taurus model 83 38special crap or good?

B

bullfrog99

New member
i'm looking for a budget priced defensive revolver for my mother, and i came across an add in Aim surpluses flyer for a 109 dollar taurus 38special revolver, the model 83. it says they are mechanically excellent but have worn finishes, states they were cop guns. are they worth the laquer they put on the grips?
 
Bullfrog99, I have 4 Taurus revolvers but not an 83. The 83 is an older model and should examined before buying. I wouldn't buy any older Taurus without checking it out first.
Best............Mike
 
I agree with Mike with any older gun you must check it out,I have several Taurus revolvers the only .38 is the Model 85 (just got it) Taurus has a great warranty for the life of the gun not the owner check with them about the history of the model 83 at http://www.taurususa.com They do not accept e-mail so you will have to write them but they respond very fast.
 
bullfrog99,


Did you ever get the revolver. I'm now thinking of picking one up and would like to hear your opinions if you got one.

TIA,
Rob
 
Greeting's:

I can't speak for the Taurus model 83; but I sure can tell you about this firm's model 82.:( It's the bull barrel replica of a Smith & Wesson model 10 in .38 Special. This gun was stainless steel with fixed sights, and a 25 lb.
double action trigger pull.:eek: Single-action fire was
crisp and smooth, with no problems. On a limited budget or fixed income; it probably would serve well as a night-stand
gun, but performs poorly on the firing range.:rolleyes:

Regards,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
Taurus 83 .38 is Great

I found a Taurus 83 .38 and I love it! It is easy to shoot and accurate. I had a 9mm, and just didn't like it, so I got this revolver for protection at home and I am much happier with it. It also does great on the range. My first shot with it was dead on.
 
For a long time, Taurus QC was spotty. Most guns were fine and were well worth the bargain price; others were (to put it mildly) not up to snuff.

I have heard those police turnins are good quality; I don't know if Taurus put police contract guns through a better production/inspection program or if the police weeded out any bummers, but the ones on sale now seem to be much better than some of those on the U.S. market.

Jim
 
Crap. Unless the several Taurus pistols I've come in contact with are flukes and the rest are jewels. Every one I've ever seen...crap.


Sgt Lumpy
 
i'm looking for a budget priced defensive revolver for my mother, and i came across an add in Aim surpluses flyer for a 109 dollar taurus 38special revolver, the model 83. it says they are mechanically excellent but have worn finishes, states they were cop guns. are they worth the laquer they put on the grips?
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I think these are foreign police surplus, and possibly older. I doubt you'll have support from TaurusUSA.

For $109, I think I might risk it.

I'm not seeing these on the AIM Surplus web site.
 
I bought a model 85 blue steel framed in the mid 90s todays 85s don`t hold a candle to it .

With that said I`d never buy a Tauras without holdin it in my hand & inspecting it.
 
I have no knowledge of the Taurus model you mention. I have only experience with a Taurus 85 and I have had no trouble with it and it came with a light and smooth trigger... the only revolver I have not felt the need to do any trigger work on. Nevertheless, asking your question will garner comments like, "Junk" and "crap"...general statements that do not convey any useful information. Perhaps you should ask for specific faults that they have experienced with their Tauruses.
For instance some of the problems I have had with Colts, Smith & Wessons: Colt Series 70, -incorrect tension on extractor, cause jams. Colt Combat Commander .38 Super, incorrect position of the locking lugs on slide, hammered the barrel locking lugs out of shape, Colt Combat Commander .45 ACP, burr on the barrel interfered with slide, could not "rack". XSE Combat Commander, underpowered recoil spring, would not lock open on last shot. XSE Combat Commander, under powered firing pin spring, firing pin stop would drop down when firing, locking up the gun. S&W M57, burr on recoil shield at firing pin, would not allow cylinder rotation after firing, S&W .44 Spl.--hammer striking frame, S&W 686- rough hammer boss, rubbing on the hammer. S&W .44 Spl.-out of time had to have new pawl and window opened. Those problems from just my experience demonstrate that not just Taurus have problems...the question is, is Taurus any worse? To evaluate if Taurus is likely to have problems it would be valuable to know what exactly the problems there are likely to be, if they do occur.
So, if posters cannot be specific, their statements of "Junk", "Crap", etc. are too ambiguous to be worth any more than you have paid for them.
 
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Posts like this make me glad I keep Hornady's Zombie Ammo in my CZ-75

OP Time Stamp said:
December 23, 2000 12:24 AM
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That said, I have no direct experice with Taurus firearms. My LGS owner, however, has long held that they are good guns. Not on par with S&W, Ruger, Beretta, etc., but good guns.

I doubt I would get a Taurus revolver, just because I am spoiled on Ruger and S&W. I might get a semi-auto if the price was right, but I would almost definitely have a Taurus PT1911 if I decided to jump on the 1911 bandwagon.

ETA: Sorry, significant typo these.
 
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I have direct experice with Taurus firearms.
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I have been breathing for over 70 years, but yet I have little knowledge of the respiratory system. :D However, if I had emphysema, I would be able to tell you all about it. What "faults" (bad things),did you see?

If I had seen that time-stamp, I would not have responded. Who the heck would have read all those posts that far back?
 
