My friend saw my new to me snubbie M36, and now he would like a revolver like its size instead of his 9mm Semi-auto, I think is a M&P Shield or something like that. He's late '60s and the pipe wrenches, etc., have pretty much weakened his shoulders and chest to where he can't rack the slide. He is not a gun guy but just wants something simple & easy to use. My question, I found a new Taurus 605 online at a LGS, new, for MSRP price of $420. They also have a used 605 Poly protector for $275. Both are 2" barrels. With .357 he can use .38 Spl., so that part is cool. I'm not too hip on a used Taurus, or any for that matter, but the new one isn't that much cash. Now, he's far from poor but gets sticker shock when I tell him what I paid for whatever. I know many of you don't like the Taurus, but are they really that unreliable or just bad rep due to some of the older ones? I heard good customer service, but really don't want him to have to send it back after a few boxes of .38 through it.
I don't want to start a bashing thread, but if they deserve it, then I'm cool with it!
I'm gonna go to that shop tomorrow, as I saw a pretty cool semi-auto Mossberg .22 for 2 bills. (My grandson would love it, if it works!)
Thanks in advance for any guidance. (And no, he couldn't run a shotgun. I offered to give him one.)

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Waiting For The Sun.

The modern G series semi-autos are quite a great value, and have consistantly been getting good reviews. So QC seems to not be much of an issue with newer Taurus firearms, at least the semis.

I might be buying a new G2C in .40 in the morning. Will also take Sig P226 or P229 mags. Bonus for me as I have both in 40. Specifically designed to take them. The G3 series can also use Glock sights. Taurus is doing some smart things these days.

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NRA RSO

Their revolvers always had a better reputation than their semi-autos - at least until the G-series semi-autos came out around 5 years ago.

I own a couple of their revolvers, including a mid-90's M605. They have both been just fine, no issues.

I recommend that you check out any Taurus revolver that you might want to purchase VERY thoroughly and carefully. Read up on how to inspect a revolver on the Internet.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

I've heard good things about the new Taurus 856 models. 38 +P capable, well-priced, and fairly reliable as far as anecdotal evidence is concerned. Available in steel or ultra-lite frames and 2 or 3 inch barrels too. I've strongly considered picking one up for myself, and might do so in the near future.

Taurus 856

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AKA SixToEight

So far, so good. Thank you guys. It looks to me one needs to thoroughly check ALL the popular brands, and just because it's new means nothing anymore. For any product.
Edit: that 856 looks like a nice little gun too. Many thanks.

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Waiting For The Sun.

I would look for a new 605 Defender. That is the 3" version. They come with a very nice Ameriglo front night sight and have a longer ejector rod than the 2" models. Buds has the matte black version for around $400 currently. They are all stainless regardless of the finish color. I believe they are around 21-22 ounces or so and would do well with 357 and very well with 38s. Hard to beat a 3" revolver for carry.

Taurus Revolver--NO
Smith and Wesson Revolver--YES

My advice with Taurus: When you get one, prepare to shoot the snot out of it to test function. Yes, they have a lifetime warranty, but they only cover shipping for X amount of time (it seems to keep changing). So if your dealer isn't helping you out with sending it back you'll spend a significant amount of money returning an inexpensive gun for warranty work. So shoot it as much as you can as soon as you can. If it has a problem it's better to find out quickly.

As you can tell, I've had a couple of ..."experiences"...with their warranty department. Mostly good actually. None were revolvers.

For 50 years I have heard of lousy quality from Taurus. Yet, in that time I have owned many Taurus revolvers and semiautos, with not a problem from any of them. When two of them became damaged (both my fault), they were promptly repaired and returned within 2 weeks. My current carry revolver is a Taurus 605, and I would put it up against any S&W made.

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Pisgah

Check out Dahlonega Armory. They currently have brand new Taurus 856 2 inch barrel 38s for $251 and no credit card fees. I’m not crazy about 357 magnums in short barrel light weight guns, especially if you’re friend lacks grip strength.

BC beat me to it.

I have some experience with the Taurus 605 as I purchased one as a birthday gift for my mother some years ago. Hers is a 100% reliable Revolver with a decent trigger, but it's pretty jarring to shoot full-power .357 loads out of due to the relatively small size/weight.

In addition, I myself own a Taurus Judge Magnum which has likewise been 100% reliable, along with every other Taurus brand firearm I've shot at the range.

So yeah, as long as you function test them at the gunshop prior to purchase — as you should with any brand of firearm — a Taurus 605 should be fine for personal protection.

