So what's the skinny on Taurus firearms?

 

The reviews I've read/heard about Taurus run the gambit. I've heard people say they're junk, I've heard others say they're "decent for what they are" and I've even heard people RAVE about them. Some of these strong advocates have said things like Taurus bought the old Beretta factory in Brazil and kept the same workers on, and cite this as a reason for the PT92 being such a good clone of the 92Fs (not to mention, I've seen people prefer the PT92 because the safety is frame-mounted instead of slide-mounted).

 

I heard something similar about Taurus and Smith&Wesson being owned by the same parent company, with people saying the Taurus clones of S&W revolvers are supposed to be excellent. 

 

Can anyone speak to the truthiness levels of these rumors? How have your personal experiences with Taurus guns been?

Taurus suffers from what some would call past issues with quality control and resulting long memories. I own a Taurus .357 that is by no means a S&W but I trust it as my bedside HD firearm. Fit and finish is good and performance has been impeccable. Mr Bob will undoubtedly elaborate on the once symbiotic relationship between Taurus and S&W.

Personnally by the time I get a precious pistol permit i've saved enough money to buy the original gun not the Taurus knock-off.

I've owned two.  Both good guns, no issues.  The finish was good on both but fit between parts was not perfect - good enough for me - but not perfect.  For the $200 in savings a Taurus typically gives you over the comparable gun made by someone else, I would buy a Taurus again.

 

If you are the kind of person that is satisfied with a Chevrolet and doesn't need a Mercedes, Taurus might be right for you.

Been tempted to buy another one from a price perspective but just can't do it as the one I had went back to the factory after less than 50 rounds thru it.  It was the polymer framed 357 revo.  The customer service was great and the gun came back quickly but I sold it for a loss with full disclosure.  It soured me on the company as a whole.  Sucks as I really wanted that gun to be great.  Oh well.

 

C

I have several Taurus pistols and no issues with any of them, as a matter of fact the 357 is machined nicer than my smith 686.. so i do not even know what to think about that..

I have the Taurus raging judge magnum and I love it, very well built never had any issues.

I've got an used Taurus 1911 ALR.  I got it more for price point and the aesthetics as I like the 2 tone.  It was nice but the fit was not quite perfect.  There was quite a bit of play everywhere and the action was a bit gritty.  I was going to get some work done on it.

 

Twong here took apart the gun yesterday and told me exactly what I needed to replace if I wanted to use it at a match.  It was pretty much most of the internals.  Most of the internal parts were MIM.  I was going to keep it despite that but replace the barrel, bushing, slide stop and FCG.  Twong was able to polish up the FCG so I may be able to leave that part alone.

 

For regular usage, the Taurus has always gone bang.  I had no complaints there but my usage for it is slightly different.

Mr Bob will undoubtedly elaborate on the once symbiotic relationship between Taurus and S&W.

 

IIRC, S&W once had production facilities in Brazil - there are a number of Brazilian 1917 .45 ACP revolvers out there to attest to that. Taurus bought the tooling & equipment when Smith left. I would imagine that the original Smith tooling (not the machines themselves) has long since worn-out. I really have no first hand experience with Taurus firearms as I would rather have a used S&W than a new Taurus - but that's just me.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

I dont like taurus guns. I despise them so much i own over a dozen of them

I have 1 Taurus. It's a 38 revolver. When I bought it the timin was off and it would lock up. I had a good experience with their customer service and they fixed the gun. I enjoy shooting it and have not had any other problems. Taking into accou t the amount of time the gun was out of my possession for repairs (about a month) I could have saved extra and bought a S&W.

Seems like if its your first gun, go for. If you have other toys to keep you occupied, then wait another month or 2 and save up the extra cash.

I have a 247 ds 9mm, with  6500 rounds through it and only a recoil spring change. and it looks BFN.  

I'm buying a .357 model and feel fine doing so

I'm buying a .357 model and feel fine doing so

 

My 605 .357 brushed stainless with a 3 inch barrel and custom Thai Burl grips.

 

IIRC, S&W once had production facilities in Brazil - there are a number of Brazilian 1917 .45 ACP revolvers out there to attest to that. Taurus bought the tooling & equipment when Smith left. I would imagine that the original Smith tooling (not the machines themselves) has long since worn-out. I really have no first hand experience with Taurus firearms as I would rather have a used S&W than a new Taurus - but that's just me.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

From what I recall, they bought Beretta's tooling as well, hence the 92 clones.

I've never owned a Taurus and never plan to. Heard too many horror stories.

Thanks, everyone. I'm inclined to lean toward saving a little more, anyway.

 

I would also much rather have a used Smith than a new Taurus. Was just looking for everyone's opinions since used market availability fluctuates. 

 

Thanks again

 

My 605 .357 brushed stainless with a 3 inch barrel and custom Thai Burl grips.

 

that's nice!  I was going to get the 2" model but have been thinking of the 3" more. 

My brother has a 2" .38. Not shot much but goes bang every time. Much like my pre-Taurus Rossi, it is not up to a Smith 36 in terms of fit or finish, it does it's job.

When looking for my first gun I looked at the Smith 686 and was impressed with everthing but the price tag. so I went with a Ruger GP 100, feeling a little like I was compromising. 

I now own 5 Ruger handguns.

If you want/need to save a few bucks but still want a super-reliable, well-built, good-looking, American-made wheel-gun backed by excellent customer service, go with a Ruger. The only thing Smiths absolutely have over Rugers out-of-the-box is the trigger. Otherwise, Ruger's value compared to what you get is unbeatable.

Taurus guns look good and some current owners like them a lot. It may be that they've overcome their earlier problems. I'm just not a gambling man.

