seeking feedback on Taurus guns, svc, &c

[slicer22]

Hello all, I bought a cool little .22 for my first foray into handguns, in order to avail myself of cheap rounds/cheap initial training. It's a Taurus PT-22 Poly. Speaking from pure form factor it's great, very small and pocketable (I know, .22 isn't optimal for SD.) I've found with good grade ammo it's pretty reliable, maybe a 2% FTF on first round (the rounds have all fired with a 2nd trigger pull.) I'd say that's within rimfire standards.

I'm hoping it holds up. Regarding Taurus per se, I'm wondering what others' experiences have been. I was under the impression that their quality and customer service had come way up but I'm starting to wonder. They have no email contact for customer service, which I find strange; I called the customer service # three times and left messages as I had a question. No one ever called me back. Anyway I'm hoping to get some input and feedback from others who own (or used to own) Taurus guns.

 

[Rob1109]

I was at my LGS for an LC9. The sales guy(who I know) pointed for the downside of the LC9 vs. the Taurus PT 709 Slim. I said "isn't Taurus crap". He shrugged "Not for me they haven't been". So I plunged. GREAT GUN! 800 rounds +/- w/o a hiccup. Right front pocket carry in a DeSantis Nemisis.
YMMV. Best.

 

[krupparms]

If you look around on THR treads you will find alot off bad things said about Taurus! They did make some good guns, but now their guns are a 50% chance you will get a clunker &the Customer Service flat out lies, blames a NIB gun that you just bought is not working because you do not know how to shoot! That's when you get them on the phone! Do yourself a big favor & get a S&W or a Ruger, FEG'., ect. You will be much happier shooting your gun than fighting with Taurus &waiting to get it back only to find it don't work &you have to keep repeating the prossess again &again! Good luck & I hope this post saves you from Taurus :banghead:

 

[gazpacho]

I have owned a total of 5 Taurus firearms to date, and still own them all. One of them, a model 94 22lr revolver, wouls seize up after firing 1 or 2 rounds. My local firearm dealer at the time had excellent customer service. If a new firearm you bought from him failed, he handled the shipping to the manufacturer for repair. The revolver was out of my hands for about 2 weeks, and it has been flawless since then.

YMMV, I have no special concerns with Taurus.

 

[Pwrsrc]

My family and friends experience with Taurus firearms has been great. I do know that their turnaround time on repairs can take quite a while though.

Looking to pick up a Taurus revolver soon once I get the cash.

 

[BigN]

Save yourself the headache, save some money, buy up. Avoid Taurus at all costs. Or you could just go to the nearest casino and gamble your hard-earned money away, same thing.

 

[fatcat4620]

Thats funny the two negative taurus post dont mention owning one. My 605 runs great and so does a friends pt145.

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I don't know what the deal is with Taurus. I have mixed feelings about them. I bought 2 and still own one. My PT709 was one of the first ones made. It jammed on every mag. I called Taurus. FedEx came to my house the next day, picked up the gun and took it away. 4 weeks later it was back and it's been perfect ever since.
I bought the new 9mm PT1911SS. It went bang everytime, was very reliable. Just didn't meet my expectations so I sold it. I'm sure it's would be fine for the beginner\average guy, just not me.
I've read some horrible stories about their CS and I've read great stories about them. Go figure...

On the internet, bad news travels faster than the speed of light. Nobody wants to hear about the good news.

 

[BigN]

I obviously own one, that's why I made the comment I did.

 

[rule303]

I own several Taurus products, and sell a ton of them. I don't find their failure rate to be any worse than most manufacturers, and much better than some. The PT22PLY is relatively new, so there isn't much feedback on them yet.

 

[rduckwor]

I have had one and will not have another. Taurus finally bought it back.

RMD

 

[jwsracin]

love mine (pt111 9mm) would not trade it for any thing. now as some have said i may have a good one and there may be bad ones out there but i think your going to run into that with any maker

 

[fatcat4620]

So BigN what was your problem and what model?

 

[PT92]

Save yourself the headache, save some money, buy up. Avoid Taurus at all costs. Or you could just go to the nearest casino and gamble your hard-earned money away, same thing.

I "gambled" thrice and won every time:

PT-92
PT-25
24/7 OSS Tactical

I think I will be "gambling" when Uncle Sam returns my money soon.

-Cheers

 

[Jbabbler]

The only Taurus product I have ever owned was/is a TCP.

Worked out of the box. Works fine 300 rounds later.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

 

[charlie echo]

Have shot 1000s through my Taurus 44M and 100s of hot loaded and heavy (310 gr) FN bullet Garret Cartrides (that blew out the innards of my Win' '94 lever action).

From day one the double action trigger has been bit heavy (14#s?, not sure) compared to Colt Anaconda revolvers, but I usually cock it for singe action and that feels just right while the Anaconda felt too hairy light. When I get the bead on a felon or a bruin, I don't want a Bang! Until I want it to. The soft grip absorbs too much of the recoil, so I plan to switch to hardwood grips.

Like the ideal of a Lifetime guarantee: Sent it in once in 20 years to replace a screw on the cylinder release. Like how the blued gun has flash marks from all the shootings: Cool.

Accurate, reliable, and strong.

Now days I got mo' money so I'd buy a Ruger Redhawk, GP100, or Alaskan, but for excellent revolver value, Taurus will get it done everytime, if you stay calm and focused.

My wife likes her's.

