I bought a Taurus 817, new in the box on-line without seeing it first. Its a 38special (+P rated), built on the "Tracker" frame, and Taurus refers to it as a "compact" size. It holds 7 rounds,I got the stainless/gray finish, and it came with the "ribber" grips. Its aluminum alloy, and stainless steel, pretty much the same configuration as a S&W "airweight".
Overall the gun is pretty nice, it locks up very tight, in full lock up the cylinder does not budge at forward-backward. It does move just slightly side-to-side, but I do mean just barely. As a matter of fact, it locks up tighter than my new GP100. It does have a few minor "rough" spots in the finish, so its not as nice to look at as a Smith & Wesson, but for $325 shipped its not a bad deal.
I tried to show in the pics the rough spots on the cylinder "charge hole side" and the corresponding marks on the gun located on the frame, where the cylinder locks in. It looks fairly "beat-up", like it wasn't fitted properly at first maybe? The trigger pull is decent, its on the heavy side, but fairly smooth. I need to get another snap cap set though (I only have 6) so I can dry fire it some. I have yet to take it to the range, but I plan on doing it soon. I'm glad it locks up well, and the timing appears fine. As long as it shoots reliably, those rough spots won't bother me.
I also order some grips from Hogue for this gun, as I don't like the "ribber" ones it came with, although they look/feel like they would do a good job with recoil. But they just feel to squishy, and they also feel bulky. The other grips Taurus offers still cover the backstrap and give you a spot for your pinky just like the Hogues do, but I like Hogues better. I just with the gun came with only a two-finger grip allowing your pinky to hand underneath the grip. But when I removed the grip, there is more material, and the gun was just designed to give you more to hold on to. Which I think is kind of dumb seeing as it has a 2" barrel, but I guess they use the same frame for longer barrelled models as well,
I just would rather have more compact grips, its not like recoil is going to be that bad out of a gun that weighs 21 oz with shooting 38+P's. I'll post again after I shoot it.
Overall the gun is pretty nice, it locks up very tight, in full lock up the cylinder does not budge at forward-backward. It does move just slightly side-to-side, but I do mean just barely. As a matter of fact, it locks up tighter than my new GP100. It does have a few minor "rough" spots in the finish, so its not as nice to look at as a Smith & Wesson, but for $325 shipped its not a bad deal.
I tried to show in the pics the rough spots on the cylinder "charge hole side" and the corresponding marks on the gun located on the frame, where the cylinder locks in. It looks fairly "beat-up", like it wasn't fitted properly at first maybe? The trigger pull is decent, its on the heavy side, but fairly smooth. I need to get another snap cap set though (I only have 6) so I can dry fire it some. I have yet to take it to the range, but I plan on doing it soon. I'm glad it locks up well, and the timing appears fine. As long as it shoots reliably, those rough spots won't bother me.
I also order some grips from Hogue for this gun, as I don't like the "ribber" ones it came with, although they look/feel like they would do a good job with recoil. But they just feel to squishy, and they also feel bulky. The other grips Taurus offers still cover the backstrap and give you a spot for your pinky just like the Hogues do, but I like Hogues better. I just with the gun came with only a two-finger grip allowing your pinky to hand underneath the grip. But when I removed the grip, there is more material, and the gun was just designed to give you more to hold on to. Which I think is kind of dumb seeing as it has a 2" barrel, but I guess they use the same frame for longer barrelled models as well,
I just would rather have more compact grips, its not like recoil is going to be that bad out of a gun that weighs 21 oz with shooting 38+P's. I'll post again after I shoot it.
