Taurus Repair Experience

[George Dickel]

I have a Taurus Model 44 in .44 Mag that I broke the cylinder stop plunger when I inadvertently dropped the cylinder and crane while taking it apart to clean. Broke the plunger and the spring found a black hole in my shop. Then I noticed that the firing pin had broken. I bought the gun a couple years ago used and have about 200 rounds through it and have always used snap caps when dry firing. Possibly the previous owner(s) had dry fired it without snap caps. Sent it in on 23 June 2020 and got it back today, 2 months and 9 days. About the time frame quoted when I called customer service. I had to pay $50 for shipping but for a free repair, that was my fault, on a used gun. I didn't feel cheated a bit.
The young lady at Taurus was very polite and easy to work with. I had to deal with Taurus CS twice before and was treated well. I had bought a pistol new and the firing pin retaining pin had come out. CS sent me a new one, took about 10 days but the new pin kept working out so CS asked me to send the pistol into them and they would look at it, shipping on their dime. A week later Taurus sent me a new pistol. Maybe it's my Sean Connery sounding voice that gets me the good treatment.

 

[Styx]

I expect to hear similar experienced in the future. They already stepped their game up and turned things around big time from where their pre PT111 G2 days. This is CS and warranty service is the last piece of the puzzle.

 

[FFGColorado]

Yup, pretty funny to hear internet cowboys about their tales of woe about lotsa of manufacturers..of ANYTHING...as in name one and you'll get goods and others from any and all. Me and my sons have owned 4 Taurus pistols and all have worked really well, one hickup..I had a Model 82..and it would jam some..couldn't squeeze the trigger, or cock the hammer..called Taurus..really nice guy suggested I take the plate off the sides, clean and lube..or send it to them and they will fix it BUT good CS all around. I did take the plate off, great video the guy sent me..fixed the issue..nice pistol and only $340 OTD.

BUT, VERY competitive market out there..Good CS is key...

 

[PapaG]

Glad to hear of improved CS. In ten years working at a LGS I had more than a few opportunities to see their service and at best it was spotty.
Always good to hear a success story.

 

[maxxhavoc]

I have had 2 experiences with Taurus CS. Both times the gun was fixed.
Taurus Spectrum - Light primer strikes from Factory. They paid shipping, Fixed it, back in my hands in 1.5 weeks.
905 Revolver - cylinders too tight, would not take all 9mm ammo. Would not eject well. They said 4-5 weeks, it took 6. They replaced the cylinder and it works like it should.

I never had to wait on the phone more than 15 minutes. Not the best CS I have seen, but better than some others for sure.

 

[bannockburn]

George Dickel

Nice that things worked out so well for you and even nicer to see the President and CEO is on board with improving things at Taurus.

 

[buba68]

View attachment 941480

I expect to hear similar experienced in the future. They already stepped their game up and turned things around big time from where their pre PT111 G2 days. This is CS and warranty service is the last piece of the puzzle.

They are talking the talk lets see if they walk the walk. Talk is cheap, time will tell hope they come through on their promise.

 

[Lennyjoe]

About 12 years ago I had a PT100 and the slide developed a hairline crack in it. I didn’t notice it when I purchased it used from a pawn shop the year before. Contacted Taurus, shipped it to them and within a week had a brand new one sent back to me. That’s the only experience I’ve had with them and own 4 of their guns now with no issues.

 

[Hookeye]

And the shop I worked for sold Taurus.
We had a spiral notebook of all the stuff sent back.
Many times items went into limbo, would just show up 6-9 months later.
Often the repair was not done, or if it was, then something else was a problem.
Not joking.
Its not internet BS.

If one has had good luck w Taurus, swell.

There were problems, and coming from a manufacturing background, and knowing people...........after using the nonsense filter, yeah........
Taurus had a lot of problems.

Different guns from diff distributors, meaning different time periods.
It wasn't just a bad run.

They had QC, design and manufacturing issues.
But by golly they were ISO certified (if you understand that scam, ISO certification doesn't mean diddly).
All ISO cert does is say some folks checked what you wrote and saw that you did what you said.
It does NOT mean there is quality built in.

