My GOD people! A thread asks why there are no 9x19s or .45ACP revolvers, why they're all .38/.357, and you idiots can't stay on topic, just HAVE to find a way to BASH TAURUS. Any opportunity you can find, ANY. I have simply NEVER seen any problem with Taurus that other makes don't have. Check 'em out at purchase, that's what i do with any revolver. At least there's a lifetime warranty. I'm about done with this forum. I've left it a few times, but this is just damned ridiculous.
At least in the forums, it is clear that Smith/Wesson and Ruger are the revolver lines with the best reputations.
The two largest biases against the Smith and Wesson revolvers that you buy new are MIM (metal injection moulding) parts and the "lock."
On rare occasions you hear of a lock activating when it shouldn't, turning a revolver into a paperweight. It's probably not worth worrying about because it is so rare, but to some people a gun is a "must work" item, because if you need it the situation is--by definition--life or death.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/smith-wesson_dark.htm
If you are looking at revolvers, use the checklist that is stickied. It does apply to new guns as well as old. On a whim I picked up a Rossi from Academy as it was on sale and I wanted to do a test with it. I knew it would break and sure enough after cleaning it when I got home, loaded snap caps and dry fired, firing pin broke.
Rossi has had this firing pin problem since the interarms years. I had it with a 971 I bought in the early 90s long before Taurus bought 'em. I sent that gun off, came back and busted on the second shot. Took it to a gunsmith and he fitted a K frame firing pin and it was a danged good gun after that. I used it in trade for a stainless .45 Colt Blackhawk. It was a good outdoor carry, though, fairly accurate and lighter than a K frame, decently strong gun, too. I now have a 4" nickel Taurus 66 that is an amazing gun, supremely accurate, transfer bar lockwork, very smooth and great DA, as good as my Smith K frames. It's a little heavier on the hip than that stainless Rossi. I sorta liked the weight of the Rossi as I carried the gun out west while hunting. It was accurate enough. I took a Javelina with it, head shot at 20 yards. Took lots of rabbits with it for camp meat over the years using .38s. Served me well.
I know of another Rossi of that era, a .38 M88 my friend has, that broke the firing pin. His got fixed on the first trip back to Interarms. So, yeah, Rossi has not fixed this problem in 20 years. If it happens, get a K frame firing pin installed, will have to be fitted, but will work. I've owned 7 Rossi revolvers, so 2 out of 8 examples I've personally known have had firing pin problems. Of course two of those had floating firing pins, the .22 caliber M511 I have now and the one that got stolen I had before this one. So, really, that's a 2 out of 6 sample of Rossis. I read about 'em still having this problem, so it sorta puts me off on buying another one. I have an old M68 I got for my step dad in 1981 in order to get my grandpa's M10 Smith away from him that my grandpa had willed me. I've got it now since my step dad passed away and it's a good shooting gun of really supreme built quality. None of the tooling marks and such some of my Rossis had in the early 90s. I've kept this one not only for memories, but it's a fine shooter. It's also a 3" gun which I like. It is just as accurate as that 4" M971 I used to carry, so it's rabbit killing accurate.
I have a really nice, really accurate Taurus M85SSUL that I pocket carry a lot, have had it for 15 years, many thousands of rounds down the tube, very accurate little gun (3" groups at 25 yards off the bench). It's got the best out of the box trigger I've ever owned on any revolver.
