EAA Windicator 357 , Rossi, Taurus those are my choices

[lobo9er]

N E 1 ever shoot a EAA Windicator? looking at low end 357 snubbies. Budget is 250-300 right where a used rossi, taurus, and EAA are widely avail.

EAA
[ATTACH=full]472000[/ATTACH]

taurus[ATTACH=full]472001[/ATTACH]
rossi[IMG]http://www.braztech-rossi.com/DisplayPic.aspx?TID=1030

 

[rocinante]

Nobody here likes the word budget. Don't risk your existence trying to save a few bucks. Get a used Smith, Ruger, Colt.

 

[ArmedBear]

I've bought guns for less. A lot less. And liked them.

I just figure that a snubbie is a gun you plan to stake your life on. That's different from "sporting purposes."

Taurus would be my off-the-cuff choice -- they've been making good, reliable guns -- but I don't know if I'd call them "budget" at this point, since from what I've seen, they're in the same price ballpark as Smith or Ruger.

The Windicator might have the quality of a Colt Python, but I wouldn't call it "proven" since it's hard to find anyone who has seen or touched one, to say nothing of shot hundreds of rounds through it. I'm not a "first adopter." Working in tech, I think "first adopter" is a synonym for "sucker" about 80% of the time. Sometimes, you get lucky, but I wouldn't stake my life on it...

 

[7.62 Nato]

I had a Taurus model 66 357 that I never had any trouble with (except for getting stolen). I've been told the steel Windicator is better than the lightweight.

 

[warnerwh]

You may want to look at Charter Arms too. They are made here and from what I've read their customer service is excellent. I don't see any bashing threads against them either.

 

[frankiestoys]

lobo9er
I have a EAA Widicator 4'' in .357 it is the steel version too, i use it as a House gun . I bought it about a year ago and have fired about 200 rounds through it , 150 in .38 and 50 rounds in .357's. It fired great!
Now with that said it is not the same quality as a Smith or Ruger .The gun is chunky and solid but the trigger is crude and the finish is rough. The sights are fixed but work well enough, but this is NOT a target gun. I guess you can carry the snub version but i have an SP 101 for that
Now i want to explain why its my house gun.
God forbid i have to use it on some intruder ,it would be taken for evidence.
If i was to be robbed its the only gun not in a safe, i could live with that.
Its a fine gun for what i paid, if i remember it was $225 . They have been in production for 25 years (so im told ) Rossi, Charter or Armscor are other choices for budget revolvers.

 

[lobo9er]

not trying to save a few bucks. Thats all I want to spend. I'm not gonna invest in a High end snub nose to find out I don't like them. If I pick up a economy and it seems like something I like then I would decide on buying a SW or something. A taurus or comprable will give me an idea what there all about. I have only bought one smith and wesson (ar15) very unreliable sent back once came back a hair better and sold it. So I don't believe that I just need to buy SW and not look back. I wish ruger LCR came in 357 though those look pretty nice. I appreciate frankies post.

 

[ArmedBear]

What do you mean, "To see if you like them?"

IME snubbies aren't great "fun guns." They're great carry guns. I really like my snubbies, but they're not toys. Other wheelguns make much more amusing toys.

I figure, you either have a use for one, or you don't.

 

[wlewisiii]

Most people Don't Like snubbies. The recoil sucks & the sight picture is even worse.

I reminded myself of that fact recently with a Taurus 650 CIA in stainless. Excellent revolver. But magnum loads hurt & even +P sucked. I could hit ok at 10 yards, but beyond that was getting into "side of the barn" territory.

I happily traded it in on a well used 4" S&W Model 64 that I love to carry and shoot. +P in that is a push rather than a slap and, no, I can't do magnums. But the 6 +P I do carry will be on target.

The real problem for most people is the compromise between what they will carry & what they actually want to shoot. You need to decide which is more important - carry size or being willing to shoot it enough to actually matter when the SHTF.

Putting lead on target is more important to me. YMMV.

William

 

[ljnowell]

EAA windicator gets my vote for the worst DA trigger, and poorest overall fitment of a revolver I have ever handled. You could barely get the cylinder release to work until taking it apart and cleaning it out and oiling the hell out of it. Literally dripping.

 

[W.E.G.]

You probably already know that the low-end (Taurus, Rossi, Charter) guns are a bit of a risk when it comes to reliability. You decide how much risk you are willing to take.

