38 Special revolvers

My present favorite.38 Special is a Taurus 856 Defender. Talo edition. I am VERY satisfied with it. A Wolff spring kit fixed the trigger pull.

I have owned, sold or traded, quite a few Taurus's in.38 Specials. And years ago, a 605 .357 that had a 3" barrel. And a beautiful Taurus 66, 6" barrel, bought in 1988. I seemed to always want something else. Nary a problem with any of them.

And several Smiths. J frames and K frames. Loved them all. Nary a problem. Like the Taurus's, I wanted something else.

I have been EXTREMELY lucky, it seems.

Old Dog said:

Well, to disagree a little bit here - some of the late '80s, early '90s Taurus revolvers, particularly the Models 66, 82 and 85 were done pretty well. I owned a 1991 M85 that was virtually a clone of the S&W M60 (early .38 SPL version), albeit with a full extractor rod shroud, that was exceptional; an old 82 that I picked up at a gun show for a ridiculous price was executed nicely and quite serviceable, while my brother's old 66 was, and still is, a durable and reliable revolver. Now, I've zero experience with recent Taurus revolvers, and haven't paid for one in over 30 years, but let's be fair and not engage in revisionist (internet) history. There were several years that S&W also put out more than a few dogs and lemons (Although I own a Bangor-Punta era Model 15 that's superb).

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I have a 1998-2001 Taurus 85 all steel that is one of the best handguns I have ever owned. I have three S&W J frames all worth 2-3-4 times as much that I would give away for free before selling the Taurus. It is an exceptional firearm. While not oftwn carried is is loaded in the door of my gun safe right now protecting guns worth FAR more money.

I had a 2014ish built Taurus snub(maybe an 85) in .327 federal that didnt fire out of the box. I sent it back, got it back, and it fired. But it was rough, too light for caliber, had a bad trigger, and generally unpleasant to handle. It was quickly sent to the recycle bend that is gun trading(with full disclosures of course)

There is something special about shooting 38 Special ammunition from a gun chambered for 38 Special.

Not counting j-frames of which I bought a 642, 442, and a 437 new and then a few used 38 Special Model 60's and 36's, I've gotten interested in K-frame 38 Special revolvers.

About 10 years ago, I bought a used nickel 6" Model 14 Classic (38 Special). It was fun to shoot. Since then, I've obtained a 2" and 4" Model 15, 6" and 8-3/8" blued Model 14, and a 4" Model 67. All are chambered in 38 Special.

So, I save my 38 Special cases for my 38 Special revolvers. I've developed light loads for my 357 Magnum revolvers in 357 Magnum cases. (My 357 Magnum Model 60 still gets 38 Special loads although loaded in 357 Magnum cases.)

As an aside, I do not like shooting 38 Special +P in my j-frame AirWeights. It is just too brutal on recoil for my preferences. I'm in the camp that a hit with a less powerful round trumps a miss with a more powerful round. Benefits of handloading.

johnjohn said:

I messed up on the reply,but what I was going to say was "good luck finding a "fancy restaurant " where you'd get anything left over from a$100 bill.

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Waffle house is fancy to some folks. It’s southern hibachi.

I bought my Model 19 S&W around 1990 new. I think it was around $400? It's one of two guns I own that will shoot 38 Specials. The other one is a Model 37. A lot more of those 38 Specials have been fired through my Model 19 over the years.

60-4 with round butt to square butt grips.

If I might offer an opinion...one would be better served buying a used Colt, S&W or Ruger.
The internet or pawnbroker has a selection...

I have 11 revolvers specifically chambered for .38 only. All are S&W except one lonely Colt. I've always liked the cartridge. My only Taurus is a 450T full titanium tracker in 45 Colt. I have no complaints about it.

Dave DeLaurant said:

Taurus revolvers are solid from a design standpoint, but unless they are current production be advised that they've had quality control issues in the past. I understand they're on top of the problem these days, but my one experience with them left a bad taste.

Back around 2008 I had a brand-new 9-shot .22 Taurus 94 that choked before I finished my second box of ammo. One of the pins on the transfer bar sheered off. I called about ordering a replacement part and was told I had to ship the revolver back to the factory at my expense along with a $35 service charge to have this $5 part replaced. I bit my tongue, had the part repaired locally for less and sold on the revolver with a full disclosure about the failure.

BTW, I routinely carry two J-frame .38 Special S&Ws as CCW arms so I'm fine with the concept.

