Taurus 605/627 .357 Mag: first hand experiences only, please

P

Pond James Pond

New member
I'm going to appeal to people's restraint on this one:

Please only comment if you have personal experience of these models: I really want to stick to what is known to be true, rather than what people have "heard" or what they want to believe.

And being Taurus, I know this can be a difficult one to deal with.

What are your experiences (good or bad) of owning/shooting/working on of either the .357 3" 605 revolver (5-shot) or.357 4" 627 Tracker revolver (7-shot)?

And before folks decide to ignore my question and jump in with alternatives:
No one imports Ruger in Estonia.
No one imports S&W in Estonia.
No one imports Korth or Kimber in Estonia.
And if they did, the prices would be almost certainly prohibitive (LCR .38 once seen on sale for €1050 or $1235!!)
Second-hand revolvers (that aren't Taurus) are uncommon.

If I decide to replace my Astra 2" snub .38 EDC with another, it would probably be one of these.

That's it: please share what you know so I can decide if this is a road I want to go down.

AND:

If you think, based on your experience of these models, change my Astra .38 for the 5 or 7 shot Taurus would be a bad idea, please help me understand why.
 
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JP, I can only speak of a similar Taurus that I own, the Model 617 7-shot .357 Magnum. In a nutshell, I love it! It has enough weight that combined with Hogue rubber grips, felt recoil is not an issue to me with 125 gr Magnum loads (usually Golden Saber), and .38 +P is very soft shooting. It’s accurate enough for typical defensive ranges, be it against two or four legged dangers.

One thing about a larger bore revolver with that capacity, it is obviously larger compared to it’s smaller contemporaries, but not at all impossible to carry provided you have a good belt and holster. You can see this in the pics below of it beside my 6-shot Colt Night Cobra and 5-shot Charter Arms On-Duty.

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Good luck!
 
Pond said:
I'm going to appeal to people's restraint on this one:

Please only comment if you have personal experience of these models: I really want to stick to what is known to be true, rather than what people have "heard" or what they want to believe.

And being Taurus, I know this can be a difficult one to deal with.

What are your experiences (good or bad) of owning/shooting/working on of either the .357 3" 605 revolver (5-shot) or.357 4" 627 Tracker revolver (7-shot)?
Click to expand...

Own a 605. It's a 12 year old gun. Shoots to point of aim. have never had a problem with it (that I wasn't the cause of).

it has a cosmetic machining defect that's pretty subtle. I didn't notice it for years, and it does not affect function. hard to describe, almost like it went through a finishing step not straight.

It was an impulse purchase, that worked out well. I still have it, still carry it sometimes. I eventually bought a Crimson Trace laser grip for it. It's not going anywhere.

This is the 2" version. I don't think I've ever seen a 3 inch 605, and a 3 inch Model 85 only once. Not common around here.


Second-hand revolvers (that aren't Taurus) are uncommon.

If I decide to replace my Astra 2" snub .38 EDC with another, it would probably be one of these.

That's it: please share what you know so I can decide if this is a road I want to go down.

AND:

If you think, based on your experience of these models, change my Astra .38 for the 5 or 7 shot Taurus would be a bad idea, please help me understand why.
Click to expand...

how good is Taurus' support in Estonia?

What's wrong with the Astra, other than they don't make them anymore?
 
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My carry gun is a 627 8shot S&W. It’s a great gun and works well. I use it with moon clips mostly. I have not shot the Taurus but I am not a gun snob. Taurus is a good brand in my opinion, I just prefer S&W.
 
Cyanide:

Thanks for the comprehensive response! Perhaps not with the models I'm looking at, but certainly very useful as a size reference.

@Lee n. field:
how good is Taurus' support in Estonia?

What's wrong with the Astra, other than they don't make them anymore?
Click to expand...

How good Taurus support is comes down to how good the shop is, really. Over here, that's who would be handling any issues. The fact is I would buy and pray that there are no issues: if there were, then I'd be without my new gun for probably months, at a guess.

What's wrong with the Astra? Well, as a functioning gun, nothing. But I've always felt it would have been nice to have a more power on tap in the .357, and perhaps a 3" barrel for aiming purposes.

Now I freely admit that I don't practice enough with my EDC, but I practice a similar amount with my 4" Ruger and SP-01 and I am far better shots with them. Seems longer sight radii pay off and even .38Spl in that wooden grip is uncomfortable: no way I'll find replacement Hogue grips for that one.

So as fond of it as I am, I find myself thinking that perhaps I just need to replace it with something that fits my needs and weaknesses better.

I've found myself looking at the Taurus 65 4", 6-shot too but find myself wondering if that would be too difficult to carry IWB, Appendix carry as I prefer it. Something that I'm wary of with the 627, also.

