Taurus handguns.

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stchman

stchman

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Saint Louis, MO
I see a LOT of bashing of Taurus handguns and I don't know where it comes from.

I currently own 4 Taurus handguns and have had several other Taurus handguns.


What I currently own:

Taurus Raging Bull 444SS6 - I really like the gun and have never had one issue with it.

Taurus Model 66 SS 6" - I really like this one too, it shoots just as good as my GP100 6".

Taurus Model 94 - Got this revolver for a song, shoots really good, but has a really heavy DA trigger.

Taurus PT1911 Stainless - I am surprised at how accurate this gun is. I have shot a few hundred rounds with no FTEs or FTFs.


Taurus handguns I used to own.

Taurus PT111-G2 - Surprisingly great gun for the $230 I spent on it. Only downsides were the finish was too delicate and it having a manual safety.

Taurus PT1911 - Nice 1911, just was not crazy about the parkerized finish. Very accurate.

Taurus Model 66 SS - An older 6 shooter Model 66 that I bought and sold right away. Was going to keep it, but a buddy of mine really wanted it, so I sold it to him. He said it shoots great.

Taurus PT92AFS - Shot good, no jams, I just liked my Beretta 92FS INOX better.

I have owned 8 Taurus handguns and none were the crap people make them out to be. I talked to a guy that said he would NEVER own one, and he has never owned one before. I love how people are "experts" from Internet folly.

Do I think Taurus handguns are the greatest, no, but they are definitely a great gun for the price.
 
A guy I know just got a PT-92. Shooting it off a rest, it was shooting 6-8 inches low at about 20 feet.

I get tempted every time I see the price tag on a Taurus, but QC issues like that really make me back away from them.
 
I see a LOT of bashing of Taurus handguns and I don't know where it comes from.
Click to expand...

IBTL, in my experience, it stems from two places :

#1. Horrible repair work, well documented here on THR.

#2 Horrible results from customers over the counter.
From new firearms falling literally to pieces on their first outings, firearms discharging 100% on their own accord, and repair turnarounds that should be quoted on the number of QUARTERS they'll have it.... Ya.

Thats basically where the angst comes from. Im sure theres still a few dinged up beretta employees over that whole "nationalizing" affair, too.
 
Mosin Bubba said:
A guy I know just got a PT-92. Shooting it off a rest, it was shooting 6-8 inches low at about 20 feet.

I get tempted every time I see the price tag on a Taurus, but QC issues like that really make me back away from them.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's normal in a surprising amount of handguns. Put a beretta next to it and it WILL do the same unless it's been worked over. Been there, done that, sold my berettas.
 
I have dubbed my Taurus 85 UL the "J frame killer" , I have put loads through it that had rattled my model 36 smith loose. I have put in it over 4000rounds through it since I got it last Dec. for my bday and not once has it failed me. It loves 140 gr and 158 gr bullets the most but It also shoots the 130 fmjs pretty good to.
 
blarby said:
IBTL, in my experience, it stems from two places :

#1. Horrible repair work, well documented here on THR.

#2 Horrible results from customers over the counter.
From new firearms falling literally to pieces on their first outings, firearms discharging 100% on their own accord, and repair turnarounds that should be quoted on the number of QUARTERS they'll have it.... Ya.

Thats basically where the angst comes from. Im sure theres still a few dinged up beretta employees over that whole "nationalizing" affair, too.
Click to expand...
Pretty much nailed it.

It doesn't matter what the product is, a person pays X dollars and expects to get X+ value out of it. The people who are satisfied figure they got what they paid for and move on. Then there's the folks who get X- value out of it who proceed to fuss moan and groan over their purchase. A lot of the Taurus hate comes from folks expecting a $600 gun at $300 pricetag and they expect more and send the gun back. Sometimes for good reason (breakages) sometimes for trivial stuff. If it comes back and isn't perfect they then jump up and down about their 300 dollar gun not being a 600 dollar gun after they sent it back...and so on until they are frustrated and blow things out of proportion. Same thing happens with budget cars, furniture, etc.
Add to that normal human frustration a recent spike in poor service and you get to where we are now. Simply put, it's a mess. Do they make good guns, yes and among the best are the 66 revolvers and pt92 auto loaders. Do they let bad ones slip by, yes but everybody does. Everybody else just recently has done a better job of fixing their mistakes.
 
