jad0110
Member
It's been a few years since I've owned a Taurus. Had a model 94 that was a lemon, and a model 66 that was very nice. I own a couple of .44 Mags, but this is my first .44 Special. I've always been intrigued by the L Frame S&W 696, but the prices I've seen lately have been a turnoff.
So I came upon a nice model 431 last month at a gun show and thought, why not? It passed the revolver checkout with flying colors, except for a tad of side-to-side play in the cylinder which did not effect barrel to cylinder alignment. The single action trigger is pretty good, but the double action was gritty. But I sensed that the problem was very likely lack of lubrication in the internals, a theory I later confirmed by cleaning out and relubing the inside of the gun. Double action is now as smooth as my S&Ws, and the release is nearly as good. Trigger return is quite good as well. Finish wise, I'd say the gun is in 99% condition.
This particular gun is a 3", fixed sight .44 Special with the factory wood stocks made in 1993. The stocks are quite comfortable, and the gun points naturally so I won't be switching them out. I was having a bit of an off day in my double action trigger control (may have been the gritty, pre cleaned up internals), but managed a sub 1" group at 7 yards (2 handed off hand) shooting Georgia Arms 200 grain RNL cowboy loads in single action. The sight picture is reasonably good, in spite of the shallow fixed sights. Spent case ejection was easy with no case sticking, and the gun proved to be 100% reliable over 2 separate shooting sessions. Everyone who tried it loved the gun. Plus, it looks positively menacing with 200 grain Gold Dot hollowpoints loaded up
(see pics below).
I am very pleased with this gun, and am seriously considering a leather IWB from either FIST or Lobo to start carrying it. I've already got 2 CA-44 HKS speedloaders on order.
The price tag of $268 was the icing on the cake!
Good luck finding a 696 for that.
So I came upon a nice model 431 last month at a gun show and thought, why not? It passed the revolver checkout with flying colors, except for a tad of side-to-side play in the cylinder which did not effect barrel to cylinder alignment. The single action trigger is pretty good, but the double action was gritty. But I sensed that the problem was very likely lack of lubrication in the internals, a theory I later confirmed by cleaning out and relubing the inside of the gun. Double action is now as smooth as my S&Ws, and the release is nearly as good. Trigger return is quite good as well. Finish wise, I'd say the gun is in 99% condition.
This particular gun is a 3", fixed sight .44 Special with the factory wood stocks made in 1993. The stocks are quite comfortable, and the gun points naturally so I won't be switching them out. I was having a bit of an off day in my double action trigger control (may have been the gritty, pre cleaned up internals), but managed a sub 1" group at 7 yards (2 handed off hand) shooting Georgia Arms 200 grain RNL cowboy loads in single action. The sight picture is reasonably good, in spite of the shallow fixed sights. Spent case ejection was easy with no case sticking, and the gun proved to be 100% reliable over 2 separate shooting sessions. Everyone who tried it loved the gun. Plus, it looks positively menacing with 200 grain Gold Dot hollowpoints loaded up
(see pics below).I am very pleased with this gun, and am seriously considering a leather IWB from either FIST or Lobo to start carrying it. I've already got 2 CA-44 HKS speedloaders on order.
The price tag of $268 was the icing on the cake!
Good luck finding a 696 for that.
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Par for the course, I was low on cash at that time so I had to walk away empty handed. A few days later I went back to the shop...it was gone.
