I'll just add to what everyone else has said,,,
Taurus revolvers have a bad reputation,,,
From my experience with two new ones it's a deserved rap.
It's not that they are a bad design,,,
On the contrary, they are very well designed guns,,,
But their quality control in the plant stinks so too many bad ones get out.
It's true that they have a lifetime warranty,,,
So that mitigates the problems a bit,,,
But buying a Taurus is a gamble.
I had a 6" stainless 970 Tracker and it never worked correctly,,,
Even after three trips back to the Florida warranty center,,,
Initially the cylinder spun freely and they fixed that,,,
But somehow they misaligned the barrel.
They fixed that but the front sight fell off,,,
They fixed that and I pawned the gun.
There was nothing initially wrong with a 4" 990 Tracker I bought,,,
But the trigger started to get very difficult to pull,,,
Then it locked up on me completely.
They fixed it and I immediately pawned it.
Now I know many people with Taurus revolvers that work just fine,,,
I came to the conclusion that I didn't check each gun out well enough before I made the purchase/
If you get a good one from the factory,,,
It will probably be good forever.
If you get a bad one though,,,
Taurus will work on it but it won't ever be 100%.
The moral of this story is I
might consider buying a Taurus revolver,,,
But only if I could check that particular individual gun,,,
I would never order a new one unseen.
The
4" Ruger SP-101 is a fine handgun,,,
Ruger has a rep for good quality and it's deserved,,,
I have handled/fired a few of the new ones and they worked well.
They all had one thing in common though,,,
They were all over $500.00 new price,,,
They all had very heavy triggers,,,
But very visible front sights.
I bought a
4" Charter Arms Target Pathfinder last year,,,
I like the gun well enough in that it shoots well,,,
The only real complaint is it's metal finish,,,
It's a matte stainless and rather drab.
The finish made the front sight disappear on me,,,
I painted the blade an orange and it's much better now.
All in all it's a nice little revolver,,,
I don't regret buying it at all,,,
But it's not a favorite to me.
A range acquaintance just bought on of the new
6" Rossi Plinkers,,,
I've only put 16 rounds through it but I liked it well enough,,,
Except for that attempt to give it a Python look,,,
The ribbed sights are just plain ugly,,,
Made the gun look cheap.
I did like the fiber optic front sight,,,
It was very easy to see even late in the evening.
About those
Alfa Proj revolvers from Czechpoint,,,
I know nothing about them but what I've read.
Basically people are saying they are okay for the price,,,
But certainly nothing to write home to Mom about.
That leaves Colt and Smith & Wesson.
I own a 6" Colt Trooper Mk-III,,,
It's trigger is superb and it's very accurate,,,
But I worry about getting it repaired if it ever breaks.
Colt parts are getting scarce and good smiths even more scarce,,,
And I doubt one will ever find a Colt for $500.00 ever again.
That leaves Smith & Wesson,,,
Models 34, 43, 63, 17, 18 in many barrel lengths,,,
These are the absolute epitome of quality in a DA/SA rimfire revolver.
My modest collection of S&W's are my favorite shooters,,,
In my humble opinion they are without peer.
But again,,,
Good luck finding one for less than $500.00
So for the price you stated,,,
Ruger is right on that ragged edge,,,
Alfa Proj guns have the good price but are unknown quality.
Charter Arms and Rossi come in under your price limit,,,
I think I like my friends 6" Rossi a little bit better than my 4" Charter Arms.
In any event,,,
Happy shopping.
Aarond
.