Taurus and Beretta Single Actions

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TennJed

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I have lots of Ruger revolvers, both SA & DA, but have a hankering for a new 357 SA. I would like a case colored blued one. I saw a new Taurus ($419) and a Beretta ($600) and must say I was impressed with the finish and they felt like good quality guns while fondling them in the store.

What is the story with them. I have never really seen either mentioned on message boards. Anyone have one? Can I expect a long life out of either? Do they have good reputations?

I know Taurus sucks l, blah blah. If you don't have any info pertaining to their SAs please move along
 
I had a Taurus Gaucho in 45 Colt, was OK, never gave me any trouble.

I have currently a Beretta Stampede in 45 Colt, and really like it, Ive had no problems with it, it's accurate the action is good.

Stampede
BerettaStampede45_zps34cba241.jpg
 
The guys in the Black Powder section have a lot of good things to say about Uberti and Pietta as well.

As I recall the Beretta Stampede is actually a Uberti made gun. Beretta bought out Uberti a few years back and passed along the making of the Stampeded models to Uberti but still sell them under the Beretta name.

I've been using a pair of Pietta 1873's chambered in .357 for my cowboy action shooting. The first was bought used and the second new based on how nice the used one was. I've shot quite a few thousand rounds of ammo thru them at this point. Including a couple of hundred .357Mag loads. But mostly .38Spl at around normal pressure. The guns are ticking along as nice as the day I bought them. Well... other than the triggers smoothening up from the use.

Something to consider is that these guns have fixed sights. If you wish to shoot a wide variety of ammo from the guns you would do well to consider a Ruger Blackhawk instead. The adjustable sights on the Blackhawk make it easier to accomadate the range of impact points for the different ammo.

Otherwise you will be stuck with picking a couple of specially matched loads that just happen to shoot to the same point of impact and then trim the tall front sight down to suit your ammo.

Yep, the front sights tend to be modeled after the original old .45Colt guns. So for most .38and .357 ammo the front blade will be too tall. You'll need to file it down in small amounts and with due care to how you shoot the gun to get it to match your POI to your POA. It even matters if you shoot one handed or two handed.

In my case after working it down and living with having to aim slightly high I finally came to the conclusion that I prefer this style of gun shot one handed. Then I settled on my "normal" load of 124gn jacketed or 130grain cast with a nice near top end .38Spl load of powder. It produces a fun amount of recoil which is still somewhat light. But if I shoot .357Mag out of this setup the POI is about 2 to 2.5 inches lower at around 15 yards due to the faster bullet leaving earlier in the recoil movement. But I can live with that since they are primarily used for my .38Spl loads.
 
Uberti and Pietta make good products that sometimes need a little "fine tuning". You won't find a new shipped Taurus, they discontinued them because of "quality control" issues.
 
Thanks guys, I have a couple of Vaquero so i am used to the fixed sights. The interesting thing about the Taurus is the gun shop had a total of 4 all New In Box. Not sure how long they have had them or where they came from
 
The guns themselves I don't have anything against. What appears to be a host of horror stories about how Taurus USA handles warranty issues and repairs is what I would suggest you look into before you leap in such a direction.

Are your Vaqueros in stainless? So now you want a nice classic looking finish? Just curious about what you want from the new gun compared to your Rugers.

Oh, and you do realize that the Italian clones are done as the old original Colt action design? The ones where you go to half cock to load/unload and lower the hammer on the empty chamber if you want to carry the gun around safely.
 
The guns themselves I don't have anything against. What appears to be a host of horror stories about how Taurus USA handles warranty issues and repairs is what I would suggest you look into before you leap in such a direction.

Are your Vaqueros in stainless? So now you want a nice classic looking finish? Just curious about what you want from the new gun compared to your Rugers.

Oh, and you do realize that the Italian clones are done as the old original Colt action design? The ones where you go to half cock to load/unload and lower the hammer on the empty chamber if you want to carry the gun around safely.
My vaqueros are stainless and in 45 and I want a SA 357. Kinda want the case color finish. With over 10 total Ruger revolvers, I thought I might try something different.

I may be mistaken, but I thought I remember seeing a transfer bar/firing pin block on both the Beretta and the Taurus when handling them today. They both had the 3 cock hammer, but I think I remember a bar. I also looked at a Cimarron and Uberti (both stainless) that if I recall correctly had a hammer mounted firing pin and did not transfer bar
 
The Taurus Gaucho and Beretta Stampede, both have transfer bar safeties, making them safe to load all 6 rounds, but they both have to be put half-cock to load.
 
TennJed

It was my understanding the Taurus had a lot of problems with their Gaucho revolvers and basically sold them off at very low prices several years ago. I have a Beretta Stampede in .45LC and I am very impressed by its quality and overall fit and finish. It uses a transfer bar safety and is safe to carry with six rounds.
 
I have lots of Ruger revolvers, both SA & DA, but have a hankering for a new 357 SA. I would like a case colored blued one. I saw a new Taurus ($419) and a Beretta ($600) and must say I was impressed with the finish and they felt like good quality guns while fondling them in the store.
Both the Beretta and the Taurus have pretty bad reputations for reliability. Taurus discontinued the Gaucho because of it. The Beretta is better, but their transfer bar design is still fragile and they break a lot in cowboy action competition. If you want a good cheap case-hardened SAA then the Pietta made, Heritage USA assembled Big Bore Rough Rider might be a good choice.
 
Beretta Stampede Bisley

I have a Beretta Stampede Bisley.I have shot many hundreds of rounds through it.It is accurate,well made,and has a very nice fit and finish.The action is very smooth and the trigger is smooth and crisp.It is a joy to shoot.I love it.

Bisley005-1.jpg
Bisley013.jpg
Bisley012.jpg :scrutiny:
 
The Beretta's are basically Uberti sixguns with a transfer bar action. Good guns and a good value. The Taurus has a bad reputation but those I handled seemed like good guns. I almost bought a bead blasted stainless Gaucho at one point but passed because it had cracked grips.
 
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