Taurus or S&W

[Lupinus]

So I have been thinking on it and might go for a revolver instead of an auto loader like origionaly planned. I don't want a huge revolver so I am thinking something in the mid size range or maybe a snub nose if I see something that catchs my eye at a price.

As for caliber I was thinking .357 magnum but am open to suggestions. I want a caliber I can go to the range and enjoy shooting as well as being a good self defense ammo.

But then the subject that gave this thread it name....Taurus or S&W for the company?

 

[Moonclip]

As it may be your only 357mag and as 357 revolvers are versatile and no one really neeed more than one or two though I am a hypocrit and have many, I'd go for quality and durability and get a L frame S&W.

And why not a Ruger? A GP100 is good and another choice if you don't mind used is a Ruger speed/security/service six or some sort. Smaller size than the GP100 but still durable. Taurus does have the lifetime warranty but Ruger is very good about fixing their guns. In fact, the Ruger service dept for the six series guns I mentioned is suppose to be one guy in one small room and over 1 million were made.

He must be like the maytag repairman!

 

[f4t9r]

Taurus or S&W is what you are thinking.
I will vote S&W If you were to think about another option (Ruger GP100) and one of my favs Colt pyhon ,those might be to big for what you want

 

[bearmgc]

Given the 2 choices, I'd go with S&W, if its going to be your only .357. If you decide to sell it sometime down the road, it will hold its value better than a Taurus.

 

[Marshall]

A S&W 686 in 5" or 6" or, a 6" GP-100 from Ruger would be my choice for a .357 Mag range gun.

 

[deadin]

Why buy a copy when you can have the real thing?

Dean

 

[308win]

Unless you are a masochist, you do not want a 'snub' in .357.

 

[Lupinus]

win-

I prefer being the sadist personally

 

[ajax]

I'd go with the S&W 686 w/4in barrel. Good all around pistol.

 

[MNgoldenbear]

I'm with 308win on this one. If you want to ENJOY shooting it for long sessions at the range, a snub is probably not the best choice. My first firearm was a 6" S&W 686. I think the 4" is a better option for most, but I started out shooting IPSC with it, and the extra weight helped in recovery time. I shoot a Taurus 38 snub for grins, and have shot it in "backup" in PPC, but it's not my favorite. Nothing wrong with a Taurus, but I think the Smiths are a nicer feeling gun, very accurate, and easier to find someone who is familiar enough at working on them if you want something "tweaked". Didn't care for the two-stage feel of the Colts, but others really like that.

When I was shopping around for my first pistol, I was set on an auto. I tried out every rental auto that I thought I might be interested in -- many of which are very nice guns. Though I now own many of those, there was just something more solid about the feel of a DA revolver. (Not being pelted by your own empties in stalls at indoor ranges was a plus too!)

 

[sfhogman]

After just returning from an evening spent shooting my Smith 620, I would have to say, ahem, GO FOR A SMITH! I love my GP100 but that Smith & Wesson never fails to make me look better than I really am.

My 2c,
Jeff

 

[pbhome71]

I compared my Taurus Tracker with my friend Smith 19. The Smith has much better trigger in both single- and double-action.

The Tracker's trigger improved over time, though.

-Pat

 

[rockstar.esq]

Loads of guys whine about the abuse of a .357 mag snubbie. If you're willing to drop a round, you could consider a bulldog style in .44spl.

As for the long lamented S&W vs. Taurus. If you buy intending to sell, buy S&W if you buy intending to shoot buy Taurus. Believe it or not there are guys who pay extra for a gun that they don't intend to shoot based on the belief that "it's the best defense gun availible"!!! I don't pretend to be a collector, I am a shooter through and through. The Taurus triggers by and large are noticiable superior to their S&W counterparts. Additionally, Taurus has a forever warranty. You could say that the only "car " is a Lincoln and a Mercury is just a "copy". Truth is Taurus and S&W were more the same than different not too long ago. Sad to say, I think that if the S&W is supposed to be worth more they should reconcile their 40 grit trigger mechanisms. This seems to be very prevalent in the scandium framed guns. Unacceptable for the price and the purpose.

 

[jlh26oo]

Loads of guys whine about the abuse of a .357 mag snubbie. If you're willing to drop a round, you could consider a bulldog style in .44spl.

As for the long lamented S&W vs. Taurus. If you buy intending to sell, buy S&W if you buy intending to shoot buy Taurus. Believe it or not there are guys who pay extra for a gun that they don't intend to shoot based on the belief that "it's the best defense gun availible"!!! I don't pretend to be a collector, I am a shooter through and through. The Taurus triggers by and large are noticiable superior to their S&W counterparts. Additionally, Taurus has a forever warranty. You could say that the only "car " is a Lincoln and a Mercury is just a "copy". Truth is Taurus and S&W were more the same than different not too long ago. Sad to say, I think that if the S&W is supposed to be worth more they should reconcile their 40 grit trigger mechanisms. This seems to be very prevalent in the scandium framed guns. Unacceptable for the price and the purpose.

Granted the Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, and Town Car are all on the same platform. But I don't think Lincoln has a version of the tracer/escort.

Taurus trigger "noticiable <sic> superior" to s&w? I've heard of people saying just as good, but that's the first I've heard this endorsement. Glad you like them though.

 

[Moonclip]

Wow, the Taurus DA trigger is better than a S&W DA revolver? I never have shot a S&W newer than circa 2001 though so I have no idea if a newer Taurus is better but somehow I doubt it.

