Smith vs Taurus
- Thread starter TRP1
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1 old 0311
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Gonna shoot a little, get the Taurus. Gonna shoot a lot, get the Smith.
MountainBear
Member
Just buy the Smith. Its not even a close contest...
MrTuffPaws
Member
Oh please
MrTuffPaws
Member
value as in what, resale value, dependability, quality, image?
Resale, go with Smith. IMO, they are over priced, but keep that value overtime
Dependability, it's a toss up. It used to be S&W hands down, but S&W's QC of late has been heading south, while Taurus' heads north. I would say that they are pretty close to equal anymore
Quality, See Dependability, but Taurus fit and finish are just as good as S&W any more
Image, There will always be the people out there than think S&W is the end all be all of revolvers. It may have been true at one time, but it is not the case anymore, yet, those people will always look down their noses at Taurus owners.
MountainBear
Member
If you would like further information as to my above comment, then so be it. The internals of the Taurus revolvers is not in the same league as the Smith and Wesson. They look, feel, and perform cheaper in the Taurus. Also if you plan on having any custom work done on it, the Smiths are a better platform to work on...
Now so you don't just think that I'm trashing on Taurus without giving them ANY credit, I do like their recoil absorbing grips...
And to cut off the comment about S&W owners looking down there nose at Taurus owners, I currently own one and have owned several over the years. And I have had the opportunity to shoot more of them than I have owned. So my opinion is informed, I am not just anti-Taurus...
Now so you don't just think that I'm trashing on Taurus without giving them ANY credit, I do like their recoil absorbing grips...
And to cut off the comment about S&W owners looking down there nose at Taurus owners, I currently own one and have owned several over the years. And I have had the opportunity to shoot more of them than I have owned. So my opinion is informed, I am not just anti-Taurus...
MrTuffPaws
Member
Look and feel, yet perform the same, no? I'll admit they they don't polish what doesn't need to be polished, but come on, do you really judge a gun by how polished the inside of the side plate is?
I do agree with you though on custom work. Other than springs, you're pretty much limited with a Taurus.
MountainBear
Member
In fact I do judge a gun on the inside of the side plate, so to speak. One of the factors in how smooth a revolver operates is how parts interact with each other. This includes parts rubbing against not only each other, but also the sideplate and frame. I do not like how Taurus builds their rebound springs for the triggers. It is a weaker system than the S&W which is important in a high recoiling caliber...
Quality matters!
I would take the Cadillac over the KIA, I mean Smith & Wesson over the Taurus any day.
Saving money is one thing saving time frustration and grief is another go with the best and forget about the rest after all Smith & Wesson did invent both the platform and the caliber.
I would take the Cadillac over the KIA, I mean Smith & Wesson over the Taurus any day.
Saving money is one thing saving time frustration and grief is another go with the best and forget about the rest after all Smith & Wesson did invent both the platform and the caliber.
jimmyraythomason
Member
Buy the Taurus,you'll need the money you save for the ammo! BTW, the Taurus is miles beyond being a KIA!
500 Smith
It depends how often you want to shoot your gun, If you want to shoot it and then wait 3 months before you can shoot it again, get a Taurus (it will be that long before you get it back from them for a repair) if you want to get a gun and shoot it when you want, then get a S&W.
Still waiting for my Taurus to return
3 months 3 days.......still waiting........Yes sir in about another week.....BS!
It depends how often you want to shoot your gun, If you want to shoot it and then wait 3 months before you can shoot it again, get a Taurus (it will be that long before you get it back from them for a repair) if you want to get a gun and shoot it when you want, then get a S&W.
Still waiting for my Taurus to return
3 months 3 days.......still waiting........Yes sir in about another week.....BS!
MrTuffPaws
Member
Oh yeah, I do have to say that Taurus' customer service sucks a**. I have dealt with them a few times, just calling them and asking questions, and it is impressive just how bad they are. Luckily, I have never had to deal with getting one of my Taurus repaired.
I swear, how hard would it be to find some knowledgeable persons and hire them to answer customer questions? Heck, they can hire me. I could use the move to FL. Also, their turn around times for repairs is horrid. Do they only have one gun smith working for them?
I swear, how hard would it be to find some knowledgeable persons and hire them to answer customer questions? Heck, they can hire me. I could use the move to FL. Also, their turn around times for repairs is horrid. Do they only have one gun smith working for them?
glockman19
Member
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- 3,700
No Contest S&W all the way
Bartkowski
Member
At a gun show today, I was looking over a Raging Bull and it was the one of the ugliest things I have ever seen, it reminds me of some toy other than the fact it was heavy. The cylinder had quite a bit of wiggle room whereas the two S&W's next to it did not.
Ala Dan
Member in memoriam
No Contest
Get the Smith; if you have a problem - which I hope you don't, Smith will take
care of it~! Likewise, the fine folks at Tauri International WON'T~!
