I have fallen prey to Internet chatter.....Taurus

I am sure that Taurus has produced many more good, reliable guns than it has clunkers. Modern reality is such, though, that no one rushes to the internet to tell the whole world about good, honest, reliable products. But the person who finds that his new (name it) doesn't work, is no good, or fell apart can't wait to share his experience with the world.

Still, there seems little doubt that, while any company can turn out a lemon, there seem to be more lemon trees in Brazil than in Massachusetts or Arizona.

Jim
 
I don't own any, but my Dad owns three Taurus revolvers.. a Raging Bull .44 Mag, an M66 Tracker in .357 Mag, and I think another Tracker in .17 HMR. He loves all three and has had zero issues.. though it bears mentioning that the .17 is the only one that gets shot more than a few rounds before and during Deer Season.

I shot a buck with the Model 66 last year, and I've put probably a hundred rounds through it total. It is accurate and functions just fine, though the cylinder is loose as a goose and the fit/finish of the whole thing is put to shame by both my wife's S&W Model 66 and my Ruger GP100.

They are great for a $350 revolver, however I've been seeing the M66 Taurus with asking prices in the $500 range.. for that money I'll hunt down a Smith & Wesson any day of the week.
 
I agree, but maybe the bashing is now towards all the new productions. This particular pistol I have bought it brand new over 30 yrs ago. Really love this thing shoots everything. The only thing I might ever do if anything would be trigger work, its not hard at all just long spongy feel but very accurate.
 
Taurus success stories:
M689 - .357 6" SS Revolver - Accurate, too many rounds to count, never had an issue. Ever. Best trigger I have ever had among revolvers.
PT738 TCP - .380 mouse gun - 2-4" groups at 7-10 yards. 500 rounds - 2 issues when Dad was shooting attributed to limp wrist, once his grip was right it did not duplicate.
PT22 Poly - .22LR mouse gun - 1-3" groups at 7-10 yards. 1000 rounds - no issues, sold to finance a Ruger Mark 3, don't regret it, but I do miss it and I would buy another.
M94 (something) - .22LR 9 shot 2" ultra lite revolver - 1-3" groups at 7-10 yards. 500 rounds so far, 2 chambers sticky extraction, but a ton of fun. Long heavy DA (rimfire) great SA
M82 - .38 spcl 3" blue revolver - My first gun. Thousands of rounds. After 5000 rounds, the firing pin rounded off. Took to gunsmith, he replaced the pin at no charge, Taurus paid for the repair. Sold to finance above .357.
PT1911 - .45 ACP - fairly new to me on a trade. 150 rounds so far, no issues. PO put dummy reassembly circle in the SS slide and frame though.

Then my favorite:
PT100 / 92 - SS- has .40 lower and a 40 and 9mm upper. Shoot .40, flip a switch change a mag, finish the day with 9x19. Works FLAWLESSLY in both calibers. Accurate, smooth, soft shooting, and the trigger is outstanding.

That revolver you have pictures there is super nice looking. If it shoots, and is reliable, why (essentially with Taurus prices) give it away? A name is just a name on a machine. It is the machine that matters. Believe me, I am a car nut too. I never understood the manufacturer hate. Ford makes some good stuff, so does Chevy, and so does Dodge - but ALL of them have made some real turds too. If you have one that is good, stick with it. If you absolutely do not want to and buy into the hate....well....PM me, I will take that nice revolver from you. I may even pay you for it. ;)
 
No, I have no intention of selling it. The only reason we thought of it was to help my mom pay for her Bodyguard. I am currently teaching my daughter to use it and will likely give it to her when she comes of age.

This discussion also begs the question: I wonder what the market share of Taurus's in the US that have been sold in the last 10 years or whatever is?
I also wonder what percentage that is among newbies due to price?
 
I purchased a Taurus Judge a number of years ago. Never had an issue with it. Sold it to a friend who likewise has had no issue. Although I had good luck with this Taurus, I wouldn't purchase another Taurus product.
 
"This discussion also begs the question: I wonder what the market share of Taurus's in the US that have been sold in the last 10 years or whatever is?
I also wonder what percentage that is among newbies due to price? "


From 1986-2010
1 = Ruger (4,778,037)
2 = S&W (4,674,459)
3 = Beretta (2,455,716)
4 = Colt (1,411,776)
5 = Sig Sauer (1,299,849)
6 = Taurus (371,439)
 
I also wonder what percentage that is among newbies due to price?
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If I was new to guns, on a budget, and had not looked into or bought into the internet reputation they would likely be some of my first purchases. I am a S&W fan and Taurus has nearly got my money a few times on some of their S&W clones. They might still get it, so that I can have shooters and give the hard to replace S&W's a break.
 
