Taurus & Rossi

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Arik

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General consensus. How good are Taurus and Rossi revolvers? I was looking today at a model 66 (looks like a S&W 19) and a model? (Looks like a S&W 13) and a Rossi 88 (S&W 60 snubby).

All under $300. They all looked good, used but good. Are they durable? At the price range i dont care about collectability just about reliability

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I once owned a Taurus .357 magnum similar to a K-Frame, and a Rossi .38 equivalent of a J-Frame. Eventually sold them both but never had a problem with either.

I liken them to riding a big Kawasaki or Yamaha v-twin cruiser . . . they do okay, but it ain't a Harley.
 
Wondering about Taurus reliability also. Friend has a Taurus PT 24/7 Pro DS .45 that he wants to sell. I've read some things about redesigns to Gen 2 because of bad design in original 24/7s.
 
TAURUS/ROSSI VS S&W

not trying to be rude or start a fight but they are S&W clones/rip offs and basically suk to put it bluntly. drop one on a cement floor and watch the hammer snap off. granted new S&W's are crazy expensive, the older ones are better and more reasonable $ imo. or get a Ruger.
 
Arik:

Consensus appears to be all over the place. Some absolutely hate the Taurus and Rossi offerings. I own a Rossi Model 720 (.44 Special) that is a bit of a cult gun. I haven't given mine any kind of a heavy duty workout, but it has always functioned flawlessly for me. I once knew an attorney who said he had successfully survived a number of home/office invasions. He had a habit of buying Rossi and Taurus .38 Special revolvers and stashing them in and about his cars, home and office. Though I asked, I could never get him to explain why he insisted on using Taurus and Rossi products, rather than S&W, Ruger, Colt, etc. Given the choice, I think for a little bit more money, and a bit more searching, you can probably find a better quality piece made by S&W, Ruger, or Colt. To me, a defensive handgun is like a parachute or a fire extinguisher - something you hope you never need to use, but if you do need it, you want it to work flawlessly. I think the old saying: "Quality costs just a little bit more" has been proven time after time.

Best of luck,

Dave
 
I purchased a Rossi model 88 back in the 80's.

It appears to be a model 60 clone.

The gun has never failed to perform, even when shot with reloaded ammo.

I really like the gun and trust that it will work every time.

I wanted a Charter Arms or a Smith but have no regrets about buying the Rossi.

It is what I could afford at the time. I won't be letting it go anytime soon.

Bruce
 

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I owned an old Taurus Model 65 .357, and for a while (when I was too poor to afford a Smith) carried a Rossi 88 Model 60 clone. Neither was quite up to S&W standards, but both were absolutely dependable and shot with all the accuracy I needed. The little Rossi was quite a nice gun for the money, especially after I had a good smith smooth and radius the trigger face, bob the hammer, and smooth the action a little. Which improved it but still left it a good deal less expensive than a Smith J-frame.

I hear very mixed reviews of recent Taurus products, but generally good opinions of Rossis. For the price, good value.

As for their being Smith & Wesson "clones/ripoffs", half the countries in the world have made copies of Smiths for a great many years. Spain especially has produced countless renditions of the hand ejectors and their descendants, some of them reportedly quite good. They copy the S&W guns because they're good designs and popular for reliability.

Being an imitator doesn't necessarily equal being junk.
 
I have 3 Taurus revolvers, a model 441 (44Spl), a Model 44 (44Mag) and a model 608 (8 shot 357) They are all large frame guns, but the last two are of the larger frame, and are the same frames, just different configurations. They are great guns. I have had very good, and not so good encounters with their service, but nothing as horrible as Browning. The 441 has the best out of the box double action I have ever experienced. I bought it from a man that had a bias for S&W's, and against Taurus's. Later when I told him about my shooting experiences with the gun he sold me for 200.00 (as new) he was dumbfounded. I like them. I prefer custom grips on mine.
 
Owned two different Rossi revolvers before getting my first S&W. They both had issues. I'd never even consider another one. Junk.
 


My 605 Taurus has close to 1K of .38 and .357 through her without so much as a hiccup.She's not a Smith but I still trust her enough to be our nightstand HD firearm.
 
I've had far better luck with Rossis than with Tauri. Four Taurus revolvers, of which two were okay, two were not. Two Rossi 44 Specials have been just fine, one I let go to a friend and one I still have, the aforementioned Model 720. I love it. YMMV.
 
I have a Taurus 357 snubby and a Rossi 44 mag snubby. They both have worked flawlessly since I bought them and I conceal carry them both. The Taurus is stainless and the Rossi is blue. The bluing on the Rossi is better looking than any new S&W I have seen lately.
 
