Looking at buying a Taurus ( Need honest opions)

[CannonKrazy]

Hello all, For years I have been a Smith and Wesson fan and still am. I have been in the market to buy a 22 LR revolver for several months.My first choice is the model 617 SW. I have looked at the Taurus model 970 SS6 , 22 cal. LR and like the feel of the gun. My question is have any of you tried the revolver and what was your thoughts? How did the gun handle and was it accurate? Was quality an issue?    I like to shoot a lot of paper targets and maybe a critter once in awhile so an accurate gun is a must. I have seen alot of good advice handed down on this site so give me your thoughts. Thanks for the input.

[Graybeard]

Read all the reports of junk Taurus guns on this forum. If that doesn't turn you off on the idea then good luck when you send it back. The only thing worse than their quality is their customer service or lack thereof.

[SlimPigguns]

I guess I must be lucky, I have 2 Taurus .357s and reluctantly parted with a .44. I have had no problems with the pistols, and the word of mouth I got was very positive. - Pete

[CannonKrazy]

Graybread, I agree with you about all the bad reports on here. I looked through many post and see there are about as many good as there are bad. I heard that Taurus raised there quality standards awhile back and thought maybe things changed for the better. After visiting a few gun shops that carry Taurus firearms and asking questions I still get mixed responces.Some of the guns I handled felt as if they didn't lockup tight and had to much play in the cylinder. One man I talked to had a model 970 in a 22LR and said it shot great. He also told me it was really accurate but for what he used the gun for you could have gotten by with a sling shot and a sack of rocks.


SlimPigguns, Glad you got a good one. I do a lot of paper punching so accuracy is very important. Just curious how do these revolvers shot.What kind of groups can you get and at what distance?

[UpTheHill]

I've got 3 right now. 

a tracker in 45 ACP that takes moon clips.
I just got this gun, and am still coming up with loads, and playing with it.
so far it'll do a ragged hole at 50 feet which is what I'm testing loads at, have to do more testing now that I got my XTP bullets in 200 and 230 gr
trigger is excellent, and the gun works flawlessly

Raging hornet with 10 inch barrel
again good trigger, handles great.
it'll spit 35 gr Vmax's out to 50 yards with about a 1 inch group,  didn't test out further on this gun, since beyond that the rifle comes out.

a model 94 in 22LR
if I had to do it again, I'd get the tracker in either 22LR or 22 mag.
the gun is accurate, about 1/2 inch at 50 feet.  but it won't take a red dot or scope.
the trigger is very heavy,  I'm going to stone the trigger and get a set of wolff springs for this when i get the time.

the most important thing with a Taurus is to not buy it sight unseen,  you need to play with it, see how the trigger feels, and how the gun cycles to make sure you didn't get a dog.

[AtlLaw]

I asked the same question some time back and ended up buying a 2 inch SS Tracker.  Trigger is real good, I'd like the lockup to be a little tighter but it doesn't shave lead, goes bang when I pull the trigger.  I've been shooting it at 25 yds and getting about 1 foot patterns about a foot left of point of aim.  But I'm still in the beginning stage of working on loads and it does have only a 2 inch barrel!  I'm going to do some 7 yard work and see if I can keep them in the center of mass zone.

BTW, I did remeasure the throats, sober this time, and came up with a pretty uniform .429, .430 if I put pressure on the calipers... 
Unfortunately I slugged the barrel also; .431     I wish those measurements were reversed!     But I'm still reserving judgement till I shoot a few hundred more rounds thru it with different bullets, including some factory jacketed rounds!

[Graybeard]

Having undersized throats is not so bad in fact in my opinion much better than having them be over sized. You can at least have them opened up to be uniformly the same and the correct size if they are undersized. If they are over sized there really is nothing you can do but change the cylinder out.

[AtlLaw]

Having undersized throats is not so bad in fact in my opinion much better than having them be over sized. ...

True, true...
I bet you snicker every time I post about that pistol   

[Graybeard]

Who me?  Would I do that? 

[Horn-Harvester]

Buy the S&W! After the service I received from Taurus I'll never own another. Listen to Graybeard and spend a little more and get a dependable firearm. As far as I'm concerned Taurus guns are just a step above a Saturday night special.

[CannonKrazy]

Yep, after doing more research and reading everyones post I think its best to go for the Smith. I already own a few and can't say nothing bad about any of them. Smith and Wesson builds a tough gun to beat and the price shows it.Think I will try finding a used one first and if that doesn't pan out then its time to get a new one.

[Ladobe]

Guess I go in on the Taurus bandwagon before all the issues started.   Bought my 2 revolvers about a dozen years ago and they have never missed a beat, been very reliable and shoot great.   Never kept a shot count, but the 44 SPL has had a bunch shot through it - a bunch.   And I prefer to carry the 357 for CCW over all my other CC handguns.    Hmmmmm.

[corbanzo]

Smith's are a gun that works... but they damn sure aren't anything special.  Kind of money wasted if you ask me.... 

