Taurus Revolvers

I have only one Taurus, a long discontinued Model 96. It looks like a S&W K-22, but the action uses a coil hammer spring and is not as refined of a pull as a S&W. It goes "bang" and is reasonably accurate and cost a fraction of what a K-22 cost back in the early 1990's.

I own that very gun and, like you, the Model 96 is my only Taurus and although it's been a good revolver, things are guaranteed to stay that way.
I've been in and out of the firearms industry virtually my entire adult life (currently in again) and have seen the issues with Taurus firearms firsthand since 1989. The 96 is quite literally the only Taurus firearm that has ever appealed to me in any way, so for $260 I rolled the dice.
Admittedly, the G series pistols have proven to be good for the money. We've only had issues with a few of them out of the scads we've sold.
As far as new Taurus revolvers, we've not been able to get many of them lately as there isn't much coming out of Brazil, but they seem decent... for the money.
As someone already stated, if you get a good Taurus it's likely to stay that way, but if you get a bad one their customer service is not great.
"Ya' pays your money and ya' takes yer chances"!:D
 
Taurus discontinued the Lifetime Warranty in 2017, which was the same time that Anthony Accitelli left Taurus, moved on to Remington, who subsequently had their Quality Control plummet, then went bankrupt.

Coincidence?
Not to say you are wrong, but around Labor Day last year I got a Taurus 941 or 942 in trade. 2” in 22 mag. The previous owner told me he changed out the mainspring trying to do a Bubba trigger job. He started having ignition problems and had lost the original spring. I tried 4-5 different springs and got it better but not 100% reliable. I called Taurus Customer Service trying to buy a spring. I was told that was a fitted item and they would fix the gun under warranty even though I had told the lady 2 different people had previously worked on the gun. I sent it in, and 15 days later it was back. Repaired and returned with 2-3 different brands of fired cases. Has about 500 rounds through it now with not one failure. I’m a Smith Guy down to the core but own at least 10 Taurus revolvers and semis. Most newer models but a few older ones and all of mine have been great shooters
 
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Back in the 90's we sold a lot of Taurus handguns. The company had built its line on ripping off some of the finest and dependable firearms, hoping the world would accept that the Taurus rip-off Beretta 92 was as good as original. Their revolvers, all clones of S&Ws, were terrible. We had 1 out of 8 or 9 come off the range the first time with the cylinder advancing pawl or cylinder lock not working. The company continues to make weapons that in no way compare to the the major quality manufacturers with substandard metallurgy and parts. Most every PD I have trained with will NOT authorize them as duty weapons. Now with the proliferation of Tupperguns, Taurus is on a roll. Buy cheap, expect cheap. A defensive Taurus is like a skydiver buying the cheapest parachute he can find. Conclusion; NO raging bullsh*t for me.

Taurus is hardly even the same company it was 20 years ago.
 
Don't care much for the new ones, but the old ones are nice. This one is pinned and recessed just like my Smiths.
 

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At one time I had a stainless 85, 94, and a 605.

Never shot them a lot, but they seemed OK.

I have a factory polished 4" Judge I bought my dad not long after they came out. That one I'll never part with.

I really wish Smith had copied their lock system on the hammer, instead of on the side frame.
 
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I expect Taurus bashing on a forum for any other manufacturer, so it's not surprising here.
But frankly, in my own experience, it's just not warranted.
I have 5 Taurus and Rossi revolvers, blue 2.5" and stainless 3" ,44 Special 431s from the 1990s; a new 9mm revolver, the 905 in stainless; a Rossi 462 2" 6-round .357 (the recalled one, more on that later); and a Rossi .22LR 4" model 511. I recently picked up a couple of their new poly pistols in 9mm, the G3c and the GX4. I also have a couple-dozen-plus S&W revolvers and semi-autos, both 3rd Gen metal and newer poly pistols, so I have enough to do my own "comparison" of the two brands.

Frankly, the Taurus guns in my safe are just as good as my S&Ws. Finish on all but the older 511 is every bit as good, and in the case of the blued 431, better than that of my blued S&Ws. The parts fit is precise, the mechanisms operate flawlessly, and they are very reliable overall.

