TAURUS got me. Broken gun.

The original post was inviting this thread to become a taurus bashing session. I guess that makes, but holy smokes guys....Ruger put out the American rifle with junk mags, and 10-22 mags are known to be junk but people don't whine and cry about Ruger selling junk. Someone already mentioned S&W cracked airweight frames. Smith also put out the entire sigma series which were junk until the VE guns hit the market. Glocks blow up in people's hands, 1911s are hard to keep running but no bad press there. Taurus gets mentioned and suddenly it's bash-time. Charter is a close second. Everybody has a bad gun on the market, and we shouldn't fault one manufacturer more than another simply because their guns sell at half the price so they produce more.

To go a step further, you never once hear of someone doing any inspection of the weapon before accepting it. In this thread (not faulting op because he mat have done a very detailed inspection but failed to mention it) if it were a loose screw it would have been found and tightened. A lot of the timing issues are easily seen with a pen-light, gritty clunky triggers and actions are impossible to miss during an inspection. I tell everyone to inspect a new gun as if it were used, often times more closely. Used guns have been shot and problems fixed usually, new guns havent. So do people simply look at the end of the box and say yep that's model abc123 I'll take it? If that's the case shame on the buyer.

My only experience with Taurus is with a model 85 that belongs to my wife & a PT 111 Millennium G2 I purchased recently. The model 85 doesn't get shot that much but is fine for what it is. It doesn't have any problems. The PT111 has impressed me so far. At this point it only has about 140 rounds through it but so far it handles & shoots good. It may change but so far I am really impressed by this little $200 9mm..

I worked in an LGS, owned quite a few wheel guns, pistols, and long guns.

While working in an LGS we had more customers coming back with Taurus products than any other.

I've had more problems with Taurus than any other.

I have friends and family that have had more problems than with any other.

Have I ever had a problem with any of the other's, yes, I have a family member dealing with a Remington issue at this very moment. But in retrospect, hands down in my circle of family and friends, Taurus has been the one manufacturer that has held onto the track record for most problems, used or NIB.

It's easy to come across a happy S&W, Colt, Remington, Winchester, Sig., Springfield, owner, just to mention a few. But it's common place to bump into a disappointed Taurus owner.

GS

While working in an LGS we had more customers coming back with Taurus products than any other.

Click to expand...

I have a relative that's the gunsmith at a local shop - he tells me the shop's experience mirrors yours.

Once in a 6 trip span to pay him a visit, 5 of those times I found him working on a new Taurus before the shop owner could put it out for sale.
I don't like those odds...

I also overheard the shop owner (who is normally the quiet, level-headed type) get pretty darn angry with someone on the phone - he finally broke it off in 'em, telling them "hell, you have more of my inventory than I do!"

I asked my relative who he was talking to - he told me it was Taurus.

As a result of less than stellar results with the brand, the shop owner now only carries the Judge (which is popular for some reason) and a few of the cheaper pocket pistols for the many customers that are extremely price sensitive.

It's a shame, as Taurus has some good ideas and interesting products, but they really need to stop the presses until they can get a handle on quality.

As I see it , the only way this situation can get worse is if Taurus sues you for breaking their gun.

I have purchased 7 new Taurus firearms. 5 of the 7 had issues. I had the "pleasure" of dealing with their customer service more times than I can remember at the moment. I no longer purchase Taurus firearms, and I can't in good conscience recommend Taurus to others based on my experience. I can assure anyone questioning, that if I had problems with my S&W or Ruger (or any other), I'd feel the same way about them as I do Taurus. It's interesting to read the usual Taurus fans disparaging people who are not Taurus fans, as if they are idiots who have some unfair bias against Taurus. If you like Taurus, and have had good service from their guns, GREAT! Enjoy them. No one thinks the less of you for it. I think there must be some very insecure Taurus fans out there.

Taurus Lifetime Warranty policy for repairs requires the firearm be sent back to the factory. Taurus website, the shipping instructions and work order form are easy to use.

My only question is why the O.P. has not sent his gun to Taurus for repair?

I know. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Have you tried Jack First in Rapid City, S.D. for parts? They rescued me a time or two. Otherwise send it in. It beats sitting in your safe broken.

As a refugee from the Taurus forum, I have some experience dealing with both their guns and their Customer Service. I won't bore you with the details but I will tell you this. Right now they are swamped due to "The Settlement" (often erroneously referred to as "The Recall") and getting anything out of them right now is near impossible. You're probably OK if it's a U.S. made model, but anything else you will have a very long wait. It does not help that Taurus Brazil is also in turmoil.

I currently have a gun with them that is affected by "The Settlement", I honestly don't expect to ever see it's replacement. An hour wait is on the phone is normal. Chat is usually quicker but they have much less capability to actually do anything. About all they can do is give you status or information. You run the risk of the chat operators telling you to call Customer Service.

Every time I've called them I get told something different. Since that's the case I have decided it's pointless to call them. If replacement happens, that's fine but I will no longer pursue it. Not worth the aggravation for the amount of money involved.

My first experience with Taurus was actually a Rossi, back in 1984 or so. Also my first revolver. The experience was so bad that I didn't buy another revolver for almost 20 years. I have posted the details before.

When I did, I bought a well-used (SD Sheriff Dept) S&W M-66...and followed that up with about twenty more S&W revolvers. In general, by the time I got to 5-6, it became buy one, sell one (or the inverse) due to safe space/budget considerations.

