Taurus M66 Stainless

[Werewolf]

I'm considering getting a Taurus M66 Stainless in .357 Mag with 4" barrel.

It is my understanding that Taurus revolvers are just S&W knock offs. If true is the price difference actually worth it or should I look at getting a S&W M66 instead?

 

[stans]

Although the Taurus looks very much like a S&W on the exterior, the interior is a different story. The S&W uses a leaf spring to power the hammer, this gives the S&W that smooth trigger pull. Taurus uses a coil spring which gives the double action pull a stacking effect, that means the pull gets heavier as the hammer moves further back. Taurus revolvers usually show less care in fit and finish and trigger pulls are usually heavier and grittier than S&W. I also think S&W holds an edge in accuracy over most Taurus revolvers. The two big selling points of Taurus are cost and warranty, but since most manufacturers now offer a lifetime warranty, it is down to cost.

 

[J.M.]

Werewolf - Stans pretty much nailed it. The other difference that I can think of is that my Taurus m66 is a 7 shot where the S&W m66 is a six shot.

If it helps you understand, I have a 4" Taurus m66 .357 that I plan to sell to help buy a S&W .357. It's a good shooter, but I'm looking for the nicer fit and finish of the Smith. - JM.

 

[stans]

The earlier model 66 Taurus was 6 shot, Taurus went to a 7 shot cylinder several years ago, then S&W followed suit with the 8 shot model 27 and now the 7 shot 686.

 

[Arub]

The Taurus guarantee, in my opinion, is not a selling point. They and Rossi are owned by Braztech. My Rossi had 3 trips back to Braztech for timing problems. They never did fix it. I finally destroyed the gun, didn't want to put any more money in it (for shipping) playing the old 'wear the customer down' game. I will say that their turn around was terrific, I guess it can be when you don't do anything, but their quality of repairs was non-existent.

I may be the minority here, some, or most folks, may be satisfied with their customer service and support. I'm not.