I bought an 856 on deep discount about 2 years ago for the wife's car gun. Its a 6 shot snub nose revolver. And it works perfect. About 600 rounds down range, no issues, no lead shaving, timing is good, accuracy is good, trigger is good. Its a SOLID delf defense weapon. And the best part? I think I paid like $269 for it.

Its half the price of a Smith or Ruger and it has something they dont.... 6 shots.

So its a solid BUY from me.

I absolutely will not buy a Tuarus semi auto pistol, but the revolvers work, for the most part.

I say buy one, run it through its paces, make sure it works and functions fine (it likely will) and be happy with the value you spent....

All the naysayers in this thread, if you gave them one of these guns and 1000 rounds, they would likely have a different opinion of the gun, just saying..

Rubec, I just sold my 856 UL, but not because it was a dud. Just found that my J-frames are what I gravitate to. However, I have an Agent, and a M12 snub: and, your observation is spot-on. It's very much like an alloy D-frame, w/o concern for +P use, and a better trigger. The lockwork is essentially like a J-frame Smith. It will work with K-frame loaders, also.

That said, I would strongly reccomend that you get hands-ON with the one you're considering. Don't just order it blind. I found that one arm of the ejector star had just a bit of overhang into one chamber that made extraction rougher than it needed to be. In fairness, not something you can readily eyeball, nor do most of us carry around 6-empties to check out revolvers, LOL. My point is, you want to make sure you don't have to avail yourself of the warranty it comes with.

Yes my kimber k-6 cost twice what the Taurus costs, but I wouldn’t trade it for 10 Taurus guns.
As always, YMMV

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
I bought an 856 on deep discount about 2 years ago for the wife's car gun. Its a 6 shot snub nose revolver. And it works perfect. About 600 rounds down range, no issues, no lead shaving, timing is good, accuracy is good, trigger is good. Its a SOLID delf defense weapon. And the best part? I think I paid like $269 for it.

Its half the price of a Smith or Ruger and it has something they dont.... 6 shots.

So its a solid BUY from me.

I absolutely will not buy a Tuarus semi auto pistol, but the revolvers work, for the most part.

I say buy one, run it through its paces, make sure it works and functions fine (it likely will) and be happy with the value you spent....

All the naysayers in this thread, if you gave them one of these guns and 1000 rounds, they would likely have a different opinion of the gun, just saying..

Whew, someone with experience with this gun, and not general advice and opinion about Taurus. At least a few of us can read.

And because I am only semi-literate, I had a medium frame Taurus in .357 years ago. It wasn't the most finely finished gun in existence, but it was perfectly functional, reliable, and decently accurate for a low price. I had no complaints.

For you Taurus bashers, particularly the basher who has had two bad samples, I offer you my experience with Smith and Wesson revolvers. The last THREE S&W revolvers I have purchased had to go back to the factory within days of purchase. One of those went back 3 times and still had issues when I finally gave up and dumped it at a gun show. On the contrary, my father has purchased 5 Taurus guns over the past 10 years and none of them have had a single issue.

I have owned 4 Taurus revolvers and two were bad out of the box. The 905 had multiple light primer strikes in every cylinder fired no matter what ammo I used and the Judge locked up while firing the second cylinder ever. Both were brand new. I have had bad guns from almost every major manufacturer but not 50% of my guns from any manufacturer. Taurus quality is simply hit and miss. Yeah you might get a great Taurus and you might get a shitty Ruger, but you’re chances of a both are smaller than the opposite with both brands.

Also Taurus CS is terrible. Ruger, Smith, and Kimber? All fantastic CS. So if you do happen to get a bad Ruger then you are likely going to get excellent service. When you get a bad Taurus (because you will get one of you buy enough) then you’ll also have a hard time getting it fixed.

So if you want to gamble a few hundred on a long shot it’s your money to gamble. Personally I’d rather save my money and put it on a sure thing.

I currently own 4(four) Taurus revolvers. I have owned them all for many years. They are all snubbys and all large bore(44 Special...45LC). They are regulars for me at the range, and I carried the Ti framed 45LC gun for quite a while. I would not take for these revolvers, as they perform exactly as I request a revolver to perform.

I also have a "few" old S&W revolvers that are great revolvers also.

So it seems like the verdict is, and correct me if I'm wrong, that if you buy a Taurus, it will either be a turd right out of the box, and if it is, it's a crapshoot if Taurus will be of any help with it, or it will be fine, and stay that way. So there's a risk to them. The flip side is, if you do get a good one it will be a bargain. So if you're going to buy one, handle/go over it BEFORE closing the deal.

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
So it seems like the verdict is, and correct me if I'm wrong, that if you buy a Taurus, it will either be a turd right out of the box, and if it is, it's a crapshoot if Taurus will be of any help with it, or it will be fine, and stay that way. So there's a risk to them. The flip side is, if you do get a good one it will be a bargain. So if you're going to buy one, handle/go over it BEFORE closing the deal.

I agree with your verdict BBMW and will add that if you have to wait 12-14 weeks for CS to return your revolver they must have a crap pile of repair on their table. When it comes back like you sent it to them I wonder the point.

My luck with Taurus has been pretty good. I carried a PT-99 Beretta clone for quite a while as a woods gun when riding my ATV. Lots of dirt, grit, wet, etc. Always worked. And, IMHO, its frame mounted decocker is a better design than the Beretta 92.
Also carried a Model 85 as a BUG for a couple years. It was fine and I sold it for about what I paid for it. A co-worker also had a Model 85 and even though I warned him not to use +P in it, he ignored me. After four or five years of over pressure ammo use, it finally sent most of its components into a low earth orbit. The dude sent the remains into Taurus on Police letterhead begging forgiveness and Taurus sent him a brand new Model 85, no questions asked.