From 1986-2010
1 = Ruger (4,778,037)
2 = S&W (4,674,459)
3 = Beretta (2,455,716)
4 = Colt (1,411,776)
5 = Sig Sauer (1,299,849)
6 = Taurus (371,439)
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It would also be interesting to see these numbers broken down into the categories of rifles, handguns, and shotguns. Also into police, security, military, and civilian users.
 
Taurus might be a smart choice for those who are expert enough to do a thorough checkout of a gun before buying. Many, maybe most, of the Taurus problems I have seen described have been ones that could have been detected prior to purchase had the buyer known what to look for.

Jim
 
If 90% of any companies products work just fine and 10% give problems they would quickly get a reputation as junk. And rightly so in my opinion. Not talking about any brand in particular, but even the worst companies are probably better than 90%. If you get a good one, then you have a good one. But lots of guys, myself included, would be reluctant to buy knowing we had a 10% chance of a lemon.

Other factors to consider when choosing any budget gun. Most work just fine when new, it is long term durability that is often sacrificed. As is long term value. A budget gun that sold new for $200 twenty years ago might still bring $200 today. A S&W that sold for $400 twenty years ago will likely bring $500-$600 today used. Which one cost more in the long run.
 
There's a reason they resemble Berettas...

aarondhgraham--quote: "Taurus has good designs,,,In some cases they appear to be S&W clones.The problem with Taurus doesn't stem from bad design,,,
It stems from dismal quality control from their manufacturing plant."


In 1971, the Bangor Punta Corporation, then the parent company of Smith & Wesson, purchased 54 percent of Forjas Taurus, allowing the two firearms manufacturers to easily share information regarding design and manufacturing.

In 1980, Taurus purchased Beretta's São Paulo, Brazil manufacturing plant, which included the tooling and technical drawings. And then the big surprise, in 1997 Taurus also purchased Rossi.

So that is why they resemble some models of Beretta and S&W.

Personally, I have owned a couple of Taurus revolvers and never had any real problems with them, other than triggers that could use a little work. But so do many other guns. Horrors, I bought a Colt Combat Commander once and had a problem with the extractor. But I don't go around hating Colts because of that. Lighten up everyone, nothings perfect. :D
 
I have 3 Taurus revolvers, nothing wrong with any of them.

It's true the fit and finish are not up to S&W standard, but the ones I have function well and keep on functioning. Good workhorse pistols, to me.
 
I was the Gun Room Manager for Sportsman's Warehouse for several years here and based on that, I would NEVER buy a Taurus revolver, but we had very good luck with the autos. I would return revolvers for warranty service every week, and often more than one at a time, but I think I sent back only one single auto in all that time and that was for a problem with the set screw in the front sight and had nothing to do with function.
 
Personally, I have owned a couple of Taurus revolvers and never had any real problems with them, other than triggers that could use a little work. But so do many other guns. Horrors, I bought a Colt Combat Commander once and had a problem with the extractor. But I don't go around hating Colts because of that. Lighten up everyone, nothings perfect.
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Excellent point. I had a Keltec P3at that turned me off to the brand forever, but I don't go around bagging it as it may have just been isolated and the company service was good and timely. I don't know if they ever did get the gun right as after it shipped back from them the last time I sold it immediately. Turned me off, but doesn't mean the brand sucks just because one gun did. I just grew up on Rugers and Glocks that run like Swiss watches and have come to expect that. Silly me! Oh yeah, my Taurus runs like that too!
 
The only thing wrong with Taurus/Rossi firearms, for me, is they are not significantly less expensive. I'd just rather buy a firearm made in the USA. Like a Ruger or Smith&Wesson.
 
I say all this because my personal experience with this gun has been fantastic. However, I have read so much Taurus bashing on this and other places that now if I see one in a shop I thumb my nose at it. Is that fair? I wonder.
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If I had a Taurus that was working well and had provided good service, I wouldn't let the horror stories convince me to sell it.

But I would certainly take them into account when considering the purchase of another Taurus that I hadn't had the chance to personally test/evaluate.

The takeaway of all the horror stories is NOT that all Taurus guns are worthless--the company would have been out of business long ago if that were true. The moral of the story is that a purchaser needs to be aware that they're somewhat more likely to get a lemon when purchasing a Taurus than they would be if they purchased a more respected brand.
It would also be interesting to see these numbers broken down into the categories of rifles, handguns, and shotguns.
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That can be done by anyone who wants to spend the time on it. The BATFE publishes annual reports of imports and of domestic production broken down by manufacturer, by handgun, revolver and long gun.
 
I have very good results from my PT1911. None of the junk that I've read about on the internet has happened to mine. No ambi safety falling off etc etc. this pistol shoots on par with my Colt Gold Cup Trophy and I'm very pleased with it. Would not sell or trade this one. It's a keeper!
 
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