Need info on wheel guns
- Thread starter soul_rapier
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Jim March
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You've got a relatively late model stainless steel Taurus with a transfer bar safety.
Decent gun. It should be usable with speedloaders meant for 7-shot S&W 357s like the 686+.
Go find the stickied "checkout thread", go to the beginning and follow those steps. You want to make sure this thing is in decent shape before shooting it.
I'm pretty sure you've got a transfer bar safety system on that model. To make sure, get it UNLOADED (swing the cylinder out with the slide-button on the left), close the EMPTY cylinder and cock it. If the face of the hammer is stepped but doesn't have an obvious pin sticking out, you've got a transfer bar gun. Part of the checkout will ensure that it's in working order.
As to ammo: you've got a 4" barrel 357. You can shoot 38Spl, 38Spl"+P" (stronger) ammo or 357Magnum (stronger yet) ammo in it. Depending on what you want to do or set it up for, there's a LOT of choices. If you're new to handguns, get yourself some standard pressure 38Spl ammo of more or less any type you want, and in a gun that size recoil will be very mild. Work your way up from there depending on what you want. The heaviest hunting loads in 357 are going to be a serious handful but not too bad in that thing; you've got a comfortable rubber grip and "porting" - little rocket nozzles pointing up at the end of the barrel that will help push the nose back down under recoil.
What else...once you have the cylinder open, empty shells can be pushed out with the rod that sticks out to the front. You also have adjustable sights: the rear sight can be moved side to side, up and down. Once you've got it set for a given weight of ammo, they'll usually print to about the same place in a given weight regardless of power level. In other words, a 158gr bullet will hit to about the same elevation (usually!) whether it's 38Spl doing 800fps (feet per second), 38+P doing 1,000fps or 357Mag doing 1,300+. So a lot of people dial their guns in for a given weight and stick with it across all power levels: practice, street defense, "woods defense"/hunting.
My 357 is dialed in for 135gr loads as I like a particular defense round: the Speer Gold Dot 135gr 357Mag. This slug is low powered as 357s go, very accurate and with a big hollowpoint cavity.
Upshot: you've got a good general purpose handgun. Make sure it's OK before shooting it, it probably is (steel-frame Tauruses are pretty decent) and enjoy.
Decent gun. It should be usable with speedloaders meant for 7-shot S&W 357s like the 686+.
Go find the stickied "checkout thread", go to the beginning and follow those steps. You want to make sure this thing is in decent shape before shooting it.
I'm pretty sure you've got a transfer bar safety system on that model. To make sure, get it UNLOADED (swing the cylinder out with the slide-button on the left), close the EMPTY cylinder and cock it. If the face of the hammer is stepped but doesn't have an obvious pin sticking out, you've got a transfer bar gun. Part of the checkout will ensure that it's in working order.
As to ammo: you've got a 4" barrel 357. You can shoot 38Spl, 38Spl"+P" (stronger) ammo or 357Magnum (stronger yet) ammo in it. Depending on what you want to do or set it up for, there's a LOT of choices. If you're new to handguns, get yourself some standard pressure 38Spl ammo of more or less any type you want, and in a gun that size recoil will be very mild. Work your way up from there depending on what you want. The heaviest hunting loads in 357 are going to be a serious handful but not too bad in that thing; you've got a comfortable rubber grip and "porting" - little rocket nozzles pointing up at the end of the barrel that will help push the nose back down under recoil.
What else...once you have the cylinder open, empty shells can be pushed out with the rod that sticks out to the front. You also have adjustable sights: the rear sight can be moved side to side, up and down. Once you've got it set for a given weight of ammo, they'll usually print to about the same place in a given weight regardless of power level. In other words, a 158gr bullet will hit to about the same elevation (usually!) whether it's 38Spl doing 800fps (feet per second), 38+P doing 1,000fps or 357Mag doing 1,300+. So a lot of people dial their guns in for a given weight and stick with it across all power levels: practice, street defense, "woods defense"/hunting.
My 357 is dialed in for 135gr loads as I like a particular defense round: the Speer Gold Dot 135gr 357Mag. This slug is low powered as 357s go, very accurate and with a big hollowpoint cavity.
Upshot: you've got a good general purpose handgun. Make sure it's OK before shooting it, it probably is (steel-frame Tauruses are pretty decent) and enjoy.
soul_rapier
Member
I don't see a pin but a got a key that locks the hammer when i got the gun i got 1000 rounds of blazer HP. been shooting them for a long time now . its like day and night with a wheelgun and a auto
Jim March
Member
Ah. OK, if it's late enough model to have the keylock it's *definitely* based on the transfer bar ignition type.
It's worth running "the checkout" once in a while, mainly to check for "endshake". That's when the cylinder is loose in the front-back direction, able to be moved closer to and further away from the barrel. That sort of looseness lets the cylinder act as a battering ram under recoil, stretching the frame over time. If caught early it can be shimmed and the gun saved. A VERY small amount is tolerable but once it gets to a certain point the damage to the gun accelerates.
It's worth running "the checkout" once in a while, mainly to check for "endshake". That's when the cylinder is loose in the front-back direction, able to be moved closer to and further away from the barrel. That sort of looseness lets the cylinder act as a battering ram under recoil, stretching the frame over time. If caught early it can be shimmed and the gun saved. A VERY small amount is tolerable but once it gets to a certain point the damage to the gun accelerates.
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