Taurus quality - mixed reviews

I know this is revolvers column, but the only Taurus I have ever owned is the PT-92 semi-auto 9mm...it is the only semi-auto I have ever owned that I would use for self defense since it has gone "bang" everytime in the 2000 rounds I have fired...handloads, and factory of many types. My couisin has the model 85 revover, no problems, a friend has the 66 with no problems...Having said that, my carry peice is the S&W 640...and I would buy another Smith, even though years ago, I had problems with two of my S&W's...I think in the early '80s there were some quality problems at S&W which seem to have cleared up now. I think you will love the Taurus you have ordered... :)
 
Sticking carts, have you cleaned the cyllender recently, and are you using reloads?

My lemon M85 had the same problem.
 
My tracker was, well, poorly designed.
It looked impressive, but the accuracy past 15 yards was horrible.
It occasionally hung up when firing in DA, trigger wouldn't reset.
The timing is not good, but not bad enough to warrant sending it back.
I couldn't sell it in good conscience, so I keep it around for the day I convert some of my brass to .41 special, and try that out.
Range toy only.
Not to mention the TEN POUND TRIGGER!!!
Yeah, get a smith.
 
THANKS all for the feedback. So far, so good - I fired another 100 rounds this evening. No problems at all, and I even asked the rangemaster to fire 10 rounds. He said it was operating beautifully.

Perhaps once I've fired 500+ rounds I'll start relaxing :)

I'm beginning to love everything about the hobby - except the noise!!! I need to double-up on the ear protection, spongies and external. Another thread recommended M-31 ear muffs, thoughts?

Even cleaning the gun is a ritual I'm beginning to enjoy, although my husband teases me because I go to the range for an hour, then spend more than 30 minutes cleaning the revolver!

Tonight I was shooting better than both my neighbors, and they were surprised I was a newbie -- plenty of stuff in or near the bullseye, although I tend to shoot REALLY slowly, none of this fast action bang...bang...bang stuff :D
 
I've owned (past tense) two Taurus handguns. I had little money then (my twenties) and the price point was right.

I believe Taurus tries to be the Chevy (I do not mean Corvette, either) of the handgun manufacturing business. They bring out new models, advertise like crazy, and build a mostly-serviceable product which lags behind the better examples.

There will always be a place for the products, to be certain...just, not with me.

No Chevys, no Tauruses (Tauri??).
 
No Chevy? Are you saying Chevrolets are a bad product? Cause as a long time Chevy owner and salesman at a Chevy dealership, I'm going to disagree with the statement that they are. As for the Corvette, 400hp/400 ft lbs on the new LS2....nice :cool: we just sold our first 05, which makes me some what sad. I got nothing else that gorgeous to look at in the showroom, only this gigantic Christmas tree and an 04 Regency conversion Silverado (2wds aren't my thing).

BritGirl, glad to hear you had a good time at the range. I'm thinking that I'm going to go through a few rounds tomorrow on my day off here. I called Taurus for a status update on my 85......"it was just entered into our system on the 6th (the first day I made an inquiry), and it'll be about 4-6 weeks" :eek: To keep myself going into withdrawal, I'll work on my .380.
 
Tonight I was shooting better than both my neighbors, and they were surprised I was a newbie -- plenty of stuff in or near the bullseye, although I tend to shoot REALLY slowly, none of this fast action bang...bang...bang stuff

That's the way to learn to shoot. When starting out, rapid fire is a waste of time and it does nothing but teach you bad habits that will be very hard to lose.

Keep working on the slow, consistant DA trigger pull and the speed will come later. When you get that down, after many, many thousands of rounds, you will find that you can pick up just about any handgun of any type and shoot it accurately.

The DA revolver is the best way to learn. That's what I started with, and it definately paid off.

Glad to hear you are having good luck with you Taurus.
 
Setting workmanship aside between S&W and Taurus...

Look at the insides of a S&W and a Taurus. Then you'll understand why I prefer the former over the latter. The interior mechanism on the S&W is far superior. Taurus started out with a S&W design and then cheapened it.
 
