taurus model 94

[tdv]

JR47...
Your rant sounds like oldfools to the letter. Both from Georgia, hmm. Wow Smith and Wesson loyalty is fierce dude! Maybe you both work at the same gunshop? I just won't be fooled to think a M94 is not suitable for a value minded shooter to consider to carry on their hip. Get real! Stay on topic. The guy that started this thread, simply wanted a basic .22 and asked for thoughts on a Taurus M94. You likely see no merit in anything but a Smith and Wesson revolver anyway period. So who has bias? Fortunately, I much prefer shooting, hunting, and carry any issued rifle and pistol into combat in service to my country, than arguing over stuff like this! So get off your high horse, open your mind, and consider we all got our opinions. The M94 works, plain and simple. You go spend $600 on a .22 revolver and brag on! Many folks see that as unecessary. Whatever I write in a thread, it is to encourage people to shoot! Also to challenge the fierce brand loyalty that many times cover the truth! Some guns are better made for sure, but that doesn't mean all others are junk. Hey here is an example. At my local indoor range, they have Glock days and competitive shoots. You can only compete with a Glock! Don't bring another gun...that would be real competition! The lengths people go to protect their egos and brand loyalty is amazing. Enough on the M94, if you got one, enjoy it. If you hate them, more power to you! Whatever you got shoot the heck out of it! That is much more productive than debating the issue!

 

[tdv]

Hey oldfool! Thanks for the compliment! I now consider you my friend...yes Navy SEALS ain't no wussies is correct! But darn we can be so cheap enough to go out and buy a Taurus. Got to spread my money around you know. If you buy too many top of the line guns, you end up with too few to fill the gun safe, haha! What a mistake, I actually liked some of their models. Yes I love my Smith and Wesson revolvers, maybe as much as you. Take care brother, good shooting!

 

[JR47]

tdv, I wasn't trying to associate with oldfool any more than any other poster. My point was that his post to you was overly broad, and without factual basis. I no longer work in a gun shop, that was decades ago.

I have no high horse beyond being unable to understand people who never have anything good to say about a gun. I have, as was mentioned, a pair of Model 94 revolvers that haven't given me a moments trouble. Along with that I also have a 4", blued, Model 941 that has been likewise trouble-free.

I pointed out that my experience with S&W hasn't been quite as fine a walk in the park as some others would have one believe.

I feel that the Taurus Model 94 is easily a good revolver. I currently own 14 Taurus handguns, and use them to teach new shooters, as well as CCW. Alongside them are Baer, Wilson, Colt, Springfield, and Korth weapons. S&W, in their hay-day, looked like they were finished with a coarse file alongside my Korriphila revolver.

I agree with the shoot them till you drop idea. I have no idea of brand loyalty, having been collecting guns for 55 years. Being an expert witness for the Federal Courts until my retirement enabled me to gather up examples as work expenses.

Oh, and class number?

 

[Hunt480]

Dispite what has been posted on this thread. I have a stainless 5" 94 with thousands of rounds through it with no problems what so ever. I even knew what the trigger pull was like before I bought it. The trigger is good enough for me. It is accurate as my old 22 Colt Frontier or my Single Six Ruger. It is a quality gun for a great price with a great warranty like all Taurus guns. I bought it new about 4 years ago and I got no complaints.

 

[tdv]

JR47...I agree with you my friend, I am frustrated with the QA of every brand from time to time. Class 103, I'm legit. Retired Command Mater Chief. Just another gun nut, freedom loving citizen. I generally seek a bargain in a field gun, I am hard on them in the woods. Like most, I invest more in a CCW piece and tactical gear. The M94 fills the field use role nicely, and my sweetheart shoots it well. It gets shot a couple times a week along with an assortment of other .22s, never any problems. I'm up here in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains of NC now. Much the same values as there in Georgia. Keep pounding on the service reps of all those manufacturers. We drive the quality and market, a good gunsmith is the second place I go. If the manufacturer doesn't listen, they should be out of business. Enjoy your chosen battery of firearms. Good shooting, hunting, etc!

 

[tdv]

JR47...I will add, I had a M941 to give to my daughter, she is very petite, yet shoots very well. She had difficulty with the DA trigger. So I bought her a Smith "Airweight" and put a Crimson Trace grip on it for her. It is a better concealment rig for her needs. An example where I chose the right fit and greater cost to fill it. She has had that little wheelgun through graduate school and now as a wife. I am sure we think alike on this stuff. I too have little brand loyalty, although I have greater confidence in traditional models that work. What do you carry now typically for CCW? I have changed mine around a few times the past 10 years. Between semi-auto and revolver, and .357, .45 Colt, and .45 ACP. Also have a warm weather vs summer rig. I won't carry anything without good sights, unless it is a fixed sight revolver. I have found a few good options...curious what you have learned after 55+ years?

