What is the quality of Charter and Taurus snubbies like?

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RKBABob

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All I ever see on the boards is "Smith & Wesson this" and "642 airweight that." What about Taurus and Charter arms? Do they have anything worth talking about in small revolvers?

At first look, Taurus looks like it may be a little more rough than S&W, but not by much... the Charters look butt-ugly, but looks can be deceiving, right? How do they work, and how do they hold up?
 
both are fine. I had a Taurus 605 and it was a downright great gun, I have had other tauri and all were great guns. The new Rossi by Tarurs 605 looks exactly like the Taurus 605 so should be as good.
 
I have a taurus 85ss, wieghs 21oz and a s&w could only hope to have so smoth a trigger . Its and old gun but a great shooter . I also have a charter arms undercover ultra lite at 12oz. It ain't as pretty but works very well. trigger does work in to be smoother with time. Wolf has lighter hammer springs to if needed. The ultra lites can be nasty to shot but very easy to carry. I have no problems with either. Besure if buy'n used charter arms say's just that on the gun. No charter 2000 or just charter. They are back in family hands. Most also build mid wieght 5 shots that wieght around 16 to 18 oz too.
 
I've only owned a Taurus 85 ultralite. If there are problematic Taurus revolvers out there then I wouldnt trade the one I have for anything. Got it brand new for $275. Never had a issue out of it after give or take 500 rounds.
 
I owned a Taurus Model 85 snubbie once. It was a great gun and shot very reliably and accurately. I have to admit that the grip wasn't very helpful in taming the recoil of +P load. I could only fire 10 shots before I gave up. But otherwise, i wouldn't mind buying another one for the truck.
 
I have a Taurus 605 snub in stainless with a ported barrel. It has proven reliable and accurate. It is manageable with +P and magnum loads. I have confidence in it's ability to act as a self defense weapon in most situations. What more could I ask from a less than $400.00 revolver?
 
Have the Taurus in 85 Ultralite .38 Spec and an Old Model Charter Bulldog Pug in .44 Spec ... Both are fine firearms and have never given any problems thru many rounds... They are my Daily Carry and are Dependable and Reliable ...
 
I had a Taurus 85 with the factory bobbed hammer, I forget what it was actually called (85CH?)...anyway I liked it. I rather foolishly traded it off when I got bit by the semi-auto bug a few years ago.

A few months ago, I got the hankering for another snubbie 38. This time I picked an old Charter Arms "Undercover." The one I've got is as good a gun as any I've ever owned. About the only down side to it, is the small wooden grips that came with it. It kicked pretty hard with them.

At a gun show I looked at the new Charter's and was impressed. Since I already had the old one, I wasn't really looking to buy, but I really liked the grips on the new production guns. I found out they'd fit my old Charter, and put a set on it. Now I like it even more. :D
 
Now that the Ecker family is back at Charter Arms they are again making top quality revolvers. I'm not at all a fan of Taurus revolvers!
 
Nether is good enough for me.

I've had Taurus guns fail on me, and seen many of them fail. No more.
Friends don't let friends carry Taurueses.

Charter Arms:
Has had good years and bad years.

I've picked up S&W J frames for cheap:
Model 38 for $260
Model 36 for $240
Model 36 for $244
etc

Too many deals to compromise.
 
I've never had a taurus though I have been tempted to buy a Tracker, but couldn't get past the porting. I have owned 3 Charter Arms .38 snubs. Still have the 1st I bought in '84. I also own a Charter 2000 Bulldog Pug in .44 spcl. If you plan on shooting thousands of rounds through them a year. Don't buy them. If you shoot to qualify 4 times a year and a little practice. They will last a lifetime.
ll
 
I've owned Charter and Taurus. Newer Charters are junk, period. I said I'd never own a Taurus but I now own one. The Taurus is easily twice as good as Charter.
 
My new Charter Arms Target Patriot in 327 Magnum is a great gun. I've put almost 2000 Handloads thru it in the last year and it just keeps getting smoother and is a tremendously accurate 4" barreled revolver. My Rossi from 1988 and several Taurus from 1992 up to 2007 have been very reliable and accurate revolvers. I've never sold or traded a CA or Taurus, kept them all. Seems that the only revolvers I trade away are S&W, and that is so I can acquire another Colt or Ruger.
 
