My Experience With Taurus

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I'll chime in with my usual response RE:Taurus guns...

There's some models they get "more right" than others i.e. the Raging Bull, 92, 66 and 85 lines seem pretty G2G with an occasional lemon which all manufacturers are prone to.

The other lines seem to have more complaints against them I've noticed a little more frequently.
 
My 1980’s era M-66 and later-manufacture M-94 and M-941 have all been decent performers.

These guns are/were nothing to crow about, but nothing to curse about either. I’ll readily admit that Taurus/Rossi etc. aren’t top of the line, I had a lemon Rossi with a crookedly cut cylinder back in the late 1990’s myself. But just like everyone poops, even the best gunmaker puts out a turd once in a while. It sure sounds like this gun stunk.

Stay safe.
 
My experience with Taurus includes five revolvers and five autoloaders. One gun from each category has yet to be shot since coming into my possession (used revolver and new autoloader.) So, my sample size is eight. The first, a M66 from 1987 (bought new that year), has an ejector rod that would work loose after several dozen rounds, locking the cylinder shut. A dab of Loc-Tite fixes that. Another revolver, a M94 from 2014, has chambers (all nine) that are reluctant to give up fired empties, though live rounds rattle nicely in them. My guess is that the chambers may be too wide, allowing fired cases to swell into place, but I haven't really tried to delve into it much. The guns shoots remarkably well to POA as it came from the box.

I've had no issues with any of the others; they all seem well made and properly fitted.

Perhaps the thread title would have been better as "My Experience with a Taurus". Still, none of us has experience with every Taurus, so there would always be that limitation in total experience.
 
I have had one lemon and a few with stiff triggers.

Most of them have functioned well and had okay triggers.

The Model 66 I bought barely used from a friend in 1988 had an excellent trigger. So did the Model 85 I bought brand-new in 1990. They were both excellent revolvers that were stolen in a burglary in 2000.

I replaced the Model 66 with a 698 made in 1991. Its trigger is not quite as good as the original, and not quite as good as my really good S&W's, but it's nice. My shooting buddy has an old S&W Model 66 he got from his father, and its trigger is slightly better than my 689's, but in either of our hands the seven yard combat accuracy is the same.

I ran across an "Old Model" Taurus Model 66 a couple of years ago for only $300 or so. It has a S&W style trigger block rather than a transfer bar. It was made in the early 1908's. Its trigger is absurdly good. I can only out-shoot it with my very best S&W revolvers. It's better than most of them.
 
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Best answer so far. I like Taurus but have read enough negative reviews like the OPs that if I were to buy another I want to inspect it in person. I just bought a TCP 380 off GB and its in like new condition and works perfectly. No complaints at all.

And I suspect the OP does know a bit about guns and doesn't mind me pulling his chain a little.:evil: But I have read several negative reviews on guns from most makers in the last couple of years. Have a look at what this guy found on his new S&W 460 Performance Center gun. I wouldn't be happy either if I got what he got for the price he paid. https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=602792

So sometimes bad guns get out. And the owners are vocal about it. But you don't hear a lot about the guns that are fine and work as they are supposed to.


As you say. I know a bit, but I'm far from an expert. I know more than my cousin at least. And I don't mind the occasional 'chain-pulling'
 
Maybe next time your cousin will let you go with him when picking out a gun. Glad you mind an occasional tease.:D You are always welcome to put one on me when you see the chance.:uhoh:

My experience with Taurus has so far been positive. I have owned 4 model 85s and two model 66 revolvers and those were great. The model 66 is a good alternative to a S&W model 19. Really good guns you could buy new for a couple hundred bucks back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The models that came with the wood grips always seemed like the best ones made.
 
I've had good luck with all the Taurus revolvers I've owned over the years, and it's been a dozen or so.

Got one right now, a five shot, Tracker, in 44 Magnum. I haven't shot it yet. Maybe tomorrow. It's going to be a 44 Special for me.
 
Any gun manufacturer can make a lemon. And it's fun to pile on when a brand has been deemed "lesser", usually the ones piling on have never owned one of what they are bashing. I have one Taurus, a PT1911, and it's a solid, reliable weapon. If I wanted another one I'd buy one, or if I found a Taurus wheelgun I wanted I'd get it and chances are it would be just fine.
 
OP has anyone tried sending it back to Taurus for repair? Anything can slip past QC now and then, it's what the company does after that establishes them as a company to avoid or to do business with again.
 
"I have owned 4 model 85s and two model 66 revolvers and those were great. The model 66 is a good alternative to a S&W model 19. Really good guns you could buy new for a couple hundred bucks back in the late 1980s and early 1990s."

Yeah. I've owned three Model 85's and three Model 66's made in the 1980's or very early 90's. They've all been reliable and all of them had somewhere between very good and decent triggers.