 

[BigN]

Fatcat: It's a Tracker in 44 mag, stainless. Pretty gun and much cheaper than the others, that's why I originally bought it. I bought it new in March/April of last year and it's been back to Miami 4 times. Just got it back but haven't shot it yet, kinda scared to because I don't want to send it back again. Cylinder locks, hammer locks either back or forward. Have to take the side plate off and fool with the innards to get it to unlock. Just before the 4th time I sent it back, the firing pin popped out and hit me in the face. If the loads I was using were any lighter it would be a 38. Maybe it's just a lemon, maybe it's the gun, maybe whatever but it's the first one I've owned and I can't see buying another and taking a chance. I'm sure some of you have good Taurus guns but I have to go with Ruger or Smith from now on. It's unfortunate I had this experience but that's the way it goes I suppose. Each time I sent it back was for the same lockup problem. I was hoping they could have taken care of it the first time. This last time I sent it in I talked to CS about just replacing it and send me a new one. I didn't care if it was stainless or how long the barrel was, just send me a 44 mag that works. I thought that was a great option for them but they weren't receptive to that idea at all so now I have it back for the 4th time. Maybe it'll shoot, maybe it won't. We'll see but I've lost all confidence in the gun and we know how that ends up, the gun is sold or traded or just sits in the safe.

 

[Jbabbler]

Bign,
even with the good luck ive had so far with mine, I would completely understand why you look poorly at them. I was the same way with Kahr after my CW9 made 3 trips back. It took a while but every Kahr I've owned since then has been perfect. I just picked up a CM9. So far its been fine through 150rounds.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

 

[BAGTIC]

I have at least a dozen Taurus and have never had any problems with any of them. They have been as reliable as my Colts, Ruger, and S&W.

 

[SavageSig]

All gun companies have garbage guns. I've had 2 sigs that were garbage, yet other swear by them. I think Smith and Wessons are bulletproof, but others can drag out anecdotal evidence of terrible NIB guns. My TCP is awesome. I think you should forget about the internet hype and go ahead and get one. Trigger is great, but reliability is a concern simply from the internet articles.

 

[roadliner]

Fortunately my three Taurus handguns, 1 44 special and 2 45acp's, don't read the internet postings. The only handgun that had to go back to the factory was one of my Ruger MKII's due to a factory recall. And I see I just missed the recall of LCP's by a few thousand units. There are lemons everywhere. I've had great luck with Fords and Acura/Hondas. My brother in law won't drive a Ford and some of my friends won't drive Japanese imports, although the latter is more a chauvinistic impulse than an indictment on their quality.

 

[Dr. Sandman]

I have a Taurus revolver in .17 HMR (I don't remember the number) and a PT1911. They are both great guns. I had to adjust the sights a little on the PT1911. Overall, I have been very satisfied with Taurus. What's the deal with anti-Taurus sentiment? I don't get it.

 

[The Red Hot Rider]

Thats funny the two negative taurus post dont mention owning one. My 605 runs great and so does a friends pt145.

Well, I can remedy that. I have owned several. Initially, they shot and performed well. Heck, I was even on the bandwagon and argued with others that Taurus was as good as Smiths and Rugers. I've been eating crow ever since. EVERY Taurus (about 6 guns) I have owned developed problems while the Smiths and Rugers kept tickin'.

Save your cash and get a used Smith or Ruger or other higher-end gun. I speak from experience.

 

[PapaG]

I have owned a dozen or so Tauri, still have one or two. I've sold, at the shop where I work, maybe 150 in the past three years. My summary of their quality takes several tacks....a. they are the most returned to the factory for service gun we sell (S&W,Ruger,Springfield,Kimber,Colt,Sig, and others) and we sell well over a thousand guns a year. b. Some of their models seem to have more issues than others, i.e. the small frame 22 revolvers are horrible lately in terms of lockup, trigger pull, and cylinder/barrel alignment. The Judges, for the first couple years of mfg came with vastly oversize cylinder throats and leaded badly. c. Large frame revolvers and all the trackers we've (and I've) had and sold were uniformly splendid in fit/finish and trigger pull...but not up to classic S&W standards (which also have varied over the years). The autos, for the most part, are uniformly good...few having to go back to the factory.
As for customer service, they are fast but often they don't fix what was the problem...rather they do something else. Calling them can be an exercise in frustration. Ordering special parts such as a scope mount for a tracker series can be really frustrating..."oh, yes, we have it in stock and we'll ship today on your card." Two weeks later a call to them tells us that it is on backorder. "Well, it must have gone to someone else and we didn't have another one." A full five weeks later it arrived.
I'm not totally down on them. I have a Judge still (the answer to a question no one asked), and a 17 Tracker (most accurate 100 yard revolver I've ever had/seen, and another answer to a question no one asked. Both are quite good in fit/finish and trigger pull. The Judge is a fine ten yard gun....with 3" 7 1/2s it will shred a snake's head and with the Win PD ammo it keeps the 3 discs within a spread hand at ten yards. 45 Colts, minute of large belly at 25 yards. Same owner, brother Rossi guns seem to have slightly better fit and finish and much better triggers, out of the box.
I tend to move up a notch and buy Ruger when times are tough, Smith when I'm a little more flush, and Kimber when I'm really lucky.

 

[Confederate]

My experience has been that Taurus revolvers are so-so and their autos are quite good. The revolvers look beautiful, but the tolerances are frequently off. The .22s you mentioned should be great if they work. I have no experience with the small autos, but if they work reliably, the .22 is vastly underrated in my view.