 

[22-rimfire]

I looked at a new Taurus M941 yesterday. I have to say that the trigger was the strongest trigger I have ever tried on a 22 handgun in about that frame size. I can see why your daughter had trouble with the trigger. I did too.

I know that I am prejudiced against products made by Taurus, Hi-Point, Heritage Arms, and a few others. I just don't buy the cheap stuff any more.

I handled that 941 and a 94 yesterday to renew my sense of perspective. I can't say that I'm wrong, but I am certainly somewhat prejudiced against the Tier II and III guns.

I want to like a Taurus M94. I handed a Uberti single action in 22 yesterday too... I have to say I was somewhat impressed with the way if felt in my hand as well as the trigger and general workmanship.

 

[rogertc1]

I own no less than 16 of the Taurus 94-941 series of revolvers. Four of them had problems with locking up when new. I was able to fix them myself with minimal effort. They have all been reliable, a couple are near the 40,000 round mark, and accurate. No parts have broken and I have had no other misshaps. The factory double action trigger pull is horribly stiff. This can be helped a lot with a wolff 6 1/2 lb trigger spring.
Having said all of that, I would not recommend a Taurus 94 to anyone unless they are mechanically inclined and willing to completely disassemble the gun and clean out the copious amounts of grit and gunk that reside in the internals of one of these guns when new. If you don't mind tinkering a little you can make a nice little gun out of one of them. I would buy another one for myself in a heartbeat. The basic gun and its design is sound, they just sometimes need a little finishing.
If you are a person who can look at something and figure out how it works,and have enough patience to do a little fluff and buff, I would say go for it. If you can't, I would say pass.

You have 16 ...are you touvhed?

 

[tdv]

The M94/941 do have a tough DA trigger. SA is acceptable on the ones I own. The DA pull has gotten much better after a few thousand rounds on mine. But my 94s do shoot very well. I would like to see Ruger, take there LCR modular trigger housing and apply it to a 9 or 10 shot .22...maybe that would be a great frame for a compact .22 revolver. The trigger on my LCR is remarkable. Not sure if it would be so light and on a rimfire? By the way, I own numerous Uberti firearms. All in .45 Colt or BP. They have proven to be well made and solid performers. I will continue to buy them.

 

[couldbeanyone]

You have 16 ...are you touvhed?

Am I touched? I guess some might say so. The Taurus 94/941 series are my do everything guns. After all the hundred or so handguns I have owned in the past, they are all I now own.
I use the 94's for hunting and shooting rimfire steel challenges, and general practice. I use the 941's for concealed carry and hunting. I even have a couple I have had rebarreled with 9" barrels.
They have good single action triggers and can often be bought very cheaply. I have learned how to work on them and tune them.
The double action triggers are a little tough, but can be improved with a little polishing and spring work. The trigger pull is still a little stiff, but is a very short and snappy pull that works for me. My wife has a S+W 5" barrelled model 63 that has a longer and lighter double action pull, but my rapid fire accuracy and times have always been better with my 4" model 94's than with her S+W. I don't recommend the trigger pull, but it works for me.
I shoot around 750-1000 rounds every time I go shooting. When I practice shooting steel rapid fire in the summer, I will take more than one identical gun because they get a little to warm to touch after a while if you shoot only one.
I have all barrel lengths and ultralights. How did I get so many. A bargain here, a bargain there. I really didn't figure they would hold up as well as they have. At the rate they are wearing I definitely have a lifetime supply of them. Touched? Maybe, but I am happy with them.

 

[DMZ]

Am I touched? I guess some might say so.

I do not think you are touched. You have found a revolver platform thats suits you well. I have collected 4 Taurus small framed revolvers (M605, M17, 2-M94's). I like the feel and point-ability of them. Mine all wear older style Taurus wood grips. I shoot my 94's a good deal because they are comfortable and I am very proficient with them because of that.

 

[tdv]

Your not touched...just fully experiencing the M94s merit. I am not surprised you have such success with them. Especially if you go to the lengths of tuning the action. I agree with the accuracy results you have had. My M94s are very accurate. I won't give up my M94s either, they do all I need them to do.

 

[JR47]

Both of my Model 94s, and my 941 loosened up on the trigger pull, as was mentioned, after a session or two of dry-firing, with snap caps. Watch TV, and exercise my trigger finger.

My wife loves revolvers, but fell in love with my old Colt Government Model .380, in Coltgard. It's her pocket/purse gun. The thing has been trouble-free for the twenty plus years that I've owned it. When I bought it, it was from an officer who said that the slide wouldn't lock back. Took it home, pulled it down, and lo and behold, he hadn't put the slide stop spring. Cost me a couple of bucks, and away we went.

Tier I Tier II Tier III, ad nauseum. There is no such grouping outside of personal opinion.