Might help, this supposed accountability. But ISO aint the customer.
And it is THEY that will hold a company accountable (rightly or wrongly).

I know some old Taurus guns that got shot a lot and never had a problem.
Also know of many that were problematic.
Most of them had issues when new/fairly new.

Also know a lof of former Taurus customers.

The Beretta service auto clones seemed to have the better rep.

 

[Hookeye]

So...............even if Taurus has changed for the better, I wouldn't let my mother in law own a Taurus.
And she's French LOL.

But I will pass along a positive Taurus experience.

A customer was new to reloading. Blew a Judge up on the range. Swore he didn't flub it.
But eventually admitted he proly did.

Taurus wanted to inspect it. Sent it in.
Heard nothing for months and then one day a brand new one shows up.
Replaced for free.
100% owners fault.

And they replaced it.

That was outstanding.They took care of a customer that didn't deserve it.


But then I knew a guy that got new Smith and Ruger .44 mags way back for having an oops.

 

[Hookeye]

Stuff happens.
I'll let any manufacturer have a chance (singular) at making things right.
Also think it best to never run out and get a new model of anything.

Still not satisfied to dump the money on a new Python.

 

[Styx]

They are talking the talk lets see if they walk the walk. Talk is cheap, time will tell hope they come through on their promise.

Well they were on the verge of going bankrupt 8 years ago, most of their guns were unreliable crap, and then they promised to turn that around. Now they're very profitable, are what I believe is the second or third largest importer of small arms into the U.S., and they're in the top five for the largest firearm manufacturers in the world. I hope they can do on the CS level what they've been able to accomplish with the G2s, G3, etc. I believe they will.

 

[Styx]

And the shop I worked for sold Taurus.
We had a spiral notebook of all the stuff sent back.
Many times items went into limbo, would just show up 6-9 months later.
Often the repair was not done, or if it was, then something else was a problem.
Not joking.
Its not internet BS.

If one has had good luck w Taurus, swell.

There were problems, and coming from a manufacturing background, and knowing people...........after using the nonsense filter, yeah........
Taurus had a lot of problems.

Different guns from diff distributors, meaning different time periods.
It wasn't just a bad run.

They had QC, design and manufacturing issues.
But by golly they were ISO certified (if you understand that scam, ISO certification doesn't mean diddly).
All ISO cert does is say some folks checked what you wrote and saw that you did what you said.
It does NOT mean there is quality built in.

Might help, this supposed accountability. But ISO aint the customer.
And it is THEY that will hold a company accountable (rightly or wrongly).

I know some old Taurus guns that got shot a lot and never had a problem.
Also know of many that were problematic.
Most of them had issues when new/fairly new.

Also know a lof of former Taurus customers.

The Beretta service auto clones seemed to have the better rep.

What models where being sent back? Still have the spiral notebook?

 

[PapaG]

What models where being sent back? Still have the spiral notebook?

In my case at our shop, several Judges with vastly oversize cylinder throats, ten or more small frame .22 revolvers that wouldn't lock up, some 85s that King Kong couldn't fire da. Seldom a problem with autos (recall excluded) or the tracker and larger revolvers.

 

[Styx]

In my case at our shop, several Judges with vastly oversize cylinder throats, ten or more small frame .22 revolvers that wouldn't lock up, some 85s that King Kong couldn't fire da. Seldom a problem with autos (recall excluded) or the tracker and larger revolvers.

This was close to over a decade ago correct?

 

[PapaG]

This was close to over a decade ago correct?

Yes. Surprisingly, they weren't #1 on the repair hit parade. That honor went to a little Sig 22, the Mosquito.

 

[Styx]

Yes. Surprisingly, they weren't #1 on the repair but parade. That honor went to a little Sig 22, the Mosquito.

