New to handguns. Is Taurus really that bad?

JIM... my TCP says right on it, made in the USA... that may be just one production line, & perhaps the revolvers are still "made" in Brazil... but I'd suspect at minimum the TCP's are "assembled" here...

& I think alot of that "american mentaility" that the auto industry had, followed into other venues... ( look at Marlin, after Remington took over ) I don't want to make it a "union" issue, because I don't think it's 100% the problem... I think any time you take a worker ( no matter the country of work ) that has been doing a good but routine job, & shake things up, if they are not part of the process, there can be alot of resentment, & a lot of bad attitudes & -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED- results & poor assembly results... don't get me wrong, I'd much rather have an "American made" revolver / gun, but I think it's wrong to pin poor assembly on Brazillians, or Chinese or where ever... company culture has as much to do with workers attitude, as their physical location

on my incident with my S&W 610, I'd be willing to bet some well meaning effiociency expert told them, that they could get an extra cylinder out of a rod of bar stock, if they minimized waste... ( means cutting kerf & end polishing & fitting ) I'd bet my cylinder / head space issue was a result of those "short cylinders" & why it took 4 times back, & a personal letter from the area sales rep, before it was, or could even be fixed... on the plus side they seemed to smooth parts, each time it went back, which had no effect on lengthening the cylinder, but after 4 times back... I've got the nicest trigger I've seen, since my early 60's combat magnum :)
 
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Your Taurus has one big advantage going for it - it is paid for. The resale value on Taurus handguns is usually not great because of their reputation, whether that reputation is deserved or not. Keep shooting it as long as it is functioning properly and don't sweat the small stuff.

As has been said, quality control has been inconsistent with Taurus, but good ones have been good. I own a Taurus model 80 from the mid 70s that is still doing well. Quite honestly, I wouldn't have bought it, but it was my dad's and so it is staying with me. Just as honestly, I have no real complaints about it. It is as finely made as a S&W from the same period? No, but it actually looks pretty nice and functions flawlessly. Considering its purchase price back then was probably in two figures, it was a good buy. In another 40 years, you might feel the same way about yours.
 
I've owned Ellevin Taurus Revolvers. One had a problem and was repaired. I still have Three of them. I gave One to my Sister. I would recommend them. I had several Smith & Wesson Revolvers. One of my 442s broke befor I put ammo in it. It was also repaired. Any gun can have problems.
 
I once bought into the bashing of both Taurus and Hi-Point. I decided to take $125 chance and bought a slightly used Hi-Point C9. I found out the Hi-Point bashing was a bunch of nonsense since it performed reliably and accurately. Since that went so well, I traded the Hi-Point for an old Taurus revolver. I found it to be tight and reliable so I bought a TCP new and risked $199. I would not hesitate to buy another Taurus or Hi-Point if they offered what I wanted. I can buy two of each for less money than one of the guns the gun snobs recommend.
 
In my limited experience, I also found the Hi-Points to be very reliable and with adequate accuracy. And, as I said, most Taurus products are fine guns. Again in my experience, recent Taurus products appear to be better than previous production, so I hope they have things fixed.

I expect the TCP is not made in the U.S. for any reasons of quality control, but because it would not meet the criteria for importation.

Magnum Wheel Man, you may be correct, but I think it more likely that S&W orders its round bar stock pre-cut to the appropriate lengths and composition for the cylinders that will be made from it rather than fiddling around trying to get the most number of cylinders out of some standard length.

Jim
 
I own three S&W's and three Rugers.

My Ruger Blackhawk is a great revolver and one of my very favorites.

My Taurus 689 is another favorite and clearly superior to any of my S&W's and the other two Rugers.

It cost me $199 used. The aftermarket grip were another $30 or so.

If you buy a Taurus and it has problems. you might have to ship it back a time or two (my personal experience).

If you get a good one, you will have an outstanding revolver for a modest price.


Taurus357_zps9f7f3a5a.jpg
 
A couple of years ago I bought a Taurus 85 Stainless. It had a pretty decent trigger and I liked the weight and finish. It wasn't until the first time I was cleaning it after shooting it that I discovered how rough the bore was. If I had my bore light with me when I bought it and had noticed how rough the bore was I would never have bought it. I tried every thing I could to get the POI to match the POA and no matter what I did it consistently shot 2 1/2" to the left, even though it grouped nicely. My guess it wasn't the gun but for some reason the ergo's of the gun just didn't work with my hand. The finish on the stainless really made cleanup on the gun easy, much easier than my Smith's. I eventually traded it and another $400.00 cash for a very slightly used S&W model 14-3 and couldn't be happier. For a carry gun I now have a Ruger Lc9s and love it.
 
tallball said:
My Taurus 689 is another favorite and clearly superior to any of my S&W's and the other two Rugers.
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:rolleyes: You must have bought the best Taurus to ever come off the line, and the absolute worst Smiths and Rugers ever built.
 
My BIL bought a taurus 608 for action games and he really liked it.

That is, until he tried my smith 627....

save your money for another month or so and buy a ruger or Smith.
 
My small sample size with an n=1 for a Taurus 380 was not impressive. Critical part broke rendering the pistol inoperative, repaired by factory, and same part broke again. I concluded it would not be smart to conclude the pistol was reliable. I was not eager to repeat the experience and have not since purchased one. I have the same attitude toward cars; the burnt child fears the fire.
 
I have 4 Taurus handguns. Two revolvers, (tracker 44mag, and a model 405 40 S&W), and two semi autos, ( pt111 G2, and a 709 slim).
No trouble from any of them. I also own other brands, so I am nobody's fan boy. If a gun gets favorable reviews on youtube, I might buy it.
 
I like the looks of this gun a lot, but I doubt if parts are easy to find. It's a M85 with a 3" barrel marked "INT. DIST. INC." which I believe dates it to the '70s.
 

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They are a good gun at a good price. Jest shoot standard loads and they will last you a life time.
 
Brand name recognition still has meaning today. I've spent/wasted tens of dollars on each knife only to find they are inferior to the known good brands such as Cold Steel, Benchmade and Spyderco. I'm not about to spend/waste hundreds on a firearm.
 
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