Can I trust Taurus?

I trust my Model 85-UtraLight 38 spl every day, after about 1500 rounds through it in the last year and a half or so.

I've got a Taurus 605 snub-nose .357 magnum. It fires fine. Taurus may have had issues years ago, but I think they're great guns now. Seriously, there's not much that can go wrong with a revolver. There just isn't. I think some of the anti-Taurus rants are from the same crowd that "would never buy a non-American gun". I'd love to buy a new S&W, but not for the $700-1000 price point on the full-sizes. I'm not a competition shooter, so the Taurus trigger never bothered me.

Re: Can I trust a Taurus?

Newton-

It really depends on what you're looking for, and whether you trust others to make your decisions for you. I have a Taurus PT1911, and it shoots POA at 7 yards, and for a carry piece, that's right where I need it to be. Now, some others here may have had issues with a Taurus, but I believe that to be a result of poor fit at the factory, which is a sad thing, really. Any manufacturer that claims to produce a quality product should take a great deal of care to ensure that anything that leaves their factory will perform exceptionally.

Granted, quality control has improved considerably, but that doesn't mean a lemon won't slip through the gears every once and a while. Take your time and exhaust every possible option before making decision. - Lobo Loco

I have owned 11 different Taurus revovlers dating from 1992 to now. I still have 3 of those 11. None were sold or traded away because they failed me in any way. All of the centerfire handguns have been 100% reliable. The one rimfire model a 2" stainless model 94 in .22 long rifle had a few misfires the first couple times out. After the misfires with the 94 I took it apart, cleaned the action and polished the rough surfaces found in the action. After that minor detail it has been 100% reliable as well.

Can you trust any gun from from any company without first owning and shooting it for yourself to make sure you can trust the weapon? I can't. Your mileage may vary.

M'bogo

I had a 3" Taurus .357 magnum. Didnt even last thru the first range trip, had to go back.

Took 6 months of aggravation and frustration, they have HORRIBLE customer service.

Finally, they sent me a replacement gun.

It was defective right out of the box.....didnt even shoot it, sold it at a loss and never looked back.

3 Tauruses for me....2 autos, 1 wheelgun.....all 3 defective and Im NOT a high volume shooter, more like a 100rds every other month kinda guy.

NO,
After 3 wheel guns and one auto I will never make the "Taurus" mistake again. Is your life worth the risk/chance of saving a few bucks? I liked Taurus before I had to send/pay shipping, back all 4 guns and put up with the ****ty customer service. Now I would rather have a sharp stick than a Taurus.:banghead:

Very interesting NEWTON,

Asking total strangers about their "opinion" of a particular gun maker. And as one would expect, a wide variety of answers.

"OPINIONS" are worth precisely what you pay for them...

As far as the OP trusting us to make decisions for him...he asked the question and we replied. We are not making the decision for him. He asked, we replied, he will decide. Is that not what these gun forums are about...the exchange of experiences and ideas?

I carry a 605 with CT grips about 70% of the time now, maybe more. Use it about 7 or 8 times a year in BUG matches. Runs fine, always has, expect it will out last me. Older Taurus pistols had a much higher QA problem. They still aren't on the same level as Ruger or S&W but are worlds away from Jennings.

Taurus makes a good pistol at a good price and IF you have a problem they will fix it. You could make a lot worse choice.

I would trust a Taurus, or a Smith, or a Ruger, etc. because I trust my own ability to be able to evaluate a revolver. I think the ability to be able to do that may be slightly more important with a Taurus, but I have seen examples of every major manufacturer's product that were defective right out of the box. I trust my ability to be able to evaluate and fix a lot of things, too. If you get a defect, Taurus may be more of a hassle to deal with getting it fixed. Personally, I have never had a problem with any manufacturer getting something fixed.
My primary personal defense gun is a Taurus 44 Spl., and it has been for 20 years except when my ex-wife had it for awhile and I had to trade her a Smith to get it back.

8 people reporting multiple problems with their Taurus's in only 35 posts is not a comforting number.

This kind of reminds me of the "Is Botach Tactical a good place to buy from?" threads that I see here - some people say "Yes!", some people say "No!" - but why would you take the chance?

I have one Taurus revolver, model 44 I believe it is called, 4" stainless .44 Mag with ported barrel.

It runs well, always has, I've likely got several thousand rounds through it with no problems. It is a slight pain to clean the powder fouling off the barrel by the ports though.

Quote:

My primary personal defense gun is a Taurus 44 Spl., and it has been for 20 years except when my ex-wife had it for awhile and I had to trade her a Smith to get it back.

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I certainly concur with that statement. Have a Taurus model 441 in .44 special, has the best DA trigger I've ever seen on a revolver...love it.

