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View Poll Results: What do you think about Taurus?
Like, through experience? 65 41.40%
Dislike, through experience? 64 40.76%
Like, from info from the outside? 3 1.91%
Dislike, from info from the outside? 11 7.01%
Like, from what you read on the Internet? 2 1.27%
Dislike, from what you read on the Internet? 17 10.83%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 157. You may not vote on this poll

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Old September 29, 2012, 08:17 PM   #26
youngunz4life
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taurus 357 revolver

I own a taurus from miami(made in brazil). I will never buy another one, but the one I own can be trusted even though it took some work. They can't handle the wear and tear like a s&w or ruger.. I have been shooting and had stuff just fall off...literally have to use my eyes strained and find a screw and fix. I chose dislike via experience. It is nothing personal; I just don't agree with the weapon and feel some people don't realize a better quality until they try. My taurus is the only revolver I have ever owned that was extremely picky w/the ammo too. It was locking up before I found the ammo(and grainage) that worked for it. I only feel comfortable shooting heavy grain ammo out of it. the 125gr remington(very poplular ammo) locking up the cylinder. that was ridiculous to me.
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Old September 29, 2012, 08:33 PM   #27
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I have a PT145.....love the gun. Hate the fact it won't shoot 1 magazine without jamming.
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Old September 29, 2012, 08:47 PM   #28
Tom Servo
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Quote:
Begs the questions from each member: what percentage of Taurus guns that are sold in your store have been returned?
I'll chime in: almost a third in our case. Taurus represented the majority of our returns. We returned more of them in a year's time than all other brands combined. In many cases, the guns never even got to the shelf because the problems were readily apparent upon unboxing.

We dropped the entire brand a while back. This is a sampling of the problems we had in one year:
  • A PT-1911 in 9mm, on which the barrel split after ten rounds
  • A Judge on which the grip frame was so badly bent to the left, it was pulling the sideplate loose. It was impossible to open the cylinder. I'm not sure how they test-fired it at the factory.
  • A revolver that arrived with a missing cylinder retaining screw
  • A revolver that arrived with the safety lock (do not use these on Taurus guns!) engaged, but with the lock itself stripped.
  • Revolvers that arrived with obvious timing issues. Mostly 85-series guns.
  • Revolvers that arrived with cylinder gaps so tight the cylinder couldn't rotate without grating against the forcing cone
  • Revolvers that had one or more chambers bored too loose or too tight by huge and noticeable margins. Mostly the 94-series rimfires.

Taurus isn't incapable of making a good gun. When they're right, they're great guns for the money. The problem is, every one is a gamble, and if you're unlucky, turnaround with their customer service can be arduous.

It's not bashing. Bashing would be making judgement without experience. This is simply what I had to deal with.
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Old September 29, 2012, 08:53 PM   #29
raftman
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I wouldn't say I a bash Taurus, I've 3 of their firearms and didn't like any of them enough to keep them.

TP-22 was about 99% reliable, the trigger wasn't as bad as it is often said to be, just didn't suit my tastes or fill in any needs that weren't already better-served by other firearms.

Also had a Model 85 UL revolver and thoroughly disliked it; easily the worst trigger I've ever experienced (and I've had 2 Nagant revolvers). Proved difficult to be accurate with particularly with any speed, it also fit my hand rather poorly.

Also had a Model 94 that suffered from the same terrible trigger and also proved a poor fit for my hand.
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Old September 30, 2012, 12:57 AM   #30
WoofersInc
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I have several Taurus guns. I have not had any issues that I feel I wasn't involved in. Only issue so far is with my PT92 I tried to move the rear sight myself. The rear sight is a polymer. I broke the rear sight. Other than that all of the Taurus guns I own have worked perfectly
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Old September 30, 2012, 01:23 AM   #31
LockedBreech
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I don't bash Taurus. I do have an opinion of Taurus based on firsthand experience. That opinion happens to be negative and I'll share it where it's relevant. Some consider that bashing.

