What is the opinion on Taurus revolvers?

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Owning four dogs can give you a bad attitude about snakes...

Knowing people that have dogs, cats, etc, bitten by rattlers...I'm not waiting to see one on my doorstep.

If I run across one, it will become a belt. Or a hatband. Or road pizza.

As soon as rattlers are endangered in Texas, let me know. I won't be holding my breath.
 
Hi Smitty...

I only have one at the moment, but I love my Taurus. The picture you posted looks exactly like my 608, minus the ported barrel and yours has different sights. Mine holds 8 rounds of .357 magnum.

It's very accurate - as well as controllable and pleasant to shoot .357 magnum from. Shooting .38 Spl from it is almost as slight as .22LR, and just as accurate. It's heavier than my 1911, and I want to get some nice wood grips for it - but I couldn't be happier with it. I don't have any previous experience with Taurus, but I'll be buying a lot more Taurus revolvers in the future.
 
I have a 20 year + old model 66 .357 magnum, blued with a six inch barrel. I bet I have put at least 50,000 rounds through it. The other day I finally took it to a smith for a total disassebly . cleaning, replace the springs. Took it to the range the next day and shot a box of 50 38 special DEWC's through a hole that wasn't quite 2 1/4 inches across. I think I paid about $175.00 for it when it was brand new. It was my first big bore centerfire pistol, and it is still the most accurate pistol I own, bar none.
 
I have three Taurus revolvers, all snubbies and have had no problem with any of them. One was purchased in the mid 80s, one about 4 years ago and one about a year ago. Trouble free, reliable and accurate. I also had a 608 that I traded a while back.

Generally speaking, they have had quality problems in the past, and probably still do, most manufacturers of any type of product does. But they do seem to be improving their QA and are making a better product. I'll give em credit for variety for sure, they seem to offer a lot more to choose from.
 
you would have better luck winning the powerball than finding a taurus that worked..................
 
Guess I should've bought a Power Ball ticket instead of my 450, although my 450 has saved my bacon before but I've never won the lottery.

Biker:scrutiny:
 
I thought about it for a couple of days, and the good gun was better than the bad one was bad. It is still my first and favorite.


I would probably give them another chance if I saw something I really liked for a good deal.
 
I have a taurus tracker 357 mag revolver and I really like it. Its a very tight, accurate gun. I must have gotten one of the good ones, but in my opinion, Taurus builds excellent guns at reasonable prices.
 
you would have better luck winning the powerball than finding a taurus that worked.

Man.. I gotta start playin that powerball! :p

I think the amount of satisfied Taurus owners here speaks for itself.
I own a Colt Revolver. When I bought my 608, I had originally planned on buying a S&W. The Taurus just won me over. I admit, the trigger on my 608 may not be as light as the pull on a S&W or Colt revolver, but it's just as smooth. Just takes a hair or two more pressure in SA. It's still just as accurate as any gun I've ever fired. I've also never held another revolver that fit my hands so well. My next revolver will almost definitely be another Taurus.
 
Taurus makes good products, just pray you don't get a lemon, as their customer service dept. is utterly worthless. :banghead:
 
Smitty,

I expect there are people out there that will dis-agree - but from 1st hand experience I LOVE the Taurus. The recent Taurus that is. Thirty years ago they wer kind on bottom feeders along with Llama. I own mostly semi-autos, but I currently have a Taurus M66 6", and a M617 Titanium 2". I love them both and would not think of selling either. I have had maybe a half-dozen Taurus's over the years. I have never had to send any of them to the factory for any reason. The only Taurus revolver I know of that might be suspect is the 605. But there are a lot of people on this board that own, and really like the 605 as well.

My first had experience allows me to say the M65 in a 4" or shorter barrel would be a great choice. If you are only thinking target, or target w/ home defense - you may want to condsider the M66 w/ adj sight. If you want to go new on a budget this is a great choice. If you are open to used, Ruger used to make a security six, and service six in 357 that were/are a great gun in 357. Their newer sp101 would be an option too - but more money.

Good choice, and stay safe.

- w
 
Taurus has come a long way in the past few decades. For the price point, they are good enough, in my experience, to shoot and they shoot well. Once I know that and trust them to go bang each time, to shoot to the POA, I have no problem trusting them with my life if need be.

Sometimes the machining is a little rough, the trigger gritty at first. Mine have smoothed out over time. I own 5 Toro wheelies.

