Taurus...not good

[lovedogs]

Not long ago I was looking for a concealed weapon and a practice weapon for the wife. Yes, I married Joyce, the lady who gave me the Marlin on my last b-day.

I'd heard and read so much good about Taurus I thought we'd try them. We bought a new Mod. 85 for shooting bad guys and a plain 94 for practice and shooting snakes and little things.

I really liked the looks and everything about the 85. Working up a load it shot great. But when we started her shooting it double-action at defensive silhouette targets it would fail to fire if shot at a fast pace in double-action. Timing/indexing off? Shooting single-action it worked perfect but with a cylinder full and shooting fast, as one might in a fight, the firing pin was hitting on the very edge of the primers about half the time.

I wasn't too impressed with the 94 when I cleaned it up before shooting it. It was rough. The riflings weren't real smooth and the forcing cone looked like it'd been hogged out with the end of a dull drill bit. When firing it slow in single-action it worked good some of the time but it would often lock up. I'd have to wiggle the cylinder and then it'd rotate and work right. But trying to fire it in the double-action mode it would lock up every cylinder full, somewhere during the rotation. Another timing/indexing problem?

Thankfully, we'd bought them from Scheel's, where they have a real satisfaction guarantee. We returned both revolvers to them. They can ship them to wherever they fix Taurus's and do whatever they want when they are returned. They made us a real good deal on a swap for a S&W Mod. 60 and a Ruger Single Six. The Single Six won't give Joyce a double-action .22 but she can use my SP101 for her DA practice. It's getting nearly impossible to find a good double-action .22 nowadays since they quit making it in the SP101.

Both the Smith and the Ruger shoot and function fine. We've learned a lesson... no more Taurus's in this house! Two brand new pistols and both were defective. We will stay with Smiths and Rugers from now on. I'm just passing this on so maybe it'll save someone else problems in the future.

[Swagerman]

Something you should know about Taurus firearms.

They have a lifetime warranty.

They are again this year the number one selling firearm in the industry.

These revolvers are not made in some ones garage, but a multi-million dollar industrial complex.

As you seem resentful because your two guns did not perform to your expectations, and would not give the warranty a chance to make things right, does not constitue you as an expert on Taurus quality.

To me, a company that stands behind their product with a no BS warranty, is a safe bet to deal with.

Taurus bashing is an ongoing scenario that has been unjustified in the true reality of the companys willingness to make and sell a quality product...and stand behind it.

I'm happy with my Taurus Tracker in .45 Colt caliber, and yes it went back to the warranty people for a slight problem that was fixed a few years back. Now it is functioning perfectly for me as the attached target indicates.

Note the Hogue grips make for a better fit to my hand.

Jim

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e321/44and45/P9030001croppedgoodone.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e321/44and45/P1250035closeupontargetX1a.jpg

[beemer]

The last two Tarus revolvers I purchased gave problems. The first was a 605,it took forever to find the problem.It turned out that the cylinder stop spring was week. The recoil from a .357 mag would let the stop bounce back and let the cylinder rotate backwards. When cocked again the chamber just fired would line up again,just often enough to drive you nuts. When the spring was replaced with a stronger one the problem stoped. I would have returned the gun but it was bought at a gun show from a dealer from the other end of the state.

The second one was a alloy frame 85 I got for my wife. The problem was also the cylinder stop. The stop would not raise an engage the cylinder about once every 1or 2 revoloutions, it would rotate past center of the chamber. I think I could have fixed it but by this time I was disgusted and returned it to the dealer. He has a good reputation for customer service and took it back. I solved that problem with a S&W Airweight.

beemer

[9.3X62AL]

Swagerman--

Your Taurus revo seems to be running just fine.

I don't really have a horse in this race, but your remarks to Lovesdogs seem a mite harsh to me. My impression of his remarks are that he is sharing experience with the board, not claiming expertise. We all have opinions and viewpoints, some of which are strongly held and passionately defended. Let's limit our positive and negative commentaries to the objects of our fondness or dissatisfaction, not to those who express their viewpoints.

[Powderpacker]

[QUOTE=9.3X62AL
I don't really have a horse in this race, but your remarks to Lovesdogs seem a mite harsh to me. My impression of his remarks are that he is sharing experience with the board, not claiming expertise. We all have opinions and viewpoints, some of which are strongly held and passionately defended. Let's limit our positive and negative commentaries to the objects of our fondness or dissatisfaction, not to those who express their viewpoints.[/QUOTE]

Very well said and, obviously, I agree .

[MT Gianni]

Lovedogs, Congrats on the wedding and kudos to Scheels. They are not the cheapest but are great to deal with. Gianni.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Lovesdogs, thanks for the updated on you and the lovely lady who bought you the Marlin. I'm sure that your marriage had the whole board's blessing! Many happy years to you and your bride. I never owned a Taurus, but a friend of mine had one of their M19 clones. The warranty was ironclad, but the trouble was that the gun spent most of its time on the road between Florida and California. One thing after another kept breaking, and my friend lost patience and traded it in. Maybe Taurus' smiths aren't as good as their warranty.

[Swagerman]

Swagerman--

Your Taurus revo seems to be running just fine.

I don't really have a horse in this race, but your remarks to Lovesdogs seem a mite harsh to me. My impression of his remarks are that he is sharing experience with the board, not claiming expertise. We all have opinions and viewpoints, some of which are strongly held and passionately defended. Let's limit our positive and negative commentaries to the objects of our fondness or dissatisfaction, not to those who express their viewpoints.