Guess what? Of all those S&Ws, the only one that ever made a trip back to the mother ship was an abused alloy 396 (Airweight .44 Spl) that the prior owner had used some sort of solvent and removed a thumb-print sized portion of the silver coating. Called S&W, asked for an estimate on re-finishing, they asked me to send it in. I did. Two weeks later it was at my door, re-finished, free of charge.

I've had S&Ws made in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. I think my newest ones were made in 2009 (M25-13 and M637).

I have completed college courses on statistics. I understand that my experience may be a fluke...but I doubt it. And I don't read of Taurus owners having 20 Tauri and never a problem. It's usually either 1-2-3 Tauri, no problems, or 2-3-4-5 Tauri and every one had problems.

What I really find amusing is that in these threads, I often see one person who post 6-8-10 times in one thread, trying to de-bunk each new poster and insisting that everyone whose experience contradicts his is a liar or a fool.

While the people who have actually had the problems post once and move on.

I don't see this belligerent defensive behaviour in Kahr-bashing threads, or Kimber-bashing threads. Although I have seen it in Kel-Tec threads...

And in full disclosure, I have owned multiples of each of these three K-brands, and had opportunities to read many threads on each.

I could draw some conclusions, but if you have been paying attention, they would be redundant, so will refrain.

Started the thread in July and revived it in November when calling Taurus, it must not be too important. If my gun was broken I would have called the factory to resolve it.

QUOTE: "...So do people simply look at the end of the box and say yep that's model abc123 I'll take it? If that's the case shame on the buyer."

I've got to disagree with this. Though one, ideally, should inspect a product before he commits to a purchase, many buyers are not all that well informed about what to look for. Too, sometimes purchases are made via mail and are not available for inspection beforehand. No, imo, the maker of shoddy merchandise should bear the blame for its shortcomings. If the buyer bites a second time at the rotten apple, then, I suppose, he has to share some of the blame for his misfortune.

I bought a Rossi stainless steel snubby back in 1994. I have fired 1,000's of rounds through it and carried it for almost 16 years. I swear even the gunsmiths are amazed how it has held up. Would I buy another one today? No, because I think for whatever reason I got a decent gun back then but, things change and too many better options for me now. Even though it has been so faithful it is going to become a HD backup and I am searching for another snubby. I don't think I will look much further than S&W or Ruger. Both have made lemons before but, my odds of getting a good gun and their customer service is much better. Charter arms even scares me anymore and lots of people swear by them but, to me they just look and feel cheap. I would rather own one quality gun than 4 lesser firearms. Well, for SD purposes anyway.

I always tell folks..."When you mess with the bull...you stand a good chance of getting the horns".

Taurus got me...but that won't happen again.

The way I look at it, nothing is perfect.

Ya, had to send my 905B2 home as well, and after hearing all the Taurus CS horror stories, I was pleasantly surprised when it was back less than 2 weeks later.
Fixed to perfection.

And I do shoot the snot outta my guns.
Probably had 500 or so rounds thru it in less than 4 months.

Shot another 200 rds & its back in my pocket holster.

The truth is that Taurus is inferior, it is the Kia of weapons and just like Kia it has a great warranty and it costs less because otherwise no one would buy it. Now, I say inferior for one reason, name me one police or military organization in the world that issues a Taurus as standard equipment? Not even Brazil. Yes, I know, even the best weapons can be unreliable but some are manufactured that way. Taurus skimps somewhere in the manufacturing process because you can't build a S&W for less than a S&W.

I've only ever bought 3 Taurus guns before, and I still have all 3. A 455 45acp revolver, 327 357mag 7shot snub revolver, and a pt940 40 S&W semi. All have been great with absolutely no problems.

I have bought Remingtons, Kimbers, S&W's, that have all had problems and got rid of them. I still buy those brands tho. I have been very lucky with Taurus and each one shoots perfectly.

Heck, I have a really bad experience with Rem r51. Dealing with their customer service was a night mare and so on... but I would still buy another rifle or handgun they made.

Good to know, ep, thanks for the update.

evan price

Wow! Eight months and still no parts? Completely ridiculous and probably some of the worst customer disservice I have ever heard of!

I am not a big brasher about any gun manufacture but I will join the
Taurus brasher club. Six years ago I bought a new Taurus Tracker 357. Thank goodness I bought the revolver from a great LGS. With the help of my LGS we sent the revolver back to Taurus three times. The issue was the revolver would not extract spend shell castings after firing them. My LGS even had there gunsmith fire the revolver with the same result. This little experience lasted five months. Finally my LGS took the revolver back and gave me a full refund. From what I understand it took my LGS another three months to finally get Taurus to fix the revolver right.
My LGS was a Taurus dealer. They don't carry them anymore.

Enough said,
Howard

Wow that's ridiculous. I have heard of many happy Taurus customer but I'm not one of them. A similar experience to yours is why I won't bother with Taurus, Rossi, or heritage. The corvairs of the handgun world.

I have owned 3 Taurus revolvers.
The .44 Magnum needed gunsmithing service to the tune of $80. It has since found a new home.
The M94 .22 RF required a "trigger job" in order for anyone smaller than Arnold Schwartzenegger to be able to pull the trigger in double action or to cock the hammer. It was amazing what a coil off the hammer spring and a couple hours with some jeweler's rouge can do. It now lives elsewhere.
The 5-shot Titanium .44 Special I still have but bought it second hand. It is my 'under-the-car-seat' gun.