Hogue makes a soft rubber grips that will greatly improve what comes from taurus. And the new CA's come with a 3 finger grip that does fit all CA's and will help with holding on to it. Just call them to get one for older revolvers. Eagle make some real nice after market wood grips for most also.
 
I own a S&W 637 and Taurus 85 Ultralite. Those are about the closest thing to the same model that both manufacturers make.

Here's a rundown of these two particular guns:

-The Taurus' trigger is lighter and smoother

-The S&W's lockup is tighter, but parts fit in every other aspect of the guns is better in the Taurus. For instance, my S&W's barrel-cylinder gap is wider on one side of the gun vs the other (it actually appears that the barrel isn't perfectly straight in the S&W). The Taurus' crane is aligned better to the frame than the S&W.

-Quality of machining seems better in the Taurus. The crown of the Taurus is more consistent than S&W; the S&W crown looks as if someone finished it with a buffer before bead blasting it and slipped a little in one spot causing a low spot in the crown. The Taurus crown looks like the simply cut it with a crowning tool and left it alone.

Also, the rifling in the S&W isn't consistent. One of the lands isn't as high as the other. The Taurus's bore looks very consistent. It's actually easier to get the taurus bore completely clean.

-Accuracy is adequate in both, but better in the Taurus. The is most likely due to the crown.

-Overall finish is better in the S&W, but the Taurus' finish is just fine.

So...Taurus seems to be pretty darn good compared to S&W especially if you consider the price.

I've looked at only a handful of Charter Arms and the build quality seems a tiny bit worse than Taurus, but I really haven't handled one enough to say for sure.
 
Used.

I don't really have a 'want list' I check newspapers, gunshows, and several online forums.

Additionally I have got some DEALS by having CASH NOW.
-Also put out the word... when you get known, people bring the deals to you.
Picked up a Mossberg 500, sporterised Enfield (Nice) 2 scopes, couple hundred rounds of ammo and a Davis .38 derringer for $200.

(People need money TONIGHT!)

9 PM at night
Labor day weekend when banks were closed
Wiring money TONIGHT so the rent can be paid tomorrow etc.

(None of those Smiths were from that... just right place @ right time.)

One of those 36's is a 3 incher.... SWWWEET (Near mint evcepting a bobbed hammer)
Other is a 'Paunshop Special' it's used, not a beater, but a few marks.

38 is a nickled gun. Wasn't originally, nickle isn't that great, but makes a GREAT 'beater gun' (I like Bodyguards) Doesn't look that great (Minor pitting under the nickle) shoots good though.

I like J frames. Not all are such deals, I have a mint 38 blued... it cost me $400

Picked up several more in the 3's.

I see more 36's cheap...

Hardly ever pass a paun shop without stopping...

ETA: Last smith was a Pinned and recessed nickled 4 inch 19.... $300 few 'spots' on the nickle, but it's not bad... haveto have the right light to see it.
 
I've had Taurus guns fail on me, and seen many of them fail. No more.
Friends don't let friends carry Taurueses.
Click to expand...

Right, and the moon is made of green cheese, too.

I've been a fairly high volume shooter over the past 30 years. I've frequented both indoor and outdoor ranges during that time. I own more than a dozen Taurus handguns, some for as long as 25 years, or better. During that time, none of mine has failed me. Nor have I experienced watching other people with Taurus guns have problems. I've seen more of the supposedly "superior" S&W, Colt, Sig, and HK handguns struggle to function than the Taurus guns.

Ask me about a brand-new S&W 625 that failed on the very first shot! Or a Sig P229 that cracked it's slide in the first 75 rounds. Or an HK USP that patterned instead of grouping. I had an older Lemon squeezer from S&W that had it's grip safety fail at under 200 rounds. I've never heard of a Taurus lock engaging while firing, unlike the current S&Ws, either. This was just ME.

Buy whatever feels the best to you. Internet Commandos relish bashing various brands with innuendo and vague insinuation. Chances are that anyone with a basic understanding of guns will be able to spot a problem gun BEFORE buying it. Things like barrels that aren't indexing, poor crowns, too large a cylinder gap, and so on should be picked up on prior to purchase.
 
Right, and the moon is made of green cheese, too.

I've been a fairly high volume shooter over the past 30 years. I've frequented both indoor and outdoor ranges during that time. I own more than a dozen Taurus handguns, some for as long as 25 years, or better. During that time, none of mine has failed me. Nor have I experienced watching other people with Taurus guns have problems. I've seen more of the supposedly "superior" S&W, Colt, Sig, and HK handguns struggle to function than the Taurus guns.