This "Old Model" 66 was made in 1982 or 1983 IIRC. Only my K22 Masterpiece and Model 28 Highway Patrolman have better DA triggers. It has some kind of hammer guard instead of a transfer bar.
 
I have a Raging Bull 44 mag and a tracker .357. Both seem to be very good guns. I have had a couple others that were fine. I like Rugers better but I have no complaints above the few Taurus revolvers I have owned. I do notice that some people tend to have terrible luck with many different products. They must live under a little cloud.
 
Truth is Taurus makes and sells a lot of guns. I have a couple and sold one some years back to buy Xmas presents for my grandkids. (short on funds) The ones I owned have been good and I have been carrying a Model 731 in TT for a number of years. (the one in my avatar) Other than a set of Wolff springs I haven't touched the internals and it is smooth and accurate. I worked for some years part time at a friends Gun Shop. I have seen only one that was what I considered a total piece of crap. We did get in a shipment of 5 Trackers that were loaded with metal chips to a level that they were all unusable as is. A good cleaning however is all that they needed. We sent them all back to let Taurus clean their own messes up. (out of spite mainly)
But then I have also seen a S&W 29 come new in the box that was locked up. Upon removing the side plate the problem was apparent. The hammer stud was bent over ! Missed the hole in the side plate . Someone must have used a press to get the side plate on. Unbelievable if I had not seen it come from the box that way. Stuff can happen .
 
These same stories have repeated themselves countless times on this site. The bottom line with Taurus is spotty quality backed by some of the WORST customer service in the world. This is really a shame as I believe that Taurus occupies an important niche in the mid-price point firearm market. Their designs are nice looking and you can see that they make an effort to produce a quality product. The people that are lucky enough to get good ones swear by them and justifiably so. And yes, any number of manufacturers have occasional quality problems with firearms. Where it all breaks down for me is the customer service or lack thereof. Taurus is prone to do things fast rather than right with a good many people sending things back to them two, three and four times before their problem was properly addressed. I have one Taurus left in my collection. After two trips back to replace a defective slide on my PT 1911 9MM everything seems to be okay. I’m still going to dump the gun. Just don’t trust it and have no confidence that if something else breaks that Taurus will promptly correct the problem.
 
never had a tarus but i speak for ruger and uberti/s. i like both of tose but had to have a ruger cylinder rereamed on both ends as they used old wornout undersized reamers to make the ruger cylinder. after that the gun could stand with the best of them. also one of my uberti/s had a broken pall, or arm what ever you call it, also a easy fix. also one of my uberti/s had a bad bent trigger spring also a easy fix. also my model 17 22 smith had so many maching marks behing the cylinder it would not rotate. a dremel tool fixed that. wish the factories would do their job but they dont so we have to. my biggest gripe is the revolver forcing cone. never seen one i would let out of my place. it is a easy simple 5 minute fix. if your a serious shooter, learn how to tweek a gun. and have lots of fun.
 
I purchased a new Taurus Public Defender once, this was one of the polymer frame Judge type guns in the FDE color. I bought it from a big box retailer and they wouldn't let me dry fire it or anything in the store so I admittedly was rolling the dice. Anyway, got it out in the truck when leaving and tried it out and the gun was locked up, trigger would barely move and the cylinder wouldn't budge. I got mad and hit it on the console of the truck a couple of times and it freed it up and the revolver worked fine after that :) Granted I probably only put a hundred rounds through it before I traded it though...
 
Although Taurus guns do seem to have some issues, I have seen several posts saying someone will never buy a Smith or a Ruger ever again due to issues.

From what I heard Taurus customer service can be slow and misses things, but people also complain about Smith and Ruger's cs as well.

I only own one Taurus handgun right now, a 44 Spl Titanium snubbie. I used to own a Millennium when it first came out but hated the long trigger. Other than that it seemed to work well. I plan on getting an 692 and an 856 hopefully soon
 
I would have no problem with buying another Taurus made gun. But I really want to see it in person first to make sure I am not buying someone elses problem.
 
One thing that is never mentioned in any of the reviews of the Taurus M608 is its cylinder length. Of all currently produced .357 Magnum DA revolvers, only the Ruger Redhawk and the newly released Taurus .357 Raging Hunter have such long cylinders. You might be able to squeeze a 1.66" cartridge into other brands, (most barely handle a 1.62" cartridge), but the M608 easily handles overall lengths of up to 1.725".
For the handloader, this added powder capacity is like free horsepower and is especially useful for heavy bullets.
(The 180gr Hornady XTP seated to its lower cannelure in a Magnum case measures approx. 1.70", in case you are interested.)
 
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I own an carry a Taurus M85 and always wanted one of those 7 shot M617s. I never had an issue with it or any model Taurus firearm I owned...
 
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