I bought a Taurus Model 85 way back in 1992.

Still got it, no intentions of getting rid of it.

If I was to purchase another handgun, it would be a Smith, Ruger or the new XDS. Would also consider the Berreta or Sig (bit too pricey).

I see no Taurus offerings that interest me. But I don't see me selling the little 85.
 
Double-O-Dave said:
Arik:

Consensus appears to be all over the place. Some absolutely hate the Taurus and Rossi offerings. I own a Rossi Model 720 (.44 Special) that is a bit of a cult gun. I haven't given mine any kind of a heavy duty workout, but it has always functioned flawlessly for me. I once knew an attorney who said he had successfully survived a number of home/office invasions. He had a habit of buying Rossi and Taurus .38 Special revolvers and stashing them in and about his cars, home and office.
Though I asked, I could never get him to explain why he insisted on using Taurus and Rossi products, rather than S&W, Ruger, Colt, etc. Given the choice, I think for a little bit more money, and a bit more searching, you can probably find a better quality piece made by S&W, Ruger, or Colt. To me, a defensive handgun is like a parachute or a fire extinguisher - something you hope you never need to use, but if you do need it, you want it to work flawlessly. I think the old saying: "Quality costs just a little bit more" has been proven time after time.

Best of luck,

Dave
Click to expand...

I would imagine it was because he would rather have one of those stolen or held as evidence rather than a nice Smith or Colt. :)
 
I have 2 of the Taurus 44sp revolvers. 4" blue and 3" stainless. Shoot the **** out of them and they never fail. I did replace the factory mainsprings on each and never looked back.

IMHO, well worth the money.
 
I have a few friends who know that I'm into guns, and with the current mood they picked up a gun. When they start talking it up and show me its inevitable is a low end budget gun. I have shot my friends Tauri and Rossi revolvers and they hit the paper, they were ugly but they worked. I own a Rossi Overland Coach gun, it's rough around the edges, it's no Greener but then it was one tenth the cost.

It seems as though Taurus and Rossi are filling the niche of the entry level budget revolver with Ruger and S&W being the next tier Korth filling the luxury market. HiPoint fills the niche for a budget semi automatic, and Savage and Ruger fill the budget bolt action rifle niche. I don't blame noobies for buying budget guns. They don't know what that $2-400 difference in price is about on two guns that look the same. Nor do they know what to look for in a good used gun, they would not have the first clue about important things like timing or push off. Convincing them that old holster worn, police trade-in Model 10 beats a shiny new Taurus or Rossi is not as easy as it should seem. I'ts downright impossible to convince budget rifle buyers that the old sporterized Mauser is actually the better made rifle than a new plastic stocked bead blasted budget gun.

As for quality of the budget arms, things must be sacrificed to keep cost down and keep the price point low. Things like fit and finish are secondary, bead blasting matte finishes and flat black paint cover many ills. Combat accuracy is all that is required, these folk are not looking to win an IDPA match, hit paper at 7 feet and send it out the door, tweaking the fit for one hole groups and smooth triggers that break like glass, and rich bluing that looks ten feet deep takes time and money. Do you remember Colt?? They took all that time to make their wheelguns down right perfect, in doing so they pretty much priced themselves out of the market.
 
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I've owned about a half dozen Taurus revolvers over the years and have never had an issue with them. The finish isn't usually as nice as a Smith & Wesson, or a Colt, or even a Ruger, and the triggers usually aren't as good, but that doesn't mean they're bad. Just not as good.

The ones I've owned all worked just fine. Now all the ones I've bought were older ones. Let me see I've owned an 80, 82, 85, 66, and an old 94. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.
 
Over the years I have owned three Taurus revolvers. All broke within 50 rounds of standard factory 38 special. The first model 85 was sent back for repair; got it back in about 3 months and then the firing pin broke on the very first round. I won't own another one. I'll only own S&W or Ruger revolvers.
 
I've owned three Taurus revolvers and still have two of them. I've had good luck with mine but as said no S&W either. They did make some nice models you just can't find elsewhere like the snub .41 mag I have. Some nice .44 Specials too.
I did have a Model 608 8 shot .357 that I actually got more from a dealer when I sold it than the $200 I had into it. I just didn't have a need for it and did hear they sometimes develop timing issues.
The other is a .17 that I bought on a whim. I tried to trade it once and dealer wasn't interested in taking it in.
They don't usually have much resale value but are cheaper to start with too.
 
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