What is the opinion on Taurus revolvers?

[Smitty258]

I've been looking to get my first revolver. I want a .357 to carry with me when I go camping and hiking through the mountains. I'd like it to fire those mini shotshells for snakes, and well as full house .357 loads for possible bigger critters. I really don't want to spend a lot since this will be kinda a beater gun.

I found this Taurus that I think would fit the bill nicely, plus the lifetime warranty is a plus for me. Model 65SS4


What's your guys opinion? I'm not a big revolver guy so I need some opinions here.

Thanks!

 

[unspellable]

Taurus revolvers

Make a VERY good inspection before buying. When they are good they are good but they crank out some lemons.

By all accounts the life time warranty is worthless as they don't seem to be able to fix the lemons. And keep in mind it can cost you as much as $35 to ship it back.

 

[.41Dave]

Taurus seems to be hit or miss. I've owned 2, and have had good luck with them. It's my understanding that quality has improved significantly at Taurus, so if it's a new gun you should do just fine. The other option is to find a good used S&W or Ruger.

 

[BetaShooter]

I recently bought a Taurus Tracker .44 mag. I checked out, using the "how to checkout a revolver" technique posted on this site, the 3 specimens the store had on hand and they were all excellent. Tight cylinder to barrel gaps, no cylinder play, etc. My gun shoots great too, very accurate and the trigger is great in SA and fair to good in DA. Sounds like the Taurus revolver would be perfect for your application.

 

[rtl]

How does the price on that model 65 Taurus compare to a Ruger GP100? I traded the former for the latter years ago based solely on how each felt in my hand, but feel I ended up with a much more rugged revolver.

 

[OhioPaints]

depends on your patience

As others are said, they are fine guns IF you get a good one. My data is old, it's been 8 years or so since I bought my Taurus.

It took three tries to get a good one. They sent me a different gun each time. But I had the dealer send it back so it didn't cost me.

I am happy with the one I have, a 5 shot 3" .357. It conceals and carries easily.

Possibly more reliable approaches would be to buy an old used S&W or Ruger (e.g. Security Six). They are available in the $250-$300 price range. Often they are police trade ins and are in good condition.

I hope you do not plan to shoot snakes just because they exist. Most snakes are harmless to people and help keep down rodent populations.

Ken

 

[Bacchus]

I've had pretty good luck with the ones I've fired. They seem to fit my hands well and are moderately priced. I would recommend them given that you can handle the one you're considering prior to purchasing it.

I haven't seen many at the few Roanoke/Salem shows that I've visited.

 

[ravencon]

My one experience with owning a Taurus revolver was not a happy one. Complete junk. YMMV.

 

[blindndead]

ok now what

For the people that dont like the taurus Revolver what do you think is top shelf?

 

[Biker]

I have only owned one Taurus revolver (a 450) and I've been very happy with it.

Biker

 

[unspellable]

Taurus quality

The Taurus raging Bull seems to be the top of the Taurus line for quality control. I have two and they are OK. I have a 44 mag and it's OK. On the other hand I had a Titanium 5 shot snubby and it had chamber alignment problems.

That said, I have two Rugers with chamber alignment problems. But Ruger has a much better reputation for service.

 

[carterbeauford]

I have a Taurus 65. It has 700 or 800 rounds through it with no issues, action is smooth and cylinder lines up with the barrel perfectly. If you are used to carrying a polymer pistol on your hip, you are in for a surprise, it is heavy.

For a little more I cannot discourage you to look at a Ruger GP100 though.

 

[Legionnaire]

I had a blued M44 that was very good. I was surprised by the out-of-the-box smoothness of the double action trigger. It served well for several years. As others have said, their quality was somewhat spotty earlier on, but has improved dramatically by all reports in recent years. I'd happily look at another Taurus.

 

[bpisler]

The taurus revolvers i've owned have either
worked very well or have been in need of
work.I've had to file half the front sight off
to get one to hit close to POA.The last one
i owned was a blued 606 357mag that had
a cylinder that would rotate backwards 1
chamber when fired.

I owned a 606ss that was ported and it was
outstanding,i sold it cause i didn't care for
the porting.I had never owned a ported
gun and this was a inexpensive way to
find out if i would porting or not.

 

[Panthera Tigris]

I've owned some great ones, I've owned some that were lemons. I pretty much stick to old S&W, Colt or Ruger guns these days.

 

[Encoreman]

My 2 cents, I have purchased 4 Taurus's, 3 are .357, 1 is a 38. All work fine, in fact I shoot a model 65 in competition, local of course. That said, I like my S&W revolvers more. You usually get what you pay for. The choice is yours to make, if my life was on the line, I'd pick up the 1st one I could lay hands on!