 

[mnrivrat]

Wow, the Taurus DA trigger is better than a S&W DA revolver? I never have shot a S&W newer than circa 2001 though so I have no idea if a newer Taurus is better but somehow I doubt it.

I think the reality is both company's can put out a good or a bad trigger pull.

Now based on recent purchases amoung myself and friends of two Taurus Trackers in .44 mag and a S&W 329 in .44 mag , the Trackers win for trigger pull. That is a pretty small sample and the reality is your purchase may vary in quality wether it be from Taurus or S&W .

I happen to be very fond so far of my Tracker .44 and it is a joy to shoot with .44 Spl loads . Somewhere around the size of a K to L frame S&W I don't hesitate to recommend the Taurus.

Would I take one instead of a S&W ? Not realy - I like the S&W guns as well. I think whichever floats your boat and your pocket book is just fine .

 

[cz75bdneos22]

i have a taurus in .44 spl snub..
it is my favorite/fun gun.
i don't likr the fact that it doesn't fully eject the spent cases. the rod seems built too short.
i don't mins too much as it only gets used at the range, but it sure is a pain to pick out the cases one by one...i use mainly CCI blazer, but have experienced the same with other brands..so i know it;'s not ammo's fault.

 

[MNgoldenbear]

(1) re: rockstar.esq -- Ah, the Taurus/S&W debate continues! I don't know that anyone was "whining" about snubbies. However, when your idea of "a quick trip to the range" is 200 to 500 rounds, and an all day session could burn significantly more than that, a slightly heavier frame is a little more enjoyable. Also, nothing wrong with a Taurus. I won a PPC "backup" match with a model 85. They're not bad guns at all, for the money. (Well, actually I won my 85 at a match, so it's a GREAT gun for the price! ) I have also not bought a new S&W for several years, so I don't know about the quality control of current production. I do prefer the trigger of my S&W to my Taurus -- granted, the Taurus gets fewer rounds through it than the S&W, but it's still gritty. Add that to the generally inferior sights (not unusable, just not as good) on most snubbies, and I'd still have to give the nod to the S&W 4" L or K frames. I understand that the typical Ruger's trigger smooths out after enough rounds -- good for marksmanship to get the round count up anyway.
(2) re:mnrivrat -- Definitely. Even buying from a company with good QC simply increases the probability of purchasing a suitable product, but doesn't guarantee it. There are good and bad samples of product from each company. This is also related to why we have to develop loads/select ammunition lots for each firearm individually. Even guns of the same model are not identical. If they were, there should be one common best ammo for each model.
(3) re: cz75bdneos22 -- Yeah, the ejector rod on most snubbies is too short to guarantee clearing the cases. It's simply a result of the barrel being so short that you'd have to extend the ejector rod out beyond it. This would expose the rod to more damage, and make the product look really odd as well. Most of the time, you can still get positive ejection by pointing the muzzle upward and SHARPLY rapping the ejector rod downward. Works a lot better than the guy I saw trying to teach his son to shoot -- he was swinging out the cylinder and banging the rear of the grip on the shooting bench! He didn't realize that you push the ejector rod! You said you had the same extraction problem with other ammo, but I have noticed Blazer ammo often seems to stick a bit more.

 

[Mad Chemist]

i have a taurus in .44 spl snub..
it is my favorite/fun gun.
i don't likr the fact that it doesn't fully eject the spent cases. the rod seems built too short.
i don't mins too much as it only gets used at the range, but it sure is a pain to pick out the cases one by one...i use mainly CCI blazer, but have experienced the same with other brands..so i know it;'s not ammo's fault.

I have an older Taurus .44spl snubby, it ejects brassjust fine. I have never been able to get CCI Aluminum cases to eject reliably.

 

[Quantrill]

Go for the S&W. Quantrill

 

[jeanfor]

Before getting my 44 mag 8" handgun. I tried both the SW 629 8 3/8" and the Taurus 44 ss8 (8 3/8"). I liked the Taurus better. Besides it is a beautifully crafted gun at a lower cost. I am also getting a 44 mag 4" Taurus...

 

[kannonfyre]

Taurus endurance limits?

I've heard a rumour that S&W has recently started buying revolver frames from taurus and then refinishing/modifying them for sale as S&W products. Can anyone validate this? If this is true then there will be little difference between buying an S&W or taurus and hance little incentive for forking out extra $$ simply for better cosmetic finish.

On another more importance issue, can any taurus owners here testify as to the endurance/reliability of their medium/compact/large frame revolvers. Have any of y'all passed the 5000 round milestone on your taurus guns and are them still shootin' fine? Has accuracy suffered or any parts worn out? Can a .38 special taurus revolver take the strain of a 500rd/month +P diet?

 

[mnrivrat]

I doubt very much that S&W would be buying anything from Taurus . It wouldn't be practical on any level .

As to the endurance/reliability issue , that is a very good question. I haven't seen any comparitive data between these two companies regarding that issue.

I've owned a number of S&W revolvers over the years but only shot in excess of 5000 rounds through my model 19 . I would hope that the extra $ one pays for the S&W's would indicate that they stand up better. If not, then there is no reason to buy them over a Taurus.

 

[skag7]

I have a 340pd for CCW , a GP100. if I was going to buy a 357 MAG for target shooting it woukd be the S&W 686 4" barrel, the S&W are just a far better smoother gun than the tauras or rugers, TMO