The taurus semis do not have a good rep from what I have heard how are the wheel guns? Better than a rock island? How about compared to a GP100?  Thinking about a fun 357 for range blasting when I don't feel like the pain from 44.

Not even in the same conversation as the gp100

I would put the Taurus wheel gun on par with the EAA Windicator 357 with the EAA slightly better. Meaning you will get about 200 more rounds out of the EAA than the Taurus before it locks the fuck up.

if you handload, get the 44mag, it can be loaded mild.

6.5gr win231 / 240grSWC makes a nice 950-1050fps load.

...or get the GP100

I cannot recommenced any Taurus revolver

.

I carry the Tarus CIA in .357. Works every time.

http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=266&category=Revolver&toggle=tr&breadcrumbseries=627#
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I can get this 6.5" 357 for about half MSRP which is about half street price of a smith and most of a Ruger.  I have a 629 and 25 but don't have a 357. Just a range toy.

They're good... but you will need three of them, the one you're shooting, the spare in your range bag when the one you're shoots stops working, and a third back at Taurus being fixed.  Rotate as required.  Profit...

I've got two. Both are .38 and both work every time. I also have S&W and the Taurus are just as reliable as them.

The Taurus revolvers I had worked everytime too. Until they broke.

I have a judge

Me too. One of my fun guns. 

I used to carry a Taurus 617, 7 shot, .357.
Great gun, love it. Lost count of the rounds through it, 357 and 38, but it's a shit load of rounds.
Never malfunctioned once, still in time, not loose at all.
It's one of my nightstand guns now and still carry it occasionally.

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I have an 8 shot Taurus 357 that is surprisingly good (of course I polished the internals a good bit and swapped,out some springs). The trigger is obviously not as good as my SW R8, but you could do a lot worse, especially for the price.

Do you happen to have a trigger pull gauge?  The Smith single action pull on my two measure 3 and 3.5lbs which is lighter than I prefer.

They definitely have the rep for a reason. Hey make some cool configurations but their QC has always been spotty.

I would buy a used Smith or Ruger 10 times before I bought a Taurus as anything other than a pure toy. If you are ever going to depend on it skip the Taurus.


I’ve been seeing more and more videos of the rock island guns and I am interested to see where they end up.

On the Taurus SA is around 4 I believe.

I had a blued 4” model 66 that was awesome. Ex wife got in divorce. I have 2x total titanium revolvers one .44 special and one .45 colt. Both shoot great.

I also have a 686 no dash, GP 100, 19-5 and have had several sp101 .357 revolvers, and 2x 586 revolvers and a couple Taurus 605s.

The Taurus trigger was good but the S&W revolvers were like butter due to being so smooth. The Ruger triggers were a bit heavier than the Taurus 66 was.

I wish I still had that Taurus 66 as it was great for the price. One 605 would not group for shit so I sold it. The other I sold to a female friend as she wanted a purse pistol. It was also sweet and grouped well.

Just to follow up, the Taurus 608 is 4 to 4.5 pounds in SA and around 10-11 in DA.

I had never opened up a Taurus revolver before this one. I was FLOORED by the burrs, rough edges, etc. it took a while to clean up, but it was well worth it.

Dremel and polishing compound?

No dremel,  but I did have to file some burrs down. After that, I used sandpaper with oil on it from relatively coarse to very fine (5000 and over).  Also, the sear surface was good. Do to the criticality of that for a safe weapon, I don’t think it was touched.

One more note, one of the screws on the right side of the gun has a detent that keeps the cylinder from being separated from the gun when open. The detent is tiny, and it will drive you mad if you lose it...or so I’ve heard.

Let me go look and  see what spring kit I used, as there weren’t many options out there.

I found the packaging for the spring kit I used. Trapper gun tau 2

I used the reduced power hammer  spring and mid power trigger spring. You can most likely search and find these on the web or buy them off eBay (~$10-15)

Here is an example from eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gun-Parts-Trapper-Gun-Inc-Tune-Up-Kit-for-Taurus-Large-Revolver-Stock-TAU-2-/382203185875

Thanks!!

Love my 85, goes bang everytime

i have a 605 (357mag 2") and its always went bang

I have 3 smaller frame Tuarus model 85s and while the fit and finish is better than the Rock Island (I have had 2) it is nowhere near a GP100, although to be fair my GP100 also shoots .357 and looks like a tank compared to VW.

All 3 Taurii(?) are in the photo below, my GP100 is in the center, along with a Charter Gator, LCPx, SW 437, and EAA Windicator, which is the only one that has given me trouble.

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I had an 85CH that I had for years but sediment short.  This summer I took it out for a few rounds and was reminded why I didn’t shoot it much when it spit lead back into my face.  Yeah, eye and ear protection kids!  It also had problem trying to stage the trigger for a more precise shot.  Might go off or might not depending if the cylinder indexed correctly and the cylinder stop dropped into the notch on the cylinder.  I finally had en0ugh of this turd and swapped it out for a Smith & Wesson 642.  Now I got a good J-fame I trust and still have my old holsters and speed loaders that also work in my new snubbie. I won’t be buying a Taurus revolver again anytime soon.