Folks will continue to assert that Taurus makes consistently unreliable firearms, but somehow I doubt that they'd ever agree to a game of Russian Roulette with an unmodified, off-the-shelf Taurus Revolver for any amount of money.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

I have been told by gun dealer friends to avoid all new production Taurus products. I didn't get a really clear answer on whether that included the revolvers or not. I have a 605 of unknown manufacture date but probably ~10 years old or so. I have been satisfied with it. The fit and finish of the parts is very good. The exterior finish is park'd which to me is ugly as hell in a revolver but certainly utilitarian.

Have had a few of the revolvers along the way and they have functioned like they should. Personally think you ought to look for a used 605. Recently picked up a like new 2 inch for 250 out the door for a sister in law and a 3 inch defender for 300 new, so would shop a little before getting the new one at the price you have listed. Yes would look any gun over well before giving up money.

While they look a lot like a S&W on the outside, the internals are different and the parts have to come from Taurus-or maybe some place like gun parts inc.

Never having been a fan of Taurus, I'd opt to get a vintage Smith or Colt, pay a bit extra but will go up way more in value over his ownership period than a Taurus will IMO.

I don't know what a model 605 looks like. I have been happy with the fit, finish and accuracy of the model 44 m. It makes a great knock around / woods gun.[IMG]<img src="http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=605905&d=1671555952"/

I have/had four Taurus handguns.

First one is a Model 85 Stainless Steel .38 2” barrel revolver. No complaints about it. It is your typical J-Frame 5 shot revolver. Designed to be carried often and only occasionally shot. I put rubber grips on it which helps with recoil.

Second one was absolute junk. I brought a new 8 round 22 Magnum 2” barrel revolver that didn’t even come close to shooting a pattern, let alone a group. I sent it back to Taurus and they promptly replaced it with a new gun (#3). The enclosed test target has a 3/4” group. I shot a slightly better 5/8” group with it.

I recently cleaned a Taurus Tracker 4” barrel .357 Magnum revolver for a co-worker. I am very impressed with the fit of the parts and the nice finish. So much that I put one on my wish list.

I have seen a lot of junk guns made by S&W over the years. My 4” Model 25-5 45 Colt with it’s oversize chamber throats is a prize example.

p.s. Taurus #4 is a TX22. It is reliable with CCI Standard Velocity ammunition.

The Taurus guns I’ve experienced varied in quality, but none were complete junk. My one experience with their customer service sucked though. I had an older revolver that was missing a screw that held the rear sight blade in. I called Taurus and was told they didn’t carry the screws. I thought I’d just find a screw someplace else, but they refused to tell me what size the screw was. The guy I talked to said they weren’t allowed to give that information out! I can’t imagine if that’s actually true, or I just got an idiot when I called.

Did they tell you to send it in for repair?

Did you go to a Taurus discussion forum and ask that question?

This is a common complaint with Taurus. You can't buy spare parts. They want you to send the gun in for even the smallest repairs.
I bought my 605 off a local guy who had received it in a trade. It was missing the crane screw, spring, and detent. He sold it to me for $150, which I thought was a steal. I eventually found the parts on eBay. Taurus wouldn't sell them to me.

The "T" question comes up every so often. The answers are always the same.

I've owned and used a few over the years. One in particular, the older version of the 856 that was discontinued, was the only one that gave me any problems - a gritty and too-heavy trigger pull that refused to smooth out.

The new ones I currently have - a 9mm 905 revolver, a G3C and a GX4, both in 9mm, are quite different. The revolver has a heavier than I'd prefer trigger, but it is as smooth as butter all the way through. No grittiness, no change in weight, maybe 14 lb but smooth.
The two semis both have decent triggers around 5 to 6 lb. They are solidly made and reliable. I really like the GX4. It has interchangeable grip pieces and uses Glock pattern sights. It's been very accurate and I haven't had a malfunction in coming up to 500 rounds. I've played with the GX4 so much that I haven't even broken in the G3C yet. (not unusual for me.)

An older one is a Rossi (sister company to Taurus) 462, a 6-round 2" .357 revolver that's a Smith clone. Or at least it would be if our company made a 6-shot Chiefs Special. Not many around, they recalled them because of what appeared to be a malfunctioning hammer block. I was able to repair mine with S&W parts and it functions perfectly.

I also have a pair of 1990's vintage .44 Special Taurus revolvers, both Model 431s. The fit and finish on both is incredible, and looking at the inside, they could pass for S&W internals under anything but a close inspection by an expert. I say, and others have too, that this is a model that S&W should have made.

Since this is an S&W forum, it stands to reason that the majority of folks prefer S&W. I know I do. But in over 40 years of buying, selling and trading guns of many different brands, I wouldn't say Taurus is the worst by any means, and neither are they the best. What they are is a good, serviceable firearm at a decent price, and especially when it comes to folks on a budget, they are worthy of a look.