If I had seen that time-stamp, I would not have responded. Who the heck would have read all those posts that far back?
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Somebody like "LisaOwens...1 post) who probably recently bought a Taurus Model 83 and was searching for some information about it. Maybe it's her only gun. When she (I assume "Lisa" is female) found this thread, she felt moved to reply to it, either not realizing how old it was or just not knowing the posters from a dozen years ago might not even be around anymore.

However I always feel like there is still someone out there who's interested in the very same question. Somewhere there is someone who wants to know about a Taurus 83. Shoot, WE read it didn't we? The information, except the prices is still valid and interesting.

I've never owned a "new" Taurus. I've owned several of them from the late 70's thru the 80's; I've got a Model 96, 22 now. I've always found them to be good, solid, reliable guns.
 
Posts you'll never see -

"All the S&W pistols I've ever shot were crap"
"All the Ruger pistols I've ever shot were crap"

The mere fact that you see a BUNCH of posts, on any forum, saying they thought the Taurus was crap is significant. Each one of those posters could go into detail if quizzed further. And they may have in other threads. But it's pointless. If someone thinks it's crap, they think it's crap. No amount of "here's why most of the people who've held them think they're crap" will mitigate those bad opinions. It's obviously not just cosmetic, as they are nearly exact copies of the better guns. It's obviously not an occasional fluke off the production line. If it is, then they've got a REALLY poor production line to let so many flukes through. Even the best of Taurus reviews always seem to include spoilers like "Not bad at all for the money I saved".


Sgt Lumpy
 
Posts you'll never see -
"All the S&W pistols I've ever shot were crap"
"All the Ruger pistols I've ever shot were crap"
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All of the Colt automatics I have owned (bought new) have had faults that had to be addressed. Notice I did not say: "All...crap", because that is an ambiguous generalization.
The mere fact that you see a BUNCH of posts, on any forum, saying they thought the Taurus was crap is significant.
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No it is not..."crap" is ambiguous (look the word up). Aside from that, you seem to ignore the fact that there are many people who report no problem with the Tauruses they own, so "all" is an over-statement. Example:
I've never owned a "new" Taurus. I've owned several of them from the late 70's thru the 80's; I've got a Model 96, 22 now. I've always found them to be good, solid, reliable guns.
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Each one of those posters could go into detail if quizzed further.
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They should not need to be "quizzed". The details are what makes the difference between nebulous (look up nebulous), opinion and useful facts.
And they may have in other threads. But it's pointless. If someone thinks it's crap, they think it's crap.
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Why should we care what someone "thinks"? Many "someones" thought the world was flat at one time.
No amount of "here's why most of the people who've held them think they're crap" will mitigate those bad opinions.
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If they do not offer why, then it could have been because they did not not like the way their hand fit the grip, or the color, or something else as equally subjective (look up subjective).
It's obviously not just cosmetic, as they are nearly exact copies of the better guns.
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No one said it was.
It's obviously not an occasional fluke off the production line. If it is, then they've got a REALLY poor production line to let so many flukes through.
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Are you still talking about Taurus, or are you referring to Colt?
Even the best of Taurus reviews always seem to include spoilers like "Not bad at all for the money I saved".
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Creative and subjective (did you look up subjective yet?) journalism not necessarily reflective of the quality of the gun (in other words, do you believe everything you read?).
I will repeat it again. Ambiguous, nebulous, generalizations about the quality of any firearm, sans (look up sans), examples are not only the mark of poor communications skills, but calls into question the wisdom of taking what the person has stated seriously.
Nevertheless, if someone could collect actual data on the failure rates on Taurus handguns compared to Colt and S&W, Charter Arms, Walther, Sig, Glock, Et. al. (look up Et. al.), and the Taurus data shows clearly that it is statistically significantly more likely to have issues that cause it to fail than the others, I will then state that they are crap...in some instances. :D
 
I do not condemn a gun because it needs to be returned to the factory. However, it should be repaired and returned to work properly. At the price of shipments today the factory should pay the tab.

I would not buy a Taurus because I sent a M 85 back to the factory several times, and it took me over a year to get a new gun from the factory after the gun never was made to work. I often misfired using any ammo, factory of various brands or handloads.

So my experience with Taurus was so bad that I would never buy one or recommend one of any model.

I have had to send a S&W 640 back, and it was repaired and has never had a problem. The same for Springfield. On the other hand I have had two Kimber 1911 that the factory never was able to get reliable. I sold one after telling the buyer the history, and got a custom smith to fix the other. I also do not buy Kimber 1911s now.

Jerry
 
I do not condemn a gun because it needs to be returned to the factory.
However, it should be repaired and returned to work properly. At the price of shipments today the factory should pay the tab.

I would not buy a Taurus because I sent a M 85 back to the factory several times, and it took me over a year to get a new gun from the factory after the gun never was made to work. I often misfired using any ammo, factory of various brands or handloads.
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So your complaints would be, poor factory service on a gun the was producing light firing pin strikes

So my experience with Taurus was so bad that I would never buy one or recommend one of any model.
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Nevertheless, you had a problem with a single example. In my experience (I also have a Taurus 85), there has been no apparent faults.

I have had to send a S&W 640 back, and it was repaired and has never had a problem. The same for Springfield. On the other hand I have had two Kimber 1911 that the factory never was able to get reliable. I sold one after telling the buyer the history, and got a custom smith to fix the other. I also do not buy Kimber 1911s now.
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By your posting, you have had problems with other well-know makers. To "some people", that would mean that S&W's and Kimber's are all crap, not just Taurus.
 
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