Taurus Model 66 FANTASTIC

[Normandy]

I recently saw a Taurus 66 (copy of S&W 19) with 6" barrel on Gunbroker, and won the auction for $360 shipped. The pictures looked good, but the revolver in hand was "as new"! No signs of use whatsoever, except the tiny drag line at the rear of the frame, where the cylinder closes.

I ran a box of .38 Special through it at the range yesterday, and if I didn't know better I'd think I was shooting a Python. Seriously. My shooting buddy said the same thing.

It is deadly accurate, has an amazingly smooth trigger pull, and the double action is less than 8#.

Manufacture date is 1987. Either Taurus was building exceptional revolvers back then, or a wonderful job was done by a gunsmith prior to my owning it.

BY FAR the best $360 I've ever spent on a handgun.

 

[CajunBass]

Wood grips or rubber?

Taurus did indeed build VERY good guns back in the 80's and early 90's in my experience. I used to own a Model 65, (fixed sight version of the 66) and a seven shot 66 (with rubber grips) that were from the early 90's both of them. They were as nice as any Smith & Wesson I've ever owned, and I've owned a few Smith & Wessons.

I don't care much for new offerings from either company.

 

[rhinoh]

6 or 7 shot? I picked up a 6" SS Taurus 66 7 shot 3 months ago when Palmetto State Armory had them for $379.
Had to send mine back to Taurus as it shot way left.
They fixed it and I had it back in about 2 weeks.
I must say fit and finish is on par with my S&Ws.
Keeping a lookout for a 4" now...

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Manufacture date is 1987. Either Taurus was building exceptional revolvers back then, or a wonderful job was done by a gunsmith prior to my owning it.

That's key right there. Congrats!

 

[Wishoot]

That's cool. Congratulations.

There's a ton of Taurus bashing and it's nice to hear something positive about them once in a while.

 

[Tallball]

My first real handgun was a Taurus 66 that I bought in the late 1980's from a friend going through a divorce. It was barely used, had a great trigger, and was very accurate. I had to use it for SD twice. Eventually it was stolen in a burglary. I replaced it with a very similar Taurus 66 that I also bought used. It is also a truly excellent revolver and my go-to handgun for SD. I paid $200 apiece for them.

Anyone who has had a problem with Taurus has my full sympathy. But my two model 66's are/were as good as any revolver I have ever owned, including S&W and Ruger.

 

[Normandy]

Mine is 6 shot, with gorgeous wooden target grips. For an average sized guy, this revolver is a handful (in size), and extremely well balanced for a long-barreled gun.

It actually shoots a tad better than my S&W stainless 66, and that's saying something.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I believe the Taurus model 66 is the gun Joel uses in the game Last of Us. Pretty cool!

 

[skidder]

Congrats! I'm glad you got a good one.

 

[BullRunBear]

Have to agree with you. I got one last year: blued, 4"barrel, mid-1980s, six shot. It's accurate, well balanced, and has a sweet double action trigger. Only my K-38 and K-22 have better DA triggers. Paid $200 and thought it was a great bargain.

Jeff

 

[MedWheeler]

I have one from that same year, purchased new the day after I turned 21. It's a great shooter. Only issue is the outer sleeve on the ejector rod sometimes works loose, sticking the cylinder shut. A touch of Loc-Tite cures that.

I even carried it on the job for a little while the first year I was on the force (later the same year I bought it.)

Like TallBall writes in post 6 above, mine was also stolen in a (vehicle) burglary, in 1989. Recovered about two or three years later, a little worse for wear, but still shoots and handles well..

 

[peacebutready]

This thread gave me an urge to hunt down a made in 80s Taurus .357. I'm not willing to chance a new one. Enjoy in good health, Normandy.

Off Topic: I guess people's guns are stolen more than I thought. I'm wondering if it's because the thieves are prohibited from purchasing one.

 

[peacebutready]

1980s Taurus

Were the 1980s Taurus' really good? On par with S&W? I know some of their Beretta 92 clones out there are really good. Probably not now, though.

 

[Tallball]

Maybe they have gotten worse and that's why the negative comments confuse me. I bought my PT92 brand-new in 1990 and it has been great. My two older model 85's (one stolen when the 66 was) have also been completely reliable and excellent shooters.

 

[Doogle]

Indeed, they can be very good. I have a Model 689...>

...much the same frame size as the 66. These were produced from around 1989 to 1999. I've been very happy with mine.

​

 

[Tallball]

Doogle - Yours is like the one I have now, though mine has some of the Thailand hardwood grips from eBay. I knew it had a slightly different model number, but was too lazy to look it up. It's 689 rather than 66 because of the rib on the top, if I recall. Mine has a ridiculously good trigger. My FiL was mildly annoyed to find that its accuracy and trigger are just about as good as his Dan Wesson.

 

[Doogle]

Tallball - thanks for showing your 689. I'm interested in the stocks...>

I was looking at the Thai wood stocks recently and they looked promising. I've been pondering getting a set as the prices are good. Your set looks very nice.

Could you advise on how well they fit the 689? Was any modification required by yourself?

Were they described as suitable for the 689 specifically or just Taurus large/medium frame square butts in general? Also, do your stocks cover the back strap or is it open?

Thanks.

 

[aarondhgraham]

There's a ton of Taurus bashing and it's nice to hear something positive about them once in a while.

You may notice that most of the Taurus bashing is for new guns,,,
Their designs have always been decent,,,
For the most art they cloned S&W's.