If you know guns well, and you still get one of those guns, you should be able to tell pretty quickly whether the gun has reliability issues. If there are no such issues, you are good to go. At that point its just snobbery, fit-and-finish, and resale value to think about.

For a .38 snub that is going to be sweated-on, banged-around, and handled a lot, I'd just as soon that it be one of those lower-end guns. I don't think I've seen a post yet where somebody was crying the blues about having scratched their Charter Arms .38.

Put at least 200 rounds of your primary carry ammo through it before you rule it "reliable."

 

[frankiestoys]

EAA windicator gets my vote for the worst DA trigger, and poorest overall fitment of a revolver I have ever handled. You could barely get the cylinder release to work until taking it apart and cleaning it out and oiling the hell out of it. Literally dripping.

As i said the trigger is crude and ive noticed that the cylinder sticks a little but if you use your right thumb while releasing the cylinder it pops out just fine. It took a few rounds to figure that out, but its just a quirk.
W.E.G
your right as rule i always shoot at least 200 rounds, more out of an auto before
i feel safe knowing my gun will go bang if i need it to.

 

[shockwave]

The Taurus and Rossi revolvers I've handled have been virtually indistinguishable from S&W in terms of quality, fit and finish. A Rossi 971 in .357 is a perfectly acceptable firearm.

 

[halfded]

All I have to say is compare the two pictures you posted.

Nuff said.

BTW, the Windicators are HEAVY!!

 

[lobo9er]

What do you mean, "To see if you like them?"

cant say it anymore clear than "see if I like them" have never shot one or carried one and would like to see how I like them armedbear. Shooting a taurus snub nose can't be to much different from shooting a sw at the range as far as recoil and function is concerned so I would rather spend 250-300 than 500-1000 on something I maynot care for. If its to my liking maybe down the road I may buy new shiny SW. Rumors have it that ruger has talked about a 357 LCR. Wait to see. Thanks for all the replies though. sounds like probably an EAA will be left at the shop if I cross one.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Taurus would be my off-the-cuff choice

Same here. I've also had good experiences with the Rossi .357 snubbie(before it was stolen) but have never handled the EAA.

 

[bflobill_69]

I feel the obligation to encourage you to save a few more $$$ and buy a used S&W .357...

But if you have to choose between those 3, I would go with the EAA Windicator. Its a beefier gun than the Rossi and the Taurus. I would Guess its BIGGER than a S&W K Frame.

I own one, and shoot it periodically now, but have put MANY rounds through my Windicator in the past. It is durable, reliable, and relatively accurate. It is however rough around the edges, and not nearly as pretty as my Smiths =/

Bflobill69

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I feel the obligation to encourage you to save a few more $$$ and buy a used S&W .357...

Why?

 

[bflobill_69]

Personal experience and opinion... I am a firm believer in the philosophy of buying a quality gun that lasts for many, many years... and S&W's, especially the older ones do just that.

 

[ljnowell]

As I had posted above, my experiences were from actually shooting one of these guns. Quality was very poor. However, it was reasonably accurate, and did seem like it would be fairly reliable, just poorly fit and manufactured.

When my wife decided she wanted a 357 magnum one of these was on the table for a bit. I looked around and was torn between the full size windicator, a Taurus, or a used S&W. I bought the S&W. With the cost of ammunition as high as it is, even to reload nowadays, I cant see the big difference in spending an extra 200 bucks to have a good gun. Anymore, in 357 mag thats what, like 500 rounds of ammo? Life is too short to own crappy guns.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I have a S&W Model 36 and a 686 and Taurus Model 85 and a M44 at the moment and have had Rossi and Taurus snubbies over the years. I have never experienced any problems with reliability or any failure to function. I have heard some folks complain about their auto-loaders but practically no one complains about their revolvers. I am confident that the Taurus and Rossi revolvers are just as reliable as the higher dollar brands. I have owned S&W,Colt,Dan Wesson,Charter Arms as well as Rugers and a host of lesser revolvers and find the Taurus or Rossi snubs as dependable as any. Fit and finish are also well within acceptable limits.

 

[w_houle]

I like my EAA just fine

 

[bflobill_69]

Life is too short to own crappy guns.

+1 ljnowell

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Life is too short to own crappy guns.

I'll just file that away under "O" for opinion.

 

[ljnowell]

I'll just file that away under "O" for opinion.

You are 100% right. IMO a 20lb+ DA pull on a revolver is crappy. IMO a gun with tooling marks so bad it looks like a badger milled the frame is crappy. IMO it ranks right there with hi point. It probably wont blow up, but it isnt quality.