We hear many folks complain about the overall difficulty of dealing with Taurus' customer service. I won't defend that, I've never sent anything in, so I have no personal knowledge. (And that brings me back to the model 462 .357 Magnum 6-rounder. Yep, there certainly was a recall a few years ago for "drop safety" concerns. I applied for and received a shipping label and a $50 cash card. But after looking inside the mechanism, the only thing I saw was a very obvious bent hammer block. Here's where Taurus/Rossi's "ripping off S&W's design" as one poster put it came in handy. I took a spare Smith block out, polished it a little, and after almost no fitting, put it in. Works just fine and I didn't lose the gun to their recall, just like I've done with many S&Ws over the years.) But Taurus states that they are making efforts to improve service, so I'll give them a chance to put their money where their mouth is before making an opinion. And on that topic, it's funny how folks forget the growing list of guns sent out by S&W that shouldn't have made it past QC.

Another thing about "ripping off" designs: Taurus was licensed by S&W at one time to produce revolvers using Smith designs - how is that a "rip-off"? And it seems some folks have forgotten the hot water S&W got in when it copied way too much of Glock's design. We should at least acknowledge that any company can make mistakes, it's how they respond and make it right that matters the most... an area S&W could use some improving on as well.

And although no one asked, the newest semis in the Taurus G-series are amazingly capable, well-designed and as reliable as any firearm costing twice as much. It's crazy, but I'm able to see that right in front of me. Sig 365? No thanks. I bought the two G-series Taurus semis for the price of one 365! They even give the Shields, of which I have a .9 and a .45, a run for the money. No comparison to my 3rd Gen semis, but nothing comes close to those, anyway.

Look, I'm absolutely not trying to convince anyone of "Taurus superiority" or anything like that. Many of you guys are honest-to-God subject experts on all things S&W, and I've appreciated your insight for years. I'm a huge fan of S&W and have been for decades, despite the IL or the reports of canted barrels and basic problems that made it out of the factory in recent years and nothing is going to change that. I think I can say with confidence that I have nearly everything I want in world-class guns with my collection of Smith & Wessons. But I began to look closely at these Taurus/Rossis because it was getting to the point where I could no longer justify the exorbitant prices for discontinued guns, like the 940 and 696 I've wanted forever, but found really close "clones" with the T-label, and find them to be acceptable replacements for my purposes.

Bottom line for me is I simply know what I've seen right here with my own eyes. IMHO the OP should get whatever he wants and not be ashamed of it for any reason.
 
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Back in the 90's we sold a lot of Taurus handguns. The company had built its line on ripping off some of the finest and dependable firearms, hoping the world would accept that the Taurus rip-off Beretta 92 was as good as original. Their revolvers, all clones of S&Ws, were terrible. We had 1 out of 8 or 9 come off the range the first time with the cylinder advancing pawl or cylinder lock not working. The company continues to make weapons that in no way compare to the the major quality manufacturers with substandard metallurgy and parts. Most every PD I have trained with will NOT authorize them as duty weapons. Now with the proliferation of Tupperguns, Taurus is on a roll. Buy cheap, expect cheap. A defensive Taurus is like a skydiver buying the cheapest parachute he can find. Conclusion; NO raging bullsh*t for me.
Much like the US when the Brazilian military adopted the Beretta, they required the pistols to be made in Brasil. Beretta built the factory, manufactured the pistols, & produced spare parts using locally sourced workers until the end of the contract. Taurus purchased the factory complete with tooling and continued making the same pistol. They did not "rip off" the design.

As for their revolvers, they have different internals than S&W that make the trigger pulls different. At least I never saw a Taurus revolver barrel go sailing downrange like happened with some of the 2-piece barrels on early L-frame revolvers issued to police departments.

I am a S&W revolver fan, but I had the barrel of an early 4" Model 629 turn in the frame the first time I fired it. The "fix" left a gap between the barrel & the frame. Loaded with .44 Special Silvertips, it became my wife's bedside gun.

New Colt and S&W revolvers are generally overpriced. I retired my 2" S&W Model 12-2 Airweight (shipped 1963) .38 Spl last year after buying a 2" black oxide Taurus 856 steel frame .38 Spl +P. Just like the Model 12-2, I trust the 856 with my life.

Sent with some arcane communications device.
 
I am a Taurus owner.. there I said it... and have been for over 30 years... started with a PT99... the "copy" of the beretta 92 with adjustable sights.. a fantastic pistol... I even gave one to a friend I have known since first grade... I currently only have one Taurus revolver.. and according to the factory, it was never made.
an M450-UL, 2 inch 45 Colt ultra light non ported... they were supposed to be ported... fantastic snubby...
and the PT111 G2 is one of my carry guns.. little trick with the G2 is that Sig P226 magazines work...
buy with pride and ignore the snobs...
 
