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Thread: Taurus Vs S&W

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Taurus Vs S&W

    Is Taraus closing the quqlity gap with S&W? I have no basis for this since I have never owned a Taraus and only one of the MIM parts with internal lock Smiths' which was junk compared to all of the older Smiths' with hammer forged internals with no internal lock that I have owned. This is not to mention the new way S&W is rifeling their barrels. No real basis for this. Just a feeling I am geting.

  2. #2
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    Taurus is one of those companies that seems to have their ups and downs in quality control. As recently as 3 to 5 years ago they were generating a lot of complaints, but lately not so much. Every company will turn out the occasional lemon that can maybe/maybe not be fixed, but during that time period they seemed to have lots of returns for mechanical problems and very poor customer service. Way back when, lots of years ago, they were their own independent company, but were then acquired by the same conglomerate that owned S&W. S&W had to send some of their employees down to Brazil to bring the products up to snuff, and when they got done the Taurus products were just about as good as the Smiths, maybe 95% as good. The two companies, under arrangement by the umbrella company, divided the world market between them with Smith getting the North American continent and Europe, and Taurus getting South America and pretty much the rest of the world. Eventually the parent company sold both of them off and once again they started going their separate ways. I used to sell many Taurus Mod. 66 and similar models in the 1980s, and through my business Taurus outsold Smith by about 5 to 1 because of the price difference and similar quality. Taurus is a very innovative company and seems to be constantly coming out with new models, especially in the area of semi-autos. I guess, to answer your question as best as I am able, if a Taurus caught my eye and I liked it's features I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

  3. #3
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    I'm going to weigh in on this:

    My experience with Taurus is sometimes you get a good one and sometimes you get a bad one. Because some people end up with a decent example they will metaphorically stand on a street corner and proclaim that Taurus makes good guns. The reality is Taurus occasionally makes good guns.

    I've had both good and bad Taurus guns, including revolvers. I've seen other people with good and bad Taurus products.
    I will no longer play in the Taurus sandbox. It just isn't worth it to me.

    The one Taurus model that they somehow had good quality control on was the Model 85. I've seen quite a few model 85's that gave good service for many years. Some of the old model 82's were also decent guns. But, I've seen some real JUNK with Taurus stamped on the side.

    As for the current quality of S&W, I don't think MIM parts are the end of the world. S&W needed to keep production costs down and they could either innovate or go out of business. As for their new rifling process and two piece, tensioned barrels; again cost saving manufacturing techniques to stay competitive. When you get beyond the complaints of the traditionalist, I think S&W is still building a decent gun but it's not the same gun they made in the past.

    The two piece, tensioned barrel actually has a lot going for it; just ask the owner of a Dan Wesson revolver!
    The two piece barrel allows much faster assembly and that assembly can be done by less skilled workers. Plus the barrel shrouds will always be "clocked" properly. Features such as ejector rod shrouds, sight ribs, external barrel profiles, etc, can be selected by simply selecting the desired shroud at the factory.
    The electrochemical machining process used to rifle the barrels produces a very good finish and it does it quickly. Again, different from the old days but not necessarily bad; just different.
    MIM parts are faster to produce and require little or no fitting; which drastically reduces assembly time and cost.

    The internal lock ? I can't defend that one. The Internal lock is just a stupid idea all around.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master

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    Taurus burned their bridges with me for horrid CS back in the 2003-2005 range with what seemed to be bait and switch tactics surrounding their "Lifetime Warranty". We had a couple customers with revolvers that should have been easily repairable, but got word back that they weren't, and Taurus would "allow" the customer to buy a replacement gun at a discount. Might have been inability to readily get parts from Brazil - I dunno. Considering that it was good money after bad, necessitated ANOTHER California waiting period for the new serial number and the accompanying fee, at that shop we quit carrying Taurus RIGHT quick!

    I judge a manufacturer not only by their standard of quality, but in how they deal with the inevitable duds when they do occur. Taurus was horrible at that point in time, S&W has always been at the very worst fair, and Ruger has always been above and beyond.

    But I fear that the revolver is becoming a machine that't too expensive to build well, which I find unsettling, seeing as they were able to manage it in 1836.
    WWJMBD?

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  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master
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    What Bigslug said. Buying a sidearm is FOR adventure travel, and should not be adventure travel of its own. No interest in any of the Tauri, long or short.
    I don't paint bullets. I like Black Rifle Coffee. Sacred cows are always fair game. California is to the United States what Syria is to Russia and North Korea is to China/South Korea/Japan--a Hermit Kingdom detached from the real world and led by delusional maniacs, an economic and social basket case sustained by "foreign" aid so as to not lose military bases.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    I have also owned both good and bad Taurus guns. More good than bad. The mention of poor customer service is also true.
    When they discontinue a firearm, they also stop making any parts for it. Very soon, any replacement parts dry up, hence the offer to let a person buy a different one. It isn't that the gun cannot be repaired. It just can't be repaired with factory parts any more.

  7. #7
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    Even though Taurus has a lifetime warranty, try it out. Call them. If you don't get them on the line, wait a day and call them. If that doesn't work wait another day and repeat till you get them on the phone, may take a week or a month. Then on a whim, give S&W a call and be speaking to someone within 5 minutes. Just my past experiences. Taurus is cheaper all the way around, but it that what you want?

