mini-report on Taurus 905

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MJRW

Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2002
Messages
1,009
Location
Virginia
Wanted to give this thing a few trips to the range before saying much about it. That done, here it goes.

I was unhappy with my S&W 637. Great for carry, but hated shooting it. I had been looking for something to replace it. Something with a bit more heft, but still pocket/ankle carryable. I saw the bobbed hammer, stainless steel 905 in the local shop one day. For those wondering what the 905 is, it is a 5 shot, steel, 9mm snubby. Well, one the employees pointed it out to me as I walked in knowing that I like the slightly-off-the-beaten-path-guns. Traded my 637 and some $$ for the 905.

Initial impression was favorable. Double action trigger pull is slightly lighter than the double action on my 686-5 and just as smooth. There is a slight stacking right before the trigger breaks. Lock up is very tight with virtually no front to back cylinder wiggle and very little side to side. Cylinder gap is about half that of a credit card. Moonclips are easy to load and easy to adjust for tightness with a screwdriver twisted between the prongs. It also fit in all my old 637 holsters (uncle mike's neoprene pocket holster, a galco pancake w/ thumbreak, and a renegade ankle holster).

Initial range trip impressed me. Recoil is very mild considering the weight and the round. Just a bit more snap than my Glock 19 (at range I shoot 115 grain winchester value pack for both).

Sights are oddly difficult to acquire and focus on. Something about the sheen of the steel and the width of the front sight. I will be painting the sights to alleviate this problem. If I recall correctly, the 637 front sight was serrated whereas the 905 is not and this may be making a difference. It also doesn't help that my standard target is nearly the same freaking color as the gun. Switched to an all black target with similar difficulty.

Did my shooting at 7 and 10 yards. With 5 rounds was doing 3" groups at 10 yards firing real slowly. That's good for me =/. RO at the NRA range did a smaller group much faster than I was. Made me sad.

Only other complaint in addition to the sights is that after about 75 rounds, the rounds no longer fall freely into place. There is a bit of resistance and you need to push the rounds in to close the cylinder. Other than the resistance after 75 or so rounds, reloading is as expected: quick and easy. The extractor does manage to fully extract the rounds due to 9mm brass being significantly shorter than .38/.357 brass. Extraction is clean and quick even with a dirty cylinder.

Pictures being developed as my digital camera is the poopy. Will post ASAP. I am carrying it today as it has been through about 600 rounds completely pain free.

P.S. It does unfortunately have the lock behind the hammer.
 
Please be sure to keep us updated. The 905 may be my only non-S&W DA revolver soon. My 940 just WOULD NOT extract well enough to be a CCW. Even after a trip back to the factory.
 
I like the idea of a 9mm snubbie........Taurus is very underrated IMO......What are the odds of that lock thing engaging when not wanted???I kind of wondered about this.......:cool:
 
Man, these posts are going to be getting depressing. I really wanted a 905. They are not yet available in MD, and now Taurus has announced that it is building a "smart gun" which will trigger a near complete gun ban in MD and NJ (only smart guns will be legal once one is available). They expect the prototype to be ready within a year. Thus, I will probably be boycotting Taurus and I will never get to own a 905 (or any more great Taurus products). Maybe if I'm lucky someone will be looking to unload a used 905 in the next 6-12months.
 
Domzilla9 asked, "How many moon clips does the Taurus 905 ship with? Thanks."

It ships with five.
 
My extraction problems are kept to a minimum by running a bore snake thru each cylinder every 50 rounds or so.........

about the front sight you could have it serrated and then paint it day glo orange like I did on my 940.
 
This thread started by MJRW is a great example of why I take the time to read The High Road (see section on moon clips below). I had been interested in 9mm revolvers for some time. I have a number of 9mm automatics but I wanted to experiment with a 9mm snub for pocket carry. I didn’t want a .38 partially because I just didn’t want to stock another caliber in the locker, and partially because I’ve been impressed with the results I’ve seen from Corbon’s 9mm 115gr +P round in my own home “water jug tests†when fired out of short barreled weapons. And .357 snub just seemed like a waste of a great cartridge’s potential. I actually have a Taurus 85ch (.38) but I never shot or carried it much. But the gun always functioned flawlessly, so, the Taurus 905 naturally caught my attention. I had my local shop order one last week and I am glad that I did.

I think that the trigger is great and the fit and finish is good and it locks up tight. The front sight could use some improvement. Recoil, even with +P and +P+ is no big deal at all! (of course, this is the steel version of the gun). I brought my .38 snub and some Federal Hydrashocks and shot it side by side with the 9mm snub. The 9mm snub’s muzzle flash and flip are considerably LESS than the .38’s (neither gun in question is ported). It just pushed back a little harder.

Personally, I like the lock on the hammer. I have a gf who isn’t completely ccdw-compatible (I am waiting for the situation where she says “you have a gun with you, right?†and that will settle that) and being able to conveniently lock the snub’s hammer if I have to stow it puts her at ease. The lock is easy to use and you can quickly check to see if it is engaged by sight or touch. The key could be improved – it looks like it won’t hold up to regular use.

I found the revolver to be very accurate. I added Hogue rubber combat grips, which are very comfy and still concealable in the pocket. I carry in rf pocket in an Uncle Mike’s holster. I carry four spare moon clips in a flip open sunglasses case in my man purse. I am looking for a better way to carry the moonclips in my pocket or on my belt.