I have 6 Taurus handguns, 4 revolvers and 2 semi autos. All buy one was purchased new between 1988 and 2014. One had to go back to the factory new as timing was off. Got it back in 2 weeks. Carry it regularly. No problems with the used one. The PT99AF had the rear sight leaf after about 6 years of carrying it as a duty gun. The rear sight came off a 669 as screw loosened and I should have noticed it after about 10 years. Turnaround with these guns was about 2 weeks. I have seen the same issues with many S&W guns. I've seen literally thousands of S&Ws as a LE firearms instructor.

Durability of Taurus is just as good and sometimes better than Smith.

Bad points about Taurus. Triggers on revolvers are not as good as Smith but nothing you can't work with.

I don't hesitate to buy a Taurus that would meet my needs or desires.
 
I have owned 6 Taurus firearms. I will not own a 7th. The biggest problem for the company seems to be QA and CS. When you buy one, you may have a perfect shooter that will last your grandchildren their lifetime. The next one off the line might come apart during the first 50 rounds. If you happen to be the proud owner of the second one, you have a lower chance of having the issue resolved than you had of getting the good shooter in the first place. Sometimes, it takes 1 or 2 (or 6) tries to realize that it isn't you, it really is the gun. 3 of mine were okay for what they were, the other 3 were not.

In my experience, you either a) have Taurus, love them, and try to convince everyone that they are perfect, ignoring Group B, b) you have owned Taurus, it let you down, and you will never forgive them, or c) you have never owned one, but you follow along with Group B's opinion, because it is louder.
 
OK, blarby and GRIZZ22 are 180 degrees apart.

All I know is I have owned 8(shot 7) Taurus handguns with no problems. Am I lucky? I think not.

The first PT1911 I owned the grip on one side had a wear mark. I called Taurus and they sent me out two new grips without hesitation and thanked me for being a customer.

From what I understand Kimber and H&K have TERRIBLE CS and nobody seems to ding them on it.
 
I have had 2 taurus handguns. Pt1911. Excellent 1911 for the money. And got my wife a pt 111 millennium g2. Another very nice handgun for the money. Though the g2 I need to get the new style recoil spring for it. Youll never here me bash a taurus. That's what hi point is for

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N930A using Tapatalk
 
Im middle of the road on Taurus. I love their revolvers, but due to my concerns about the potential for needing repair I won't buy one right now. I will buy used, I will consider them again if they clean up their Customer Service issues, but right now I will not buy something knowing that if there's a problem that I will have a few hundred bucks tied up in it for several months. Simple part swaps should be just that, but they are swamped now and they can't dedicate a few guys to just knocking out the easy ones to turn them around. It's all hands on deck doing everything they can with the first gun they grab from the repair room.

My safe is not complete without a 6" model 66 blued with wooden grips, I don't care that I have other 357s that are of the same type, that is one that slipped away and will be replaced. Same goes for a pt99. If my current pt99 goes AWOL it will be replaced by another one.
 
I hope they are good because come Saturday I plan to buy a Taurus Tracker 17 HMR, if the auction price works out. It is described as almost new. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Taurus got a good reputation for their execution of S&W revolver and Beretta technology.

Since then, they have designed guns that don't work, built guns that are out of spec, had parts that seem to be made with bad metallurgy and have done all of that often enough that their warranty department is significantly backed up.

There isn't even that much of a price advantage anymore. Other companies with much better reputations compete in the same price range. And you can buy a used S&W revolver for Taurus revolver prices.

