Taurus tracker 44 mag your thoughts?

I say go for it with the money you save over buying a smith you will get lots of range time. I have a friend who has a taurus revolver. She let me shoot it a few times and it was fine to shoot. The trigger did feel slighty heavier than my smith. The build on the taurus reminded me of a ruger revolver. My thoughts are you won't shoot any 44 mag enough to wear it out no matter if it is a taurus, ruger, or a smith. Perhaps you could get a chance to shoot a smith, ruger, and a taurus and then decide which you like the most. I would bear in mind not everyone has a big pocket book. There is a balancing act with every gun purchase "is this gun worth that price to me". I have kids in college so that is where my money goes I would love to buy another gun but being a dad comes first over a guy who wants to buy a gun. Just take your time before you buy...Just my thoughts from the Big. Sky Country, Montana.
 
I have the impression there are more production variances of Taurus than say Ruger or S&W. In other words, quality within a given model within a given year varies more. Therefore, a person can get a good one or a bad one. Or maybe in between. Am I correct about this?
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I think that is a fair summary. A Taurus is just more of a crap shoot on whether or not you are going to get a good revolver. There is some talk that quality control may have improved, and it takes a while to change a reputation, but you are going to have to decide whether the risk justifies the savings. The problem is that no gun maker I know of publishes any numbers about what percentage of newly manufactured guns are returned for service.
 
"The problem is that no gun maker I know of publishes any numbers about what percentage of newly manufactured guns are returned for service."


TG totally nailed it. We don't know the math, so if we are relying on first-hand experience, we are reporting on ridiculously tiny sample sizes.
 
I think that is a fair summary. A Taurus is just more of a crap shoot on whether or not you are going to get a good revolver.
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I'm wondering how well a person can judge whether one of them is good or not before purchasing it. I'm guessing the LGS won't let you take the cover off (forget the correct term).
 
Hal said:
Your money- your gun.
Still doesn't change the fact that - it's a Taurus.
Why on Earth would you dismiss that?

Saying "Its a Taurus" is simply a statement of fact.
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It's not the words, It's the implication behind those words.
I mean if I asked you about Ford Trucks, and you said.. It's a Ford.
What do you think that means? at face value you're simply stating it's a Ford but is that even remotely helpful? I'd say it's borderline spam.

No.. when someone says "It's a Taurus" The implication is it's bad because the brand get's trashed constantly online.. Some with legit gripes but many who just pile on and repeat things and have no clue.

It's the same situation with Hi-point which I found a 90% of the trash talked about them to be unfounded.
But hey it's a cheap gun and it must mean it's a junk gun and not nearly as good as this other gun that cost 3x as much so *parrot* *parrot* *parrot*

I won't pretend Taurus does not sometimes royally F up, But in my experience it's not as bad as people make it out to be.

When ever someone claims they work at a gun shop or know the owner or employee's at a gun shop that claims X% of returns are Taurus or blah blah blah.

I can only wonder why is that shop still selling Taurus if they're so bad?
why would you want the headache?
why would you sell a brand proven to be a PoS to customers?

What exactly does that say about the character of the shop owner?

Hal said:
Anyhow - I strongly recommend going through this thread before buying a Taurus.
https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=582878

Taurus (the company) appears to be having all sorts of problems right now.
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Im not sure if problems is the right way to put it.
I think there is some political *stuff* happening in Brazil but I don't think it affects export to the US too much, Im not really familiar enough to say for sure.

The catalog has been slashed however, no question there.. lot of lines have been dropped the surviving lines are shrinking.

Taurus use to make a LOT of variations on their guns, Im sure you've seen the pimp edition guns.. those are all gone but it went further then that.
Taurus is really into the polymer conceal carry gun market now.
I think they've over corrected in the course change but they aren't going away or out of business any time soon.



TL;DR No gun brand is perfect, Lot of the bashing is done by parrots and people who dog-pile. What little truth is at the center is usually overblown to be dramatic.
 
I tried a Taurus once....didn't need a second time to know I would not have one if it was given to me....and history shows that many have the same impression of the brand....but those who like to buy cheap...its probably a great firearm for you...
 
Taurus use to make a LOT of variations on their guns, Im sure you've seen the pimp edition guns
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Nope - missed those pimp editions.
Why?
Because (you know what's coming) it's a .....

Like I said right off the bat...

I shot a Taurus once. It wasn't even close to a Smith and Wesson.

Lord knows, I'm not opposed to value - I'm pleased as punch with my new .45 acp Shield.

But - a Taurus is a Taurus, no matter how you slice it.
If you like them, no problem, you can have my place in line to buy one.

I've been burned too many times over the years buying stuff that's sort of off brand/value brand.
I t always ends up costing more in the long run.
 
Maybe once isn't enough to make an expert?

I've owned several. I've sent two M66s back brand new with binding issues. Both came back fixed and gave me no issue after.

Money not being the issue, I went from GP100s back to the M66. It's a bonus they cost less.

As I said, I would look at the M44 before buying the 44trkr. The Tracker vs the standard M models is weight, a nub grip, and in the case of the 44-a round.
 
FWIW, at present, I own 5 Taurus Revolvers, my experience is...

• 2003 617SS2 357 Mag - Repaired twice, 2009* (5,500+rds) & 2017** (16, 000+rds)
• 2007 85SS2UL 38 Spcl - No Issues (11,000+rds)
• 2012 605SS2 357 Mag - No Issues (1,000rds)
• 2012 425SS4CP TRACKER™ 41 Mag - No Issues (2,000rds)
• 2013 992B4 22LR/22Mag - No Issues (2,500rds 22LR), (500rds 22MAG)

When I had to send a gun in they fixed and returned it when they said they would. Specifically my.....................

* Mdl 617 developed excessive cylinder to forcing cone gap (.011") after almost 6K rounds. I sent it to Taurus® and they replaced the cylinder (part# 8) and adjusted the yoke (part# 9). I've since put 10,000+ rounds through it and it's still going strong.

** Mdl 617 developed light strikes and FTF after more than 16K rounds. I sent it to Taurus® and they replaced the Main Spring (part# 40) and the Cylinder Distance Bushing (part# 69). I've since put almost 1,000 357 Magnum 158gr JSP rounds through it and it's yet again still going strong.

I will not hesitate to purchase another Taurus® revolver.
 
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Here is my limited experience with Taurus. I bought a PT709 for my wife and it had problems right away. I could not get through a whole magazine without several light primer strikes and not only that the spread of the groups was ridiculous. I sent the gun to Taurus with a note explaining the problem and had the gun back in 2 or 3 weeks., so my one experience with their customer service was pretty good.They had put a new slide on it. The light strikes we're gone however hitting a pie plate at 15 yards was still a challenge. Accuracy was so bad in fact that I got rid of it. That is the only Taurus that I have ever owned but I have handled several Taurus revolvers in gun stores and have never brought myself to buy one because I just felt the quality was lacking. Gritty triggers, poor finish. I don't make a lot of money but when it comes to guns, especially revolvers, I'm going with the Ruger or Smith. I just know I will be happier. Also, if you ever find an Astra 44 buy it. You will not regret it, they are Spanish made and of outstanding quality, although the price of Astra 44 revolvers has really went up over the past few years.
 
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