Taurus .41 Magnum Range Report

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AR-10

New member
Bought a Taurus .41 Magnum. Model 425, 4" stainless steel. This is my first experience with .41 Magnum, my second with Taurus. Put 60 rounds down range today and this is what I think so far.

The revolver, at $360.00 plus tax, is about what I expected. The external finish is nice, but I do have two complaints. The markings on it are all laser-engraved, and are not very nicely done. I noticed when I got home that the front sight blade, wich has a orange highlight on the sighting edge, was missing a little chip of color. I picked at it a little, and the next thing I know I am pulling off a piece of orange paper with sticky on the back! Now I have a front sight that is all black. The nice part of this is that the blade has a shallow rectangular well milled into it so the guy at the factory doesn't have to guess where to put the peel-and-stick.:rolleyes: So, I grabbed some flourescent orange paint and a fine brush and fixed it in about thirty seconds.

The trigger was gritty and catchy, so I popped the side plate and spent about an hour polishing everything except the hammer-trigger engagement. Most of this was done with a cordless drill,felt polishing tips, and coarse rubbing compound, but I did have to take an emory board to a few parts. The trigger is still heavy, but it is crisp in SA and smooth as butter in DA.

I would be happier if they would have done these things at the factory, but it didn't take that long, and I would have disassembled it to clean and lube it before I shot it anyway. I'm sure I would not have done these things to a Smith and Wesson, which I would have preferred to buy, but that will have to wait untill the current controversy clears up.

Sighted it in at the range and it performed flawlessly. I took my 8" Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum along to compare the calibers. As for the .41 magnum, my first thought was "whoa, Mama!"

Big Boom. Lots-a-kick.

I sighted it in and then shot some .44 Magnum to provide a mental reference. The .41 Magnum was definitely louder and the felt recoil was greater. The Taurus is smaller, lighter, and ported. I am sure this has a lot to do with the perceived violence of shooting it. The recoil seemed to push the gun more straight back, as opposed to rolling up, as the Anaconda has a tendency to do. The net result is that it pounds the palm of my hand and my wrist. Fun to shoot, but in small bites!

I'm not sure, but I got the impression that the PMC .41 Magnum 210 Gr. TCSP was at least as hot as the Blazer .44 Magnum 240 Gr. JHP. It would be interesting to see a comparison of velocities and power factors.

Anyway, the caliber is a hoot to shoot, and the new gun is welcome, if not perfect. As for the Taurus, I knew going in that it was not top of the line, but I think it will prove to be a nice handgun.
 
AR-10; Thanks for the report. It's nice to know another Taurus revolver made the grade. I've got the M415 41 magnum. Maybe 150 rounds through it so far without a hitch. It's my "always with me in the woods" piece. The Remington 210gr softpoints aren't to pleasant but who knows it just might save my life someday out in the middle of nowhere. Best Regards, J. Parker
 
Shame on you AR-10,

as I thought better of you; than a Taurus man?:(
Down here in Bama, they always put Taurus firearms
close to the rear shelf; and out of sight.:) One
damn near will see a High Point 9m/m, before he
see's a Taurus!!!:D

Having fun, partner; hell, if you like it then
go for it!!! You only go around once in life.
And beside's ain't that the American way? However,
I much prefer an older Smith & Wesson model 57.

Happy Shoot'in,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
What can I say?
There are three gun shops near me, each about 50 miles away in oposite directions. One is on the Verbotten list, as I told him last fall that due to his feelings regarding Smith I would be shopping elsewhere.

This was an impulse purchase. I was just there to buy ammo.:D Know what I mean?

He did have one new Smith, a nice 5"(?) 686 with a high-viz front sight and semi-round butt grip that fit me quite well. He insisted on showing it to me. Told me that Smith was sold to Americans. Told him I knew but I wasn't ready to buy from them yet. I wish I could have bought a nice Performance Center .41 Magnum. I would gladly have spent twice as much to get a better revolver. Eventually I will buy several Smiths, but not till things with them are different. I will say, as I held the Smith and looked at the price tag (less than $400.00) the thought occurred to me that this was a much nicer gun, and who would know??

As I sat at the table smoothing up the internals on the Taurus, I did so with a clear conscience. I posted my impressions on my purchase experience so others would know what to expect. It was not good out of the box. The trigger locked back on me twice while dry-firing it. Too much drag on too many parts. I'm not complaining. I may keep the revolver, I may trade it in a year. I will contact Taurus and tell them what I said here. And thank them for not signing the agreement.
 
Very well stated there, AR-10

as I know it was hard passing up a good Smith!!!
As you probably know, with no harm intended I
like to poke fun at the Taurus folk's. I've
only shot one Taurus; and old model 82 4" barel
in .38 Special. It was god awful, and probably
should have been used as a boat anchor? I'm
sure the newer revolver's while not perfect;
are a big improvement over that monster!!!

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, Life Member N.R.A.
 
I had a S&W M57 which I recently sold and used Elmer Kieths load of 19-20 grains of 2400 (standard primer) and a 220 grain SWC. It was an accurate loading and the full 20 grains chrono'd nearly 1450 fps which was about 80 fps faster than Remington factory loads with the 210 JSP bullet.
 
front sight

that sticker on the front sight in my opinion is a blessing in disguise,the first thing I usually do with my smiths is swap out that orange sight blade with a plain black one,for accuracys sake ,most of my late model smiths required a little action tuning also,but I never had a trigger or hammer stick.
 
AR 10;
I just did a taurus 357 for a guy.The action was as you discribed.I basicly did the same as you did with the addition of a light trigger return spring.The spring made the difference.The action right now is allmost as good as my old M 19 S&W pinned and resessed.I think with a little more break in shooting it might turn out as good.All this with a 3.00 springa nd some elbow grease
 
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