Taurus handguns

[The_Armed_Therapist]

My first handgun purchase was a Taurus 445(?)... a .44 special revolver. I bought it for $229 and the guy I bought it from made fun of me for choosing it. He said if I ever wanted to sell it, that no one would ever want it and that the .44 special round was junk. He also made fun of his own price, saying it was that cheap because Taurus revolvers stink.

That store no longer exists, probably because the owner was an idiot. I shot at least 1,000 rounds through that thing without a single problem. I carried it everywhere and even fit in most pockets (2 1/4 inch barrel). I wasn't sure at the time, but now realize that the .44 special is NOT a junk round, but a terribly underrated round. Additionally, I sold it for $300 very recently so that I could buy something else. I don't regret selling it, but miss it terribly. Is it right to get rid of a gun that was so perfect? LOL

Anyways, I know that this doesn't necessarily carry over into Taurus autoloaders nor a conversation about their customer service, but I really wanted to say it. They don't make that model anymore, but hopefully I can find another one some day.

 

[KRMoose]

Inexpensive, but it can be a crap-shoot

After poking around the interwebs about Taurus I figure I'll throw in my 2 cents on this old thread. First, I own 2 Taurus pistols - a PT 24/7 PRO .45 ACP and a 738 TCP .380.
I bought the 24/7 used (1st handgun!) and it looked as though it had barely been fired. I soon learned why it was traded...it had the "old" style mags which caused various stovepipe and FTE problems. I rarely got through a full mag. It was supposedly a known issue and Taurus CS swapped them for no charge with little hassle. (BTW, there was a very noticeable difference between the old and new mags) The new mags have improved the reliability for the most part, but now I think I need a new recoil spring as I still have occasional FTE issues but nowhere near as bad as it was. Overall, I like the look, feel, and accuracy of the weapon, but until I get the bugs worked out I wouldn't trust my life with it. I am considering trading it for the new SA XDS, but that's another matter.
I bought the 738 new for my wife. I cleaned it and took it to the range. After about 2 dozen rounds, the trigger began to fail to engage the firing pin. I had to squeeze with all my might to get it to engage. Not reliable and most importantly not safe. I called CS they said they would gladly repair it under warranty. Problem is, even though it was brand new they insisted I pay for 2-day FedEx ("dangerous goods") which was $50. I included a letter explaining that I was very unhappy having to pay the shipping for what was clearly a manufacturing defect on a brand new gun. They did repair the gun, which now seems to work fine after 50 rounds and no issues. However Taurus still has not responded to my letter.
In summary, I have owned 2 Taurus guns, have had problems with both, and their Lifetime Warranty has cost me $50. All I wanted was a response. I got nothing. So, in my experience I could not in good conscience recommend Taurus to anyone. There are better low-cost options, and the original XD's are comparable in price and MUCH higher quality. Thanks.

 

[exavid]

I had two Taurus pistols, a TCP and a Slim .40S&W. The .40 had some problems with FTF from light strikes. After sending it back and having it returned from Taurus I took it to the range and it went full automatic. I returned it to Taurus and they refunded my purchase price. The TCP was nice little .380, shot well, accurate, and nice to handle. Until the slide broke in two at the ejection port. One piece flew forward launched by the recoil spring but the rear half blew back and hit my friend who was trying the gun, in the cheek cracking a tooth. I sent this one along with pictures to Taurus and asked for my money back. I've had their revolvers in the past with no problem but don't think I'll buy any of their pistols again.

 

[TheDaywalkersDad]

Most of my experience with Taurus firearms has been with their older guns. My parents have a PT92 that has been shot a lot over the last 3 decades. It's a great gun once you get past how fat the grip is. They also have a Model 85 but the round count is low. No issues with either gun.
I owned one of their older 4" .357magnums for several years and put about 2,500 rounds through it (mostly .38spl). I currently own a 24/7 OSS but the round count is under 500. No issues thus far.
My wife gave me a PT22 about 10-15 years ago. It probably has less than 2,000 rounds through over the years. It began malfunctioning constantly as was recently sent back to Taurus. I got it back this month after less than 2 weeks. 100rnds were shot last week with no problems. The only complaint that I have with their customer service is they didn't include any info regarding what they did to fix the gun.
I like Taurus but they've never been my first choice. I've always gotten them when a deal presented itself and most of them have been used.