I have two taurus pistols a 9 shot .22 which i brought for my daughters to lear to shoot with, its a great little revolver, no probs what so ever. The latest was a 908ss 357magnum with a 8 3/8" barrell, again i have now put through over a 1000+rounds and never had a prob, cylinder is still nice and tight. I guess the choice is upto the individual and there preferences, for me I had to give up two of my autos because of the stupid laws in australia, one a 7 shot .32 semi auto browning and the other a .25 6 shot baby browning, for the money I recieved I brought a 8 shot .357 magnum revolver(just to stick it to the establishment), and some spare mags for my cz 85.

I am glad i brought it!
 
I gotta say Ive fired roughly 500 thru my PT140 and havent had a single problem, except with whinchester "white box" value 100's.

Chalk one up to vouch
 
Taurus

I've always had very good luck with taurus. I think of them as improved S&Ws. They have the addition of a coil spring and floating firing pin. Two things that smith should have changed at the turn of the last century.
 
Taurus quality mixed reviews

Apparently Taurus and Rossi are pretty much the same thing now that they have merged. I have a Rossi R461, snub nose 357 - well actually BrazTech has it (for the past 5 weeks) and I am waiting for them to fix it and ship it back. Bought it new at a gun show and it hung up on approximately the 20th round of 38 Spl +p ammo I was trying in it. From the commentary, it sounds like my best bet is to just put it in its box and sell it or trade it in. Too bad. I really liked the way it shot, felt, looked, etc. But a carry weapon that is unreliable is worse than nothing. By the way, I also have a new Taurus PT 140 Millenium (40 S&W), not a revolver, but a Taurus nonetheless. I've only put about 100 rounds through it, but so far so good - will let you now if it also craps out.
 
I bought a 605, had it less than a month and about 150 rounds through it. The center pin sticks in when I close it so now the cylinder will not stay shut.
I returned it to the dealer who sent it back to Taurus. I am waiting on repair. From the sound of most of the posts it may be my last Tarus!
 
My personal experience with Taurus revolvers..............

has been really mixed. I have owned six, 357, NIB Taurus revolvers. Three of them were okay and I had no problem. The other three had serious problems that required them to be sent back to the factory. Dealing with Taurus Customer Service was a nightmare. I dealt with folks that just did not know anything about the product they were representing. In one case it took me months to resolve the problem. My bottom line is that I just don't buy from Taurus anymore.
 
I buy my pistols/revolvers based on the comments I read across many handgun forums. From what I have surmised, getting a Taurus is a crap shoot. Some get lucky and get a good piece, while others get faulty ones. I read negative posts about Taurus than I do about Ruger, S&W, and Colt.

There is a market for Taurus revolvers and pistols. Just not for me.
 
Taurus made good quality S&W and Beretta copies back in 1985-89.
I had their Model 85 stainless .38 Special 5 shot revolver and their 9mm Model 92 copy of the Beretta 92F back then, and they were excellent guns and true bargains, since they cost much less than the Smith and Beretta guns they copied.

Nowadays their guns seem to be frequently prone to malfunction and breakage. They are also VERY slow on performing warranty repairs, and those repairs don't always turn out to be what they're supposed to be.
Too bad.
 
Have two Taurus guns - a 669 and a 605, both .357s. Never had a problem with either so I can't tell ya about thier customer service.

Come to think of it, I've never had a problem with my S&W, or Ruger revolver's either. You said it when you called that revolver Old Reliable. :cool:
 
Britgirl

I have a suggestion for you, ear-plug wise. I shot competition, and one year at nationals, I saw this stand (there were a bunch of diff people selling diff things). Was a custom silicone ear-plug stand (I had friends that had them, loved them). I purchased a pair (expensive). They clean your ears out, squirt silicone into them for a custom fit, then remove it when its cured, and cover the exterior with a chemical to ensure they last. Trust me, the sound-deadening quality of thse plugs is awsome, I am just not sure where you would go about getting some. (gun show?)

And they are not big/bulky
Work better (better fit)
 
A few years ago I began shooting Taurus revolvers. Had some problems with early .357 about ten years ago but today I own two .44 Magnums and one Taurus .38 snub. Carry the snub occasionally and my wife's bedside gun is a four inch barrel .44 Magnum. She likes the way it feels and the size is just right for her. She doesn't carry it out of the house, so that's fine. Overall, accuracy and performance have been excellent. But avoid the older guns they were ok for the money but some were pretty rough. I even had Teddy Jacobsen do an action job on a revolver for me. Teh Taurus snubs have better sights and a smoother action than the Smith and Wesson and boy do they shoot well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

R K
 
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