Any opinions on Taurus and Rossi Revolvers ?

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My 605 got sold after it came back the second time still not fixed. I got hassled for over 5 months the first time and only got results from them after threat of legal action.

I will NOT be doing business with Taurus or Rossi anymore - Ruger or Smith and Wesson only.

To bad, they have potential.....and I liked the fact they give away NRA memberships.....to bad I got three crap Taurii in a row.
 
hrgrisso said:
I have an OLD Rossi .22 revolver 2 inch barrel. So old it doesn't have an easily identifiable model number. It works great, I've shot bricks worth of ammo through it and it's a lot of fun. I bought it used for eighty bucks from a pawn shop.

The only complaint I have is just a "oh" thing. It shoots VERY high with Snakeshot (my initial reasoning for buying it was to have a truck gun I don't have to carry a lot of weight when I'm out in the sticks). Once I emptied it using the sights trying to kill a rattlesnake. I had to reload :eek: and try again. Not my bright shining moment... Anyways, once I realized that I went and patterned it with snakeshot and adjusted the sights :rolleyes: and now it's spot on. Great little gun and the second best eighty bucks I've ever spent!
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I've shot that same .22 cal Rossi 2" revolver and actually ended up bleeding from the forehead from the shrapnel coming out from around the cylinder. Fun gun? Sure is. A quality made weapon? Sure isn't.
I haven't had much luck with Taurus auto's and I dont have any personal experience with the revolvers but internet chatter is about 50/50.
 
I have 260 rounds so far thru my new Rossi 46103 .357 mag. At this point, I am very satisfied with the accuracy/performance. I am finding it to be more accurate with heavier (140gr or greater) ammo.
 
i have only bought one taurus, and it was brand new. It was a pretty disappointing gun. So-so trigger and cylinder would lock up after firing once shot. My friends have had ones that were great to ones that would spit brass everywhere. But i think this happens with any gun company, bad ones will be made. I have come to the point that i would rather have a cheap smith then a taurus.
 
I have three Taurus and one Rossi, they are accurate, reliable, durable, and look good. I've put many, many thousands of rounds of 44 Special hand loads thru my 1994 Model 441, never a malfunction and it is easy to use. My 32 Magnum Ultralite is a great carry piece, don't even know its on my belt, the 23 year old Rossi is as good as my S&W Model 36 and difficult to tell apart from it., The Taurus is a heavy, accurate and very useful 2" 38 Special, will handle a steady diet of hand loaded +P.
They are all great and live and work along side my Colt, S&W and Ruger revolvers. I've traded away more S&W revolvers after using them for a while than any other brand in my inventory. I won't buy any more new S&W guns, but there are some fine ones built before 1990 that I lust after.
 
18 months ago, I was in the market for a replacement for my M-66 2 ½”. As always my first thought was another S&W .357 Magnum. I looked at the 686 and was surprised by the low quality of the fit and finish, and I was even more surprised at the PRICE. Having almost no preconceived notions with the Taurus brand, I did a side by side comparison between the Smith and a Taurus 617 2”, seven shot. Of the two, the fit and finish on the Taurus was better than the Smith, the double action was equal to the Smith, and the single action was almost as good. For $300.00 less I thought the Taurus was a better value. Since that time I have fired 1,500 + rounds of assorted 38 special +P, P+P, and .357 Magnum ammo through it, without one problem. I feel so comfortable with this Taurus that it has become my E.D.C.

From all of the reading I have done, apparently Taurus makes two types of revolvers, either a very good one or one that will never be right; I was lucky and got a good one. Give the spotty quality of Taurus firearms; I don’t believe that I would buy another nor would I strongly recommend one to a friend.

Happy New Year All:D!!
 
I purchased a new 605 just a few weeks ago, fired 5 shots before the cylinder stuck shut.
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I bought a brand-new S&W Model 625. Checked it over carefully, cleaned and lubed it, and took it to the range. On the FIRST shot, using Federal 230 gr. FMJ, the gun broke! The cylinder could be spun freely with the hammer down, or back in Condition One.

The stop that locks the cylinder in place had broken on that first shot. Rendering the gun useless. Now, S&W is a "fine" manufacturer, look at their prices, but the gun was useless for self-defense in ONE shot.

