Did Taurus revolvers get any better over the years?

Looking for a small stainless 38 snubby. Smith model 60's are getting crazy money.
The 856 is a 6 shot, 2 inch for $300 give or take.

The ruger sp101 is solid but heavy and still expensive.

You get what you pay for.

Not in my experience.

And it’s not just the quality of the gun, though that’s very important, it’s also the quality of the customer service. If you do get a bad one, and odds are better that you will, their CS will is difficult to work with and IME won’t fix the gun once you do get it to them.

This is not what you are looking for but I thought maybe I’d give you some food for thought. I bought one of these Smith and Wesson M&P bodyguard revolvers and really like it. It’s not stainless but I’d rather an ugly quality revolver than a pretty brick. I was wary of the whole polymer frame revolver idea and I thought that shooting +p through it would be a nightmare but I actually really like the little gun and it’s not that bad to shoot. This was the first one I found for just over $400 but I have seen them for under $400 locally.

https://www.academy.com/p/smit...l-revolver-118046282

If I wanted a high quality and beautiful small revolver then I’d save up for the Kimber K6s. I’ve got one of those too and it’s a wonderful piece.

I used to work for a company that issued S&W revolvers for employees that did not buy there own gun, we had hundreds of revolvers.They eventually started to replace the S&W revolvers with Taurus revolvers, they were fine except for a noticeably gritter trigger.
I would say the failure rate was about equal for the Smiths and the Taurus.
These guns were rarely fired except when yearly qualifying came, that was a 50rnd course of fire, or the occasional negligent discharge.They were constantly cleaned thorough out the year.
They were all loaded with 38+P ammo, the last year I saw 38+p+ ammo shipped from HQ to replace the 38+p, this surprised me. I did not feel comfortable about loading that ammo in duty gun especially revolvers that were not made for 357 magnum rounds. These revolvers were also rotated and shot for new hire training.

I was always surprised by the large number of mechanical failures these revolvers experienced.
I was always embarrassed when I would preach about the value and reliability of a revolver to new shooters only to see them drop like flies on the firing range. Un-like a semi auto when it fails there is usually a course of action that can get the gun back up running, when the revolver fails your usually fucked.

I've heard a lot of folks saying that they've gotten better. The counter guy at the LGS a month or so back told me that they've not sent anything back to Taurus in the past few years, but he can't say the same for domestic manufacturers.

My last revolver purchase was 2-3 weeks ago. It was an S&W Model 60 3". I've been down the Taurus road before, twice, and it's going to take some really clear and convincing evidence to compel me to sodomize myself in that manner again. The guns I had were junk, and their customer service was worse...I sold them both at a loss, which is saying something considering what I paid for them.

I want to like Taurus...their product catalog is pretty extensive, their guns look decent cosmetically, and they offer a wide variety of appealing chamberings. My personal experience with them, however, has soured me to the point that it's going to take a lot of verifiable positive reviews of significant carry time and rounds downrange to convince me to give them another shot.

I've owned and shot Taurus revolvers since '76. I had one problem, which was promptly replaced. I also work in a store that sells Taurus. The only model I would stay away from is the TP 22. Several years ago I encouraged my boss to carry the G2 line of Taurus pistols. I was warned here that I would be spending days on the phone arranging repairs. Well over 100 pistols later, I haven't had one complaint.

I'm actually in the camp that the older revolvers were better. I have a Taurus 85 (first handgun I ever purchased under my name with my money) that was made in the late 80's and its a great gun.

My brother had a Taurus 66 .357 around 1997/98 that was a great gun.

I've handled and shot several newer Taurus revolvers over the past 15 years and was not impressed with them in any way.

Friends don't let friends buy Taurii

I have two Taurus revolvers (I'm a slow learner).

Each of them has had at least two trips back to the Taurus Mother Ship. Neither one is reliable.

If a Bad Guy wanted to shoot me, I would offer these revolvers and say, "Use one of these." I would probably be safe.

I do not own any of the new Taurus revolver, but do own three(3) older model ported snubby big bore revolvers. I have shot the hell out of these guns and they have never let me down. I carried my Ti framed 45LC snubby for years. You could not purchase any of my Taurus revolvers.

My M605 did have to go in for service not long after purchasing it (it was a "carry-up" failure where the cylinder non-aligned with the barrel). It was back after a month, and has been reliable and accurate ever since. (I actually found Customer Service to be efficient, noting this was 10 years ago.)

My friend had a very similar experience with her .38 Taurus (M85). I guess that's 2 strikes, but I'm nonetheless happy with mine.


M605 100 Yards - 1 by kpkina, on Flickr

I’d give ‘em a try without hesitation. Shoot it, if it’s accurate, you probably got a good one. If not, there’s a bazillion people looking for a cheap carry revolver. You have to remember, our type tends to be much more critical and demanding than the average person.

I also had an old 85 that was reliable and as far as I could tell well built. I sold it to a friend who has one of the first Taurus 1911s and a Beretta clone and afaik he’s never had a failure. I also had a Tracker that was good to go.

But then I bought a 9mm revolver and have never once made it through a full cylinder and had every round ignite regardless of ammo. It’s been back once but they are making it hard to send back a second time. I even bought some TK Customs moon clips thinking maybe the shitty Taurus ones were to blame but nothing changed. Like 92fstech said I really wish they were better because they have a lot of good ideas. I just think that if I ever have to pull a gun out to defend myself I’m gonna be happy that I spent a little extra money.

quote:

Originally posted by GT-40DOC:
I carried my Ti framed 45LC snubby for years.

That's the one that has my eye right now. I wish they hadn't discontinued it, becasue new MSRP would probably be cheaper than what they're going for used now...plus it would be nice to know that they still have parts for it if/when it breaks. I don't blame you...if I had my hands on a good one, I'd never let it go either.

I really wish S&W would make something similar....a Scandium 5-Shot L-frame 2.5-3" with a steel cylinder in .45 Colt would be just the ticket. I love my Model 69, but something a little lighter chambered in the softer-recoiling .45 has a lot of appeal.

Last I checked, a good Ti framed ported snubby in 45LC was selling for a LOT more than I paid for mine new!! If memory serves, I paid $460.

I have a S&W mod 60 and an 85UL Taurus. Both have been great little guns. My 85 was from old stock but hasn’t given me one problem.