[James K]

Skans, are you sure Taurus uses castings? The last I knew their revolver and pistol frames and pistol slides were forged.

(Edited to add: That obviously doesn't apply to polymer frames.)

There is an idea that casting parts is cheaper, but it isn't much, if any, cheaper than forging on a per unit basis. Both forged and cast parts have to be finish machined the same way, though cast parts require somewhat less machining.

Where casting is better is in building and capital investment. Forges are big machines, cost a lot of money, take a lot of space, and are noisy and dangerous to be around. Investment casting is cleaner, with less investment (of money) required and has few environmental issues. A forging operation requires an industrial building; casting can be done in a strip mall (and sometimes is).

Jim