Taurus snub locked up

[hollywood63]

Poly 605 here and neary an issue with any of the 5 that I have. As stated before like any gun they should be taken apart cleaned and oiled.

 

[Ruger Redhawk]

Not to bash Taurus,
I'm sure they probably make some decent guns.
In all fairness I've had other brand new guns with issues not only this Taurus.


Not to sound like I don't care , I won't put myself in the position to have to deal with the Taurus problems.
I owned a Taurus one time. I'm going back a little over 11 yrs ago and hopefully there has been some improvement with Taurus's Quality Control since then.
I had just bought I want to say it was a M85 Ultralite 38spl for my soon to be wife.
It was going to be a early Christmas present. I took it right home and cleaned it.
The sad part I didn't notice it until we got to the range the following day.
I handed her the gun and she fired a few rounds.

When she handed it back to me was when I noticed a serious problem. I bought her that gun for her carry gun and it had to be right.
The cylinder wouldn't lock up even with the hammer back. My dealer sent it back to Taurus.
He got it back a couple weeks or so later. I never touched that gun again. I traded it back in on a S&W M 637. I made up my mind after that I will never own another Taurus not even on a bet.

 

[Old Fuff]

What would you have done if it was a S&W that had the same condition? For the record I've seen it happen several times. Not hard to correct, but S&W revolvers are not 100% inspected of defects.

 

[Ruger Redhawk]

What would you have done if it was a S&W that had the same condition? For the record I've seen it happen several times. Not hard to correct, but S&W revolvers are not 100% inspected of defects.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen with S&W's or another brand of gun for that matter.. I've bought brand new Ruger's and had to send a few of them back. In fact not a month ago I ended up sending a brand new SR1911 9mm back.
After my experience with that Taurus and reading all the Taurus complaints over the years was what made my mind up to never buy or own another Taurus. I hate to say this because I've been a Ruger fan for over 40 years. Ruger's QC has really slipped over the last few years.

I guess I should never say never but I don't foresee a Taurus anytime soon.

 

[Old Fuff]

My comment was not intended to turn you toward buying another Taurus, but rather to make it clear that all too many handguns from supposedly top line makers can, and are suffering from what are usually minor mechanical problems.

With many decades of experience I see the reasons as follows:

Because of the political environment going back about 10 years at least, the demand has resulted in all manufactures turning out products in record quantities. The result is less inspection and more rush.

Todays firearms are supposed to use "drop-in" parts that require no fitting nor adjustment. While in theory this may be good, in practice it isn't always true. Problems that were often spotted and corrected by skilled and experienced final assemblers are not noticed now until discovered by the ultimate buyer.

All manufacturers are trying to remain competitive while their costs go up. Thus production and material shortcuts are the order of the day.

This is not to suggest that older production guns were prefect - in particular during times of high production. But minor quality issues do seem to have been less likely.

 

[Ruger Redhawk]

My comment was not intended to turn you toward buying another Taurus, but rather to make it clear that all too many handguns from supposedly top line makers can, and are suffering from what are usually minor mechanical problems.

With many decades of experience I see the reasons as follows:

Because of the political environment going back about 10 years at least, the demand has resulted in all manufactures turning out products in record quantities. The result is less inspection and more rush.

Todays firearms are supposed to use "drop-in" parts that require no fitting nor adjustment. While in theory this may be good, in practice it isn't always true. Problems that were often spotted and corrected by skilled and experienced final assemblers are not noticed now until discovered by the ultimate buyer.

All manufacturers are trying to remain competitive while their costs go up. Thus production and material shortcuts are the order of the day.

This is not to suggest that older production guns were prefect - in particular during times of high production. But minor quality issues do seem to have been less likely.

I understand what you are saying and have to agree with you. The gun makers with all the political pressure and people buying guns like there is no tomorrow the bottom line is they want to get them shipped out A.S.A.P. They probably figure we can repair or replace them down the road.
Like I said it isn't just Taurus
I had 2 brand new Ruger LCR's replaced. They replaced the first one with another defective one. Over the years I've gotten replacement guns from Colt, S&W, Ithaca and Ruger to name a few and I'm going back probably 30-35 yrs. No I wasn't bashing Taurus. The only reason I brought it up was because it was a Taurus thread. I've known people that really liked their Taurus's I just wasn't the lucky one to get one I could trust.
Years ago I lived in S.FL and when past Taurus many times. I even knew one of the Taurus salesmen.

 

[Fuego]

This was a learning experience. I bought a used Taurus K Frame 4" service revolver at a gun show 10 years ago and have had no problems with it whatsoever.

Get the proper tools (screwdrivers) from Brownells, take the side plate off, and carefully observe how it works. Then disassemble it, and inspect every part with a 10X jewelers loupe. Knock off any burrs, and polish wear points that look rough with 600 grit wet or dry glued to a popsicle stick.

Carefully reassemble it. Modern digital cameras are a great help when opening a revolver for the first-time. Take lots of pictures!

Also, be aware that many parts are under spring tension, and will launch themselves into oblivion, especially parts that are "no longer available". Those are the parts most in demand! Dis-assembly in a transparent plastic bag will retain the parts.

While this can seem terrifying or just difficult, just take your time and work through it.

I lube the insides of a revolver with synthetic bearing grease when I re-assemble it. Synthetic grease does not gum up and harden.

Good luck. This is actually fun when you get into it with the proper tools.

A great resource are the Kuhnhausen S&W books available from Brownells. The Taurus is different from a S&W, but Kuhnhausen has plenty of advice on troubleshooting a revolver before you even touch the side plate screws.

 

[entropy]

+1 on the Khunhausen books. Every one of them I own (or have owned) is worth it's price many time over.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Excellant advice!

Modern digital cameras are a great help when opening a revolver for the first-time.

When I worked on the brake pads of the car in the 1970s I took polaroids. I've had a few DIY projects since where I wish I had taken cellphone pictures as I went. That has included guns.