I have two turaus revolvers, a stainless model 85 in 38 spl 3" bbl and a stainless model in 41mag wioth a 4" bbl. I don't know the model number on that one, but it does have the ported barrel. It is another of my unfired by me guns. summer is coming and it will be coming out of the dungeon for a test run one of these days. If it handles as well as the m-85 then it's going in my bob.
 
I had a model 82 back in 1985 from what I can see the newer ones are well above the quality of the older ones. For a while in the late 80’s early 90’s a Taurus revolvers were used in several movies and TV shows , it’s almost all you saw on the screen.
 
I am a Taurus owner.. there I said it... and have been for over 30 years... started with a PT99... the "copy" of the beretta 92 with adjustable sights.. a fantastic pistol... I even gave one to a friend I have known since first grade... I currently only have one Taurus revolver.. and according to the factory, it was never made.
an M450-UL, 2 inch 45 Colt ultra light non ported... they were supposed to be ported... fantastic snubby...
and the PT111 G2 is one of my carry guns.. little trick with the G2 is that Sig P226 magazines work...
buy with pride and ignore the snobs...


When it comes to the PT92 and PT99, if it was good enough for Chuck, it's more than enough for us mere mortals. :D
Walker%27s_92-2.jpg
 
I went into a small, local gun store the other day and they had only one Taurus .357 Magnum Model 605 in stock, new in the box. I ended up purchasing the gun. I got a good deal on it. I was very impressed with the fit and finish on it. I looked it over very closely and could not find any issues or marks on it. Being that it is solid stainless the recoil is not too bad with magnum loads. The thick rubber grips are nice. For the $300.00 price tag I don't think I could go wrong. Great little pocket protector. Only gripe I have is the trigger pull is a little hard but other than that I was quite impressed with the gun.
 
I went into a small, local gun store the other day and they had only one Taurus .357 Magnum Model 605 in stock, new in the box. I ended up purchasing the gun. I got a good deal on it. I was very impressed with the fit and finish on it. I looked it over very closely and could not find any issues or marks on it. Being that it is solid stainless the recoil is not too bad with magnum loads. The thick rubber grips are nice. For the $300.00 price tag I don't think I could go wrong. Great little pocket protector. Only gripe I have is the trigger pull is a little hard but other than that I was quite impressed with the gun.

A little metal buffing along with a Wolff Shooters spring set for $10 will do wonders for that Taurus,and likely only have to replace the return spring, the #11 a good start.
https://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=3&mID=65
 
For those interested, in the latest American Rifleman there is a blurb about Taurus coming out with a 6 shot 2” and 3” .327 Fed. Mag. small frame revolver.
I’m thinking one of these would be a handy little blaster.
 
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I have a 431. 5 shot 44 special, always fires, good trigger and shoots where the sights are pointed. Decent gun and looks good. I should sell it as I now have a 696 no dash, a 396 and a 296 and never shoot the Tarsus anymore even though it shouts as well as any of the S&W 44 spec 5 shooters I have.

Keep it, and carry it. That way, if you have to use it, the property room at the local PD won't have one of your S&Ws that are most likely irreplaceable. My EDC is a 2" black oxide Taurus 856 that replaced my 1963 vintage 2" round butt blued S&W Model 12-2 Airweight because 1) I couldn't replace it for what it cost, & 2) S&W failed to make enough Model 315NG revolvers (less than 800).
 
For those interested, in the latest American Rifleman there is a blurb about Taurus coming out with a 6 shot 2” and 3” .327 Fed. Mag. small frame revolver.
I’m thinking one of these would be a handy little blaster.

I might be interested if I wasn't heavily invested in .38 Special/.357 Magnum revolvers. Might get a 3" one for my granddaughter since my brother gave her two .32 H&R Magnums. I believe that it's the same frame size as the 856 & 605 (just big enough not to fit most J-frame holsters).
 
Does anyone have any experience with the brand new Taurus Revolvers?? They look like they are built well. I'm not so certain about the new polymer framed .357 magnum short barreled guns. I held one and they didn't feel real sturdy to me. Plus with the pressures in a .357 round and polymer frame combo, I don't know?? I know the front sight felt loose and was wobbling on this gun. This was brand new in the gun store. This in itself turned me away.

I am seriously looking at the 4 inch barrel 44 Magnum Revolver with the ported barrel. These look pretty nice and well made.

Any inputs would be appreciated.


I have one of the 5-shot stainless 44s and like it very much. I have an earlier but very similar 7-shot stainless 357 that has also given me very good service and has presented no problems.
 
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