inch barrel, was my first handgun, purchased new in 1987. I still own it. Only issue I had with it is that the sleeve on the ejector rod would sometimes come loose and extend the length of the rod. This will lock the cylinder shut until you reach in there with something and push the end of the rod in to release it.
It's an easy fix by using Loc-Tite on the sleeve threads.
My gun is otherwise solid and has been a good performer. Even carried it for a couple of months as a duty sidearm (loaded with the agency's issued .38 Special ammo.) I stopped that practice because I didn't want that gun being seized in the event I actually had to shoot someone. Made sense to let the department's gun ride that role.
Glad you like yours.