Just got an old Taurus 38... Need advice

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HogManMagnum

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This gun was given to me for temp-to-perm safekeeping by a friend. It belonged to his father who now suffers from Alzheimers. The old man's son and grandson are borderline anti's so the gun fell on me since I'm apparently the only 'gun guy' they know and/or trust.

There is no visible model number on it. It is a blue, 6 shot, .38 Special with a 4 in barrel with unshrouded ejector rod and wood Taurus grips. The Taurus website 'model finder' dates it as a Model 82 produced in 1992. Ok, cool. But the Taurus site also says the model 82 is rated for +P and looking at this older revolver I find that a little hard to believe.

So what I'm wondering is, can I trust the Taurus site? Is this revolver rated for +P and is the Model 82 from 1992 one of the 'better', less problematic Taurus revolvers out there? I know some people swear by Taurus while others say they are crap, so can anyone with first hand experience with a Mod. 82 give me a little insight?

Thanks in advance to all...
 
I sold a lot of Taurus 82s up until I quit selling guns, and I never had one need to go back for any reason. I know a lot of them saw +P ammo as well. 1992 isn't old in gun terms.
 
I own a old astra 38spl. Old meaning that my grandfarther bought it some where in 19voetsek. It is very much older than 17 years, however in good condition. I think it was made before +p existed. Ask a gunsmith to check it out. I did put a post on asking about +p and the majority stated that it will be safe however not to fire 100's of +p rounds through it. I shoot lead swc for practice but carry "golden sabre +p" for SD.
 
If it has ridges in the cylinder flutes, Taurus will not cover it under thier warrantee, too old - your shouldn't have rides if it's a '92. If not, should be good. Had a few Taurus revolvers in the mid 90s, were excellent wheelguns.
 
My older brother has an 82 from 92 or 93.
Zero problems. +P is fine. Kind of expensive
unless you reload. For practice and plinking
we generally shoot warm standard pressure.

My wife has an 83(adj. sight) from the same era.
Very impressive combo.
Practices with quite warm spl. loads.
Travels with factory +P.
She regularly outshots me and my Rugers
and Smith & Wessons and various
autos.
The 82 and 83 are just slightly larger than
the K frame S&W.

AS Always , any revolver should receive the "Check Out"

Regards
Old 112
 
Thanks for all the help, guys.

Now, and forgive my ignorance, how similar is the Mod. 82 to a S&W Model 10?

I know I read somewhere once where Taurus started out making S&W clones under contract but since acquiring this gun I haven't been able to find that same info. I'm am no revolver specialist but it sure does look like a Smith...
 
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Taurus and S&Ws are alike in appearance only. This is due to the fact that Taurus, for quite some time, used the tooling and equipment in a former S&W plant in Brazil that S&W had sold, no longer needing it after their contract with the Brazilian military had terminated.
The first apparent difference between my Model 66, acquired new in 1987, and the S&W Combat 19 (the two "appearance clones" of each other) is that the Taurus has a floating firing pin, struck by a transfer bar, and the Smith has its pin affixed to the hammer face.
Other differences become apparent when cycling and firing the two pieces. The Smiths tend to have a tighter, more precise lockwork, and smoother, more consistent trigger pulls.
For its price and usual-intended purpose, the Taurus will serve one well. The S&W, though, is usually a better-built piece overall.
 
Ok, S&W had NO military contract with Brazil. That was Beretta, and the plant was sold to Taurus after the contract was filled. It became the Model 92. S&W, and Taurus were both owned by Bangor Punta, a holding company, for a few years. There is very little, if any, documentation of cross-production between the two. Taurus had produced a revolver before this, and it looked like the S&W Model 10, externally. Face it, how many different ways can you make a revolver that wouldn't be considered to look similar to a Colt or S&W?

The Taurus uses the Ruger style (actually invented by Iver Johnson) transfer bar trigger. S&W uses a rebounding hammer style. The triggers are NOT directly comparable, due to the mechanical action involved. Both will smooth up with use.

As to the fit and finish, it all depends on the Model. My older Model 82 has a trigger, and fit and finish, superior to a 1990 Model 10. Both were bought new.:)
 
[QUOTERon James Since when is 1992 an older gun?? Good grief, Charlie Brown. ][/QUOTE]

well...I'll offer a parallel experience of mine and you might understand why stuff that is 15 years old can be considered 'old'

2 years ago I came across a minty S&W 60 (pre .357 mag frame) from the 1980's; after doing research I discovered that mine was among the first frames to receive a +p approval but the barrel stamp didn't indicate it was rated for +p; even the S&W rep on the phone said that I had an 'older' specimen (meaning pre .357 mag frame); IIRC it was manufactured in 1987...not much 'older' than the Taurus 82 from 1992 that this thread is about
 
S&W did dekiver guns to Brazil under Foreign Military Assistance Program and that included K and J frame revolvers.
Once Forjas Taurus was able to built sufficient quantities of good quality revolvers the Brazilians stopped ordering US made revolvers.

I am in the league of use standard velocity loads for general shooting and keep +P loads to a minimum in these older Brazilian made guns.
 
S&W did dekiver guns to Brazil under Foreign Military Assistance Program and that included K and J frame revolvers.
Click to expand...

Source, please. I know that S&W provided the Model 1917 to Brazil in the 1930's. However, that had nothing to do with S&W and Taurus sharing anything.

I'm also certain that, even if there were some S&Ws shipped to Brazil, they were in miniscule numbers.
 
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