What's the deal with Taurus Gaucho?

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ojh

ojh

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Hello THR,

I'm about to start Cowboy Action Shooting, at this point only as a fun hobby, not planning to win any competitions any time soon. I've been offered a pair of used Taurus Gauchos for 600 euros, which is a very good price for two cowboy revolvers in this part of the world. So the offer is very tempting and I'm a certified cheapskate :p The next price step would be some 1100€ for two new Ubertis.

I know that Gauchos are discontinued, and have found that many have had trouble with them. Cylinder pins were too soft, bent and became difficult to remove. Transfer bars were badly fitted causing misfires. Most of what's found about the Gaucho in the net are these negative comments, but a few owners do praise them being trouble-free, accurate, nice looking and having good triggers. Now I'd like to know: are ALL or MOST Gauchos really lemons, or can good ones be found? When inspecting the guns (haven't seen them yet), how can I make a difference between a good and bad one, especially find find out the possible transfer bar problem? Of course I will ask an opportunity to test fire the guns, but it may not be possible.

I'd appreciate first hand experiences with Gauchos, both good and bad but especially the good. But if you think that I absolutely should not touch the guns with a ten foot pole, then please say that too.
 
Welcome to the sport! I've been shooting cowboy action here in the USA for a little over six years. I know one local shooter who has Gauchos; his seem fine.

I'm all for saving money but keep in mind that you are probably stuck with these revolvers if they end up being lemons.

Your English is excellent, by the way.
 
I can only speak for one example and it is a very nice gun. No problems at all. I decided I would see about getting one with a 4 5/8" barrel I liked this one so well and found they had been discontinued.
 
This is the kind of info I wanted to get :) Obviously good Gauchos exist and I just have to figure out if the ones offered to me are among them. I am familiar with Jim March's revolver checkout procedure and have utilized it several times when buying new toys. Just wanted to know if there would be tricks to check the details specific to Gaucho - seems like not, so the generic procedure will have to do.

Crunchy Frog said:
Your English is excellent, by the way.
Click to expand...

Thank you, sir. Nice to know being able to express oneself without too much embarrassment.
 
The one example I had back when they were new had a narrow trigger with horrible backlash. It made even 38 special painful. 357 were shot only once.
 
chopper11 said:
why don't you go some colt school colt, it doesn't say cowboy that does.
Click to expand...

Wow. Say again please as I'm not sure what you're talking about.

To the OP, the Taurus Gauchos can be decent revolvers, but entry level Colt clones from Cimarron or other sources of Italian guns are always a good choice and much less expensive than Colts.
 
I have had mine for over 11 years now and have no problems with it, got a good one I guess. Some people have been less fortunate. I paid less than $350.00 new. The ones I see for sale sell for more than that today used even though they have somewhat checkered reputation. The price you quote appears to be a good one. I would check them over rather closely though. I have heard of people removing the transfer bar and modifying them to shoot without it. This would convert the gun to only being safe with the hammer down on an empty chamber. But since you would be using it for CAS this wouldn't matter because you only load 5 anyway.
 
I would say, knowing that the internet is the world's complaint center, most of them are probably okay. Still kinda wish Id' bought one of the bead blasted stainless models way back when. Seemed like a nice bad weather sixgun.


why don't you go some colt school colt, it doesn't say cowboy that does.
Click to expand...
Uh, what???
 
I bought a Gaucho in 45 Colt fairly shortly after they came out; the overall fit and finish was excellent and the color case hardening is beautiful. The trigger was amazing but I did have to send it back to have a new transfer bar refit; half of the time when the trigger broke it wasn't engaged enough to set off the round. It also felt like the base pin was soft enough that it was getting peened by the latch making it very hard to remove after 3 or 4 cylinders were fired. I got it back from Taurus after about 3 weeks with a new transfer bar and base pin - in the meantime I had ordered a Belt Mountain base pin which I had to shorten about a quarter inch to fit. I also put a stronger spring in the pin latch. Anyway it's been 100% reliable since that day, in fact I shot 38 rounds straight in a stage a few weeks ago with it and had no trouble pulling the pin to clean it. Anyway I'm happy with it, shoots straight and it's still far and away the handsomest and most nicely finished revolver I own.
 
Quote:
why don't you go some colt school colt, it doesn't say cowboy that does.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing what he tried to say is:

"Why don't you go with some old school Colts.
If that doesn't say "cowboy", what does?."
 
Snyper said:
I'm guessing what he tried to say is:

"Why don't you go with some old school Colts.
If that doesn't say "cowboy", what does?."
Click to expand...

I suspect your translation is correct, and the answer might be that "old school Colts" may "say cowboy," but they also say "very expensive" compared to clones that work just as well.
 
Are you a teacher, by chance?
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No, but I worked 6 years in a fairly large gunshop, so I have heard a lot of odd comments that had to be deciphered.

I'm also fairly fluent in "internetspeak"
 
As said, I could get a pair of new Ubertis but the cost would be about twice as as much as these Gauchos. I own a Uberti Cattleman Flattop so I should be able to do quality comparison. (Can't just get one more Uberti for a pair because the Flattop is unusable in CAS, it has somewhat delicate period-correct adjustable sights that would snag to holster.) Cimarrons or other tuned-up Italo guns are not available here at the moment. I suppose Ruger Vaqueros would be ideal tools for the task but they are even more expensive.

AFAIK no Colt SAAs are imported at the moment. Used ones are very seldom available and cost top euro because most are in the hands of collectors. And if I really had a genuine Colt SAA, any generation, I might shoot it now and then for kicks but certainly would not use it in high volume shooting like CAS where there are also risks like sand getting inside. Heck, sometimes I feel guilty firing my humble Colt King Cobra...
 
I'd look at it like this - they were relatively problematic, Taurus customer support for discontinued models is poor, and nobody wants to buy broken guns.

If cash is tight enough you're worried about €500 difference between these and some Uberti's, then I would assume LOSING €600 if these turn out to have issues would hurt pretty bad. Probably not a risk worth taking.
 
Does anybody know anything about Gaucho parts interchangeability with other Colt clones or aftermarket parts?
 
I bought a pair of 357s before they were discontinued, one shot very good the other shot well off POA I sold it with disclosure and bought another (was trying to get a pair to shoot CAS) that one wouldn't shoot any better than 5-6" groups at 15 yards no bueno.
I have since sworn off Taurus even though I have had a couple very good ones the bad outweighs the good.
 
Does anybody know anything about Gaucho parts interchangeability with other Colt clones or aftermarket parts?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't count on any interchangeability at all between different manufacturers of guns that aren't " MIL-SPEC"
 
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