Taurus... good?

[lovedogs]

Seems we all hear a lot about bad news with guns so I thought I'd mention it when I found something good.

Not long ago my lady friend, Joyce, decided she wanted to carry concealed. I've been doing so since a career with USFWS and it has come in handy on a few occasions. Thankfully, no one needed shooting. Sometimes just the presence of our weapon can deter the bad guys. Anyway, she works shifts at a hospital and not long ago they had a threat to the whole staff. Security was called. Then the local police. So it was then that she decided maybe I wasn't so far off by being prepared. She would feel safer going out to her car in the dark after a shift.

Since we've been keeping company she has been learning to shoot and doing very well at it. She's acquired various arms and is enjoying it immensely. She now does well at the matches and has even turned out to be a successful deer hunter. Now she was faced with the serious thought of arming herself with a real weapon for protection. A 1911 or my .44 mag wasn't the thing for her purse so we started looking at .38 Specials. Not the best by any means but enough to discourage anyone who might get shot with one.

I know I'm long-winded. I'll try to shorten this some. We got her a neat little stainless Taurus 85 snubby. I've been working up defensive loads with it and have found it to be a very nice little revolver. It points naturally, which would help in a defensive situation. It shoots way better than I thought it would. I like hard-hitting 158's in that caliber. But it likes 125's. They kick less, also. So that's a plus for Joyce.

Just thought I'd put in a good word for Taurus in case anyone is looking for a nice little defense gun. It's up to specs all the way around and is a good quality gun for a reasonable price, if there's such a thing in these inflated times. At defensive distances, ten yds. and less, it shoots its shots all in one hole. Plenty good for this kind of gun.

[wiljen]

I'll second that - I bought one of the new Taurus 1911s because it was a great price for the feature set and can't complain about anything. For a sub-$500 gun it has all the bells and whistles of a custom gun, a good trigger pull, and groups well. I'd buy another tomorrow, come to think of it one in stainless maybe [smilie=1:

[mag_01]

Taurus---- Good company---Good product and a lifetime Guarantee --- Needed a part for my auto 9MM ---Told the lady I needed it for a shoot that weekend--- part was in my mailbox the next morning ---No Charge---

[9.3X62AL]

I haven't had much contact with the Taurus make. The accounts I read here and other places indicate that the company generally makes a pretty good product.

Our old line revolver maker (S&W) and the upstart Ruger no longer seem impressed with the 38 Special. I know, 38's can down-load a 357 Magnum, yadda yadda whatever.......I'm still reeling from the idea that a J-frame can safely contain a 357 Magnum, forgive me. Maybe Taurus is exploiting a niche (or several) ignored by the American makers. Good on 'em.

[Dr.Doug]

I've owned 3 Taurus handguns, ranging from 22 LR to 44 mag. They've all been reliable, accurate tools. Wish I'd kept the 44, but just had to have...I don't remember what I needed so badly at the time!

[Johnch]

I have or have owned several
They all were good to great except the 22 lr revolver
I couldn't hit anything with it
The throat was rough ........ no that would be a complement
It cut lead
So I sent it back

They replaced it for free
Took a look at the new guns throat , just as bad
So I sold it unfired

Now the 357 and 44's all seam to shoot well

Johnch

[Dale53]

MY experience with the Taurus has been limited to just two revolvers. These are both Taurus Trackers - one SS in .45 ACP and one blue in .44 magnum. Both revolvers seem to be extremely well made and fitted. Tight and both are "just right" carrying weight for a general woods walker. I had a trigger job done on the .45 ACP but the .44 mag was near perfect as it came. Good adjustable sights. They both shoot well.

I would buy another in a New York minute.

Dale53

[Lee]

The S&W badboys would have us believe that Taurus builds all it's revolvers on broken down outdated equipment sold to the Brazilian gubmint years ago. All I can say is that they make some darn fine revolvers, and some darn fine semi-autos too. And I also have my eye on one of their new 1911's right now.
So my opinion is that what they are doing can't be all bad.
And if ya don't believe that, compare them to a bryco arms anything.(Now THERE'S a Saturday night special!!).................................Lee:win k:

[mtngunr]