[saltydog]

Buy the Smith - otherwise I see a case of buyer's remorse coming on.

[dla]

I hear folks say "buy the Smith", but I suspect they themselves wouldn't when they see the price tag. S&W and Ruger are 2X the price.

Taurus established themselves in the US market precisely because they offered a high-quality low-cost product. From the tone on this board, it would appear that Taurus has let the quality slip and has shipped junk. If that is so, then we should stay away from them. It wasn't too many years ago that S&W did likewise.

But the double-whammy is when the customer service is poor as well.

In days of very old, dealers would check out pistols before they put them in the showcase. Nowdays the customer is expected to buy practically sight unseen. A bit scary for me as I wouldn't feel comfortable applying feeler gauges and calipers to a prospective pistol while at the gun counter.

So having said all that, let me ask this: Should we just avoid Taurus for a couple years?

PS. Maybe we should send them an email letting them know that Americans are beginning to equate Taurus with junk.

[David D.]

I purchased two 970 SS the same day. Both shot very accurate, BUT one after firing had a very bad sticking cylinder. It was replaced with another that did the same thing plus had the worse trigger I ever put my finger on. I returned it and replaced it with a Ruger 45/22. I will NEVER buy another Tarus.

[DC]

I have owned a couple or three Taurus hand guns.  The last one, which I wish I still had was make in the very early 90's.  It was a knock off of the S&W 357 and was every bit the same quality as the Smith. I also owned a tracker which I thought was Junk....looked nice but spit, had a terrible trigger and generally dissapointed me.  I had an auto which wasn't bad but not great. 
If I were to do it again, I would save my money and buy a used S&W or something else...No more Taurus's for me.

[Graybeard]

I hear folks say "buy the Smith", but I suspect they themselves wouldn't when they see the price tag. S&W and Ruger are 2X the price.

Actually I did and in fact still do. I have more S&W revolvers than all other brands combined all thou I do have others such as Freedom Arms, Colt, Ruger but no Taurus laying around. I've owned a lot of other brands over the years but tend toward S&W and Freedom Arms these days.

[CannonKrazy]

I'm like you GrayBeard,I have more S&W revolvers and one S&W auto than any other brand.The Smiths are hard to beat and just as hard to pay for. Before I started this post I looked at many Taurus revolvers and still look at them when I am around a gun shop. I have talked to alot of people about them and most of the Taurus owners say they would rather have the Smith but the price just wasn't in their budget.

The father of an old friend introduced me to his model 17 many years ago. We spent hours shooting paper on the weekends through out the years. He passed away about six years ago and my friend locked away many of his Dads guns for safe keeping. A few months back he wanted to take a few of them out and shoot them again for old time sake. One of the guns he brought along was the old S&W model 17. I enjoyed shooting it again and it has left me wanting one for myself. Without much luck of finding a used one that's in good shape I'm looking at a new model 617.

[His lordship.]

One thing I have learned on owning cheap junky guns versus expensive high quality,  years down the road the good ones are appreciated and kept.  I will never buy another Taurus gun, while Smith and Wessons are spendy I have owned two of them and in the long run I am satisfied.

I have also been happy with Rugers too, they are more in my affordability area.

[doc S]

I used to feel that Taurus was just a cheap version or a knock-off of a good gun. In fact, I didn't own any because that's what I kept hearing...

I had my heart set on getting a Ruger or Smith 9mm revolver. After looking for years and not finding one (that was less than $700.00), I decided to give the Taurus a try...

I found a Taurus 905 in stainless with a 2 inch barrel for $269.00 and picked it up.
I took it to the range and was happy with it. A few weeks later, I picked up a used Taurus 85 for $125.00 from someone who wanted to clean out his safe. I reasoned that even if it was a piece of junk, I couldn't really gripe about loosing out on $125, so I bought it. It also functioned well (it's not as clean as a smith, but not nearly the price either).

I was pretty happy with these revolvers, but was a bit currious about some of the pistols that have been coming out.
I went to Academy, looking at the M&P and XD .45 pistols. The guy behind the counter asked me if I had looked at the Taurus 24/7 pistol. I hadn't but was currious. He let me see all three and compare them. After gripping all three, feeling the triggers break, looking at magazine capacity and price, I walked out with a stainless 24/7 in .45 ACP. I was prepared for the worst and hoping for the best.
I disassembled and cleaned the pistol, put it back together and headed out to the range with a couple hundred rounds of .45 ball and about 100 rounds of various hollowpoint. I fired 10 rounds, cleaned the pistol, fired 20 rounds, cleaned the pistol, fired 50 rounds, cleaned the pistol and shot an additional hundred rounds. After cleaning the pistol, I loaded it up and fired a bunch of partial boxes of hollow-point ammo to see if I could find something it didn't like. It ran without a hickup. I really liked the SA/DA trigger and thumb safety. The best group of the day was a 5 shot group of about 2 1/2 inches at 25 yards. Never had a FTF or Extraction problem.
From my understanding, most of the issues with the early 24/7's was due to magazine issues. Apparently, this was fixed by the time I got mine...

