I've mentioned before that in 1994 I bought a 3" barrel Taurus 431 in .44 Special; I've not had thousands of rounds through it (probably 500-600, though) but have had nary a major problem. There has been the rare backwards spit of lead, and the cylinder latch came loose at one point; the former can happen with most any revolver, the latter was solved permanently with a drop of Loctite. The current Mrs. appropriated this gun from me, and carries it near-daily with confidence; about 4-5 years ago, I bought her an identical gun for home use, and aside from the cylinder latch also coming loose she has had no problems with it.
actual experience with Taurus
- Thread starter TennJed
- Start date
That is correct. To get that information the poll would have had to be designed differently.
However, even without that information, we can still get a pretty decent picture of what the situation is in terms of how likely one is to get a Taurus with problems, assuming that we've gotten reasonably accurate responses to the poll questions.
Cheapshooter
New member
Another point to be made that tends to skew the number of problematic firearms from Taurus can only be answered by the manufacturers them selves. But they are pretty much hush, hush about it. That is now many Taurus firearms are mnufactured, and sold in compairison to other makers. With increased production comes the increased possibility of a "lemon" getting out.
Another issue not in the poll is the time frame of the problem(s). Taurus has claimed (within the last six months) that they are aware of the problems and have taken steps to correct them.
So, in fairness, did the problem(s) mentioned occur last week, a year ago, or ten or more years ago? I have seen the same problem with another make brought up time after time by the same person so that one problem has been reported a hundred times on a half dozen sites, making it look like that make and model was very bad, when in fact it is one of the most reliable and best made guns on the market.
Jim
So, in fairness, did the problem(s) mentioned occur last week, a year ago, or ten or more years ago? I have seen the same problem with another make brought up time after time by the same person so that one problem has been reported a hundred times on a half dozen sites, making it look like that make and model was very bad, when in fact it is one of the most reliable and best made guns on the market.
Jim
A poll like this one, assuming accurate responses, largely takes that into account because it's not relying solely on the number of problem reports, but is comparing the number of owners/past owners to the number of owners/past owners with problem guns. It does make the assumption that the applicable poll responders all own/have owned roughly the same number of Taurus firearms.
As far as determining the total production figures for Taurus, it's possible to make an educated guess at that figure by looking at the handgun imports from Brazil. The ATF reports those figures annually.
The most recent figures I can find are from 2011 and indicate that 359,846 handguns came into the U.S. from Brazil. Most of those are Taurus products, but there are also some Rossis and some are the Springfield guns made by Imbel.
Total handgun imports to the U.S. in 2011 were 1.725 million--Austria is the largest handgun exporter to the U.S. with over half a million handguns (2011 stats).
We make handguns here in the states at the rate of about 2.8 million a year (2010 stats) and exports of handguns are negligible.
So the total number of handguns sold in a given year in the U.S. (imports and domestic manufacture) amounts to about 4.5 million of which about 8% come from Brazil.
So if we assume that all of the 360,000 handguns from Brazil were from Taurus and further assume that all handguns have problems at about the same rate and that all problems are reported, we would expect that Taurus problem reports would amount to no more than 8% of the total number of problem reports.
One way to get a quick feel for how the problem reports stack up would be to be to look at BBB complaint data.
We know that Taurus probably imported somewhere around 300,000 pistols to the U.S. and that Glock probably imported about 500,000 pistols in the same year, so assuming that the two brands are comparable in quality and customer service, we would expect, all else being equal for the number of complaints to be similar.
http://www.bbb.org/south-east-flori...national-manufacturing-in-hialeah-fl-27002288
Taurus
- 75 complaints in the last 3 years, 26 in the last 12 months.
- Failure to honor commitment to arbitrate disputes or mediate disputes.
- Failure to respond to 4 complaints filed against business.
- 4 complaints filed against business that were not resolved.
Glock
- 3 complaints in the last 3 years, 0 in the last 12 months.
- Response to 3 complaint(s) filed against business.
- Resolution of complaint(s) filed against business.