I really don't see why people who read gun forums keep buying them. Maybe they believe that other brands are also this haphazard?
 
I have a TCP 738 .380 and I carry it every day.

1st 100 rounds no prob, the I got some cheap German ammo
and it started jamming.

Sent it in to Taurus and got it back in 2 weeks, they polished the
feed ramp.

Got some more quality ammo - federal and 100 rounds no jams at all.

Very easy to carry all day at work.

Jimmy
 
I have only owned one Taurus, the one I currently own. I've put about 300rds through my PT709 with absolutely zero issues. I carry it regularly and won't be getting rid of it anytime soon.

As was mentioned it isn't a $600+ gun and I didn't expect it to be. The trigger isn't that great but is plenty manageable. The finish probably won't last that long over time. Accuracy is average. But it is reliable as the day is long, and that's the main thing I care about in a carry gun.


I may have gotten a lucky one off the production line but here's at least one other group that got a good one...

http://www.gunsandammo.com/handguns/compacts/single-stack-9mm-shootout/
 
I think the problem is mostly a willingness to sell extreme products for low prices.

A lot of people make extreme products, but they usually put such a high price tag on them that anyone who buys one has bought so far into the idea that they can overlook any flaw that doesn't actually kill them.

So, for example, Taurus was willing to sell the PT-145, a 10+1 capacity .45ACP that is so far into the small/light territory that many people simply cannot shoot them without limp wristing. They sold a .454casull snubby revolver years before Ruger started cutting down Super Redhawks. They have a 28oz .44 magnum. All of that would be fine if the prices were higher, but they sell the .44mag for $400 less than the nearest equivalent S&W, the .45 was a $300 gun, and so on.

By combining extreme features and low price they created a situation where people who wanted practical low cost solutions wound up with exotic hardware. Imagine if Ford had decided they could sell a Lotus 7 clone for $8000 and started shipping them off for dealers to put alongside the $17,000 Focus. People who don't know any better will end up buying an extreme sports/fun car when they needed something practical and they aren't going to be all that happy.



Add indifferent quality and you have a recipe for a bad reputation...while.at the same time delivering a product that a small group thinks is awesome.
 
I think it comes from folks who are stuck on brand names, not quality of product.

My wife has been carrying the same Model 85 for decades. She could use any of several other handguns but prefers "her" .38. Lest one thinks she is under gunned, all I can say is "you don't mess with the mommy".
 
Alas Taurus reputation for inconsistent quality control is well deserved.

I own two J-Frames Taurus revolvers. Gun #1 is a 5 shot 38 and Gun #3 is a 8 eight 22 Magnum. No that is a mistype. Gun #2 was such a piece of junk Taurus replaced it with Gun #3 within a week of me sending it back under the warranty. I reported my experience in this thread;

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9049490#post9049490

As you can tell for the responses I got from one member it is very difficult to have a factual discussion about Taurus handguns. (It ranks right up there when discussing bears).

I am well satisfied with both of the guns. Gun #1 has traveled many miles with me. As a old guy that carried revolvers long before semi-automatics became reliable enough I still consider the 5 shot 38 Special snubby to be the Gold Standard for conceal carry.
 
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Taurus deserved the flak they've gotten in the past, but they're under new management now. People don't like to talk about that, but that is the reason I felt comfortable buying a PT111 G2 just today. I think they are a good company who had a bit of a stumble a few years back but is starting to get their footing back.
 
I couldn't tell if the TaurusUSA now owns the Brazilian business or not.
 
I really don't see why people who read gun forums keep buying them. Maybe they believe that other brands are also this haphazard?
Click to expand...

Probably because we don't believe everything we see on the internet. It's a good thing too because I probably wouldn't have experienced the 12 Taurii that have been 100% for me.
 
You shouldn't believe every opinion. I just don't see why you'd assume the shear volume of individual stories would be something you'd ignore.
 
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