They are not S&W's, Colt's or Ruger wheel guns. Nor are they made in the US by American workers. As such they are suspect until proven reliable and deemed, "good enough". But even those few American mfgs have been known to turn out a lemon now and then. North American lemons still cost more than South American lemons as a general rule of thumb.

Based on the ones I own and have shot, I'd recommend buying it. But only if I felt I could not wait a bit longer, save a bit more and buy a new S&W or Ruger or a used Colt, S&W or Ruger. But that's just me. YMMV
 
As part of my 20+ handgun collection, I currently own four Taurus revolvers: two 650s and two 651s. All of them were manufactured in 2004 or 2005 and purchased new in 2005. Each of them has worked perfectly out of the box and have continued to do so through several hundred rounds each. Fit, finish and accuracy have all been very good, and has exceeded some late-model S&W snubbies that I have handled or fired.

My favorite Taurus revolver is the titanium 651, which I like to carry when out riding my titanium road bike. For the weight savings, of course.
 
Hi,

We aren't talking Chevy vs. Ford, or Honda vs. Toyota type comparisons here.

As my brother (who is a regular vendor at gun shows) once told me, before I bought the first of many handguns . . . "Don't skimp on a gun that may make the difference if your life if ever on the line."

His other advice, "If you buy a quality gun that's extremely well regarded, it will only go up in price if you take great care of it."

One thing I can add to his wonderful advice, which was taken by me by the way before I skimped a little is this . . .

GO TO SOME REVOLVER COMPETITION MATCHES . . . and see what revolvers the fine shooters depend on to win matches with.

My advice? At least look at some good, used, pre-lock S&W revolvers! Their trigger pulls are generally quite good . . . and they can be made incredible. Their accuracy is thus outstanding (for trigger pull is SO important), and their build quality . . . and RESALE VALUE is indicative of the respect this great company has EARNED.

The only non-S&W revolver I currently own is a Colt snubbie I inherited from my father. I'm always looking for a few more of 'em too. The other brands ain't even on my radar screen, due to the superior trigger pulls I can get out of my Smiths.

The other current production brand that I could recommend to you for defense is the Ruger brand. They make stout, accurate revolvers you can depend your life on too.
 
Have an older model 669 I bought used this year with a 4 inch barrel and fully adjustable sights , goes bang when it is suppose to and the bullets hit the target .

What else is there it is suppose to do to be considered a quality gun ?

I also own a Taurus auto a PT 940 it also works perfectly .

My very first pistol was a new S&W 586 that had to be sent in for repair as the extractor was oversized and when I shot magnum loads the empties would get completely stuck in the cyliders to the point that I had to push the rod against a hard surface to eject them .

That one expierence doesn't make me badmouth S&W but it is a fact that it happened , I think those that have had problems with Taurus are simply overreacting .
 
I've owned Taurus's before and I will not "waste" my money on another one.

Stay with S&W, Ruger,Colt ....etc......

Don
 
I haven't been the biggest Taurus fan. I've had a semi auto that I sold off at a loss w/in 3 months of ownership. I also have a 22lr wheelgun that has had 1000's of rounds through it and I really doubt I'll get rid of it.
That said, I've shot a few newer Taurus wheelguns and have found their quality to have improved many fold since I bought my guns. I've actually been contemplating another Taurus addition :D
 
S&Wfan,

I am a S&W fan also. In fact this morning I'm on my way to pick up a S&W M57 in 41 mag. I was going to reccomend a used S&W in larger frame (if mags were steady diet) but forgot to. However, really based on my experience, and the shared experience of people I know personally - the Taurus 65 is a good choice.

- w

ps - if anyone out there is not happy with their Taurus - let me know - I'll buy it from you.
 
I've always been a huge fan of the .45LC and when I found a 2" snubbie in a 17oz, ported, corrosion resistant package, I just couldn't pass it up.
No regrets at all.

