Thoughts on the Taurus 692 Executive 3" convertible

Echo40 said:

Personally, I don't understand the thought process behind buying firearms based on their resell value, but then again, I never buy anything I dont intend on keeping, and have yet to sell off a single firearm I've purchased.

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Many gun enthusiasts sell or trade a number of guns over many years. They may have bought a gun and never intended to dispose of it, but interests change and so do personal situations. Buy something of top quality even if you have to spend a little more than what a lesser gun costs. Good quality guns are durable, they retain value well and are desirable to others at sale or trade time.

When Taurus brought in the CEO that turned Walther around along with new engineers and staff they improved a lot. I was a general Taurus hater as well but I now own and regularly use several. I have also used their warranty which turned a gun in a week, and was easier to use and more responsive than others. By the numbers, Taurus runs almost identical to everyone else in the percentage of guns with issues. The difference is they are the biggest company and sell far more guns than the others so when gun shops say they have more problems with Taurus than others, they also sell a lot more. That is simply a price point thing. I am far more frustrated with QC and warranty issues from guns from the other companies that cost twice as much. I run a couple of the largest revolver training events in the country and I guarantee I see far more wheelguns in multi day training events than most. We have seen consistent good performance with students shooting the Taurus 856 series guns and particularly the Executive series. Personally, for what I use Taurus’s for I do not own any Executive guns. They are beaters for me.
The 692 in the attached picture is a regular one and not an Executive (shorter barrel and no ports). It has been really good so far.

T

rockquarry said:

Many gun enthusiasts sell or trade a number of guns over many years. They may have bought a gun and never intended to dispose of it, but interests change and so do personal situations. Buy something of top quality even if you have to spend a little more than what a lesser gun costs. Good quality guns are durable, they retain value well and are desirable to others at sale or trade time.

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I agree to a point. For example I own a Marlin 39A .22 LR, a couple Browning BLR .22s, and a few Winchester 9422s but unless it’s given to me I will never own a Henry .22LR lever gun.

The Marlin, Brownings and Winchesters will hold their value against inflation and even appreciate - where the Henry just won’t. It’s not to say the Henry isn’t a nice enough shooter, but it’s also not an heirloom quality gun and is not made to nearly the same level of quality in fit and finish.

On the other hand, I own a number of S&W revolvers and a few collectible older Ruger revolvers and they will also hold their value and possibly appreciate. However, if I am buying one of these now it’s going to cost me $800-$1100, compared to about half thst for a Taurus Executive that frankly shoots better and is made to a higher standard of quality and finish.

Time will tell if a Taurus Executive will hold its value, but with half the initial outlay I suspect it will as it’s worth that price as a great shooter regardless of whether it every finds any snob appeal like the S&W revolvers (at least the pre lock S&Ws).

It pains me to say it but S&W is now asking for a lot more money for a new S&W than a new S&W is worth. Same with Ruger and their revolvers. Quality of both brands has fallen steeply while Taurus has significantly upped its game while keeping its price points reasonable.

BB57 said:

I agree to a point. For example I own a Marlin 39A .22 LR, a couple Browning BLR .22s, and a few Winchester 9422s but unless it’s given to me I will never own a Henry .22LR lever gun.

The Marlin, Brownings and Winchesters will hold their value against inflation and even appreciate - where the Henry just won’t. It’s not to say the Henry isn’t a nice enough shooter, but it’s also not an heirloom quality gun and is not made to nearly the same level of quality in fit and finish.

On the other hand, I own a number of S&W revolvers and a few collectible older Ruger revolvers and they will also hold their value and possibly appreciate. However, if I am buying one of these now it’s going to cost me $800-$1100, compared to about half thst for a Taurus Executive that frankly shoots better and is made to a higher standard of quality and finish.

Time will tell if a Taurus Executive will hold its value, but with half the initial outlay I suspect it will as it’s worth that price as a great shooter regardless of whether it every finds any snob appeal like the S&W revolvers (at least the pre lock S&Ws).