Model 85 ultra light 38+p on sale and with rebate paid 165.00. Has a very nice trigger and, if I do my part, Pretty damn accurate to.

Where did you buy your M85?

Me too. It's even taken a dip in the pacific ocean. Still works.

Don't don't do it.

The 605 I purchased has been pure regret. I wish I listened to people. I had to send it in for a warranty repair out of the box.

-Bent ejector rod/End shake.
-Cylinder Is prematurely peening on the notches.
-Lock up is looser on several Chambers as a result.
-I had the action lock up while dry firing. Fast/Slow fire in DA.
-Cylinder jammed up when extracting snap caps.

CUSTOMER Service is bad.
-Spend hours on hold between two different days.
-Have to argue for them to pick up shipping. After 90 days from purchase date it comes out of your pocket.
-Poor communication, one rep had a bad attitude and got my address wrong.
-12 week turn around time.
-The only issue corrected was unnamming the cylinder...

So far nothing has been positive. Looking back I wish I spent extra on a Ruger/Smith. They will take care of you for life and do it in a fast and efficient manner. Fuck Taurus and the 3rd world shit hole they make their firearms in. The revolvers themselves are decent. But the QC/Customer service is so bad. Out of the box this is just unacceptable.

FYI guns made after 2016 will only have a 2 year warranty. For the record I really wanted to like this thing. The size/weight was perfect for me. Trigger wasn't bad at all. But when a new revolver has end shake, a loose cylinder, and jams more than a lorcin... RUN

I have a 66 and a 605 that I purchased new in 1994ish.  No problems so far.

I picked up a steel M85 yesterday for $200 cash with a buttload of ammo and extras.  It seems good to go.  I will shoot it this Saturday and report back.

Definitely work it out before the warranty is up

Without being rude, you folks who post "goes bang every time", are adding no real world info until you point out how many rounds are thru the gun and maybe the conditions it lives in.
A guy can buy a gun, shoot 2 rounds, put it away and say "goes bang every time".
So for the sake of good info, say how long you've been shooting it and approx. how many rounds thru it.
Or not, just keep saying "goes bang ever time".

No to the Taurus.

If you're looking for a new, high quality wheelgun try a Sarsilmaz SR-38.
Reviews are on YouTube

I had two Taurus revolvers, a blued model 85 and a stainless steel model 66. I owned them back in the late 80's. I only put a few hundred rounds through the 85 but never had any problems with it. I sold it because it wasn't +P rated. The model 66 was a very good gun. I put hundreds of rounds through it without any problems. In fact it ate mostly .357 mag rounds and very little .38. I sold in the mid 90's because I needed the money for a Glock 17. Wish I still had the 66.

They look really nice, but eww Turkey :( YMMV.

I have a stainless 4 inch 44 that I bought in the early 90’s it has way more than a thousand rounds through it. I shoot it about every other range trip. Well used gun and I would not bat and eye at carrying it but it’s to damn heavy unless in a leather belted rig.

Local gun store that just opened. They had it on sale and , when taurus had their rebate going.

I've shot maybe 350-500 rounds so far. Mixture of 130 grain TMJ ,158 grain TMJ, 125 grain Hollow points.Maybe 100 +Ps.
Painted the front sight fluorescent orange and, blacked out the back. Made a big difference in sight picture. Changed the stock grip to a hogue 3 finger grip.
Have had it maybe about a year.

Who carries these online?

Had a 66 I bought in 90.. Was a great gun wish I had never sold it.

Bought a 605 last year.. Flawless, have several hundred rounds through it 0 issues

lifetime warranty.  2015 build date

I have owned a small pile of them. Only one old model 85 has always worked right from the start. I had a 454 the barrel shot loose on, a .44 special that shot way away from point of aim,a .44 mag thats cylinder rotated backwards under recoil and another .44 magnum that was out of time right out of the box. I believe I’m forgetting one or two problem Taurus guns too.

And yet, here it is.

Taurus makes a decent wheel gun. Read up on S&W and Ruger owners threads, you find theirs are not as perfect as we would assume.

Don't let Brand, tribal loyalties, and hearsay tell you that one is horrible compared to another. Taurus is what kept wheel guns in America when Colt and S&W nearly disappeared or capitulated to the Clintons. Many got political over some of the changes and abandoned them faster than Kaepernick fans, for a lot less. Yet Taurus stayed in the game.

Taurus making wheel guns is why Colt went back to it. There is a market, money to be made, and if not for Taurus, we'd all be searching pawn shops for older models making them higher than they already are.

