First revolver help

I've heard alot of hate towards Taurus on these forums, and I want to ask why? What exactly is bad about them? My grandfather owns 4 Taurus' and hasn't had any problems with any of them...
Click to expand...
Mostly because they look and try to act like a Smith and Wesson.
They somewhat do look like one, but, they don't act like one.

O'Doul's looks like beer too.....

Re: used.
Used is fine if you know what you're looking at and what to look for.
If you don't, it's the best possible way I know of to throw your money away.
Unfortunately w/a $500 budget this narrows the field.
 
jimbob, we go out shooting at least once a month and put around 200-250 rounds though each gun

woad yurt, Im considering all of them at this point, but I am leaning towards a taurus model 85 because I like the looks of it and all the reviews ive seen on it have been good
 
A used GP100 is probably your best bet, those Rugers are built like a tank and its a damn fine weapon in my opinion. Ive always preferred S&W's however, they are a much nicer gun all around, and kind of remind me of a well built swiss watch.

If you can find an old pre-lock smith in your price range hands down i would go with that. Bonus points if its blued with wood grips :D
 
There used to be a sticky around here re: sizing up a used wheelgun, IIRC.....
Click to expand...
Correct - right at the top of this forum.
Jim March did an excellent job of writing down everythng he knew and gleaned about what to look for and how to check out a revolver.

Which BTW - applying that to selecting a new revolver is also a wise idea.

I do still approach the idea of a person unfamilier with anything, whatever it might be, with a great deal of caution.
 
As others have said a used K-frame S&W or similar Ruger.

Not so much for Colts as repair might be a problem.

Definitely read the sticky. But you'll find that a gun that was good when it was new will still probably be good used.
 
Why Taurus bashing?

Taurus bashing seems to be a very popular sport.

I have 4 Taurus guns, all are fine. Millenium Pro 45 ACP, shoot well in my hand, feeds everything I have given it (even semi-wadcutters that have an 80% choke rate in my friend's XD) and has never jammed once in about 500 rounds. A 22 rimfire revolver (bought in the '70s). A PT92 and a PT99 (virtually the same gun except for the sights and finish) both in 9mm. Dead reliable for many years, but not (strangely) as accurate as that 45 ACP Millenium.

I have heard credible complaints about some Taurus models, mostly the Milleniums for feeding problems (I suspect a little feed ramp polishing or magazine lips modification would fix most of these) and the lightweight large caliber revolvers. I suspect they are just not robust enough to handle 44 Mag and 454 Casull they are chambered for.

The Judge seemed like a great idea. I considered one myself until I thought about the ballistics. The .410 is just not a good self-defense round (not a fault of the gun) in a barrel shorter than 16 inches (a fault of the gun, but cannot be helped). The 45 Colt round out of the Judge is as good as any Colt 45, but truly full-size guns can take hotter loads than can be controlled by your average shooter in the lighter 5-shot Judge. The Judge SOUNDS like a great idea, but Taurus, nor Smith & Wesson, Colt, Ruger or Korth can make a 3" .410 or lightweight 5-shot 45 Colt into a great manstopper.

No, Taurus bashing is just an easy sport. Not the fault of the guns.

Now, bashing Taurus customer service, repair shop effectiveness and their advertising or marketing approaches. I HAVE heard credible complaints there. But that is no slam on their guns.

So, my take on it is:

Taurus has some very well designed, well executed guns. Their 22 revolver, their 1911, their mid-range (38 Special and full-weight .357s) and full-size 9mm. But, I personally would stay away from the ultra-lightweight centerfire revolvers in powerful chamberings. Designing a gun like that is very difficult and executing that design is even more difficult. If the gun will be shot a lot, I do not expect ANY lightweight gun to hold up to that. Light guns are so that they can be carried easily and used when they must be. Longevity and durability are not their strong suit. Taurus or not.

Lost Sheep
 
What Shoobee said (post #29)

Shoobee is right.

A gun in 22 rimfire is cheap to acquire and cheap to feed. (But be SURE to get one that is accurate - good sights, decent trigger, hand-filling stocks and stable barrel.) Developing good shooting skills depends on a LOT of practice. In a year of shooting, your ammunition cost for a centerfire gun will easily me 3 or 4 times the purchase price of the gun and that amount of practice is not nearly enough to give you good practice. That is why almost all instructors recommend dry fire practice to develop your trigger control.

22 rimfire gives you 5 to 10 times the trigger pulls with live ammunition per dollar than centerfire does. Trigger control, sight acquisition, hand-eye coordination. Practice.