I happen to have rented one.  Drives real good.  I happen to appreciate the old jelly bean ones.

Like I said. I have a bunch of them. They are quality built and a great value. They stand behind their guns with a lifetime warranty. Yes they have had issues but I don't know of any mfgr that hasn't had issues with a few guns from time to time

About 12 years ago had a PT- 40 compact pistol couldn't hit the broadside of a barn 8 shot groups non existent. Poly frame cracked they fixed it for free I paid shipping. A couple years later used it as a trade in for another gun. Friend had a revolver 10 rounds locked up. Just don't trust their pistols but I have a couple of lever guns I like and shoot a lot think they are great. Their quality seems hit or miss.

I have a PT1911- .45 acp and the Model 82- .38 spc revolver and both have served thier purposes. I keep the .38 in the nightstand, and use the PT-1911 for some range fun. At about 1000 rds each, neither has failed yet or given me any problem. I do however only shoot around 50rds at a time, and clean them afterward each time.

 

Bill T

When looking for my first gun I looked at the Smith 686 and was impressed with everthing but the price tag. so I went with a Ruger GP 100, feeling a little like I was compromising. 

I now own 5 Ruger handguns.

If you want/need to save a few bucks but still want a super-reliable, well-built, good-looking, American-made wheel-gun backed by excellent customer service, go with a Ruger. The only thing Smiths absolutely have over Rugers out-of-the-box is the trigger. Otherwise, Ruger's value compared to what you get is unbeatable.

Taurus guns look good and some current owners like them a lot. It may be that they've overcome their earlier problems. I'm just not a gambling man.

 

I've enjoyed breaking in my GP's trigger.....it's a rite of passage.  Now it is smoooooooooooooooooooooooothe! 

 

I'm a gambling man and may give Taurus a try.....the 2 tone 1911 just looks sweet!  Don't know if I'm ready to dive into 1911s yet though.

I was looking at this.. any opinions?

http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=872&category=Pistol&toggle=tp&breadcrumbseries=MP1

I own 4 Taurus (revolvers & semi auto's), never had an issue

have over 600 rounds through my taurus 809 ZERO issues...love it. That being said I dont like to think of them as "cheap", I consider them a value and "inexpensive"

IIRC, S&W once had production facilities in Brazil - there are a number of Brazilian 1917 .45 ACP revolvers out there to attest to that. Taurus bought the tooling & equipment when Smith left. I would imagine that the original Smith tooling (not the machines themselves) has long since worn-out. I really have no first hand experience with Taurus firearms as I would rather have a used S&W than a new Taurus - but that's just me.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

 

Saw this revived and thought I'd add a bit.

 

S&W never had production facilities anywhere but in CT (early days) and MA.  All the Brazilian Contract 1917s (25,000 IIRC) were made in the US as the one in front of me is.  Taurus was a metal forging company for some time before they went into the gun business in 1941 (had to look that up).  My guess is WWII really dried up the firearms supply from the US and Europe and Taurus found a needy home market.

 

Taurus started importing guns into the US in 1968 (had to look that up too).  My guess is that the GCA 68 shut down the plethora of cheap and inexpensive handguns and they saw a potential market.  A friend had a 38 spl Taurus in the early 70s.  It shot well but the fit and finish was more like a H&R or Iver Johnson.  Well built gun but not a S&W, Ruger, or Colt.  Taurus revolvers were also not much cheaper than a S&W which probably was the real reason for their lack of acceptance in the US.  Chater Arms suffered the same fate.

 

Taurus and S&W were both owned by Bangor Punta in the early to mid 70s.  There was an exchange of technology betwen the two but to call a Taurus a copy of a Smith is like saying a F150 is a copy of a Silverado IMO.

     

 

From what I recall, they bought Beretta's tooling as well, hence the 92 clones.

 

Brazil adopted the Beretta 92 for their military in the late 70s early 80s. The contract required the guns to be made in Brazil. After the contract was completed and Beretta had no use for the tooling and facilities there so sold it to Taurus.  This included the workforce.

 

Taurus kicked up their QC big time at this time and was starting to make headway in the US market.

 

The first Taurus I bought a PT99AF (92 with adj sights) was in 1988.  This was quickly followed by a 669, .357 and 85, 38 spl.  These guns had all the quality of the Beretta and S&W but at this time they were half the price.  One of the gun magazines at the time compared the Taurus 9mm to the Beretta and found the Taurus matched it in all areas but one.  The Taurus wasmore accurate than the Beretta.  Jim Cirillo also commented to me that he thought the Taurus was the most accurate 9MM on the market in the late 80s and the only one capable of the accuracy he liked.  What level of accuracy?  Consistent head shots at 50 yards and he demonstrated it.  Note, that's Jim Cirillo shooting not me. 

 

I own 6 taurus handguns.  No complaints.  Problems?  Rear sight leaf broke on PT99AF after about 10 years. Seen this happen on S&Ws.  I carried it as a duty gun concealed.  So much for not being able to conceal a full size handgun.  Rear sight came off 669, 357 after 12 years or so.  My fault for not checking to see if the screw was tight.  327 Taurus had timing issues.  Yeah shouldn't have left the factory that way but I've seen a lot more S&Ws and even a Python new with the same problem.  Taurus fixed them all in 10-14 days turnaround.

 

The 669 I bought in 1989 is a better gun than the S&W Model 19 I bought in 1974 which developed timing and flame cutting problems in about 5 years.  The Taurus is light years ahead of the Model 66 S&Ws i helped test in the early 80s that were all out of the running at 1500 rounds.

 

Triggers on Taurus revolvers are not as good as S&W or Ruger new but nothing you can't work with if you know how to shoot a revolver.  I wouldn't hestitate to buy a Taurus if there was one that met my needs.