I think they're doing good stuff there.....I've very little dealings with them, with mixed results......10-15yrs ago when Ayoob touted the little .22 auto as the beezkneez, I bought one and the magazine catch broke the first trip to the range....shipped it back, and 6wks later it was returned, next trip to the range the barrel pivot pin started working out.....I traded it off at a very favorable rate to the other guy......only other one I've owned was a blued "j-frame" snubbie (85, right?).....very well done gun.....only problem with it was a tendency to tie-up during fast DA work, otherwise it was accurate as all-get-out and reliable.....I'm sure all it needed was a trip back for minor adjustment, but that never happened as my father-in-law took a shine to it while visiting and wanted it as a pocket pistol while walking his wooded mountain property.....I explained the minor trouble it had to him, but he explained he only shot SA anyhow, so who cared?....so, that one is still bopping around the Catskill mountains and never has made it in for a tune-up, it getting carried a LOT..... I very much like the Taurus lockwork, it being markedly simpler than what hides inside a S&W, and that design simplicity coupled with first rate workmanship and affordability will probably have me getting another one of their guns, my thinking even if something was wrong initially, it would be fixed by a trip back and would stay fixed........hmmm, I shouldn't have gotten started thinking on these lines....my wallet is getting thinner just on reflex.......

[TDB9901]

I was looking last night, and it apears that they discontinued the .32 Mag chambering, at least in the online catalog.

Wouldn't a model 85 in .32 be a great beataround packer???
Or maybe a .32 in the Tracker series, with a 3 to 4 inch barrel???

My son's Girlfriend has a .38, can't criticize it at all.

Tom

[45r]

heard they're good guns but a friend has a 44 mag and it shoots good but he said the resale is low when he wanted to sale it or trade up to something else so he ended keeping it.he doesn't shoot it much after getting a colt anaconda in 44 mag.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I read all the reviews in the gunzines and I liked what I saw. But I wanted to see one in my hand before I laid down my bucks. Last summer my gunsmith got one. Just one. He would'nt sell it even though I begged and grovelled. I had to wait until November to get it. I had it for about a month before we went shootin. My buddy liked mine so much that he ran down and bought one and we went to the range. His was wonderful. Mine had 5 failures to fire where the empty ejected and the fresh round loaded just fine. However the hammer was left on half cock! I thumbed back the hammer and it shot just fine. In the same hundred rounds of factory 230 gr ammo the danged thing fired twice with one trigger pull. Another time it let go three rounds. The final straw was when it let go four rounds like a machine gun. Great gun! It took it back to my gunsmith and he guessed that it had a bad sear or a problem with the trigger. He gave me a brand new gun!!!
He sent back the 1911 to Taurus and they sent the same gun back 6 weeks later and said that they had to replace the sear and that I should have used only standard factory ammo not +P's. Trouble is that these were standard el cheapo American Eagle 230 FMJ hardball that the range sold for $11 a box (probably cost them $8) and these were not +P's at all. My gunny said that Taurus probably just said that to justify their shortcoming. In either case the 2nd 1911 has eaten everything I have put through it with out a burp. :castmine: My cast RN and SWC feed and shoot great! :Fire: I am getting outstanding groups down to less than one inch at 25 yds and I am punching the 10 or x ring out at 15 yds in rapid fire. :drinks: I can't wait to try it out in our Love That Steel competition. :mrgreen: This is a good company and a great gun. I also have a liteweight M 85 in .38 SP which is my concealed carry gun. I like it better that either my old Chiefs Special or Colt Detective Special but I regret selling my S & W Model 10 with the 2" bbl and round butt. That gun was a really great shooter. I carried it for 15 years as my off duty gun in NYC and I really liked that 6th shot and the solid feel of the heavy frame. All in all Taurus is a fine company and I think that they will be the biggest firearms company in the world within 10 years.
Dan

[NickSS]

I have had a Taurus PT 99 for about 13 Years and have been very satisfied with it. I have never had a single malfunction with it and have fired lots of different ammo including lead hand loads. It shoots accurately and just keeps gobbling up ammo. Per my last count it has eaten nearly 12,000 rounds and still going.

[wiljen]

I also have my eye on one of their new 1911's right now.


I bought the first one my local shop got in and love it - all the features of a kimber for about half the $ and the thing will shoot. the 200gr LSWC shoots into 2-2.5 inches all day at 25 yards and thats with my lousy shooting skills offhand. [smilie=1:

Not bad for 100 year old design made on dilapidated Brazilian equipment with second quality metals. (or so S&W would have us believe).

Wiljen

[KCSO]

Gun test just ran an article on the 1911 clones and low rated the Taurus for accuracy and reliability. They claimed the magazines would not feed properly. I have been trying to get a T1911 for trial but my dist. is allocated on them.

[Poygan]

A few months back my cousin bought a Taurus 9 shot .22 new. At first it had an intermittent binding of the action that went away. Now it doesn't always set off one round in nine. Its his so I don't know if its the same chamber each time. He was happy with the feel and the accuracy but intends to get rid of it because of the unreliability. I suggested he take it back to the dealer and gunsmith where he bought it in case there is a simple fix.

