I know in the past many thought their revolvers weren't very good.
They have a model out now in 327 that am wondering about.

I have been acquainted with a top level IDPA and ICORE shooter who is now the PR/ Marketing guy at Taurus. He has been running these guns hard in competition and is actually being listened to by corporate on what and how to improve the guns, and I do think they have improved significantly.
When he started with them, he told them NOT to provide him slicked up cherry picked guns but to reimburse him after he walked in and bought off the shelf guns from a shop. The idea was to assess where the production guns were in terms of quality so realistic assessments could be made. From what I have seen in his shooting demonstrations and of the samples he has brought to events, they run about as what you’d expect out of S&W.

I've heard that Caleb Giddings has been trying to make some changes over there. I had an opportunity to put a few rounds through a Taurus 66 .357 Magnum earlier this year, and it worked fine. That particular example was not quite as smooth as most of my Smiths, but it functioned reliably. I didn't shoot it enough to truly vet it, though.

I've been burned a few times in the past by Taurus. It cost me considerable time, effort, and money, and left a really bad taste in my mouth. I'm cautiously optimistic that they are trying to do better, but I'm not to a place where I'm ready to open my wallet yet. I'd need to have a lot more first-hand interaction with their guns before I'm ready to spend my money on one. And that's going to be hard to get because most of my local gun buddies aren't willing to own one, either.

S&W has been good to me over the years, both in quality and customer service. They've given me the confidence as a customer that what I'm going to buy is going to work, and if it doesn't they'll take care of it. I'm not willing to step outside that established relationship of trust just to save a few dollars up front.

That said, there are a few things that Taurus makes that S&W doesn't (it sounds like you've got your eyes on one of those), and some of them are interesting. I'd really like to try one of their 9mm snubbies, for instance. I really do hope they are making improvements, because some day I might want to own one and I want it to be a reliable, functional gun. Emotionally, I'm rooting for them to succeed, but practically I'm just not ready to gamble with my hard-earned cash just yet.

I've owned Taurus revolvers (and a few pistols) since 1977. I have never had a "bad" one, but I did wear one out once. It had their warranty, so when I requested service they sent me a coupon for a new gun. The View was quirky and not fun to shoot, but worked.

I have two Taurus look-alike revolvers, a Model 94 (nine rounds, .22 LR) and a 941 (eight rounds, .22 Magnum). Neither one has been reliable. Each has made several trips to Taurus for repairs.

The 94 locked up totally. Could not budge the trigger, nor the hammer, nor the cylinder. Taurus fixed this problem.

Neither one will get through a full cylinder reliably, without at least one "dud." Tried many, many, different types of ammunition with the same result. Typically, a second attempt at the "dud" round will fire.

While it's not a large sample pool, I have a 942 Ultra Lite 22 revolver that I carry bow hunting and it's been extremely reliable and accurate. For what I spent for it, I'm extremely happy. Sure, it's no Smith or Ruger, but it works great for my purposes.

I’ve owned four. A .44mag Tracker, a model 85 .357mag, a judge and a 9mm revolver (the model number escapes me).

The Tracker and the 85 were 100% but the 9mm and the Judge were 100% garbage. I never made it through an entire cylinder of either without a failure.

But the worst part is their CS. It’s absolutely awful and completely unhelpful.

So, IME you are more likely to have a bad gun if you buy a Taurus, and worst of all, if you do you are more likely to have issues getting it fixed.

It’s a small sample but a 50% failure rate combined with the worst CS I’ve dealt with puts Taurus in the hard no category for me.

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model 85 .357mag

Isn't the M85 .38 special only?

I've got a model 327 4" Tracker in 357mag that has been excellent. Its been accurate and reliable, and with a spring swap, the trigger has been decent. True I feel that my S&W 686 is better, but ~900 vs ~400.. I don't feel bad about using and abusing the Tracker.

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Originally posted by kkina:

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model 85 .357mag

Isn't the M85 .38 special only?

Maybe. Maybe I’m wrong about which model I had. I don’t have it anymore so I can’t check but it was a solid little gun.

Our buyer ordered in a batch of different Taurus wheel guns recently. I didn't inspect them thoroughly as I'm one of THOSE guys who has little interest or desire to go down any road again with that company, but from my cursory check the QC generally seems to be on par with any of the Rugers or Smiths that we have on hand, though the trigger action on a couple of the guns are noticeably on the janky side of the line. Basically, they seem good enough that I wouldn't feel any guilt in selling them.

In the past 3 or 4 years we haven't had any customers who've bought Taurus guns (including their semiauto pistols) come back and complain about their guns, which seems to be a positive sign. However we have during this period discovered a couple of problematic dogs among our own inventory during that time. One was with a Judge that had its front sight fall off during its trip from Taurus USA to us. The other was with one of their newer semiautos (it now escapes me as to which one it was) where the mag catch wasn't latching onto either of its mags, or any of the mags that we tried from other examples of the same model in our inventory at the time.