Ask me about a brand-new S&W 625 that failed on the very first shot! Or a Sig P229 that cracked it's slide in the first 75 rounds. Or an HK USP that patterned instead of grouping. I had an older Lemon squeezer from S&W that had it's grip safety fail at under 200 rounds. I've never heard of a Taurus lock engaging while firing, unlike the current S&Ws, either. This was just ME.

Buy whatever feels the best to you. Internet Commandos relish bashing various brands with innuendo and vague insinuation. Chances are that anyone with a basic understanding of guns will be able to spot a problem gun BEFORE buying it. Things like barrels that aren't indexing, poor crowns, too large a cylinder gap, and so on should be picked up on prior to purchase.
Click to expand...


We gonna get to this?

I had bought a Taurus Snubbie.

It would lock up after just a few cylinders.

when it 'cooled off' (Aimed shots... not 'spray and pray' with a 5 shot revolver.
(Was doing stripper clip drills)

It would 'decide' to function again.

I spent 8 years in the Corps as an 0311 and 0321

Been to a fair amount of shooting schools:
Gunsite
Tactical Response
OPS
Suarez
Gomez
Barrett
Etc....

Seen tauruses (Semi's in classes) both fail and break.

NEVER seen one make it through a class.

-I Don't buy guns with locks BTW...

I've seen 'better' guns break too... but not at a 100% (In classes) failure rate.

Let alone MY PERSONAL and others problems simply shooting.


Oh, one more thing... when I was looking at buying a 1911 with a rail... I looked at the taurus.

Figgured I could swap out a bunch of parts and still come out ahead $ wise.

Looked at one in a gun shop...

THE DOVETAIL was CUT CROOKED in the slide.
If THAT got through "Quality control"... JUST THINK!

Specific enough for you?

What good does a warrenty (That you haveto pay shipping on) do you if your defensive gun breaks?
 
nomad ,2nd My old taurus 85ss has probably a 1500 old rounds through an never treated it any different than any other gun and is a great revolver. I have also had a couple 1911's goverment models I would hate to have to depend on them to save my life. What does his and your view mean. Not a darn thing. I have seen a couple late model s&w's that had problems right out of the box. Rugers with messed up barrels. Does that mean all are junk? NO. Know what s&w say is a passable cylinder gap? 6 to 10th's. Thats terrible. My charter is 3th's. I shoot my dan wessons at 1 to 2 th's. Buy a older use gun and most all or pretty darn good. Today handguns are not as good as they were even 2 or 3 years ago. But as production drops back to pre-obama time they all get better again.
 
I am another who has had good luck with Taurus and am amazed at the vitriol of the anti-Taurus folks. Too many Taurus owners stay quiet so we won't get condescended to. I also always suspect "always" and "never" statements. I wouldn't think any manufacturer has ever seen a 100% failure rate. But maybe I'm simply misinformed.

Anyway - find what you like and can afford and is of good quality. My wife has been looking at a Charter Arms .38 snubbie and after asking around our friends and at the range - we hear good things. But I have never owned a Charter Arms so I cannot attest to it personally.

I know several folks that own Taurus guns and speak highly - myself included.

I also own some S&W

I don't think you will really lose regardless of which you go with.
 
nomad ,2nd My old taurus 85ss has probably a 1500 old rounds through an never treated it any different than any other gun and is a great revolver. I have also had a couple 1911's goverment models I would hate to have to depend on them to save my life. What does his and your view mean. Not a darn thing. I have seen a couple late model s&w's that had problems right out of the box. Rugers with messed up barrels. Does that mean all are junk? NO. Know what s&w say is a passable cylinder gap? 6 to 10th's. Thats terrible. My charter is 3th's. I shoot my dan wessons at 1 to 2 th's. Buy a older use gun and most all or pretty darn good. Today handguns are not as good as they were even 2 or 3 years ago. But as production drops back to pre-obama time they all get better again.
Click to expand...

I put 1,000 - 2,000 rounds through a pistol in a weekend class.

Yea, with a low round count (not shooting alot) it is LIKELY your gun will work when your life depends on it.

My life is worth more.

JMHO

YMMV.


Oh, I agree with 'older'... I don't do lock S&W's and prefer pinned and recessed.
 
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