Ruger is the number one volume gun maker in the U.S. Let's see how their massive production volume figures into the number of complaints.
Ruger
- 4 complaints in the last 3 years, 1 in the last 12 months
- Response to 4 complaint(s) filed against business.
- Resolution of complaint(s) filed against business.
So, even though both Glock and Ruger make and sell more guns in the U.S. than Taurus, together they accounted for only 7 complaints in the last 3 years compared to Taurus 75 complaints over the same timeframe.
So Taurus sells about 5 times fewer guns in the U.S. than Glock and Ruger combined and yet accounts for 10 times more complaints. That's significant, in my opinion.
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No, I did not forget to include that line.
I INTENTIONALLY left out a good bit of information from all the BBB assessment of all three companies when I created the summaries because my goal was not to paste the entire content of the page into my post--only the relevant information was copied.
So why isn't it relevant that the BBB doesn't know how big Taurus is? It's because WE know how big it is. We used the ATF's import figures to get a feel for their size in comparison to the other two companies we're comparing it against.
You'll notice I did provide the link to the Taurus summary for those who wanted to look at ALL of the data, and the BBB site can be easily searched for the information from the other two companies.
However, I can see that this is going to be a problem. I'll tell you what. I'll delete any mention of the rating from my earlier post to prevent the rating and what it's based on from becoming a sidetrack to the main topic.
I INTENTIONALLY left out a good bit of information from all the BBB assessment of all three companies when I created the summaries because my goal was not to paste the entire content of the page into my post--only the relevant information was copied.
So why isn't it relevant that the BBB doesn't know how big Taurus is? It's because WE know how big it is. We used the ATF's import figures to get a feel for their size in comparison to the other two companies we're comparing it against.
You'll notice I did provide the link to the Taurus summary for those who wanted to look at ALL of the data, and the BBB site can be easily searched for the information from the other two companies.
However, I can see that this is going to be a problem. I'll tell you what. I'll delete any mention of the rating from my earlier post to prevent the rating and what it's based on from becoming a sidetrack to the main topic.
I own four Tauri.
PT92
TCP738 - belongs to my daughter now. I wouldn't have given it to her if I didn't trust it.
M44SS6
PT709 Slim
I guess I have been extremely fortunate because I have not had any issues with any of these weapons. All are accurate and reliable.
I also own S&W, Colt, Beretta, Springfield Armory, Glock, Ruger, Heritage, Interarms, Iver Johnson, and AMT handguns so I do have some basis of comparison.
PT92
TCP738 - belongs to my daughter now. I wouldn't have given it to her if I didn't trust it.
M44SS6
PT709 Slim
I guess I have been extremely fortunate because I have not had any issues with any of these weapons. All are accurate and reliable.
I also own S&W, Colt, Beretta, Springfield Armory, Glock, Ruger, Heritage, Interarms, Iver Johnson, and AMT handguns so I do have some basis of comparison.
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Product problems and complaints to the BBB don't necessarily track either. Product problems can be resolved by DIY repair, gunshop repair, original dealer repair, or factory/factory rep repair. None would be reported to the BBB, but all would, IMHO, be product problems. Complaints to the BBB usually involve business practices, not defective products, per se.
AFAIK, no one, except the companies involved, keeps track of the actual reported troubles with guns. Even the companies don't know about or track other than their factory or factory rep repairs. If I have a problem with a Taurus and fix it myself, Taurus has no way of knowing about that problem and won't take steps to correct it.
That is why I will almost always recommend that gun owners with other than very minor problems send the gun back to the factory. The owner or a gunsmith might do just as good a job with a repair, but then the factory will be dumb and happy, not knowing there is a problem that needs corrected. Also the fix comes quicker if it costs them money; if I fix it on my dime, they don't care.
Jim
AFAIK, no one, except the companies involved, keeps track of the actual reported troubles with guns. Even the companies don't know about or track other than their factory or factory rep repairs. If I have a problem with a Taurus and fix it myself, Taurus has no way of knowing about that problem and won't take steps to correct it.