No maker is immune from getting one out the door even with all their QC - they keep the Customer Service departments staffed fixing their mistakes, S&W, Colt, or Taurus. You can and will buy a inadequate one from any maker, posts are abundant. Ignore the fanboys who insist otherwise.

Pick what you like and buy it. It's America. BTW, Taurus is expanding and putting a plant over the state line in GA so it's not like everything they make is getting shipped in. More Americans making more firearms in America. What's wrong with that? Certainly a lot more models than Colt - who is currently making just one.

Taurus Lifetime Warranty = You pay shipping for our poor QC/12 Week Turn Around/Bare minimum done to fix the problem.

Ruger and SW aren't perfect. But their CS/Warranty service is top notch.

Rather than just dismiss your statement I have a couple questions for you.

Do you feel that Taurus is the same quality as Ruger and Smith and Wesson?

Do you think at any point in time the failure rate either in quantity or percentage of total production of the Taurus guns was better than their American counterparts?

When did Smith and Wesson almost disappear? Or did only the second half of the s ntence apply to them(capitulate to the clintons)?

As having posted a few times earlier in this thread, it was interesting coming back and seeing the change in tone in this thread.

I own a Taurus 608 and SW Performance center R8. I don’t think anyone who owns a Taurus and a ruger/SW/etc revolver would suggest the two are equal in quality, nor would one suggest an r8 is equal in quality to a korth. Getting in to a debate about civil war era guns seems outside the scope of the original question.

I’ve ran around 4-500 rounds of federal or Remington 125gr sjhp through both. There is nothing I have found the Taurus does better than the r8 (other than weigh more), but likewise both have been reliable. I spent some time working on the Taurus by cleaning the internals (for the simple reason that I wanted to work on a revolver and would not completely break the bank if I killed it). I put around 75 rounds through the Taurus out of the box first day and experienced a few extraction issues with stuck cases towards the end. I was able to clear them without tools and by working the extractor a few times.

The extractor issues were solved by cylinder cleaning, a VERY light application of flitz  on a Qtip, and oiling. The internals were rough and were able to be improved.  That said there was nothing out of the box that didn’t work, and nothing I saw that would obviously cause failure. Any gun can likely be improved with a trigger job done properly.

I think the Taurus is the only gun I’ve ever fired out of the box without cleaning. My personal belief is that it is insane not to fire  (or fire 10 rounds and call it a day) a gun that I would depend on for protection. I would rather have a cheap revolver I have fired a hundred times and properly cleaned and maintained that I would no revolver.

Sure there have been issues with Taurus revolvers, as with new glocks, and those sig guns that I heard can go off if you look at them funny.

The question isn’t is Taurus better than brand x,y,z in terms of quality. The question is, can a Taurus revolver be a dependable and reliable gun?  The answer is absolutely it can. If you handed me a new and cleaned Taurus and a new and cleaned sw, I would put more rounds through the Taurus than the smith before I felt comfortable.  That doesn’t automatically make all Taurus revolvers garbage.

I have no dog in this fight.  By a very large margin I shoot and carry glocks, but my r8 is my favorite handgun. I’d throw it in the trash if that meant I would be given a korth or a few others.  I wouldn’t trust ANY of them out of the box with my life if I hadn’t fired an appropriate number of rounds through them and properly cleaned them.

A hi-point and a kind word is better than just a kind word.

I have owned a number of Taurii revolvers over the years and, like a lot of posters above, have found them to be reliable.  Not as nice as my S&W or Ruger wheelguns, but perfectly serviceable.

Also, I may be the only person to ever say this, but the one time one of my Taurus revolvers needed service, I had a great experience.  Shooting a friends reloads, I encountered a total squib load and had a terrible time getting the slug back into the case.  I ended up levering the cylinder open and slightly bent the crane and apparently the forcing cone.  I sent it to Taurus and, within 2 weeks door-to-door, had received it fully repaired free of charge.  That's excellent customer service, in my book.  They had no reason to fix the gun, as I abused it, but they did anyhow.  I appreciated that a ton.

Again, YMMV, but I'm a fan of the Taurus revolvers I've come across.

Taurus 85 UL Problems

Bought an 85 UL in '98 or '99. Cylinder and bore not aligned so I sent it back and they sent me a new gun.

New gun, same problem, I sent it back and they repaired it.

It worked fine but I lost confidence.

Smith 642 Problems

I traded it for a Smith 642.  After dry firing it about 100 times the cylinder locked up solid.  I sent it back and they returned it fixed before I got the letter they received it.

Should I praise Smith customer support and overlook the problem or bash them for a crappy product?

BTW I carried this for a couple years and one day the cylinder wouldn't open.  I took it apart and found the cylinder release latch had rusted tight.  Fixed it myself.

I am actually considering an 856 or maybe 617.  If Smith or Ruger made a 6 shot J frame size I'd probably buy it.

Edited to say I'm looking at the Colt Cobra too.