Unfortunately, we can't get CCW permits here in Wisconsin, the Madison Politico government don't believe in the 2nd Amdmendment for the law abiding honest tax payers can't be trusted.

But carry it I would...if I could.

Jim

I was told that this is not relevant before on another Taurus thread...but can anybody name me a police agency that issues Taurus handguns? I am sure that Taurus would be delighted, and the price is right. If somebody knows of an agency that issues them, not an individual officer that carries one, please tell us.

The only Tarus revolver , I've shot was one of those that I think was laser etched with the Tarus logo a .357 mag. and it failed to index the 8th round of the 2nd cylinder full of 125 gr Rem HP 1/2 jacket factory loads. It would not rotate the cylinder by single or double action. By pointing the muzzle toward the ground I heard some thing rattle and then elevating the muzzle the cylinder was able to turn again, but I figured it was not the time to discharge another round.

"trust Taurus if you want too~!

some people do, and have had good stories to share; while others, well
their experiences were not as pleasant~! Me, I have never owned one;
and probably will meet our maker, without ever owning any type of
Taurus firearm~!

never had a problem with my 92 or 605 (which I sometimes carry in the summer) - that said I sit here with a CZ75 compact on my hip-

I had a T-92 with a lot of problems, but in all fairness, it was 17 years ago. And I hear lots of good things about their 1911 line. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend someone at least trying one at a rental range.

don't remember the model #, but...

A few years ago, a friend of mine bought a used Taurus in .357 mag. It had some noticable holster wear on the bottom of the trigger guard and the front of the cylinder around the flutes, but the bore was was clean, the action locked up tight, and it shot pretty derned well. I think he paid $250 for it... It was a 4" blued with wood grips that had a thumb rest on the left grip, and it kicked like a mule when he loaded it with full power magnum loads. It ate every thing. I don't think there was a single round out there this little bull didn't like. He didn't like shooting magnums in it, but he'd go through 4 or 5 boxes of 38 spl at a time. I can't for the life of me remember the model, but it must been at least 15 or 20 years old. I guess the point of this ramble is there are dependable Taurus' out there, you just have look hard enough.

I trust my 605 enough that it is my main carry gun, so I say yes.

It makes me laugh that the first response to this question wasn't yes or no, it was "Buy a ruger".

I have two very rugged M66 Taurus revolvers in .357 magnum, medium frame guns. One is nicked, 4", the other is a blued 3" older lockwork. I gave $197 for the 4" and $180 for the 3" at gun shows used and both are fantastic, uber accurate, strong guns and better designed/built than the M19 Smith I once had. The 4" gun is the later transfer bar lockwork and the trigger is noticeably smoother. That gun shoots 1" groups with .38 or .357 at 25 yards off a rest, most accurate medium frame gun I've ever owned and why, primarily, I kept it. It's not got the flat bottom forcing cone that is the weak link in K frames. It's tight, perfectly timed, and sweet shooting.

I've rid myself of a Security Six, a M19, and a Rossi, but kept the 4" M66 Taurus. Just use the revolver check out listed in the sticky above when you go looking and don't fear the Taurus. They are fine, strong, well built, reliable guns for a good bit less than the alternatives. I'll add that my M85SSUL, bought new 12 years ago, has been flawless through 6K plus rounds. It's got the best DA trigger I've ever had on an out of the box revolver, better than any Smith I've owned or tried that wasn't worked on and CERTAINLY better than any out of the box Ruger. Plus, much as I love my SP101, it rarely gets carried while the M85 often does. The SP101 is a brick and Ruger seems incapable of building a revolver that weighs less than a ton and a half. Good for shootabiliy in that SP101 with heavy loads, though. But, a good DA trigger does wonders for off hand accuracy and I had to add an aftermarket spring on the Ruger, not necessary with the Taurus..

www.taurusarmed.net is a good site.

Tinygnat and I can both tell you a long and sordid set of Taurus stories. Both of us -really- wanted to like our Taurus firearms but were let down many times and then basically got salt rubbed into the wounds by Taurus customer NON-service.

As a result we both dumped all of the "troubled" Taurus we had (and took a bath doing so) and also sold the couple of remaining reliable ones because after the other "adventures" we felt it was just a matter of time before they would have trouble as well.

Taurus tries some neat stuff, but they push out a lot of junk for every "pearl".

I would be tempted to look at a well-treated used smith instead.

there are bargains still to be had out there for pre-lock smiths in great shape...which may be the best of both worlds for quality/price.

I think it can go either way. I have heard good and bad about them. I myself have a model 85 and it works great, but then again I might have just got lucky. If you do decide to go with taurus I hope you get a good one like I did!