It happens.

It took almost 7 weeks to get them to repair it.

Any manufacturer can have bad things happen to it's products.
 
I guess my rabbit's foot in my hip pocket must be working overtime
for me. I have four Taurus revolvers and I have not encountered any
problems with them. I own: Model 66 4" .357 Magnum (a real tackdriver)
Raging Bull 6.5" .44 Magnum (my favorite woods handgun) Model 617
2" .357 Magnum seven shot snubbie (a sometimes concealed carry gun)
and the Judge 6.5" 2.5 cylinder (my anti-snake and fun revolver). I
still am not ready to give the Taurus semiautos a chance (except for
the PT92) but I am impressed with their newer revolvers. I would not
hesitate to buy another Taurus revolver if it was a model I felt like I
needed or if it was a deal too good to turn down.
 
well, i bought a rossi 38spl. for my wife last CHRISTmas. it seems to work fine. shoots as straight as any 2" revolver is going to. it looks and feels good in both our hands. the only thing i dread is if there is a service issue with it. i think if it ever acts up, we will just trade it in, and buy something else.
 
One of my first revolvers was a Taurus Tracker i loved the look of it, but after less then 200 rounds the cylinder would bind up, i brought it to my Smith and he recomended sending it back to Taurus i never did i traded it in for a Ruger GP100 and have never looked back all my revolvers now are Rugers or Smiths with no issues.
 
I have no experience with Rossi products, so I can't comment.

I do have experience with 3 Taurus revolvers: a Model 66 6" .357 7 shot, a Model 94 4" .22 LR and a Model 431 3" .44 Special. The only bad experience I had was with the 94; it was a complete turd. Had I followed the revolver checkout at that time, I probably would have caught the problems it had before I filled out the 4473. Doh! The 94 has long since been replaced by a S&W K-22. Kinda like going from a '94 Geo Storm to a new Corvette.

The 66 was excellent mechanically, and the stainless finish was quite nice as well. Like the 94, it did show more tool marks on the exterior than a typical S&W or Ruger, particularly near the muzzle and on the frame under the cylinder. That 66 had a single action trigger almost as nice as a S&W, and the DA was very close as well. Smooth, with only a small amount of stacking. I ended up trading it for a 4" 686 about 4 years ago. I never really regreted it, up until very recently. I'm keeping my eyes open for another Taurus 66 (used, blue).

My 431 is just plain awesome, especially after I relubricated the internals. The trigger is an equal of a typical S&W, and the fixed sights are well regulated to 200 grain .44 gold dots. Like my 66, this 431 has been 100% reliable. When I get a holster for it, I'm certain this K-Frame sized gun will be a great carry weapon.

As much as I like the 5 shot .44 S&W 696, I just can't justify the price premium when I own such a nice .44 from Taurus for only $268. The fact that it is blued is icing on the cake (my personal preference).

I will say though that Taurus quality does seem to vary more than S&Ws and Rugers, from my own observations. For that reason, I tend to shy away from buying them sight unseen. But YMMV.

My beloved 3" .44 Spl 431. Not a bad looking gun for $268 :cool::


DSC02310.jpg


DSC02292.jpg
 
The Taurus is like a blonde who can't cook. It's better looking than the Rossi, but my experience has been that Taurus is lacking in tolerances. I got rid of mine (.357s, .38s) and kept my Rossi 88 and 511. They weren't as polished as my Taurus revolvers, but they held better group sizes and the chambers had better throat sizes -- obviously the reason for the former. The .357 JHP bullets I'd drop into the chambers would drop right through as if they had no throats! Not every .357 or .38 will stop the bullets, but the Taurus chambers didn't even slow them down. (And I have Rugers that stop all of the bullets.)

Anyway, although I love the PT-92/99 autos, the Taurus revolvers aren't anything I will ever fool with again.
 
I will say this. I do own and have much experience with Taurus revolvers. That and experience with Rugers.

I own two Taurus model 66's. One is 25+ years old and the other is a newer 66 that is stainless steel and a 7 shot one.

Then there is the model 65, 2.5 inch barreled in nickel. Very light and crisp trigger pull. Also in the 25 + year bracket.

Model 85 CH snub and ditto for the 25 year + category.
Two model 856 snub revolvers. One is +P qualified and the magnesium Lyte model is not.