My standard carry gun was a Kimber UltraCarry in .45ACP. I like that gun and trust it. After my success with the 24/7, I thought it might be interesting to try the PT145 Millinium Pro (compact version of the 24/7 with a rail) with the same SA/DA trigger system. I bought one and tested it much the same way, without a problem. After about 800 rounds, it's my carry gun (10 + 1 capacity).

I think the newer Taurus is a better company with more stringent "attention to detail" and quality control programs.

Sorry to be so long winded here, but I think it's time to re-evaluate them.

God Bless,
Doc S

[gstewart44]

I guess I have been lucky with my three Taurus revolvers.   In 1994 I bought a 4" .357, and two model 94 .22's.   I sold the .357 last year.  It has had several thousand rounds of 38's and 357's through it and still locks up tight and groups about 2" at 25 yds.   The model 94's have had over 5,000 rounds through them and their accuracy has actually improved with time.   I have not needed service from Taurus and judging from everyone else's experience hope I don't ever need it. 

As I said before - I was lucky in 1994.   I don't know if I would trust Taurus to give me such good fortune a 4th time.   I will be sticking to SW and Ruger for my new purchases.

[SHOOTALL]

don't !
nuff said !
a word to the wise etc. etc.

[SwampThing762]

I am an exception to the rule I guess.  I own a Tracker in 44 Magnum, the most powerful of the Tracker revolvers, as well as a Model 85 Ultralite in 38 Special.   Both have several hundred rounds through them and function flawlessly, especially the 44 Magnum.  In fact, I expecting the Tracker 44 Magnum to bring home the bacon this year on a hog hunt with hounds.    I carry the 38 hoping to save my bacon.

ST762

[Ak.Hiker]

I have a Taurus model 44 4 inch 44 Magnum. I like the gun. It has a very good trigger and is pretty easy to shoot with the factory grips. I find that in the summer I carry it quite a bit when in the field. I limit the heavy weight loads and pretty much only shoot 240 and 250 grain loads in mine. If I want to shoot the 300 to 320 grain heavyweight I carry the 4 5/8 inch Super Blackhawk. My favorite load in the Taurus is a 250 Sierra FPJ loaded with enough 2400 to run about the same as a factory 240 load.

[littlecanoe]

CrazyCannon,

Not sure if you've bought a Taurus yet.  I just traded a 608 in 357 Magnum for an older Ruger Blackhawk.

I didn't like the porting that is standard in the Taurus line.  Wish that they had offered non-Ported.

There is a difference in overall quality IMHO.  My Taurus would shoot 8 shots inside less than 2 inches at 50 yds.  At least that's the best group that I got when developing loads.

My opinion has swung toward spending a few dollars more for a bit more quality.

Having said that, many buy, shoot, keep and live Taurus and do just fine.

[HogFan]

doc s,

   Thanks for the report on the PT145. I am looking at one myself. I have talked to a few people that own Taurus' and they all spoke highly of them.

[halfbreed]

Well guys, I have to disagree about S&W. I bought a new 629 3" bbl, for ccdw. at first I just absolutly loved it. However the love affair did not last long.A very long thread. But this is my experience.
 Since their customer support really dropped he ball, I will NEVER own anything else with S&W name on it.
 by the way I have a Raging Bull in .45 colt, shooting 310 Keith at 1100-1150 fps and just having a big time. Hoping to get to texas some day and bust some hogs.
Hope this helps, John

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,54271.msg323161.html#msg323161

[Skip_B]

Never was a fan of their revolvers. Although their cowboy guns look kind of interesting.

Their pistols are another story. I have one of the first PT1911s they came out with and absolutely love it. Great fit and finish. Accuracy second to none, even Kimber! I would stack it up against any one of the Colt's from the '80s or '90s for accuracy, and the Colts would have had to be "accuracized" to even come close! I have a friend that is a gun smith. He has a custom 1911 he built and my stock PT1911 can whip his fanny 6 out of 7 times!

Functionality issues? Ball ammo, none existent. H&G #68 cast LSWC, none existent.

And all for $450 brand new. The Colt 1911s were $1000 and had to be reworked to shoot. You can get a lemon from any manufacturer, this one isn't one though!

[CannonKrazy]

Thanks guys for all the imput. I haven't bought a Taurus but have looked at plenty of them. After starting this post I talked to many gun shop owners that introduced me to Taurus buyers. A few of them were more than happy to invite me out for a round of shooting. One guy had a model 94 cambering 22LR and this little gun shot surprisingly well for a 2" barrel. We both were able to shoot a inch and a half group at about thirty yards. We were using some cheap Winchester brick ammo (all the local store had at the time). Out of all the guns I handled and shot this seemed to be the best of them.
I will add that there was a noticeable difference in quality of the guns I handled. Some of them had considerable movement in the cylinder lock up. I couldn't tell if it made a big difference in the accuracy but it just didn't feel right.

Because of our current election results I chose to buy a few other toys that may become hard to get so the Taurus or S&W will have to wait a bit longer.