How far has Taurus come?

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Well, I can understand. I'm about the worlds least observant person. LOL When I looked at my revolvers, I first checked timing, end shake, hammer/sear engagement, gap, forcing cone and top strap condition, yadda, yadda. I do that with any revolver, new or used, no matter brand. When guys tell me they bought a revolver and the timing was off, that's something I would NOT have missed. Revolvers are neat in that if you check 'em out throughly, at least you KNOW the gun is in functional enough shape. It might not cap every round if the strain screw is loose or someone trimmed the hammer spring too much or it's just not powerful enough, but those are things easily fixed.

I picked up that 4" M66 Nickeled .357 for 197 used at a gun show. It is like new wear wise and it's the most accurate 4" medium frame gun I've ever owned. Unbelievable deal. I went over it several times trying to find the catch, LOL. It's been a super gun. There are great bargains out there on used Taurus revolvers at the gun shows. That's just not so with used Smiths. Everyone is after the pre-lock Smiths and they're great guns, but I don't know, I prefer that 4" 66 to the M19 I had, more accurate anyway and just as good a gun in every other way and better in one, no flat spot on the forcing cone where K frames crack. I had a M10 crack on me there. Still have the gun, different barrel on it. The frame on the Taurus is a little beefier in that area around the forcing cone than the K frames. For strength of design, though, neither gun could come close to that old Security Six. That thing was built tough and was still K frame light.
 
i fired an older beretta styled taurus that would hang up no matter what type of ammo, magazines were used, or how clean it was. it was utter crap.

however, i recently had the opportunity to fire their 24/7 pistol and one of the taurus .357 revolvers. both were seemingly made well, were accurate, and were 100% reliable over the couple of days we shot em. my experience isn't extensive, but they were great for the little time i got to shoot them.
 
To their credit, their revolvers produced in the last 15 years or so look nicely fitted and finished. I would stick with conventional designs and materials (blued carbon or stainless steel), not the aluminum/titanium. But I had a PT945 (a conventionally designed, metal-frame .45 auto) that was an absolutely dreadful lemon. Whenever a "what was the worst gun you ever had?" thread comes up, this one is my entry. ;) Perhaps it is unfair of me, but this turned me off Tauri forever.
 
I tried one of their snubnose .357 mag revolvers a while back- in 50 rounds of shooting 38 special I had a few occasions where the trigger would "lock" (fail to pull). It may have been me not letting the trigger return fully - but I have shot lots of S&W, Colt and Ruger revolvers and never had that issue...I suspect thay are likely servicable revolvers, but not as good a quality as a S&W, Colt, etc.
 
The simple answer is: Not far enough...
Their quality of parts and dependability is still lagging behind other manufacturers (at least in my opinion). Pull off a smith and wesson sideplate, and then a taurus, and the differences are easy to see. Taurus still cuts corners.
That said, I like their hammer lock better than S&W's sideplate lock.
As for their autos, I don't think that I'd own one. They still have quality control issues with substandard parts being let out too often.
I, however, have the luxury of choices. I already own enough to where a Taurus isn't in my plans. However anything is better than nothing, and if a Taurus revolver is the best you can afford, then its better than a sharp stick...
 
I have two 45acp Tracker revolvers, a 6.5 inch bullseye gun and a snubbie. Both have far exceeded my expectations. The six and a half inch one after many k's of reloads.
 
They have gone out of their way to provide me a nice reliable handgun so far....1000+ rounds no failures....I love it and am about to give it to my dad and get me a CZ, a good gun doesn't have to be a SIG....there are plenty other manufactures that fit the bill...
 
A good gun doesn't have to be a SIG, but you have a better chance of getting a lemon out of the box with a Taurus than you do with a SIG.
This acknowledges that Taurus's have the potential to be good guns, but also more potential than some other manufacturers to be junk.
Example: I have seen several of the new Pro-Millenium autos eat up ammo like there's no tomorrow and never even hiccup. I have seen an equal number (roughly) that hiccup on a regular basis and at least one that had to be sent back for multiple firing pin breakages...
 
When Taurus first started importing guns into the US, they were classified as a copycat company, and for the most part their copies were very poor quality wise. Fast forward to current times and you will still find some of their models/copies still maintaining that less that worthy stigma. On the other hand, Taurus has designed and built several semi-auto's from scratch and they are fine weapons. Yes they have some of the same problems as other manufacturers, and will always get the front page on problems due to their past history of quality. I have owned several of their new designs, and find them to be well built, dependable and accurate. My two PT-145's are great little hand cannons that have suprised many of my shooting buddies and strangers at the gun club. The accuracy is more than adequate for self defense use and in over 4000 rounds they have failed to give me any problems. They are the proverbial Timex watch. The PT-24/7 in 9mm is also another new design and not a copycat of another gun, that was literally my first exposure into the world of the 9mm cartridge. The gun sold me on the round, and though it went in a trade, it too was a very well built weapon that was accurate and dependable. While I admit that the PT-145's are only carried as a primary CCW's at the office, they are my only BUG's carried with my 4" 1911 or my XD45.

In the revolver end of this thread, I have only had one Taurus. It was their model 415. A stainless 3" in my favorite caliber of .41 magnum. The double action trigger, out of the box, was the worst I had ever felt in a revolver and the single action was not much better. After I had put about 500 rounds through the little gun, that all changed and trigger pull was on par with most other revolvers I have shot. It was accurate and never missed a beat. Since it was stainless I decided to dehorn it some and make it a little easier to handle. I too is now in the possesion of another happy shooter in a trade I made.

Would I have another....absolutely!!! Would I trust my life on experience rather than stigma....I do daily!!!
 
Mostly good. I have an old PT92 that works flawlessly, a new PT1911 that functions well. But I returned a new Gaucho that just wouldn't make the ammo go 'bang'.

Seems to be the way of a lot of manufacturers these days. QC is iffy ...
 
The PT-24/7 in 9mm is also another new design and not a copycat of another gun, that was literally my first exposure into the world of the 9mm cartridge. The gun sold me on the round, and though it went in a trade, it too was a very well built weapon
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My 24/7 was a lemon, and I'm so glad it's gone-daddy-gone.
 
Ive purchased Taurus and will probably continue to do so in the future..they have alot of designs and try stuff other companies wont. The 2 I own have been 100%
 
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