Taurus Quality

[birddog]

I have a snubbie .357 (Taurus 651B) which has become one of my top two CCW weapons. I also have a M-44 .44mag revolver which has been put through hell and back while deer hunting (and got me my biggest buck ever). Both have been used, abused, and are two of the favorite handguns I own. They've been flawless and they are NO safe-queens. Hundreds of rounds through the snubbie, thousands through the M-44. No glitches of any kind and the blueing has held up admirably, too.

 

[Seancass]

looks like i wont be buying a taurus snub, but that Tracker 357 is screaming at me every day.

 

[P. Plainsman]

I have a stainless 85UL Ultra-Lite. 300 rounds to date with no hassles. It's a solid gun with a rather decent DA trigger -- better than on current S&W J-frames. It carries discreetly in a pocket holster. It likes the Remington lead SWC +P hollowpoint carry load that I prefer.

Not perfect, though. The rear sight trough is cut slightly crooked, yielding a sight picture that I had to get used to.

Taurus snubbies can be a good choice, but check them out carefully. Do the THR revolver checkout, and add an overall "fit and finish" check to the procedure.

I have little experience with other Taurus revolvers. I wish I could find an unported 445 (compact 5-shot .44 Special) like they made a few years ago.

 

[hankdatank1362]

I own an M85 stainless in .38 special and a 24/7 Pro in 9mm (autochucker, obviousley).

Both have proven to be 100% reliable. They're the only two firearms I own (blot actions and shotguns excluded) that I can say that about.

The 85's trigger is like butter. Better than butter. Silk. A supermodel wrapped in silk. That's the trigger. Maybe I just got lucky.

(BTW, the 24/7's SA trigger with restrike BLOWS in my opinion, so I wouldn't be afraid to tell you if there was a problem with the M85.)

 

[P. Plainsman]

DA trigger quality is -- on average -- a valid selling point for Taurus snubbies over S&Ws. (My Taurus 85UL has a gorgeous single action trigger; I forgot to mention that. Again, it is better than on any recent S&W snub J I've tried. A light, crisp SA trigger is not essential for a carry snubby, but nice.)

Wish S&W would do something to improve the pulls on all those 642s and 637s. Still, they sell.

 

[MCgunner]

The 85's trigger is like butter. Better than butter. Silk. A supermodel wrapped in silk. That's the trigger. Maybe I just got lucky.

Ain't luck. Mine's fantastic, too. Mine's an ultra lite, by the way. I've had it around 10 years now, fired probably 5-6K rounds through it. It's still going strong. I carry and rely on it for self defense.

 

[bluetopper]

I have a model 905, 9mm revolver. It's built on the same frame and I'm sure has the same internals as a model 85, and it's got the sweetest factory trigger I've ever pulled on a wheelgun.

I also have two model 455 Trackers 6" & 2" and I couldn't ask for better performance they have given me.

 

[Gator]

I recently bought my first Taurus....its at the gunsmith's getting fixed
It looks nice and shoots fine, but getting the fired cases out requires a mallet!

 

[weregunner]

Have 4 Taurus revolvers. Models 65,66,85CH, and a newer 94.

The first three are now 2 decades old and are running smoothly.Cylinder lockups are tight, no cylinder play,no end shake, cylinder gap is still as small as it ever was. Fit and function are still very good. Thousands of .38 Special and .357 magnum rounds have gone down range with no reduction in accuracy.
At the Taurus forum there are many revolver aficianados who will back this up with similar experience. For that matter there has been at this forum and TFL forum as well.

 

[LAK Supply]

I bought a Tracker 4" 357 for my parents a while back.... they don't shoot much and wouldn't buy anything other than the .22 they already have if I didn't do it for them. I figured they need at least a SHTF gun that's a little more potent than a .22 so the search began.....

After looking around at a lot of guns I settled on the Taurus. It needed to be simple (revolver) so my mom could use it easily and not have to worry about a clearing a jam or dealing with a hard primer or anything like that. It also needed to be relatively light so she could handle it well. Had to fit her hands as well as my dad's....

Tracker:

4" and factory porting - light weight for easy handling along with a ported barrel so the recoil isn't bad. I figured that if weight was a factor a longer barrel (less rise with the weight) was out of the question. The factory porting solved this.

7 round capacity.