But now the quality control out of their plant causes their dismal reputation,,,
A great design with poor manufacturing makes for a poor pistol.

I recently fired an older Model 94 in .22 LR,,,
That gun had a trigger that rivaled my any of my S&W's.

But again it was a much older version.

If you get a good one from the factory,,,
It will probably be a gun that will last forever.

Unfortunately you chances of getting a bad one are very high.

My LGS won't stock Taurus revolvers anymore,,,
He said he was tired of having to return 2-3 out of 10 for obvious factory defects.

Aarond

.

 

[Tallball]

Doogle - If I remember correctly the grips were listed as fitting Taurus medium frame revolvers. They fit perfectly with zero modification. They did take 2-3 weeks to arrive, but that is to be expected and was clearly stated when I ordered them. I love they way they look and they give my extra-large hands more to hold onto. My visual memory for anything is poor (six concussions), but I am pretty sure they cover the backstrap. I will double-check later today.

 

[JR47]

My, my, my, in other threads the same bashers point to older Taurus guns as the source of their "proof". Here, it's the newer guns.

One of our LGS, that has several gunsmith's in-house, has stopped handling S&W in anything but special order. He says that he was tired of returning entire orders of revolvers as being out of time.

Another refuses to stock Glocks. He says that Glock has at least three different price scales, depending upon who is buying the gun, and refuses to participate in "such a shoddy business model" (his words).

I just obtained a new in the box PT638 Pro on Black Friday in a trade for some rim-fire ammo. Unlike all too many, who apparently refuse to examine guns prior to purchase, I went over this one before taking it, and found zero issues. Cleaned it, lubed it, and headed for the range. 300 rounds without a single failure of any sort. Came with two magazines, as well. Two of us were shooting it, and it held under 3" at 25 yards with three different brands of ball ammo. Federal, Winchester, and MagTech.

Took it home, pulled it down, cleaned it, inspected it for wear (none found), and have since fired it a total of 800 rounds without issue.

With the rush to get guns to the market in the past six years, QC has fallen from every manufacturer, even the high priced boutique builders.

Then again, looking at many complaints, it seems like all too many seem to never look at what they're buying before paying for it, and walking out. Sad.

 

[kBob]

I did an article in the mid 1980's comparing a new Taurus 66 to a lightly used Model 19 S&W.

The only issue I had with the 66 was some metal flakes I found in the mechanism when I removed the side plate. After those were removed and everything lubed with clean Rig Grease there was little to recommend one over the other. I thought the price difference did make up for the lack of the name Smith and Wesson and had I been buying a six inch mid frame .357 at the time I would likely have gone for the Taurus and more accessories.

I did not however dash out and sell my model 19 used in the comparison to get the money to purchase the loaner sent to the magazine for testing.

I was surprised to find those metal flakes as I do believe some gun companies do take the effort to make sure there are no issues with guns sent out to the press and back then Taurus seemed not guilty of that. I suppose if a total newfer in the revolver scene had gotten it and just used it without inspecting it inside and out and finding those flakes first he would have bad mouthed Taurus to everyone for having a gritty trigger. Perhaps rightly so as one does expect the factory to do some QC before shipping.

There are times when I feel the internet makes folks think a larger number, or percentage, of problem guns of any make exist than actually do simply because it gives a soap box to anyone that has any issues.

-kBob

 

[peacebutready]

With the rush to get guns to the market in the past six years, QC has fallen from every manufacturer, even the high priced boutique builders.

Any opinions when this will improve for Taurus? Remington? Marlin?

 

[Tallball]

Doogle - The grips do cover the backstrap.

It turns out that my FiL suspects his Dan Wesson 357 is developing a crack in the frame. After his experience with mine his goal is to replace it with a "classic" Taurus model 66 with a six inch barrel and preferably made of stainless steel. Since he is not willing to pay more than $300, it may take a while.

 

[BSA1]

Alas Taurus reputation for spotty quality control is deserved. I have previously posted in detail my experience with a defective M-941 and the replacement gun. Briefly Taurus quickly replaced the first gun with a same model replacement gun.

Unfortunately the replacement gun had several minor issues.

The action was bone dry of any oil and caused the action to lock up. A few drops of Breakfree CLP resolve that problem.

The second problem was the trigger pull was gritty. When I removed the sideplate I discovered a ½” long burr on the inside bottom edge of the sideplate rubbing against the trigger. A couple of file strokes caused the entire burr to come off in one piece. It took less time to remove the burr than to remove the sideplate.

The third problem was cosmetic. The bluing on the muzzle was spotty and looked bad. I removed the bluing and used Oxpho cold blue. It came out looking great.

But all of that is meaningless unless the gun will shoot. And shoot well it does. All eight rounds in 1 3/8” group at 10 yards with Speer Gold Dot.

A customer has the right to expect his new gun to be free of even minor problems such as this. On the other hand these were all easily corrected on the kitchen table unlike the overclocked barrels so common on S&W revolvers.

This is a long-winded way of saying I will not pass up the opportunity to buy another Taurus if the price is right.

 

[Doogle]

Tallball - thanks very much for your comments on the Thai 689 grips...>

...I appreciate the hands-on viewpoint. I'm encouraged by them fitting without work. I would prefer a set that doesn't cover the backstrap (just to reduce the trigger reach in DA a little) but would still consider ones that do cover it.

Again, thanks for taking the time.