[scrapcan]

I have been around quite a few of these in basic handgun instruction. They are solid revolvers, with one exception. The new model with the action lock built into the hammers. It operates as a locking cam with a little key that comes with the gun. We had a brand new revolver that a lady was shooting and it would spontaneously engage the lock on its own. We worked it over a lttle to get her through the class after talking to Taurus on the phone. They said after the class to have her ship it back and they would fix it. They did and all went well. I just don't like the idea of the internal lock mechanism. Shot very well.

I would love to have one of the taurus trackers in 45acp. I think that would be a great carry gun. But since it has been discontinued, they are hard to find in this area. Sooner or later one will come around.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

KCSO,

Years ago, I bought a year's prescription to Gun Tests magazine. After reading the first two magazines, I wish I hadn't wasted my money. Since then, over the years I've seen them give bad reviews to many firearms I knew from personal experience to be good, dependable firearms.

While they claim to be independent and to give a Consumer Reports style of evaluation, I have not found their reporting to be a solid foundation for making a firearms choice. Instead, I've found the opposite to be true.

Just my .02,

Dave

[Bodydoc447]

I have three Taurus revolvers. A Tracker in .41 mag which I love, a M85 .38 5-shot that my wife has on her side of the bed and a 9-shot .22 that I bought at least 15 years ago. All of mine have been excellent.

Doc

[floodgate]

Dave:

I think the main limitation to "Gun Tests" is the fact that (unlike CR) they can only afford to buy and test one or two examples of a particular firearm. So they can get either a good one or a lemon, by luck of the draw. I've noted, though, that when readers disagree with their evaluations, they will generally discuss them in their letters column, and sometimes alter the evaluation.

floodgate

[KCSO]

I'm not basining anything on gun tests per say i just passed on what they had to say. I intend to get a T1911 and give it my own test before I will sell one to anybody. I have noted in the past that Taurus guns are either very good or not so good in about a 1-20 ratio, about ever 20 T's I buy 1 will go back, and the replacment is usually A1.

[RGS]

I have the .41 ss Tracker. The trigger was a little rough but smoothed out on its own after 200 rounds or so.

The cylinder is a bit shorter then the S&W N frames or Ruger BHs. So I have to watch OAL when I load for it. The big nose on the Leadhead 230gr Keith bullet will stick out the end and bind things up unless it is seated below the crimp groove.

A friend says the Cast Performance bullets will work as the nose isn't so big. I have not tried them yet. The standard off the shelf bullets by Speer, Hornady, Sierra and most standard weight cast bullets I have tried all work well.

This business about the Taurus revolvers being made on old tired S&W equipment does not ring true to me. I emailed Hamilton Bowen a year or so ago to see if he worked on Taurus. He does not. They are different from S&W to the point he would need to make new jigs and goodness knows what to work on them. So far the demand is not enough to justify the expense. He did not bad mouth their design and thought they had interesting products.

Rick

[lovedogs]

I believe I read somewhere that Taurus had old (but not worn out) equipment from S&W years ago because they were, at one time, owned by, or in partnership with, S&W. S&W had financial problems and they went their separate ways. Since then Taurus has done very well and now have some of the most modern equipment made. At least that's what I've read. I do know S&W has had it's problems in the past and has been owned by many. I'm not sure about Taurus. But most of what I've heard about them has been good. From what I've seen here and in other places we made a good choice with the Mod. 85. It's a darn nice little carry gun.

[opcon4]

I have one, I've had it about 3 yrs, and no problems or complaints

[Scrounger]

I believe I read somewhere that Taurus had old (but not worn out) equipment from S&W years ago because they were, at one time, owned by, or in partnership with, S&W. S&W had financial problems and they went their separate ways. Since then Taurus has done very well and now have some of the most modern equipment made. At least that's what I've read. I do know S&W has had it's problems in the past and has been owned by many. I'm not sure about Taurus. But most of what I've heard about them has been good. From what I've seen here and in other places we made a good choice with the Mod. 85. It's a darn nice little carry gun.

Sounds plausible. S&W was owned at one time by a conglomerate named Bangor Punta. That happened in 1965. In 1980 Lear Sigler bought Bangor Punta. I didn't trace it any farther than that but I seem to remember that at one time whoever owned Lay's Potato Chips also owned S&W...

[wiljen]

Gun test just ran an article on the 1911 clones and low rated the Taurus for accuracy and reliability. They claimed the magazines would not feed properly.

Mine has been great in the accuracy department. As for the magazines, I replaced them with McCormick's - still have the two that came with it if I ever try to sell it, but just have never had any luck with budget 1911 mags of any type/brand.