The truth is that stuff like that happens; it's really no worse than the occasional hiccups from other gun manufacturers (like the Beretta A300 Patrol that arrived missing its charging handle, or all THREE of the Benelli 12ga Montefeltros that came with crack damage to their included adult stocks; that must've been one hell of a boat ride in from Italy...).

Now as to how the Taurus revolvers actually function...well, that I can't personally vouch for one way or the other.

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Originally posted by Pale Horse:

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:

quote:

model 85 .357mag

Isn't the M85 .38 special only?

Maybe. Maybe I’m wrong about which model I had. I don’t have it anymore so I can’t check but it was a solid little gun.

Maybe was a 605? (That's what I have.) My friend had the 85, that's how I know.

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the trigger action on a couple of the guns are noticeably on the janky side of the line.

I played with one of the 9mm snubbies at the NRAAM in Indy last year, and that was my observation as well. The trigger pull was pretty bad. Rough, heavy, and stacky. My wife's uncle's full-size model 66 in .357 that I shot this year was quite a bit better...not amazing but acceptable. I'm not sure if it was like that from the factory or the result of his actually using the gun quite a bit and giving it a chance to wear in.

I had a 669 VR back in the 90's, loved that gun, tack driver, wish I had not sold it.

I bought a used .327 magnum model because I could not find a Ruger at that time. As I was buying it I noticed it had a trigger issue, it would bind occasionally, so I got a really good price on it. Contacted Taurus they said sent it in, about 2 weeks later got it back or so I thought at first. Saw a new sticker on the box and compared the serial number to my records. They had sent me a brand new gun, works flawless to this day.

I’m pulling for them. In the “been burned” group, twice. But I really like the looks of the Executive Grade .38, and the two I’ve handled were not bad at all.

But, the money is still in my pocket…

I have a rule when it comes down to my guns. Quality. Quality. Quality. It is with the sincerest of intention to never "need" one of my guns. I hope to never ever have to fire one in any capacity, with the exception of at the range or in a field for pleasure. I am sure most of us feel that way. However, if I ever had to rely on one, I want one I know will work.
There are some guns that look nice and have inexpensive price points. You get what you pay for with anything. I have multiple friends with Taurus guns. I have fired them multiple times. They feel ok and look ok. Would I buy one? My answer would range from No, to Depends. . I have seen and heard of too many issues. If I NEED my gun, I want to have the peace of mind knowing it will fire. If I needed a new CC gun, it would not be a Taurus. If it were just a plinking gun for the range, than I may purchase one but the price would have to be a no brainer for that to happen.

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Originally posted by captain127:
I have been acquainted with a top level IDPA and ICORE shooter who is now the PR/ Marketing guy at Taurus. He has been running these guns hard in competition

What models is he competing with?
Is anybody tuning them? At one time it was said Jack Weigand was going to set up as a Taurus specialist but nothing came of it.
Some years ago, a gunzine writer said he was going to get Taurus moon clip .45 and 9mm for T&E and would provide them to me and a friend to exercise in IDPA. That didn't happen, either.

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What models is he competing with?

He ran a stock Model 82 last year with over 100k documented rounds.

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Is anybody tuning them?

He says no, and I honestly believe him.




From talking to Caleb, and a few other folks I know over at Taurus, I think there is a legit, concerted effort by Taurus to fix their QC issues which dogged them in the past and shed the reputation they rightfully earned. And I think they are getting there.

I've gone from someone who would tell people to avoid Taurus like the plague, to now wanting to pick-up a few pistols.

quote:

From talking to Caleb, and a few other folks I know over at Taurus, I think there is a legit, concerted effort by Taurus to fix their QC issues which dogged them in the past and shed the reputation they rightfully earned. And I think they are getting there.

I've gone from someone who would tell people to avoid Taurus like the plague, to now wanting to pick-up a few pistols.

I don't know Caleb in person, and have never met him, but find his online and podcast presence to be kind of unnecessarily abrasive and juvenile at times. I also think he sometimes voices opinions about some things that he's not fully educated about (the P320 being one of those).

That said, he comes across as a sincere and honest guy who speaks his mind, and I think he's legitimately trying to to make things better at Taurus. I've also heard that he's a VERY competent shooter who can back up his mouth by putting hits on target. If he says he's buying guns off the shelf, I believe him. He was a vocal critic of Taurus in the past, and the fact that they were willing to bring him onboard with the express intent of making improvements says positive things about the company as a whole.

92fstech I have met him multiple times, and he is a great guy, competent shooter, and really is putting his best foot forward with Taurus and trying to improve the company. His other job as a USAF reserve combat arms training instructor give him perspective on military issue guns like the M17/18,M9. So if he has some opinions on the 320 series, I would respect what he has to say there too. ( all my interaction and discussions with him has been on the revolver side of things)