Now, I did not follow my own advice back in 1975. I bought a .357 Mag as my first gun. But I bought a reloading press at the same time. I knew before I started I could not afford the ammo for practice if I had to buy ammunition over the counter. If I did not reload, I would not have started with a centerfire gun. Period.

Even now, I still shoot 3 to 5 times as much rimfire as I do centerfire. The recoil of centerfire disguises a lot of bad practices and habits. Shooting a decently accurate rimfire (or even an air pistol) reveals pretty much everything.

Thanks for reading. I hope I have helped with my rambling.

Lost Sheep
 
im going to go with the taurus model 85. it had a nicer trigger than a used s&w i looked at and a used ruger i looked at. thanks for your help guys
 
dnsharpshooter said:
im going to go with the taurus model 85. it had a nicer trigger than a used s&w i looked at and a used ruger i looked at. thanks for your help guys
Click to expand...
Oh, boy. Someone is going to accuse me of flip-flopping for sure, but I assure you I am not.

If all other things were equal, between a Taurus Model 85 and a used Ruger SP I would go for the Ruger. If I had a chance at one of the (discontinued) Service Six, Security Six or Speed Six models, there would be no contest. The GP is too big to compare directly to the Taurus M85.

The Ruger trigger will get better as it wears in and I have confidence the Ruger will never wear out. Besides, smoothing up the trigger on an SP is not that hard.

Taurus is OK. But I still like Ruger's ruggedness.

My earlier posts defend Taurus as not being bad. Both Taurus and Ruger are good. My preference goes to Ruger simply because I believe they are better.

Lost Sheep
 
Last edited:
I think an ideal starter revolver and all around great gun that will last into your children's lifetimes would be a Ruger GP100 4" revolver in either stainless (my personal choice) or blued. Oh sure, springs will need to be replaced over time (a long time AND a lot of shooting) but this rugged .357 Magnum DA wheel gun is accurate (adjustable rear sight and quick change front sight for a variety of targets and lighting conditions, or, preferences), built like a tank but still manageable and easily pointable, will take the very weakest .38 Special rounds all the way up to maximum, full house .357 Magnum loads and keep on rolling along.

They are inexpensive, break in and shoot smoother with each dry fire and range session and their are myriad grip options, speedloaders, holsters, etc. It's not as concealable as the 3" model (available in stainless only) and believe me, I love the 3", which carries like a two and shoot like a four but the shortest GP doesn't have that adjustable rear sight and that extra inch of recoil taming, velocity producing barrel. The four is a great HD gun, a great trail and camp and target gun and I think everyone whould spend some time really shooting one.

Good luck, good shooting!
 
Last edited:
I own a S&W 686 .357 4" and it's the only revolver that I have kept. I did have a S&W K-frame for years but finally sold it because it's not built to take a heavy diet of .357 rounds. Admittedly most people will do extremely well with the K-frame because they have no reason or need to use magnum rounds on a frequent basis.

I also owned a Taurus for about five years but sold it because it gradually loosened up and was cutting lead at the breach of the barrel. They make a lower quality but certainly usable gun. Buying a Taurus may allow you to stay in your budget if you don't use it frequently.

Good Luck!
 
Oh well, at least we warned you :-(

Someone posted this info in another thread...

Taurus has an F rating with the Better Business Burea: http://www.bbb.org/south-east-florid...mi-fl-27002288

Smith and Wesson has an A+: http://www.bbb.org/central-western-m...ield-ma-201483

Ruger has an A: http://www.bbb.org/connecticut/busin...rt-ct-41001066
Click to expand...

It's nice to see somebody backup what they stated.

I almost (almost) want him to get a bad one right away so he doesn't keep buying more and more, like some taurus junkies (keyword junk), and turn around saying you can keep your S&W.

But wait, they do have a life time warranty. Right? Good luck cashing in on that one when your gun breaks.
 
I watched 10 different reviews on that gun, all but 1 were extremely happy with it. like i said previously, my grandfather has 4 taurus' all of with i have fired myself and havent had problems with any of them. I make my decision, and I get criticized? Thats not right. This was the first and last time I will ask for help on this forum.
 
if you are happy with your decision and choice, thats all that matters.

it's a pretty good makeup of folks who post here.. some collectors, most shooters, and others with differing opinions..

for target/plinking i'd go with a 4" barrel
for carry a 2" one

the smaller and lighter a gun is the harder it is to shoot.
when someone asks for advice naturally they will suggest classics..
ruger/smith/colt

quite a few here have these models and have put thousands of rounds through them..

easy to do with models made in the 50's and 60's..no telling how many rounds went through mom's k 38 (1956 model) or dads 25-2 45acp as they were shooting and reloading 2K rds a week in the early 60's...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top