I figured that. Taurus has been around for over 80 years. It's no secret that they had issues in the past. Seems common for people who had an issue with Taurus firearms or customer service 10, 20, 30+ years ago to have shared that experience repeatedly though out the years to the present day. As if it just happened yesterday, is still an ongoing wide spread issue, and current up to date information. This leads readers to believe it is current information. I believe what Taurus is putting out now and their CS have improved since then, and they do not have anywhere near the same issues they had approximately over a decade ago.

I believe Hookeye is guilty of doing the same thing and has been doing so whenever a Taurus thread has come up on this forum and others for years. I think you been sharing the same experience that you shared in this thread literally dozens of times going as far back as 2010 around the time you first became a member here.

 

[PapaG]

I figured that. Taurus has been around for over 80 years. It's no secret that they had issues in the past. Seems common for people who had an issue with Taurus firearms or customer service 10, 20, 30+ years ago to have shared that experience repeatedly though out the years to the present day. As if it just happened yesterday, is still an ongoing wide spread issue, and current up to date information. This leads readers to believe it is current information. I believe what Taurus is putting out now and their CS have improved since then, and they do not have anywhere near the same issues they had approximately over a decade ago.

I believe Hookeye is guilty of doing the same thing and has been doing so whenever a Taurus thread has come up on this forum and others for years. I think you been sharing the same experience that you shared in this thread literally dozens of times going as far back as 2010 around the time you first became a member here.

Please go back to my first comment on this thread. Positive. Again, I am glad that they are getting/have gotten their act together.

 

[TTv2]

Stuff happens.
I'll let any manufacturer have a chance (singular) at making things right.
Also think it best to never run out and get a new model of anything.

Still not satisfied to dump the money on a new Python.

I made the mistake of getting the .32 Mag Charter Professional within the first year of its release. Got burned good on that one. Last time I'll ever buy a fixed sight revolver with a fiber optic front sight that can't be filed down.

 

[TTv2]

In my case at our shop, several Judges with vastly oversize cylinder throats, ten or more small frame .22 revolvers that wouldn't lock up, some 85s that King Kong couldn't fire da. Seldom a problem with autos (recall excluded) or the tracker and larger revolvers.

All the Judges have throats sized way big. Not sure why, my guess is it has something to do with it being a .410 chamber, maybe because the .45 Colt after going down that long chamber doesn't have a lot of pressure behind it and a tighter throat would cause squib issues. Whatever the case, I just don't shoot lead bullets in the Judge. Berry's .45 bullets work great, I would like to try their hollow base bullets and see if they improve accuracy any. XTP's and Gold Dots are available, there are options for shooting .45 Colt in the Judge.

 

[TTv2]

I figured that. Taurus has been around for over 80 years. It's no secret that they had issues in the past. Seems common for people who had an issue with Taurus firearms or customer service 10, 20, 30+ years ago to have shared that experience repeatedly though out the years to the present day. As if it just happened yesterday, is still an ongoing wide spread issue, and current up to date information. This leads readers to believe it is current information. I believe what Taurus is putting out now and their CS have improved since then, and they do not have anywhere near the same issues they had approximately over a decade ago.

I believe Hookeye is guilty of doing the same thing and has been doing so whenever a Taurus thread has come up on this forum and others for years. I think you been sharing the same experience that you shared in this thread literally dozens of times going as far back as 2010 around the time you first became a member here.

I got the sense that's what happened with Pietta. I read thread after thread of people complaining of low quality Pietta cap and ball revolvers and they always had a common theme to them: they were bought 30 years ago. I've no doubts the Pietta's of the 80s and 90s were sketchy, but Pietta now is fine. Had one issue where I returned an 1851 Navy due to a poor fitting loading lever (the latch under the barrel was milled too far towards the muzzle leading to a loose fit) and the replacement had no issues.

It's like, what was 30 years ago doesn't mean that's what is today. I'll admit I'm a bit guilty of it too, I bought a Marlin .22 about six years ago and the thing shoots 4 MOA at 50 yards with everything. Poor quality barrel, poor CS, and so long as Marlin is tied with Remington I'll never have any interest in buying another. With Henry starting to jump into gated lever actions, there's little reason to bother with Marlin now and so long as Anthony Imperato isn't pushing daises, Henry quality is going to stay high for the next 20 to 30 years and they're going to continue to add new lines over that period of time.