  8. #8
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    I agree with that other guy, most of the smith hate is people trying to be traditionalist and nostalgic and looking for proof to say I told you so. to me who wasn't alive back then, they still have the best feeling mechanics of the standard shelf brands imo. there not using the same processes from 1950 and its not a smooth as your gun that's been smoothed over for decades, that should kinda be a given

  9. #9
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    I've had good and bad service from Ruger, Taurus, Colt, S&W. I've had nothing but fantastic service from Charter Arms. I buy a gun based on what I want. If I don't get what I want in performance, service or any other factor I get rid of it. Worst service I ever had was Ruger, took 9 months to resolve and I had to get the Hawaii Secretary of State to intervene, still got the gun and that was in 1979. S&W failed to send me parts after billing my card, took a bunch of phone calls but I finally got them. Taurus has been good to me; mostly, but I've never owned a Taurus semi auto; just revolvers. I don't swear off any gun brand for exactly the reasons stated above..........fluctuations in price, quality, availability happen. The only way to know is to jump in, experience is worth more than depriving myself of a new adventure.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    I've never owned a Taurus. Never will.

  11. #11
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    I have a Smith and Wesson model 69 and a Taurus Tracker. The Taurus is the better of the two, but I have a Model 29 that is better than either. I do not buy Taurus semi-auto's, but would cheerfully buy a revolver of their manufacture--provided I could give it a careful once over before purchase.
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  12. #12
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    As far as I'm concerned Taurus has equaled S&W quality. That's not saying much, as both are about bottom of the barrel for accurate revolvers right now. You might get a good one, or you might get a sewer pipe that goes bang.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master Drm50's Avatar
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    I have a few S&Ws and all are P&Rs. I'm not interested in newer S&Ws. They aren't the gun they use to be. I've owned several I took on trades and found them to be good guns and they shot well. Taurus, junk as far as I'm concerned. I won't take them on a trade because Im not going to give much for them. Makes quite a few guys mad when I allow $50 for their " just as good as S&W" gun. Funny thing is 9 out of ten is trying to trade against a S&W.

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I bought a Taurus 66 or 67 model. It was a 7 shot 357 mag SS 6”barrel model. It worked well for several hundred rounds and then started spitting lead everywhere. It went down the road. Haven’t bought another. I’ve bought several other smiths along the way.

  15. #15
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    My personal experience, I've owned two Semi-auto Taurus, both were PT24/7, one in 40 and one in 45.
    Both guns were excellent functioning and accurate in my hand. Can't ask for much more than that.
    I've never owned a Taurus revolver, but some friends of mine have. They seem to be 50-50, whether you get a good one, or a lemon. I imagine it could likely be the same with their Semi-autos...and I just got lucky? I heard of horror stories about Taurus lemon semi-autos.

    As to current production S&W, I owned a newer 29, made in about 2013...I swapped it, after I had issues with it. I have looked at several new ones at Gun Stores ever since, and haven't seen one yet, that I'd want to buy.

    With that said, I don't think it's realistic to compare them...but if it means anything, I'd buy a new Taurus revolver before a new S&W revolver.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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  16. #16
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    I’ve had four Taurus revolvers and only had one problem. Can’t recall the model number, it was a seven shot 357. Shooting the first cylinder the wood grip cracked. Resulted in a back and forth with Taurus as they sent me a rubber replacement. I eventually got a new set of wood grips.

    I still have three Taurus revolvers and simply love my model 608, an eight shot 357. At the time of purchase it was apx $550 cheaper than a similar eight shot S&W. I also bought a new Taurus 22RF revolver as the comparable S&W RF revolvers were near double in cost.

    I’m a S&W collector but I refuse to pay the exorbitant prices for new. If S&W quality gets its quality to what it once was I might be willing to pay the price. The quality of the older blued steel and early stainless S&W’s just can’t be beat.

  17. #17
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    I passed up a used Taurus revolver at a show a couple months ago and kicked myself. I forget what model, an older .357 mag, 6” ribbed barrel. They wanted $250, but I had gone with the thought in mind that I was not going to buy a gun no matter what.

    By the time I hemmed and hawed, looked up reviews on that model (very good), thought about it more and decided to buy it, it was gone.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by fatelk View Post
    I passed up a used Taurus revolver at a show a couple months ago and kicked myself. I forget what model, an older .357 mag, 6” ribbed barrel. They wanted $250, but I had gone with the thought in mind that I was not going to buy a gun no matter what.

    By the time I hemmed and hawed, looked up reviews on that model (very good), thought about it more and decided to buy it, it was gone.
    Sounds like my gun show strategy as Murphy never fails to do me in. Change my mind and go back it’s sold. Buy one then without fail find another in better condition for less money.

    Rarely do I go to a gun show and stick to my budget. Go with the intention of buying something in particular and nothing else. Seems like I leave with something else. Although my plan is to sell high and buy low seems to always reverse itself.
    Last edited by azrednek; 10-09-2019 at 08:03 PM.

  19. #19
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    I have owned a Taurus I thought I could not get any less expensive. It is long gone. 9mm auto that started to shoot loose after 1000 rds. My latest S&W is a used 69. No the lines on the shroud don't exactly match. It is an accurate, handy revolver with no factory fit or finish issues. Throats are uniform at .430", bbl is less than that with no tight spots. I cannot think of someone I would lend a firearm to that I would lend a Taurus.
    [The Montana Gianni] Front sight and squeeze

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy engineer401's Avatar
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    I have owned both brand new and older Smith revolvers. All have shot well with no issues. I shoot them better than other double action ones. I also purchased Taurus revolvers. They didn't shoot as well as the Smiths but for the price I cannot complain. They still shoot fairly well. I replaced the Taurus grips. I've owned and sold my double action Ruger revolvers. They simply didn't shoot well for me. They were not a good fit. I kept the single action Ruger's and like them a lot. Every revolver I owned functioned properly with no issues of any kind.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check