 

[The Alaskan]

All I can add is what others have said: it's a crap shoot. However, it has been my experience and my observation that the autoloaders are better than the revolvers.

When I was in the Air Force, I was on my squadron's pistol team, so I bought a Taurus PT99AF stainless as my "practice gun" as it was a near identical copy of the Beretta M9 I was competing with. Man that was a great gun. Thousands of rounds through it. Never a jam, FTF, or FTE. (I used nothing but Winchester 115 grn FMJ ball ammo, and that may have contributed to that experience; I never once fired a hollow point of "PD" round through it.) Truly, I always felt the Taurus was BETTER than the Beretta.

On the other hand, I avoid Taurus revolvers like the plague. Every person I have ever known who owned a Taurus revolver has had problems with them, and almost always the same problem-the cylinders lock up. This cuts across both older and newer revolvers, 357's, 44, and 454's, blued and stainless, Trackers and Raging Bulls.

I live in bear country where revolvers are the preferred carry gun in the field. The aforementioned problems with Taurus revolvers are reflected in their very low resale value. The local FB and online classifieds are abound with used Taurus revolvers at very affordable prices; folks almost have to give them away. ($500 for a stainless 44 or 454). Compare that to used Ruger Redhawks at nearly twice the price.

Even though I have had a good experience with Taurus once, based on so many others' bad experiences, I feel like I was very lucky. I won't be rolling the dice at that table again.

 

[VanGoghComplex]

My first gun was a brand new Taurus revolver, bought in 2013. A model 66.

I recently sold it for a 686+, not because there was anything wrong with the Taurus but because I had decided that I would shoot often and enjoyed the style of gun, so I would upgrade.

Put a few thousand rounds through that gun with no issues. The finish was so-so, the parts fitting was serviceable, the trigger was okay, but every aspect pales in comparison to the Smith's level of quality.

.357 is my favorite caliber, but if I ever decide to fool around with a .44, I'll probably get a Taurus styled after one of the Smiths and take it for a "test drive" in the same way before dropping the cash on a .44 Smith.

 

[Haywood]

I have a 627, 617, and 605 Taurus Revolvers. They have excellent actions and shoot accurately. The 617, 7 shot 357 is a DAO 2" that is in my carry rotation.

 

[JR47]

Meh. Want a crap-shoot? Buy a S&W. Bought a Model 625-3, inspected it every way short of detail disassembly. FIRST shot, the hand broke, rendering the gun useless.

Bought a new Model 617 revolver. Worked fine for the first cylinder full. After that, the gun LOCKED UP, with live ammo in the cylinder. Had to have a gunsmith get the cylinder open (No, it wasn't the ejector rod, either). S&W, after waiting over 6 weeks, replaced the gun.

How about Sig? My P229 cracked the slide at about the 75 round count.

Maybe HK? My USP patterned instead of grouped. New barrel.

Colt? My Series 80 Government Model had an over-sized rear sight dovetail that took three trips to Colt to get fixed. Other wise, the sight migrated to the right after every couple of shots.

I've had MUCH better performance out of Taurus than the "supposedly" better brands.

 

[Gun Master]

I never wanted to own a Taurus handgun, and didn't buy any Taurus products due to bad comments about their guns and customer relations department, as seen on THR.

 

[ugaarguy]

This a 2.5 year old thread that was resurrected by someone asking for help with a specific Taurus model. That post is now it's own thread in Autoloaders. If you'd like to talk about Taurus handguns a general sense please see the more recent thread here - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=786347.