===============================================

Please don't try to set me straight on your point of view as you personally see things, after all the gent was bashing a firearm unfairly that I happen to like and respect.

I guess you don't respect my right to point out the fact, him saying: " Taurus is no good" is OK with you, and we should all get behind that point of view and support it.

My opinion to Lovedogs was not harsh. I didn't call his S&W revolvers no good.

Taurus firearms is the number one selling firearms in the nation, this puts them ahead of S&W and Ruger.

Their warranty program is very good, no matter what some bashers of their product opinionate...in that, I speak of other people who are on that band wagon.

It is easy to make careless remarks and criticisms, that is the only reason I tried to point that out to Lovedog.

Lovedog, if you are offended, please accept my humble apology. :)


Jim

[9.3X62AL]

Swagerman--

OK, gentle didn't work (as usual).

BACK OFF. Your tone and content was out of line. I'm not pimping any make of gun, or disparaging them either. I thought I said I didn't have a stake in this question, perhaps I was lacking in clarity. My sole concern is with the brusque treatment of a member's statement--he expressed an opinion, and you are welcome to express yours--as you did. All good, until the challenging tone starts up. That sort of activity has no place here.

Thank you.

[BigSlick]

Taurus seems to be hit or miss in my first hand experience.

I've had a pump .22 rimfire Winchester copy and a .357 Mag 4" in the past.

The .357 was decent, a little rough, but functional. A good cleaning and a little work on some burrs here and there and it turned out to be a decent shooter.

The rifle was problematic from the word go. Taurus warranty must have improved greatly since then because they were less than helpful or willing to deal with the issues.

Three trips in for warranty on the thing. Last time it came back, no improvement at all. I took it to a local smith, he took a look at it and determined the rails for the pump action were loose on one side and very rough, along with the chamber being slightly undersized.

He replaced the rails and corrected the chamber dimensions and it ran fine afterward. Took him about a week to get to it, maybe 2 hours to do the work.

After three trips to Taurus warranty repair and a *lot* of grief, the problem turned out to be lack of attention to detail on both counts.

I gave the rifle to a shooting buddy's son, he still has it and the gun has been problem free for him.

My experience with Taurus led me to avoid them since. All gun mfr's turn one out now and again that is sloppy, or has problems. I've owned several Smiths and Springers in my lifetime. Both have been exemplary in every respect anytime I deal with them on any matter, regardless of the significance.

Taurus may sell a hell of a lot of guns, and I know some people like them and have had good success, but I don't give a rat's ass if they sell a zillion more than everyone else combined, the only gun that matters to me is the one in my hand.

If it works, great, if not, OK, fix it. But please don't belittle me, give me the run around or undue grief in the process.

You will lose my business forever that way.

Taurus has done exactly that.

[dubber123]

I only have personal experience with 6 Taurus guns, which is obviously not all of them. But 6 out of 6 being clunkers is certainly poor enough odds to keep even a dedicated gambler from rolling the dice again. If you get a good one, I am honestly happy for you, but I cannot chance it again, it's just not money well spent to me.

[Curly James]

My experience with Taurus has been good so far. I purchased one of the stainless mdl 85CH in .38 Spl back in the early 90s and it has been an excellent firearm with thousands of rounds fired. As a matter of fact my youngest has claimed it as her carry gun for now. My wife has carried a PT22 in her car, purse, pocket since 1992. It broke earlier this year and only had a couple of thousand rounds through it. I sent it back and spoke with a guy named Tim who seemed to think it that the guns performance was unacceptable. They returned it this week after two months of looking at the problem. Actually they sent a new gun. So one worked fine and still does, the other had to be replaced after 15 years. The latest is a Mdl PT111 in 9MM. that is an very handy little gun and shot well. Another buddy has it now after he shot it a few times. The only other two Tauri? I've had any experience with was an early model in 38 Spl I bought 30 years ago. The guy who talked me out of it still has it, but he's not an avid shooter, it just stays loaded in his car. There was a Raging Bull a friend brought to the range, it locked up after 4 rounds of factory 454 ammo, I think he returned it to the shop where he bought it No real judgements here just my experiences. As a quaifier statement, I have seen S&W, Ruger, Colt, etc. fail also, but my experiences with those have been trouble free, so far. CJ.

[lovedogs]

My main reason, as perceived correctly by some, was to inform others who may want to avoid the headaches of having to return a weapon over and over. I don't believe in bashing either but any company who sells a weapon that is meant to be carried for personal defense and doesn't even check it to see if it functions properly is not someone I care to patronize. We bought the 85 for self-defense. I value my wife's life and won't tolerate failure or lack of quality in such an instance. If you like your Taurus, good for you. If you want to jeopardize your wife's life with an inferior product that's up to you. One of the reasons Taurus sells so many guns is, without a doubt, because they are more economical. Economical is fine if it functions. H&R's are a good example of this. I own two of them and treasure them greatly. But in my humble opinion, which is my right to express, if a company builds an inferior product I call it junk... Period. If you take offense and don't like it you have every right to disagree.

Best Regards to All... even those who don't like my way of expressing myself.

[45nut]

Well,, this didn't settle much eh?

I think everyone genuinely wants to defend their positions fairly,, but as is bound to happen things sometimes get out of hand.
Just as the freedom arms threads showed, there are times you can state an opinion that be meant as a warning to others but takes off and offends someone.
I have no doubt LD never intended to insult anyones choice, but when opinions are made people will feel obligated to defend if it is their choice that is in question.

This thread has no further purpose, I ask only that everyone reminds themselves to take a breath or two before sending off a reply that can be taken "too seriously".

Time to close the thread now.. thanks all.