Relatively inexpensive since it will likely sit in the dresser drawer unless something out of the ordinary happens.... except for the very occasional trip to the range.

All of the versatility of 38 and 357.... along with ammo availability.

Action is good with a crisp clean trigger.

Size is appropriate for both parents (5' 110 lb mother and 6' 190 lb father)...... grip fits both of their hands well. Probably the biggest problem I encountered while shopping.... finding a 357 that wasn't too heavy, didn't kick too much, and fit both people was a chore.

Based on these requirements I got the the M627 Tracker. It's been a good gun thus far, and apart from it not being especially accurate (it is a 4" though...) it seems to fit the bill. I stayed away from anything in the light-weight series and anything larger than the Tracker .44 because I've heard the function is hit and miss....

Just my $.02..

 

[newman]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all the replies. I think I'll play it safe and go with a GP100... probably the GP141.

 

[10-Ring]

I've owned 2 Tauri, sold one and have kept my 22 wheelgun. It is the last Taurus anything that I own...I'm just not sold on their quality

 

[weregunner]

There are Ruger GP100 owners at the Taurus forum. Ruger and Taurus seem to go hand in hand. One of the longer threads is about who has Ruger products.

Can't go wrong either way.

 

[Master Blaster]

I have seen the Gunsmith wont work on them her is why in a couple taurus threads now:

Here is what he actually says about them:

Why I don't work on Taurus revolvers
Monday, July 03, 2006 Filed in: Revolvers, Gunsmithing, Personal opinions

Occasionally someone will call or email: "I'm looking for a good gunsmith - do you work on Taurus revolvers?" When I politely inform the person that I do not, the result is often indignance, as if to say "how dare you decline to work on my fine possession! You have insulted me, suh!" (Delivered in the best antebellum manner, of course.)

Taurus revolvers possess many positive traits: they're available in a wide variety of calibers and configurations, they are usually fairly reliable, and they are priced right. Unfortunately, it's that last bit that gets me into trouble.

You see, the most expensive part of building a handgun, particularly a revolver, is the finishing work. You can't automate the polishing process, and Taurus revolvers are generally very well polished and finished. Given their low price point, this means that finishing is a large percentage of the purchase price. This means that they have to skimp somewhere, and the place that they do is in parts fitting.

Taurus guns have parts that simply do not fit as tightly - as precisely - as some other manufacturers. Yes, you can do a shadetree action job, maybe swap springs, and improve the action - but it will never be truly 'great' without rebuilding the gun.

I've purchased a couple of Taurus revolvers (Taurii??) to work on, to evaluate. While I like the guns (the now-discontinued model 445 is really neat, and I carry it occasionally) the effort to put a truly world-class action job on one results in huge labor costs.
Look at it this way: if you want a top-end wheelgun you have to pay for fitting parts at some point. With a Taurus, it doesn't happen at the time of purchase; it can only occur in the gunsmith's hands, which drives the cost up considerably. Like the folks who commissioned custom Norinco 1911s about a decade ago, what you end up with is a really expensive $300 gun that no one wants to buy.

I'd rather spend my time working on revolvers that will actually see an increase in value after quality work has been done, and I suspect their owners are the same way. That just won't happen with a Taurus, because after all is said and done it'll still just be a Taurus.

-=[ Grant ]=-

 

[righteousbarbarian]

I have a taurus 617 and i love it. i had to tighten the screw that holds the cylinder release on, but besides that i've had zero technical problems with it. my only complaint is the 10 lb trigger when I use it in DA. i might get that worked on, but then again maybe not because it is my carry gun and i like that it only goes off when i want it to.

 

[Gator]

Ruger and Taurus seem to go hand in hand.

Blasphemy!!!

 

[GRIZ22]

I own 5 Taurus handguns made between 1988 and 2006. They all have been shot a lot (my PT 99 wins the prize at well over 10,000 rds). The only problems I've had are the rear sight screw loosened on my 669 came off when banging off magums (I should have noticed this it has happened to me with S&Ws) and the leaf on the PT99 sight broke. Both of these events happened when the guns were over 10 years old. Both were fixed by Taurus with about a 2 week turnaround.

I would never buy any gun that "needs work on it" when new.

There are many people who's opinion I value say Taurus is junk. You can't prove this by me. I would not hesitate to buy a Taurus if they had something I wanted.

If this durability isn't good enough go Ruger (I have few of those too).