 

[TTv2]

And the shop I worked for sold Taurus.
We had a spiral notebook of all the stuff sent back.
Many times items went into limbo, would just show up 6-9 months later.
Often the repair was not done, or if it was, then something else was a problem.
Not joking.
Its not internet BS.

If one has had good luck w Taurus, swell.

There were problems, and coming from a manufacturing background, and knowing people...........after using the nonsense filter, yeah........
Taurus had a lot of problems.

Different guns from diff distributors, meaning different time periods.
It wasn't just a bad run.

They had QC, design and manufacturing issues.
But by golly they were ISO certified (if you understand that scam, ISO certification doesn't mean diddly).
All ISO cert does is say some folks checked what you wrote and saw that you did what you said.
It does NOT mean there is quality built in.

Might help, this supposed accountability. But ISO aint the customer.
And it is THEY that will hold a company accountable (rightly or wrongly).

I know some old Taurus guns that got shot a lot and never had a problem.
Also know of many that were problematic.
Most of them had issues when new/fairly new.

Also know a lof of former Taurus customers.

The Beretta service auto clones seemed to have the better rep.

The Beretta clones were made using the same tooling, not a surprise the quality was good and ISO is indeed a scam that promotes nothing in terms of quality. It's all paperwork and it tends to have a detrimental affect in that once places get ISO certified the owners feel they're quality is top notch and continuous improvement no longer needs to be done. First shop I ever worked for wasn't ISO certified and they had the best quality of any place I ever worked for.

I'm not going to deny that Taurus had issues in the past, from what it sounds like they were doing 20+ years ago what other companies today are doing: ship junk now to meet quotas, make it work right after it gets sent in for service. Problem was that Taurus back then didn't have the service department they do now.

With the new facility in Bainbridge, GA, the turnaround times and quality have improved and the focus of the company appears to be on improving customer service and initial quality.

Taurus semi autos (apart from the PT22 and PT25) have all been pretty decent guns and a great price. The 92 clones have been their bread and butter for decades, G2's and G3's have been successful, their new .22 has been highly acclaimed, and I saw they've got the TH series polymer DA/SA pistols which look interesting.

It's really the revolver side of things that Taurus gets questionable, but they discontinued the 85 in favor of the 6 shot .38 or .357 that replaced it and took that same frame and made it into an 8 shot .22. I don't believe they would have dumped the 85 for no good reason, my belief is they believed the new guns were a better design engineering and manufacturing engineering. The large frame revolvers, Judge included have been pretty solid in terms of reliability for many years, so I feel that Taurus has largely dropped the lemons and remade themselves over the past 10 years.

It sounds crazy, but I honestly do find myself looking at Taurus (revolvers) with more confidence than I do Ruger's and Smith's. If Taurus would get around to making .32 revolvers, I might never think about buying another Ruger again.

 

[Hookeye]

Not hard to improve when QC is horrible.
And one can improve a lot and still be mediocre LOL

10 yrs ago? Forbes writes about the big management change up happening in 2015.

Buy whatever you want.

 

[Hookeye]

I have seen some less than decent stuff put out by other manufacturers too.
It appears that they have adopted a "send it out and fix it later" approach.
There is a reason some of the older rigs are commanding high prices.

And it not all imaginary or nostalgia.

 

[Hookeye]

Maybe Taurus in Georgia will put out good stuff.
Personally, the brand is tarnished as they've promised a fix again and again and again.

A ton of people buy guns are hardly shoot them (or don't shoot them at all).
And when stuff happens are not of background/understanding to identify the problem.
Most times, its ammo or user error.

I employ a big filter and understand timing.

And I won't own a Taurus.
Wont buy one for a gift.
But then I also don't allow country music or rap in my house, or Aerosmith.

Dude has to draw the line somewhere