Get the Smith; if you have a problem - which I hope you don't, Smith will take
care of it~! Likewise, the fine folks at Tauri International WON'T~!
Evocatii
Member
+1 for the Smith
I have never shot the 500 in either make but I did have a S&W in need of a repair and they had it back to me fixed within four days from when I shipped it. No complaints here.
I have never shot the 500 in either make but I did have a S&W in need of a repair and they had it back to me fixed within four days from when I shipped it. No complaints here.
tinygnat219
Member
Get the Smith and Wesson. Yeah, you pay more for it, but then for quality expect to pay a bit more. Also, if you decide to sell, you can probably get most of your money back.
Taurus products these days are a crapshoot and that's being nice. Taurus products also don't hold any value. Buy that .500 Taurus Tracker and see what you can sell it for. If you get 50%, you are beating the average.
Taurus products these days are a crapshoot and that's being nice. Taurus products also don't hold any value. Buy that .500 Taurus Tracker and see what you can sell it for. If you get 50%, you are beating the average.
prisoner6
Member
Our shop send 5-6 revolvers a month back to Taurus for various problems. Most troublesome are those that I would consider "high-performance", such as the light weight guns, the super hard recoil guns and the new designs. They tend to fare better in the very basic designs such as plain jane .38s and .357s. I think we sent back one Smith last year.
I have no problem with many of the Taurus revolvers and think they can be a good value if you know what you are doing when looking at them. The exception would be in the exotics, which are more problematic. In this caliber, I would definitely recommend the Smith.
Smith has gotten away from the "classic" designs that the collectors and purists highly regard, but much of what they put out that I see is put together very well, though there is a fall-off in the finishing from what they used to get.
I have no problem with many of the Taurus revolvers and think they can be a good value if you know what you are doing when looking at them. The exception would be in the exotics, which are more problematic. In this caliber, I would definitely recommend the Smith.
Smith has gotten away from the "classic" designs that the collectors and purists highly regard, but much of what they put out that I see is put together very well, though there is a fall-off in the finishing from what they used to get.
Tom Servo
Member
Taurus has made some real improvement in their wheelguns over the last few years. That said, I work in a gun shop, and we see a disproportionate amount of them coming back for service within a few weeks.
Taurus does offer a lifetime warranty, but in reality, it means being without your gun for quite some time. I had one customer who simply gave up after five months, and they wouldn't return his calls. I've had two others who'd rather pay our gunsmith to fix them than wait for Taurus.
Just last weekend, we had a 66 with the cylinder bound up out of the box.
The one time I had to send a gun back to S&W, they paid shipping both ways, I had the gun back in ten days, and they threw night sights on for free "for my trouble."
Taurus does offer a lifetime warranty, but in reality, it means being without your gun for quite some time. I had one customer who simply gave up after five months, and they wouldn't return his calls. I've had two others who'd rather pay our gunsmith to fix them than wait for Taurus.
Just last weekend, we had a 66 with the cylinder bound up out of the box.
The one time I had to send a gun back to S&W, they paid shipping both ways, I had the gun back in ten days, and they threw night sights on for free "for my trouble."
Action_Can_Do
Member
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- May 28, 2005
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- 574
I'm somewhat skeptical of people who say they work in a gun shop, and only see one or two smiths come back in a year for work. I've personally seen one smith and wesson that went back and came back broke. I own 2 taurus handguns (one is a raging bull that only sees heavy 300 grain loads) and neither one has ever needed work. I've also seen smith performance center guns at the gun store that had such sloppy lockup, I wouldn't touch them. That isn't to say that there aren't any piece of junk taurus guns out there, or that there aren't some amazingly accurate smiths out there. It's just not an easy question to answer.
bluetopper
Member
I own some Taurus revolvers that I will put up against any other in accuracy, lockup and triggers, but their reputation will never measure up to Smith's, in some cases deservedly so. There are good ones and lemons in all makes I think.
As the previous poster stated, it's a hard question to answer.
As the previous poster stated, it's a hard question to answer.
cortez kid
Member
I don't have a Taurus other than a POS .25 auto I bought for my wife cause it was cute. I've since scratched that criteria of the list. I've been lucky enough to have aquired the three major sizes in the S&W 500's. They are very well made guns. I can compare them to any of the other of my Smith's new and very old and the 500's are no slouches by any means. I would go for the total package ,S&W 500 cartridge, S&W hand cannon.
kid
kid
ArchAngelCD
Member.
I think Taurus is a fine company but their products can't compare to those of S&W.
Also, I read (sorry, can't remember where I read it) that the cylinder on the Raging Bull 500 is a little shorter and some ammo won't fit correctly. If you reload that won't be a problem because you can adjust the OAL but if you are buying Factory ammo, it's a problem.
Also, I read (sorry, can't remember where I read it) that the cylinder on the Raging Bull 500 is a little shorter and some ammo won't fit correctly. If you reload that won't be a problem because you can adjust the OAL but if you are buying Factory ammo, it's a problem.
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