Taurus Falcon .38 Redux

Old-school Taurus! Looks like a Model 10 clone at first glance, but the frame is slightly beefier. Internals look S&W too, pretty similar to a 5-screw K-frame, though it has a different hammer-block, hand mechanisms and a coil mainspring. Paid $150 for this at Ben's Loans. It's tight and right, and aside from a little corrosion on the right side of the muzzle it's in decent shape. The DA trigger was a bit on the heavy side, and while not vintage-S&W-smooth it wasn't bad.

Naturally I couldn't leave well enough alone...

First things first, I detail-stripped the gun and had a good look at the mechanism and parts. The inner workings are properly hardened and tempered steel, but were not awfully well-finished. I bobbed the hammer, broke all the sharp edges, polished it properly and gently polished all the bearing surfaces. A also serrated the top of the hammer so it can be manually cocked, though I really don't intend to. I removed the grooves in the face of the trigger and carefully polished the bits that engage the sear and gave it an overall polish. I cut two coils off the trigger-return spring as well.

Next I bobbed the barrel at 2-3/4" and gave it a recessed crown. I made and mounted a new front sight. Next I relieved the right-front side of the trigger-guard to allow quicker access to the trigger. I also 'melted' the rather sharp cylinder release.

The gun came with a square butt, but I modified the grip-frame to a more rounded profile, made a set of Moose Antler grips, and added a BK Grip Adapter. Finally I touched up the bluing with mark Lee #1 Instant Rust Blue and reassembled the piece. Here are the results-


The trigger is now much improved; I still wouldn't call it 'light' but it's smooth enough that Linda, a serious DA trigger snob, said it was 'pretty good.' It feels really good in the hand, and the narrower front sight improved the sight picture quite a bit.

I'm liking this gun a lot. After I get some shooting done and make sure everything is dialed in I think this will go into the carry rotation.

Sovblocgunfan said:

OUTSTANDING.

I’ve always kinda wanted a Falcon.

If you ever found one of the ones where they left lines in the cylinder flutes, would you remove them or leave them?

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This one has the lines, and yeah, I left them.

WestKentucky said:

Another one of those “I thought I already had seen my favorite MTP custom”. Seriously dude, your work is impressive. If you ever decide to sell your guns, you really want to put them up for sale here. I know I’m not the only one who would pay a premium for guns like this one. It’s not every day that you see an old beat up budget gun turned into a beauty like this. Well done.

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Thank you!

Ratshooter said:

Looks great as usual. How did you install the front sight? Is it just silver soldered on? How do you like the BK grip adapter? I am thinking of getting a grip adapter for the new model 10 I just got. Love the grips. You did a great job on those.

I like Taurus guns. I have owned several and never had a problem with a single one of them. The models 80 and 82 were some of my favorites. Just good basic guns that were just a little bigger than a K frame S&W.

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I cut a slot in the top of the barrel and staked the sight in place. This has worked for me on any number of guns, but the sight on this one left for parts unknown with the first shot. Going to stake and silver solder the next one...

The BK grip adapter is great, and their service was good too.

Remy1858 said:

How can you tell if parts are “hardened and tempered steel”? I am curious, genuinely don’t know.

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A valid question- I'm not sure how much detail to go into here, so I'll keep it simple and let you tell me if I need to elaborate. It has to do with the working qualities of the material. Hardened steel is more difficult to cut and polish than unhardened; with experience you develop a sense of how different hardnesses of steel respond to tools, abrasives etc.. Also when ground on steel produces a different sort of spark when it is hardened and tempered, and to an experienced eye this is conspicuous. I've been a full-time knife-maker for over twenty-five years, so though I am not a formally trained metallurgist I am familiar with working steel in a variety of conditions and different tempers, and my statement is based on that experience.

Ratshooter said:

I like Silver Solder. I buy mine from the model airplane hobby shot. Sta-Brite brand. I use it on the models I build and it holds great.

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I use that regularly. Good stuff!