Regarding the moonclips:
I had never seen or used moonclips (or a revolver chambered in a rimless cartridge) before. Upon taking the revolver to the range I was quite distressed to find that the moon-clips did not securely fit my Corbon or Remington Golden Saber or UMC ammunition! The only ammunition that I could find that fit the clips snuggly (so that you clip in the rounds and roll the clip around in your cupped palms vigorously without have a round falling out) was Federal and Winchester.

I went back to the store where I bought my gun. They couldn’t help me but admitted that they thought that I was a little nutty for wanting a 9mm snubbie anyway. They wanted to sell me a Kahr PM9, which I already have. While I was there I overheard a clerk there tell someone in the shop how you couldn’t believe anything that you read on the Internet. I went to a second gunshop to try their stock of defensive ammunition. I was looking for an alternative to my choice of Corbon and I wasn’t happy about it. Finally, I called Taurus. I must say, the “customer service†rep that answered was rude before I could even say my name. The technician that she referred me to was pretty surly too. I told the tech about my problem and he offered to send me more moonclips, which I have not yet received. So, I was frustrated. Then I can home and read this thread. Of course, the solution, as MJRW suggested, is a screwdriver. I found that fitting the Corbon cartridges loosely in the clip and putting it in the cylinder and then using a hard plastic tool that I had to widen the gap between the clip arms (pushing them closer to each other around a cartridge) worked best. You could use a screwdriver but you might scratch the cylinder if you do it this way. The result is that now I have all five of the moonclips loaded up with Corbon and all of the rounds are held securely. I put the loaded moon clips in the sunglasses case and shook it soundly and threw it across the room. All of the rounds stayed in their clips. Booya! I think I will just keep the clips loaded up with defensive ammo and keep them ready. I won't use the clips at the range. Instead, I will just plug in each round into the cylinder individually and use a small dowel rod to push each spent case out of the cylinder one at a time. You only need the clip to quickly load and extract, not to fire or move the cylinder. I shot 100rds of Winchester White Box and 100 rds of CCI blazer with no problems, except for the stickiness on extraction after 50 rds or so and I happened to have a bore snake with me that day, so it wasn’t a problem.

What’s interesting is the gun shop (which sells IDPA revolvers chambered in ACP cartridges that use Moon clips) couldn’t tell me to manually adjust the clips and they thought that researching on the net was next to worthless. Also, Taurus’s own tech couldn’t tell me about this trick. I’ve checked the manual, and it says nothing about resizing the clips. So, thanks a bunch MJRW. Taurus can now thank you, THR and the Internet for the fact that I am now a very satisfied Taurus owner. Thanks guys! Dominic

PS, here's is a picture of my 905:

taurus905chss.jpg
 
Last edited:
Wow, I actually helped someone.

By the way, guys at local shop had an odd reaction too when I suggested screwdriver. They were like "it won't work." They brought out a screwdriver, let me do it while a small group gathered around. When it worked, there were several "I'll be damned" and "well, you learn something new every day."

Edited to add: I adjusted my clips out of the gun until they were tight and they fit.
 
What are the odds of that lock thing engaging when not wanted???I kind of wondered about this
Click to expand...

I own one Taurus revolver with the lock - a 617S. I have played with the lock a bit and in my experience so far it works as advertised. I've never had any problems firing it.
 
Thanks for the report(s)!!

I have an 85TT with the lock and so far no problems with regular use...one thing I'd advise though is to make sure it's "unlocked" before going on your way with it.Early on,there was a time or two when I discovered my SD weapon was "locked" upon getting home and trying to dry fire it....*nice*:eek:
 
I haven't heard of either the Taurus or S&W systems failing in such a way that they "lock themselves" or otherwise disable the gun, barring of course instances where somebody forgot the lock was on (pure brainfart :D).
 
Thanks, MJRW & domzilla9

I am very intrigued by this new revolver!

A few questions....

Is it expensive?

How easy is it to get extra moon clips?

How do you carry it & does it carry well?

R/fiVe
 
The price at the store was 344.95. I carry it either owb in a pancake thumbreak galco holster and an uncle mike's pocket holster. They both do just fine.
 
MJRW - that' exactly how I carry mine. But tell me, how are you carrying your spare moon clips? I'm having trouble finding a good way to carry mine. Best, Dominic
 
I am looking at buying 2 of these. One for my wife (CHSS) for personal defense and one for myself (SS) as a back-up and summer carry. This information above is good... Keep it comming. My other alternatives are .357 Mag snubbies.
 
I just drop my moonclip in my pocket. With tightening them, its sort of like dropping a speedloader in your pocket.
 
Not sure the exact weight, but certainly light enough Baron. And the price is right for sure. May have to pick one up to go with my Tauras .38 snubbie.
Gramps
:rolleyes:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

N
  • Locked
Moon Clip question. Taurus 905.
Replies
4
Views
707
Nushif
N
C
  • Locked
What About: H&R Model 905?
Replies
5
Views
2K
charliemopic
C
R
  • Locked
9mm Taurus 905 review and range Chronograph report
2
Replies
28
Views
5K
HiCap1
H
WC145
  • Locked
I got a wicked good deal on a new 637!!
Replies
2
Views
522
aHFo3
aHFo3
WC145
  • Locked
J-Frame Chronograph results - .38spl, 9mm, .38 Super, 9x23 Winchester
Replies
10
Views
2K
WC145
WC145
Back
Top