 

[Werewolf]

A year and about 5 trips to the gunsmith to fix 5 different problems and my Raging Bull in 44Mag is now a top flight revolver that shoots scary accurate. It is now my favorite revolver (no thanks to the bums who built it).

That said: I'LL NEVER EVER BUY ANOTHER TAURUS PRODUCT! POS!

No way should I have had to go thru what I went thru to finally get it to work right.

If I hadn't read so many horror stories about Taurus I'd write my experience off to bad luck - wasn't bad luck - bad QA.

 

[tubeshooter]

One keeper (early 90s), one lemon (late 90s) over here.


I probably wouldn't push my luck trying again....

 

[1 LT MPC]

I've owned two--never again! Stick with Ruger, S&W, or Colt.:banghead:

 

[9mmhpfan]

I bought a Taurus model 66 blue steel 6 inch barreled .357 Magnum in 1998 from a sporting goods store that eventually went out of business. After putting a 1000 rounds through it was having trouble locking up as easily as it had and on one trip to the range the extractor rod literally came off in my hand! I sent it back to the factory and with no questions on how it happened or what ammo I had shot in it they fixed it and returned it in about 2 weeks. They stand by their lifetime warranty. Since then it has digested who knows how many thousands of rounds with no problems. I am a satisfied Taurus and I think I only paid a total of $198.00 taxes included.

 

[Paladin7]

I would go with a used (pre-lock, pre-MIM) S&W or a Ruger GP100 / SP101 hands down...

With a used S&W, provided it checks out right, quality will be light years ahead of the Taurus, price ought to be very competitive and re-sale value is far better.

 

[Jim PHL]

I've owned two Taurus guns. NIB mid-to-late eighties PT99Af ("Brazilian Beretta") Excellent in every way, just not my cup of tea. Had it for years with never a problem but traded it away anyway. (My basic problem with it was size. Great for a duty-, range- or house-gun but I had others for every niche.)
My only Taurus revo was a 4" Model 94. (Blued, 9-shot, .22lr) I liked the looks, feel, fit and finish, accuracy and single action trigger pull. But, even after a trip back to Taurus, I could never warm up to a heavy, stagey double action trigger that, apparently, they could not smooth and lighten for me.

For the purposes you mention, I'd say go for it.

 

[MCgunner]

My two Taurus revolvers are definitely keepers. My M66 is the most accurate of four 4" medium frame revolvers I've owned, a M971 Rossi, a Ruger Security Six, and a M19 Smith and Wesson. This one has found a home, ain't goin' nowhere.

One thing, though, I much prefer fully adjustable sights on an outdoor .357 revolver, any caliber really, but especially a .357. Reason is because there is so much POI difference in light .38s and heavy magnum loads. I like to be able to carry light .38 loads for small game and the heavy stuff for toothy or two legged predators. I want both loads to shoot to POA. I have elevation marks on my outdoor revolvers for light and heavy loads. I own three primarily outdoor revolvers, the M66 Taurus, a .357 6.5" blued blackhawk, and a .45 Colt 4 5/8" Blackhawk. I also have carried my Ruger P90 afield and it has a fixed elevation sight, but the hot and light (actually, just not so hot) loads shoot to same POA, probably because they're the same bullet. I shoot 200 grain bullets in that gun and they all have the same POA. They're not really that far off in velocity from each other, though. .357 is not that way. .38 wadcutters are really light and shoot low, heavy magnums are really hot and heavy bullets and shoot high.

 

[Hawken50]

i have a tracker and love it.

 

[Arcticfox]

I have a NIB tracker in 44, and a used S&W 629. If you hold one in each hand and work the actions, the Smith is WAY smoother in every respect (i.e. hammer pull, trigger pull, ejecting bullets, cyliner latch operation.) Accuracy is also better on the Smith. The Tracker is my hiking companion because it is smaller. I will probably pass on the next Taurus in favor of a Smith. If you just want to plink, the Taurus will be fine.

BTW, what is all this BS about shooting snakes???!!!! Snakes are beneficial to people, and you can easily STEP AROUND THEM, or WALK AWAY FROM THEM. They aren't bears or lions. They don't stalk you. I can't imagine what goes thru the mind of someone who stumbles upon a snake, and thinks they are in danger, and have to kill it. :banghead: That is one of the dumbest things I hear gun people talk about. What is it going to do, run you down and bite you? If you disagree with this, I'd love to hear your logic on why a snake in the wilderness should be shot. If it's on your doorstep, and its a rattler, then ok. Otherwise, gimme a break!