Biker
 
Hi folks. I own three Taurus revolvers. Models 66,65 and 85CH.The two 357 s are older than dirt and so am I.If you call in the 50s old.Purchased the 357mags back in the middle 1980s.No timing troubles with the cylinder.All chambers are true.Trigger pulls smoothed out to 9lbs on the DA pull.Haven't replaced a thing.No gas blow by either.Accuracy is still under 3in. at 25 yards.Maybe I got lucky and have 2 fine shooters.One pistol is blue and the other is nickel.Shot mostly 38s and +P through both.Both have approximately 1000 rounds of full power magnum loads through each.The 85CH came 5 years later and all the above for the 357s is true for the 38 snub.I realize the Taurus 66,65models have limits on dureablity due to similar limits on the S&W model 19 or 66. They can all shoot 357mags but too much of a good thing can cause wear and tear beyond what they were designed for.S&W designed the 19 and 66 models to be lighter and more compact for carrying than the model 27 or 28 357s.Then full power 125gr. 357 mag loads came along so Smith came out with the 686 for full time 357 Mag shooters.So take your pick based on what fits you and how much 357 mag and 38 special shooting yu are going to do.I will endorse Taurus because the pistols niche was filled by them when I could not find or afford the Smiths.Price has to be considered here.
 
About 10 years ago I got a job selling guns at a local store/range. the first gun I sold for my new boss was a new Taurus .40 S&W auto. (I know not a revolver). When the guy picked it up 15 days later (Stupid waiting periods:cuss: )and took it out on the range the gun went "click" ! It had a broken firing pin NIB! Gun was sent back to Taurus and was repaired, without a problem. It gave me a bad feeling about Taurus. I've only had one, an 85, and I had no problems with it. I owned it prior to getting that job. I've known as many people who had problems as those who haven't. I won't take that gamble again.
 
By all accounts the life time warranty is worthless as they don't seem to be able to fix the lemons.

I think it's more a matter of them not wanting to fix the lemons. One revolver I sent back because it had excessive head spacing between the cartridge and the recoil shield. So they moved the cylinder back. But when they did that, the barrel/cylinder gap opened from a .007 to about a .012. Totally unacceptable. So they took it back a second time. When I got it back my b/c gap was .009 and my head spacing was .010. Again, not acceptable. Instead of just fixing the problem and bringing the whole gun into tolerance, they were just moving the cylinder back and forth.

Another time I got in three Taurus 66 .357 revolvers. All three were out of tolerance. Lockup was fine, polishing of the gun was flawless; everything was tight and otherwise fine. But when I checked the chambers of all three guns, none of them seemed to have any throats. Dropping wadcutter bullets through each chamber, they fell through every single one. (I used a different bullet for each chamber.) Normally, you'll find some jacketed bullets that will fall through, but wadcutters don't because they're slightly oversized.

None of the three revolvers would group worth a damn. The moral is, a gun can be tight and otherwise in tolerance and still be a lemon because of something most gun buyers don't try. (I have two Security-Sixes that catch jacketed bullets in all six chambers of each gun and I had two .38 Speed-Sixes rechambered for .357 and the gunsmith did such a great job throating them that they give superb accuracy.)

I agree to a certain extent you can get a good gun from Taurus, but I have no idea of their propensity to "shoot loose" because I've never owned a Taurus long enough to find out.
 
I have owned a Taurus 85 and a 65 for about 20 years and would never think about getting rid of either of them. The model 65 lives in my night stand. That being said, if I could only keep one .357 revolver, it would my Ruger GP100. I guess it could be classified as my beater because it goes places I wouldn't want to take some of my others. I have absolute confidence in it and envision my grand kids and their kids using it long after I'm gone.
I think you would be well served to spend a bit more and go with the Ruger. The three inch fixed version sounds like it would do everything you want.
 
I used to own two Taurus revolvers, a 608 and a 605. After several trips to the factory to fix problems that were never really resolved, I gave up. Now I buy only Smiths or Colts, usually pre-owned.
 
I've had 4. My first was an 85. I dearly loved that gun and still kick myself for trading it. It served me exceptionally well. My next was an 85TI. I was bend on replacing my 85 and thought the TI would be a good choice for carry as well. It is, but the very thing that makes it good for carry make it uncomfortable for use as an extensive shooter. My third is a 650. Nice gun runs well. The 4th is a 431 in .44 special. I bought it used and haven't shot it yet. Seems like it will be ok, but I won't know until I get it to the range. Overall, I've had good experiences with Taurus. Lots of people have posted that they have not and I keep that in mind when I look at their revolvers. I tend to spend more time looking new ones over than I would with a comparable S&W. In fact, it's a good idea to run even new ones through Jim March's revolver checkout stickied at the top of this forum. Treat it as you would a used gun and you won't get burned.

BTW, I know an pistol instructor that keeps Taurus revolvers on hand for loaners to students taking his basic pistol course. He reports that they run well, but he doesn't allow any high octane loads through these. Some have very high round counts.
 
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