Dear Smith and Wesson Forum, I would like to hear some opinions from my fellow forum members on the taurus model 94 .22 caliber revolver. sincerely and respectfully mg357 a proud member of the Smith and Wesson Forum. p.s. the reason im asking for opinions about this specific revolver is one of my favorite gun shops has one of these revolvers for sale for a resonable price and im thinking about buying it.

I've had one and got rid of it. It worked OK, just lacked the fit and finish of a S&W 63. Trigger was pretty stiff.
The Taurus does not hold value well for resale compared to Colt, Ruger, S&W.
If priced worth the money, it makes a fun plinker.

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Science plus Art

I have a blued 2", that I carry on the farm.

Love the nine shot capacity, mine is tight, 0.006 barrel/cylinder gap, and the trigger is nice (after I put new springs in it). The original trigger was terrible.

I would NOT have purchased it sight unseen, too much quality/fit/finish variations.

The grips are nice, great sights, red ramp, adj. rear.

BUT, I won't buy a Smith, sight unseen, either.

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NRA Instructor

Have had one over 20 years. Good shooting, accurate, dependable. Not a Model 17, but not at the same price point either.

Kinda homely.. but I've dated some pretty homely women that had other redeeming qualities. It can be a decent knock-around gun if it is had for not much money.

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Old paratrooper in NC

She bought one. Trigger is so heavy you could hang a winter coat on the trigger and still feel safe. It’s a little ammo picky. CCI’s no problem. Feed it Winchester, Remington, or Federal and suddenly you can have problems with one box but then not the next. It’s plenty accurate and gets just as dirty as any other .22 revolver. It was dirt cheap even new.

What springs did you buy and replace?

Well you asked. I would not buy it. Several dealers in my area have stopped selling any Taurus products do to the problems they have had. Some of their semi autos may be a little better but their revolvers are just not very good. Not saying this just because this is SW. Read the reviews, they are priced for a reason.

Taurus Revolvers, handguns for sale

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Still Running Against the Wind

I came close to buying one once. The D/A trigger was heavy, but the S/A was ok, and I probably would have only shot it S/A anyway.

But I spotted a Ruger Bearcat, and ended up buying that.

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John 3:16 .

I had one I bought new, kept for about a year and then sold. Heavy trigger pull in DA. Just didn't seem to be that well put together, frankly.

I had one for a couple years. Trigger was too heavy. Got a S&W M63; same heavy trigger. Gunsmith tuned up the Mod 94, and then the M63. The Taurus came out better, due to spring change. The M63 just
got smoothed up. Kept the 63, 'cause I liked the 4" barrel. Have
finally ended up with a 317.
The trigger job on the Taurus was only $50. It was realy good in
SA & DA. 5-1/2" barrel messed up the balance. Might have kept a
4" Taurus, it was that good. Accuracy was right on, too.
TACC1

I have one in 22 magnum, the more I shoot it the less I like it. I have 3 Taurus firearms but will not have any more. The quality just is not there.

I've had two Taurus .22 revolvers, both had to go back for repair's. Taurus will not pay shipping to them, and both time's they had the gun 3-4 Month's. I will NOT ever buy another one!

Bought one with the intent of it being my daughter's gun - got into it at a great price. Took it to the range and realized why it was so cheap. Tried new springs and a polish job on the internals - trigger pull still left a lot to be desired, way too heavy, felt gritty, too much creep. It was too finicky about ammo and wasn't that accurate. Traded it as soon as I could. The only way I would buy another one is if I need a trot line weight.

A lot of people need an inexpensive but reliable gun as a carry gun or for home defense. They are unable to afford, or are unwilling to pay for a higher priced gun, such as a S&W, for their needs. Iver Johnson and H&R served this market a couple of generations ago. Taurus, and others, do it today.

As others have mentioned, the DA trigger leaves a lot to be desired.
Another problem I encountered was the checkering on the hammer was so sharp I wore off thumbprints cocking it for SA.

Thinking it was a hunk of junk that I couldn't sell or give to anybody and still look in a mirror, I let a neighbor's kid that is studying to be a gunsmith, have a go at it.
He got the trigger pull smoothed out without much trouble, but it took several tries to get the springs right.
Right being the lightest trigger pull that goes bang every time the hammer drops on a live round and the trigger resets after each pull.