It pains me to say it but S&W is now asking for a lot more money for a new S&W than a new S&W is worth. Same with Ruger and their revolvers. Quality of both brands has fallen steeply while Taurus has significantly upped its game while keeping its price points reasonable.

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I haven't bought a new or used Ruger or S&W handgun in many years so can't comment on current quality or prices, but there are many older such guns on the market (though I'm not much of a Ruger handgun advocate).

However, I've had good results with several new Colt revolvers. Granted we're talking about money here as well, but I'm always willing to spend a little more now on a good gun rather than wish later that I had.

I tried the cheaper route years ago when I used to trade a lot and learned that generally I had made some mistakes. Regardless, some of your points are good ones and well taken.

With the hundreds and counting QC and other reliability issues related to S&W revolvers including their new UC offerings, I'm baffled that so many members on this forum have e the audacity thumb their noses and proudly be hypocritical when it comes to Taurus who have a better modern-day record vs. S&W.

I own 2 Taurus revolvers, which are their forged stainleas model 85 ($208 shipped) that I've owned and carried for several years and their 22lr model 943 3" ($330 from FFL) . Never had an issue, and certainly don't have the same issues that dozens of members on this very forum are reporting with their $700-$1000+ S&W revolvers.

Well Armed said:

With the hundreds and counting QC and other reliability issues related to S&W revolvers including their new UC offerings, I'm baffled that so many members on this forum have e the audacity thumb their noses and proudly be hypocritical when it comes to Taurus who have a better modern-day record vs. S&W.

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According to the comments in this thread, thoughts and experiences with Taurus products are fairly well mixed, good and bad.

rockquarry said:

Many gun enthusiasts sell or trade a number of guns over many years. They may have bought a gun and never intended to dispose of it, but interests change and so do personal situations. Buy something of top quality even if you have to spend a little more than what a lesser gun costs. Good quality guns are durable, they retain value well and are desirable to others at sale or trade time.

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Taurus revolvers DO retain their resale value, though. People see used Taurus revolvers selling, for example, for $200-$350, depending on the age and model, and then falsely assert that the resale is low. What they aren't taking into account is that the NIB cost was also within the $250-$400 range.

I paid just over $200 for my Taurus 85 in 2016, and I'd have no issues selling it used for $250 or more. I purchased my 942 in 2020 for $330, and I guarantee I can resale it for around that price.

I purchased two S&W 686+ in 2.5" and 3" and a 2.75" model 69 in 2021 for $900-$950, and they'd be $700-$750 if I resold them.

Well Armed said:

Taurus revolvers DO retain their resale value, though. People see used Taurus revolvers selling, for example, for $200-$350, depending on the age and model, and then falsely assert that the resale is low. What they aren't taking into account is that the NIB cost was also within the $250-$400 range.

I paid just over $200 for my Taurus 85 in 2016, and I'd have no issues selling it used for $250 or more. I purchased my 942 in 2020 for $330, and I guarantee I can resale it for around that price.

I purchased two S&W 686+ in 2.5" and 3" and a 2.75" model 69 in 2021 for $900-$950, and they'd be $700-$750 if I resold them.

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Maybe so. I think we both stand by our comments. Again, I haven't had experience with any late model S&Ws, only older ones.

rockquarry said:

I haven't bought a new or used Ruger or S&W handgun in many years so can't comment on current quality or prices, but there are many older such guns on the market (though I'm not much of a Ruger handgun advocate).

However, I've had good results with several new Colt revolvers. Granted we're talking about money here as well, but I'm always willing to spend a little more now on a good gun rather than wish later that I had.

I tried the cheaper route years ago when I used to trade a lot and learned that generally I had made some mistakes. Regardless, some of your points are good ones and well taken.

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We are mostly on the same page.

For example this week I passed on a Tisas clone of the Beretta 84FS and instead spent almost identical money on a surplus Beretta 84BB, as the Beretta is higher quality, will hold its value better than the new Tisas, and has some history behind it.

To me it’s a no brainer decision as to which one to buy.