If Taurus works for you, knock yourself out.
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Old September 30, 2012, 01:32 AM   #32
TennJed
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I won't bash them. 2 guns I have bought with no issues and the TCP 380 is my go to deep concealment gun. IMHO it is better than it's primarily competitors that I have had experience with (p3at, lcp, and bodyguard). Best ergos. Most accurate, best trigger, and slide lock
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Old September 30, 2012, 02:19 AM   #33
Gunnut17
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I don't bash, I just do not see myself buying a Taurus because of the horror stories I've heard.

I have a friend who hates Taurus solely because he feels that they, "steal designs and pass them off as their own." I think he is referring to the PT92 and the like.
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Old September 30, 2012, 06:17 AM   #34
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Post#21

ljnowell

Quote:
Reason #1 Taurus revolver. Ordered it special through a
dealer locally. When it came in it would not cycle properly. IN THE GUN SHOP. Right out of the box. Would not make it all the way around without locking up. Cleaned it well, it still would not. Sent it back. Came back from taurus and would cock and fire all the way around. Unfortunately now it had a .022 cylinder gap and a tremendous amount of endshake. Spit lead like nobodys business. Sent it back to taurus again. This time it took almost three months of phone calls to get it back. They sent me a new gun. I traded it in on a used smith and wesson in the dealers case for my wife as a valentines day gift. That 686 has been flawless the whole time we owned it.

Reason #2 After waiting a sufficient amount of time I thought i would try taurus again. This time I bought a pt1911, stainless. Out of the box I thought I got the best deal ever on a 1911. I shot about 200 rounds, it was flawless, accurate, great trigger, really liked it. Im a reloader so I keep track of rounds through guns, especially when new. Right around 200-250 the ambi safety fell apart. The right side fell off when firing. I figured, what the heck, just buy one and put it on, no big deal, so I did. Then at about 500 rounds, the slide lock BROKE. Complete snap. I still went ahead and bought one, since I new all about taurs customer service from my previous experience. I put it up in the safe and forgot about it for awhile. About six months later I figured I would use it in an IDPA match. Halfway though it started having FTE. I put it up and grabbed my uncles back-up gun, an old Colt. When I got home I found that the extractor had broken. Again, like the slide lock, it just snapped. I bought an extractor, fitted it, and sold the gun.

After these two experiences I will not buy a single Taurus product. Nothing. I will also advocate against it to anyone that wants my opinion.

I usually dont share this online, because everytime you talk bad about Taurus the "fanboys" (I mean NO DISRESPECT to Taurus owners, just the arrogant type) come out of the woodword to tell you how you are stupid, lying, or just dont know what you are talking about because thier cheap gun is ten times better than the quality firearm you bought.
WOW!

Thank you for taking the time to write that! You took a half hour our of my life with great pleasure.

Now, I can read the other 13 responses.
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Old September 30, 2012, 08:34 AM   #35
Microgunner
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skadoosh
Begs the questions from each member: what percentage of Taurus guns that are sold in your store have been returned?
The majority of problems I've seen with the Taurus semi-autos has been the key lock refusing to function, which is easily corrected with a minor cleaning.

We've seen several of the red cocked striker indicators of the older versions fall off. Firearm still functions fine.

I received one mod 85 revolver some years back whose charge holes were too small to accept ammo. Taurus corrected the problem promptly.

Had one auto that dropped the mag with every shot. Sent back to Taurus by the customer.

I have no idea how to calculate the percentage of returns but I'd guess it's infinitesimally small.

With thirty-three percent returns across the board I'd suspect Taurus would have long been out of business, but as we all know, they're thriving.