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They still have quality control issues as evidenced by my 856 defender I bought a few months ago (cylinder timing issues) as much as I like the designs of many of their revolvers the quality of what you will get is a bad crapshoot.

airfoil said:

If I might offer an opinion...one would be better served buying a used Colt, S&W or Ruger.
The internet or pawnbroker has a selection...

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I'm a big fan of both S&W and Colt revolvers, but I'm not sure I agree. It seems that the current crop of Taurus are much better than they have been in years. They are putting out a lot of good guns, both auto and revolver, with far fewer reported issues than in the past. Meanwhile, Colt and S&W seem to have more reported issues than they have in some time. Meanwhile, you can buy 2-3 Taurus Defender revolvers for the price of one S&W or Colt (new or used). S&W doesn't even make anything like the Taurus Defender and never have: small frame, 6 round, 3" .38spl with night sights. If you want a Smith you have to go to the larger K-frame or lose a round, and the front night sight is generally only available on some special run models (mostly from the Performance Center). The Colt is closer, but a lot more money. Even though I have a 2" Taurus 856UL (I just recently purchased a front night sight for it) and a 3" Colt King Cobra and don't really need it, a 3" Taurus Defender is high on my wish list right now. Since I don't really need it, I may go with the nicer Executive Grade (it will be nicer, and the bobbed hammer will give me something I don't have in the other two), then buy the front night sight separately like I did on my 856UL.

For those without serious large animal threats, a quality .38 revolver is a very acceptable choice as a sole defensive weapon for the everyday citizen who functions in life without risk enhancers.

RIA M200, probably the okayest revolver I have

From what I remember the Bullseye revolver record was set with a S&W 14 and is still unbroken. Mine was borrowed by a friend who brought it successfully beyond the state levels I casually competed in.

doubleh said:

I posted about the guns because they were the first I had seen and they looked nice. I though to call attention to them. Shouldn't have bothered.

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Never anything wrong with asking. Several people have brought-out their experiences with Taurus revolvers.

The more info one provides, the more specific the responses. For instance, were the prices a good deal? For what is the revolver to be used, plinking, defense, target-shooting? What were the barrel lengths on these revolvers? Do you already have a .38 and .38 Spec.ammo? This sort of information allows others to tailor their responses to your need.
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dekibg said:

RIA M200, probably the okayest revolver I have
View attachment 1119065

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I keep looking at those rock island m200s. The price is sure right for a knock about revolver. If it came with adjustable sights I couldn't resist. How is yours over all?

Larry in wyoming said:

I keep looking at those rock island m200s. The price is sure right for a knock about revolver. If it came with adjustable sights I couldn't resist. How is yours over all?

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It is ok, I would say, reasonably accurate, trigger could be better, but come on it is $250 gun. I had serious issue with factory plastic grips , they were ugly, odd-shaped and uncomfortable so I did a research and ordered on Amazon for $40 Pachmayr rubber grips for Colt Detective Special. They fit perfectly and holding a gun is a pleasure now. The only occasional issue is that cylinder latch does not always engage ( opens) . With 38 +P it is really snappy , but you can shoot them . I actully have it loaded with those. Range sessions just a regular 38 ammo. All in all, I would buy it again

My only Taurus was a PT92 circa 1990. During the early to mid 90s my wife and I owned a brick and mortar gun shop. I sold a hell of a lot of Taurus .38 Special revolvers to mostly security guard types who even as armed security guards were limited by Ohio State law as to what they could carry. Never had a Taurus come back at me.

Today as to revolvers I have a 2" S&W Model 10, A Colt Detective Special and a S&W Model 15 and while I can shoot .38 Special in any of my .357 revolvers I really enjoy the three .38 Special guns I mentioned.





My key to happiness is 3.0 grains of Bullseye below a nice HBWC in that Model 15. Go through 100 rounds of shooting enjoyment. HBWC or even DEWC they are all good and all .38 Special. Cheap at the price.



Ron

doubleh said:

I posted about the guns because they were the first I had seen and they looked nice. I though to call attention to them. Shouldn't have bothered.

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There is nothing wrong with a Taurus that has been assembled correctly and had good quality control but the average guy on the internet is afraid of the reputation that Taurus had received when Q.C. had slipped and the importer handled warranty repairs terribly. They will lack the skill to make necessary adjustments and their prejudice will make them flock to Ruger and S&W.

If I were on a gun budget, that Taurus Targetmaster in .38 Special would make me as happy as the S&W 14-2.

One of mine, a 15-3.

One of my friends had this Colt Army Special in 38special and wanted something more concealable. I traded a like new S&W Snub-nosed 38 for it as I love these old Colts. I already had a 32-20, 6"-barrel Army Special to go with it. Everything is in great shape and shoots great too.