 

[Thor Bloodax]

Taurus PT92

Shot thousands of rounds through my blue PT92 AF. Trustworthy. Accurate. Dependable. One of my carry guns.

Old Tom

 

[Rotorflyr]

There are three Tauri in my family,

My Stainless 627 Tracker .357 (bought used) 500rds or so mixed .357 & .38spl, .38spl +p by me (unknown # by previous owner/s)

My Stainless 651 Protector .357 (bought used) round count same as above

Mrs.Flyrs early model PT111 (bought new), about 400-500rds thru it

The revolver triggers were smooth as silk in both DA and SA (better then the comprable new & used S&W's I looked at when I was wheelie shopping)
The DAO trigger on the PT111 is ok, a little on the heavy side but I've shot worse. All three are accurate.

Zero problems with any of them

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Taurus auto or wheel gun if the mood struck me, and there are a few for sure on my "waiting list"

 

[michiganfan]

My Tracker 44 had to go back to Taurus but it came back to me "born again" and 100 per cent.

 

[tgfang]

I'll flog the deceased horse a little as well.

I have had five Taurus revolvers. Four were purchased new; two of those had problems. The other two new ones and the used revolver worked well. The 905 that I owned had a nice trigger and very nice finish.

Tom

 

[zeke]

A number of years ago won a Taurus 608( ? ) 357 with 8 round cylinder and 6 in barrel. fairly decent trigger pull and pretty accurate, but the barrel (front site) wasn't properly aligned and had to crank the rear site way over. Ended up trading it in.

A high polished stainless DA only Taurus 445 sat at a local sportin goods store for about 2 years. Often considered buying it, because a 2 in 44 special is very tempting. Just couldn't wrap my eyes around the "high polish". However our range had a family range day 2 weeks ago and a guy showed up with the mentioned 445. He couldn't hit squat with it, but let me try it. Did quite well with it at 15 yards, and offered to buy it from him. Several days later he stopped buy and sold it to me.

Have shot it several time since, decent revolver for the price, and it hasn't fallen apart. Took it apart yesterday and rounded over the the sharp trigger edges, then polished the trigger. It would take some effort to really tune the trigger. It would appear to make a very adequate 44 special "belly" gun, but loses some velocity from that 2 in barrel.

Only bought this Taurus , because had the opportunity to try it first. Was at another local shop last week, and inquired about the 2 Taurus 38 sbnubs he had for sale. Turns out both of them had been back to Taurus for "fixin".

 

[Glockman17366]

I've had a number of Taurus revolvers over the years. I had problems with two (669 broke, cylinder rotated freely, Model 85 had a light strike problem).

I still own two (including the 85 that had the light strike problem...fixed by Taurus). I wish I had kept at least one (of the 3) stainless model 85's I had owned to complement my 85 Ultralight (aluminum frame, titanium cylinder and barrel shroud). Those little stainless 85's are fine guns, but are a bit heavy for pocket carry (which is how I carry my snubby).

I also own a 627 Tracker in stainless. This is one of the finest revolvers I have ever shot.

The revolvers I sold were to finance my next purchase which have also been Taurus revolvers.

All I can say is, they work fine. They're not, IMHO, "collectables". But for a working gun, you can't beat them.

 

[Bo]

Got a 650 SS, hasn't missed a lick yet. Great little gun. Usually carry my XD 45 or HK 45c but the Taurus fits in there now and then.

 

[New_geezer]

There is at least one gunsmith I know who won't work on them because their parts are not good.

http://www.grantcunningham.com/blog_...urus_work.html

Every time there's a thread about Taurus quality, someone will drag this link out thinking it slams shut the case against Taurus. Trouble is they don't really read what's being said.

Taurus is a good value in a revolver the same way a Corolla is a good value in cars. They are what they are and it isn't worth the money to try and upgrade them into something else because in the end they are still a Taurus or a Corolla. On the other hand for the money spent they are a good value and will give long service just as they are.

I own a Rossi 357, Rossi is owned by Taurus and is another brand that often gets slammed. This Rossi is not as heavy as my S&W mod 10, the DA trigger not as smooth. But it has been an accurate, trouble-free revolver I have no reservations depending on or recommending.

If you want a super-precise, custom gun, save up so you can spend the money and buy one. If you need a basic reliable gun Taurus or Rossi are good values.