I also own a Taurus 327 in .327 Federal magnum.

Add a Taurus 441 in .44 Special to the bunch.

Add to that a Taurus 941 in .22WRM and a model 94 in .22lrf.

All of these Tauri are fine guns, work well, are durable, and reliable.

Used to own a Taurus 669, but sold that to appropriate another Taurus revolver.

No problems here with any of them.
 
Just bought a Taurus 627 .357/.38 special a few weeks ago. Have shot about 100 rounds through it. Feels great and no problems.

Is it the old Taurus's that I keep hearing complaints about?
 
I've had 50/50 experiences with Tauri/Rossi.

1st) Taurus 66. Made in 1987. Blue, great fit and finish.
2nd) Rossi, 2" .38 snub. Made in early 1990s. Stainless. Great little revolver.
3rd) Taurus 605. BAD. I sent it back to Taurus and later sold it.
4th) An older Rossi, S&W 63 clone. Most inaccurate revolver I've ever owned. I traded it.

As the saying goes "you takes your chances".
 
I can't speak to Rossi's because I've never owned one. I do however own an model 85 Taurus. It had to go back to the factory 3 times (all on my dime I might add at around $50 a pop). First problem was timing was too slow on double action causing off center primer hits and failure to ignite. Second problem was it started locking up. Third time back it was for the same thing.

I also had a PT92 that had multiple failures to extract. New extractors springs etc didn't fix. Sold it off.

I really WANT to like Taurus. The ideas and price points behind their handguns are awesome. Their quality control in my opinion is significantly worse than Smith or Ruger. You can get a good gun from them, but your chances of getting a lemon are much much higher. That said, if you do decide to buy a Taurus go over it with a fine tooth comb in the shop. Check EVERYTHING on that revolver. Double Action timing, lockup, end shake, single action. Dry fire it as fast as you can (bring snap caps if need be) to make sure it doesn't lock up. Check the rifling, (friend had one with screwy rifling), check the barrel is screwed on straight, check the barrel cylinder gap. Give it the full spanish inquisition before you leave the store with it.

I got real excited one day because I wanted a Taurus Tracker. Went to the gun store, he had two in stock. Checked them both out and I'll be darned if both of them didn't have messed up cylinder stop recesses on the cylidner Two chambers could not be stopped by the cylinder stop on BOTH guns.

Here's to hoping one day some of the Brazilians making some of those Springfield 1911's and the Imbel FAL's make it over to the Taurus shop and bring a dose of quality control with them.
 
I have a 38.spl Ultra Lite Titanium Taurus revolver that I conceal carry and I love it. But being a female can restrict how well you can carry a revolver since the cylinder can hurt your hip bone and the handle sticks out a little more than semi-autos. I bought a crossbreed holster and it has made carrying a revolver so much more comfortable and more concealable. I don't own a Rossi and I don't think my fiance' does either.
 
similar experience as garyh

I bought a new 851 steel 38 spl. taurus. Took it to the range and the cylinder bound up on the 4th shot. The gunstore I purchased it from sent it back to Taurus to be repaired. Four weeks later the gun arrived back with scratches on it. I immediately traded it in on a new ruger sp101. I personally will never buy another Taurus product.

Sorry just noticed this thread is very old. I would not have posted if I had payed attention to the thread start date.
 
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bodman said:
I bought a new 851 steel 38 spl. taurus. Took it to the range and the cylinder bound up on the 4th shot. The gunstore I purchased it from sent it back to Taurus to be repaired. Four weeks later the gun arrived back with scratches on it. I immediately traded it in on a new ruger sp101. I personally will never buy another Taurus product.

Sorry just noticed this thread is very old. I would not have posted if I had payed attention to the thread start date.
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Bought a second hand ruger m44 (the ported 6 shooter magnum) and cylinder locked up after 20 rounds.

Gap inspection revealed that it was 3 times tighter than my redhawk.

Dremmel came out and i never locked up on me again.

I also have a sp101 ... which is sitting on the 5th pocket of my jeans right now, riding tight and high and snug like i like.
 
PROUD Taurus 66 stainless steel 2 3/4" .357 owner. Trust my life to it daily,


AND my families lives

Among other Taurus items
 
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