While trigger isn't in the same league my 63, it is in the same ballpark and the number of FTF in a box of bulk ammo is about the same for both, so I'm happy with the results.

Basically, out of the box they aren't much fun, but with some TLC they get better.
I don't think I'll part with the one I own, but if I did, I'm pretty sure I could shave without cutting my throat.

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Age + Treachery = JohnnieB

I often see cheap guns and am tempted because of the price. In the end I realize if I buy a cheap gun, that is exactly what I get.

Save a few more coins and buy a Smith, you will have a quality product that will retain its value.

Never wanted or owned a Taurus myself, but I pass this along for what it's worth. A friend owned a high volume gun shop. He told me he quit stocking any Taurus guns because it seemed like he ended up sending every one back for repair. His prices were very competitive and he moved a lot of guns. I suspect he would have been very happy to stock and sell a lot of Taurus firearms, if they hadn't made his head hurt with quality issues... ymmv

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NRA Life, COTEP 640

I wanted an affordable revolver in 22lr so my family members who just got there CCW's can practice with it. I picked up a taurus m94 9 shot used but still in new/excellent condition. I took off the side plate and put some moly in it and now the action is much smoother. But i'm not happy with the grips being 3/4'' short for our hands. Its good for the misses and smaller kids just not larger enough for man sized hands. I may make a set of grips for it soon.

I just picked up an older H&R model 922 revolver in 22lr with a 6'' octagon barrel. The size of it and the grips feels like a K frame smith. I'm very happy with it. bill

BTW; I will get the S&W in 22lr too, soon.

I had one many years ago.............on top of the lousy trigger the action felt and sounded like it little rocks in it. It still ranks as the worst piece of junk I ever paid $$ for.

I traded it off ASAP.

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Laus Deo! <><

Must have been lucky with an older one I had bought used. No problems with it but traded it in a deal for a Model 63 which I love.

Maximum, I had a J frame mainspring, in my kit (I have LOTS of springs), that had two coils cut off.

Put the sucker in, and DRASTICALLY improved the double, and single action pull.

Tested it with a few cylinder fulls, double action, all fired.

The original spring was so long, the coils bound, to the point, that it took two hands, to cock it single action.

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NRA Instructor

I had the same one!!

when you look in the dictionary under the word junk, there is a picture of the taurus emblem.

I have a 2 inch 94 blue 9 shot LNIB and am pondering if i want to keep it.
The trigger pull is surely not anything like a S&W.
I guess you get what you pay for

Steve in Wisconsin

I've owned a Taurus 94 and also the discontinued 917 medium frame .22's. The 94 had the WORST double action trigger pull on any real firearm I ever handled. It was also very picky about ammo and not particularly accurate with any. Traded it away.

The bigger 917 was actually a pretty good gun. Nice finish, smooth chambers, good timing and lock-up. Had a pretty hard single action trigger until I tried a set of slightly lighter Wolfe springs meant for a Taurus 66. The springs turned the gun into a tolerable shooter with very good 25 yard accuracy. In the end, I just didn't shoot it after my S&W .22 LR collection grew, so I traded it at my LGS.

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Virtue,Liberty & Independence

I bought one new around 2000 or 2001. Hated it at first because of heavy trigger and misfires so it sat in the back of the safe. In 2004 sent it back to Taurus for repairs and the returned pistol was better but not perfect. I set out to run 10,000 rounds through it in one year just to see if it would hold up. I only got 8600 through it the first years and we quit counting the second year somewhere around 13K. Since the pistol came back fromt he factory in 2004 I've had three misfires and all fired on the second attempt. SA is great, yeah I wish the DA was lighter, yeah I wish it was a S&W. However whenever we go to the range this pistol goes along so it has probably had more rounds fired by more different people than any firearm I own.

I have a 2" stainless steel Taurus M-94 and love it.

I bought it as a "plinker/trainer" and it's done yoeman's service as same.

It holds 50% more ammo than the S&W Kit gun (9 vs. 6 rds.)and costs about half the price.

Like most .22 rimfire revolvers they do have a heavy double action tigger pull for reliabilitie's sake.

I polished the main spring hammer strut to a mirror finish and installed a Wolff main spring which really slicked up it's action, and lowered to D/A trigger pull a tad, but not too much to cause ignition problems.

Attached Images

Taurus model 94 2 inch stainless.jpg (49.9 KB, 16 views)

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NULLI SECUNDUS