It that respect, my Astra just disappears.
 
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Bout 18yrs ago I purchased a slightly used Taurus 605 polished stainless .. listed as a 2.25 in barrel but when measured from the forcing cone to the muzzle it was 2.5 inches .. It was my primary carry for a couple of years , due to financial problems... being it was my only centerfire handgun at the time it had a workout.... It was a great handgun .. but went in a trade for a as new in the box Rossi 720 44spl ...

I have owned two 605’s since both great .. both went in trades ( I trade alot , hobby )
 
IWB, with a 4in revolver, can literally be a pain in the tail.
Years ago I bought a new holster, stuck my 4in 66 S&W in it, and drove 90 miles to visit my parents. For 4in I'll take a pancake style holster.
About 2.5 in my limit for a IWB
I was using a FBI carry, back of right hip.
 
Pond said:
Cyanide:

Thanks for the comprehensive response! Perhaps not with the models I'm looking at, but certainly very useful as a size reference.



How good Taurus support is comes down to how good the shop is, really. Over here, that's who would be handling any issues. The fact is I would buy and pray that there are no issues: if there were, then I'd be without my new gun for probably months, at a guess.
Click to expand...

I wonder how much of the complaining one sees on forums here in the US is from Taurus per se, and how much from dealing with Taurus, USA.

What's wrong with the Astra? Well, as a functioning gun, nothing. But I've always felt it would have been nice to have a more power on tap in the .357, and perhaps a 3" barrel for aiming purposes.
Click to expand...

I find shooting .357 through my 605 to be painful, and every one of the few times I've tried it, I would involuntarily look down at the gun to make sure it's still together. Not fun.

Hot .38? Go for it.

Seems longer sight radii pay off and even .38Spl in that wooden grip is uncomfortable: no way I'll find replacement Hogue grips for that one.
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True.


I've found myself looking at the Taurus 65 4", 6-shot too but find myself wondering if that would be too difficult to carry IWB, Appendix carry as I prefer it. Something that I'm wary of with the 627, also.

It that respect, my Astra just disappears.
Click to expand...

A 4" medium frame revolver is, for what it is (a six shot medium power gun) a pretty big gun.
 
A 4" medium frame revolver is, for what it is (a six shot medium power gun) a pretty big gun.
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I've found myself thinking the same thing and this only really leaves me with one option in the 3" range: the 605, 5-shot, .357Mag with a 3" barrel.

The 4" 65 is a very nice looking gun, but not one for appendix carry!
 
I had a 605 a few years back. I had no complaints. It was easy to be accurate with. The action was very smooth. I had to be careful shooting single action because it was that light of a pull. I normally shoot double action so being light and smooth made it great to shoot. I have a 4”. 627. It’s well balanced and easy to handle. The sights are nice and the ports reduce muzzle rise. The gun came with the Ribber grip. I changed that to a Hogue. I would carry this gun as my CCW but, after a while the weight bothers my back. This gun is a joy to shoot. The action is smooth. Shooting double action at the Range is no problem. It’s one of my favorite Range guns and has become my wife’s favorite to shoot. I don’t think you could go wrong with either of these guns.
 
Taurus revolvers I have and all are still going strong.
Models 65, two-66s, 82, 732, two-431s ,four-441s, 96, two 990s,991, 94,85,850, 992 and two-827s. That's the models I have.
 
I have a Taurus 605 Poly but given the choice of a Taurus or an Astra I'd pick the Astra every time.
 
My brothers bought 605's in the late 1990's and one has been rock solid day one. The other brothers locked up after two rounds fired. I managed to get it unloaded and sent back to Taurus for repairs which they completed and its worked fine since.
 
My brothers bought 605's in the late 1990's and one has been rock solid day one. The other brothers locked up after two rounds fired. I managed to get it unloaded and sent back to Taurus for repairs which they completed and its worked fine since.
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This is my concern and potential gamble. I don't doubt it would get fixed but over here, in Estonia, it would be a huge PITA to get sorted.

Months without my purchase and EDC, is my guess.

On the plus side, most people have not had any issues based on the feedback on this thread. :)
 
Pond said:
This is my concern and potential gamble. I don't doubt it would get fixed but over here, in Estonia, it would be a huge PITA to get sorted.

Months without my purchase and EDC, is my guess.

On the plus side, most people have not had any issues based on the feedback on this thread. :)
Click to expand...

The problems one sees reported could probably be filtered out by careful inspection.

"the cylinder just fell off!" -- check side plate screws, especially the forward most one.

Check cylinder gap, all chambers.

As much of Jim March's revolver checkup as you care to go through in the store.
 
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