That is why I will almost always recommend that gun owners with other than very minor problems send the gun back to the factory. The owner or a gunsmith might do just as good a job with a repair, but then the factory will be dumb and happy, not knowing there is a problem that needs corrected. Also the fix comes quicker if it costs them money; if I fix it on my dime, they don't care.
Jim
HawkeyeNRAlifer
New member
My first Taurus was a stainless 6" 44 special, great shooter. Don't remember the model, but looked very similar to my S&W 686. I then bought a Rossi 720, 3" 44 special, great carry gun with the lightest, cleanest trigger pull I've ever shot. No problems at all. I've always favored the 45 acp, so when looking for a compact auto I stumbled upon the Mil-Pro. Suprisingly easy to shoot and carry, no problems with at least 1200 rounds through it. Because of the favorable track record with Taurus, I didn't hesitate to buy a 24/7 OSS when I saw one at a gun show a few years back. Didn't need it, but for less that $350 otd, I couldn't pass it up.
My only dealings with the factory was to order some mag spacers so I could carry the 12 round OSS mags in my Mil-Pro and not have the gap. They were friendly and efficent.
I'm sure that their quality control is not up to snuff compared to the other major manufactorers, but it's a free country, we can select from whom we want to buy. I might never buy another Taurus, but it won't be because of giving me any problems.I've been fortunate over the years, very few problems with any brand of guns i've bought.
My only dealings with the factory was to order some mag spacers so I could carry the 12 round OSS mags in my Mil-Pro and not have the gap. They were friendly and efficent.
I'm sure that their quality control is not up to snuff compared to the other major manufactorers, but it's a free country, we can select from whom we want to buy. I might never buy another Taurus, but it won't be because of giving me any problems.I've been fortunate over the years, very few problems with any brand of guns i've bought.
Own 2, no problems at all
First handgun I ever bought was in 2009, a Taurus 85 Ultralite snubby for home defense. I put several hundred rounds through it at the range with no issues, including a couple of hundred +P+ loads. Its 2" barrel encouraged me to work on my hold to improve accuracy. It became my carry gun when I got my CCW in 2010. It's still my backup carry gun (I switched to a Ruger LC9 two months ago, it's slimmer and easier to conceal plus 3 more rounds available and a pinky extension on my magazines that helps my accuracy).
When I decided I wanted to work on accuracy at longer ranges, in late 2009, I bought a Taurus 82 with 4" barrel, and got into reloading. I've fired thousands of reloads through it and the only issue I've had, has been barrel leading from all the lead semi-wadcutters I've put through it. But that's easy enough to deal with. I'd like to see about maybe a little lighter trigger pull in double-action mode, but I'd trust my life to either one. I'd use the 82 in competition, if I decide to get into that.
First handgun I ever bought was in 2009, a Taurus 85 Ultralite snubby for home defense. I put several hundred rounds through it at the range with no issues, including a couple of hundred +P+ loads. Its 2" barrel encouraged me to work on my hold to improve accuracy. It became my carry gun when I got my CCW in 2010. It's still my backup carry gun (I switched to a Ruger LC9 two months ago, it's slimmer and easier to conceal plus 3 more rounds available and a pinky extension on my magazines that helps my accuracy).
When I decided I wanted to work on accuracy at longer ranges, in late 2009, I bought a Taurus 82 with 4" barrel, and got into reloading. I've fired thousands of reloads through it and the only issue I've had, has been barrel leading from all the lead semi-wadcutters I've put through it. But that's easy enough to deal with. I'd like to see about maybe a little lighter trigger pull in double-action mode, but I'd trust my life to either one. I'd use the 82 in competition, if I decide to get into that.
My solution to dealing with Taurus is that I never buy a new weapon from them. I don't like the company but I do like a few of the products. I would love to have a Taurus PT92 but there are a lot of used ones. I would rather give the money to a private seller than to Taurus. Since the previous owner did the break in chances are it is fine so I won't have to return it like I would with a defective new one.