BB57 said:

We are mostly on the same page.

For example this week I passed on a Tisas clone of the Beretta 84FS and instead spent almost identical money on a surplus Beretta 84BB, as the Beretta is higher quality, will hold its value better than the new Tisas, and has some history behind it.

To me it’s a no brainer decision as to which one to buy.

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I agree, but many don't. I'd hate to base everything on price, then attempt to justify a "good buy" purchase that may not ultimately turn out well.

As someone who owns them all, isn't a gun snob (not saying you are), has personal experience with them all, has been an active member of multiple S&W forums as well as Ruger's, Kimber's, Taurus', and Colt's forum, and is being completely objective, I can confidently say that there's a difference and disconnect between perception vs. reality many gun owners. The perception is that just because you pay more and the manufacturer spends more on making their product "pretty," it's going to perform better and have better QC, which is far from the truth. The next logical fallacy is believing S&W, Ruger, Colt, etc. are better based on their past reputation and pedigree instead of their current track record, which is foolish.

rockquarry said:

Maybe so. I think we both stand by our comments. Again, I haven't had experience with any late model S&Ws, only older ones.

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I own newer Colt revolvers, Kimber K6S, Ruger, S&W, and Taurus. There are lots of designs, QC, and fit and finish complaints about the Colt Pythons; however, I haven't heard much bad about the Colt Cobras and King Cobras. The biggest complaint about the Python is the rear sight, but they are just now starting to address the issue with some, but not all, of the Pythons. That said, there have still been complaints about other QC issues on a $1400 +/- revolver that seems to be more acceptable because they're Colt rather than a less expensive Taurus.

I haven't heard much bad about Ruger revolvers other than the LCR easily being short-stroked versus other revolvers, but that's a training issue. Like most 22LR revolvers, I have heard about light strikes with the 22LR LCR. Other than that, I have sparingly heard of some QC complaints, but there aren't any consistent issues that I know of. Plus, Ruger is pretty good about supporting their products.

The K6S had early issues with their titanium firing pins, but they long since addressed that issue by going with stainless steel firing pins and a different design. I've know of only a small handful of QC complaints, but nothing excessive. Even still, there are many who hate on the K6S and Kimber for no other reason than Kimber's 1911 problematic reputation.

S&W have been having the most issues all around with all makes and models of their revolvers and are the least trustworthy, IMHO. They too seem to get a huge pass that Taurus would NEVER get. This forum is full of members who had to send a S&W back, sometimes multiple time, but they'll gladly will buy another. On the other side, if they had one problemic Taurus many moons ago, they'll hate the company for life.

Taurus revolvers are more trustworthy than S&W with the exception of their 856, which has many hit-or-miss reporters of timing issues due to the hand design, but everything else is good to go with very minimal complaints based on what I've seen across gun forums, social media, Taurus' forum, and personal experience. I would avoid all iterations if their 856 until the fix the design issue. That said, Taurus' warranty service has gotten a lot better than what people give then credit for, but it's still can sometimes be problematic. It's no where as good as Ruger. I still rather have QC issues with a budget priced revolver than with a revolver that's 2x to 3x as much, but I realize I'm an outlier compared to most other gun owners.

The resale on the Colt Pythons is the worst as of right now, but I don't know how well they'll do in the long term. I'm seeing used Pythons selling for $850-$950 +/-, but selling new online for $1250-$1400+, according to Gun.Deals and Gunbroker.com. You'll instantly be out of hundreds of dollars resale wise by buying a NIB Colt or S&W vs a Taurus. It's just a fact that can be checked.

I read this thread when it was new and today a week or so
later I ordered a blued steel model from MidwayUSA. I
like multi cartridge guns and have a few.

I should get it by next weekend depending on which
shift at the mine my dealer is working. I hope it's as
good as the latest Taurus stuff I've bought.

Since I bought it for the 9mm capability I need to
look at who peddles moon clips other than TK Customs
because they are really proud of their stuff. I think
the common thickness for the clips is .025" but will
wait with the mikes until the gun shows up.