9mm revolver - Taurus or S&W

[radical78]

Long time reader, first time poster... Been looking at the Taurus 905 for a few weeks and are starting to see some for sale, are the star clips as bad as people make them out to be or should I wait for an S&W to come along?
thanks
Frank

ps - (I want SS but only see blue, so if you know where I can get a SS - email me)

 

[oneounceload]

Unless you get a S&W 547, they will also use moon clips - the 547 is the only revolver I know that does not

 

[Bboomer]

Reloading a revolver using Full Moon clips can be loaded just as quickly as a regular Speed Loader. The only thing negative I can say is them is, its just one more thing to have to keep up with.

My buddy has a model 625, he has to use a special tool to load/unload the rounds into moon clips. Myself I have a Ruger Speed Six in 9mm and I can load/unload without the use of any tools at all.

FYI...also have a 357 Taurus 605. I have nothing but good things to say about it.

Good Luck

 

[tekarra]

It seems that you are looking for an S&W 547 They are K frames with 3" or 4" barrels and were not SS. Prices for 547s are now very high. S&W also made the 940, a 2" SS J frame that uses moon clips. Prices for the 940 are also high.

 

[GEM]

Charter Arms supposedly has one in the works.

 

[g1726]

The 940's are nice. I picked mine up a few years ago (used) for $380 shipped and transferred. I'd pay that again assuming I could find another for the price. The moon clips aren't much of an issue. They're fairly cheap and I haven't had any problems with them bending, but I don't carry a loose moon clip in my pocket either.

The one accessory that is worth it is the Brownells moon clip stripper. Well worth it.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=6727&title=MOON CLIP STRIPPER

I'm anxiously awaiting the Charter Arms version. If that doesn't pan out, I'm going to get an Airweight S&W reamed for 9mm as a second one.

 

[prescobd]

9mm revolver

Don't overlook Ruger Speed and Service Sixes in 9mm as mentioned by Bboomer. Also, Ruger used to chamber the SP101 in 9mm as well. All these Rugers are excellent guns.

 

[bikerdoc]

FYI...also have a 357 Taurus 605. I have nothing but good things to say about it.

Me to, mine is in 3inch, great shooter, carries well.

 

[KevininPa]

+1 on 605

Quote:
FYI...also have a 357 Taurus 605. I have nothing but good things to say about it.

Me to, mine is in 3inch, great shooter, carries well.


I traded a couple items in on a blued 605 for my wife. Liked it so much that I ordered another in SS for myself.

 

[WC145]

You can shoot both the 940 and the 905 without the moonclips but you'll need something to poke the empties out of the cylinder with.

Yes, the Taurus "stellar" clips suck, big time. They don't hold the rounds securely so if you try to drop one in your pocket for a spare they fall apart. The S&W clips are much sturdier and much more secure and hold the rounds as well as a speedloader.

IMO, the biggest drawback of the 9mm revolvers that are available is the weight. Both the 940 and the 905 weigh 22-23ozs, too much for a pocket gun or BUG. My BUG is a customized S&W 360J rechambered to 9x23, although I only shoot 9mm out of it, and it is the perfect snubby. Only 13oz, much more powerful than the .38spl, but nowhere near the recoil and muzzle blast of a .357mag.

 

[radical78]

wow that is sweet! how/where did you get the customized S&W 360J?

 

[Confederate]

I'm not a huge fan of Taurus. I don't find them to be in the same class with Ruger or S&W. The finish is always nice, but I don't think they watch their tolerances. I had a 66 a few years ago and it was gorgeous (put S&W to shame), but when I dropped 125gr JHP bullets through the chambers, they fell through each one! It was as if someone just drilled holes without bothering to spec the throats. Two of the chambers let 158gr wadcutters fall through, which is totally inexcusable!

If you buy a Taurus, take some JHP bullets with you and drop one into each chamber, making sure not to push them through any that stick (since you don't want to resize them). If they fall right through to the counter, hand the gun back and ask for another until you find one that's sized better. Under no circumstance should a wadcutter or semi-WC fall right on through. (If two of the six JHPs fall through, that's no real reason for concern—many Rugers do that—but not all six. Some target shooters mark the chambers that are too loose, but I've never had to do that.)

Another option is to take a pair of calipers and measure the throatings.

My sister used one at a class recently and could barely hit the target at 50 feet. That's about the same experience I had with my 66.

 

[remingtondude58]

Charter arms should be coming out wiht one. It is called the CARR. They are suppossed to come out wiht the 40 first, then 90-120 daays later the 45 ACP, then 90-120 days later the 9mm. It will not require speedloaders. I think they said 2 inch barrel. You can email them for more info.

 

[dagger dog]

Wait!!! Be patient wait for the Smith and you will be rewarded!

 

[Bboomer]

1981 vintage - A solid steel work horse with 2 .75" BBL (K Frame size)



a real hoot to shoot

 

[WC145]

wow that is sweet! how/where did you get the customized S&W 360J?

I bought the gun from Bud's when they first had them last fall and sent it to Mark Hartshorne/Pinnacle High Performance. Mark rechambered it, cut the cylinder for moonclips, chamfered the holes, did an action job (amazing), smoothed, rounded, and polished the trigger, did a half bob on the hammer and polished it, and installed the fiber optic front sight. I had Robar finish the cylinder in NP3 because it is steel and was very rust prone with the factory bluing, and I installed the Crimson Trace grips. In the end it cost me about $1150 altogether, including the gun, but it is exactly the gun I wanted but could not find. I carry it every day, regardless of whatever else I may also be carrying.

 

[spiroxlii]

I've fired a number of Taurus revolvers, and I can honestly say that they're not bad guns. I personally own a S&W and would not buy a Taurus, though. My reason? Well, the Taurus guns I've shot seem to be solid and reliable and lovely on the outside, but they don't seem as smooth or polished internally.

I would buy a Taurus and feel comfortable carrying it in a heartbeat, but not as long as they cost almost as much as a S&W. I got my S&W 637 for $450. As long as I can find S&W revolvers priced so near Taurus revolvers, I'm going to go S&W.