Maybe it's something in the air where you live Tom.
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Old September 30, 2012, 09:34 AM   #36
Hawg
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I can only base my opinion on one example. It was a pretty decent shooter and was trouble free. I'd buy another in a heartbeat if I found one I liked. Internet bashing I pay no attention to and I don't read gun rags either.
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Old September 30, 2012, 09:44 AM   #37
Redhawk5.5+P+
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#25

Apple a Day

Quote:
Experience:
1)Old model 66. Second gun I ever bought. It worked well for a few thousand rounds then went off kilter. CS stank, took forever but the revolver came back okay. I still have it.
2)Model 94. Awful. Rifling was shallow, accuracy stank. It fired but was poorly made. Traded it.
3)PT-22. It worked, ran like a clock. I sold it because I really didn't have a use for a bitty .22. I wish I'd kept it.
4)1st gen PT-111. Piece of crap. Horrible trigger. The extractor bounced out while firing. CS was horrendous and after a long wait couldn't seem to send me the right piece. Twice. I gave up, put the old extractor back with the new spring and pin, cemented it with Gun Tite. Then the retaining clip for the takedown pin broke and the pin fell out while at the range. CS was still awful, sent it back to me with a new clip but without fixing the problem to keep it from happening again. I traded it.
5)Model 85. Great gun. I gave it to my (now-) ex-sister-in-law. I miss that gun.

In short, they've been hit or miss for me. Customer support was ignorant, unhelpful, and downright unprofessional. At one point I lost my patience and told the representative to take the candy out his mouth so I could understand him over the teeth-clicking and slurping noises. I'd rather spend my money on something more reliable and with better customer support.
I asked, so I have to read every seemingly intelligent answer.

Very well put my friend.

Thank you.
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Old September 30, 2012, 10:08 AM   #38
riggins_83
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Working at a gun shop we see more issues with Taurus than anything else, period. Many customers who buy Taurus handguns buy them as a low volume shooter (I've had customers who had carried their handgun for a year and never fired it, only to find out it jammed constantly when they fired it the first time).

The workmanship is poor at best, quality control is non existent (barrels cut too long, guns that won't lock open with an empty magazine, extractor tension too tight, etc) and the overall reliability isn't great. Even saw one that new in box had a crooked cylinder which wouldn't close (would hang on the frame) when rotated in certain positions; there were file marks as though they'd attempted to fix the problem (and failed).

I've had Taurus owners talk about how they've shot a "ton of rounds" without issue only to find out they've fired a total of 300 rounds from a gun. Saying 300 rounds is high volume (without issues) is like calling a new car well built and believing 30,000 miles is high mileage.

Obviously not every Taurus is a lemon; not every Taurus is defective. I can say from about 3 years experience working at a gun store the number of issues related to Taurus and the number of major factory defects is much higher than any other brand I've dealt with.
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Old September 30, 2012, 12:21 PM   #39
Redhawk5.5+P+
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#28
Tom Servo

Noted.
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Old September 30, 2012, 06:59 PM   #40
Kreyzhorse
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I am not a basher. I do share my bad experience with Taurus and their customer service so that hopefully others don't make the same mistake.
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Old September 30, 2012, 07:12 PM   #41
CharlieDeltaJuliet
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I had a Taurus PT101 and loved it. I only parted ways with it, because my uncle wanted it. I ended up giving it to him, wow, I miss that pistol...lol
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Old September 30, 2012, 10:48 PM   #42
ljnowell
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Quote:
WOW!

Thank you for taking the time to write that! You took a half hour our of my life with great pleasure.

Now, I can read the other 13 responses.
No problem. Like I said, after being flamed by taurus fans for too long I quit giving my opinion in these kinds of threads, but it seemed you werent looking to have someone tell you WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR, you sincerely wanted to hear our experiences. See below for another that I didnt relate, since it wasnt MY gun.

A friend of mine had a PT92 that shot patterns like a shotgun. He brought it to me to check out(im "the gun guy" in my group of friends). When I examined it I noted that when fully locked, slide forward, the barrel would wobble up and down. A lot. I mean, a whole lot. You could literally wobble this thing in circles around while it was "in lock up." Never saw anything like that before, had to recomend to him that he send it back. It came back from taurus "in spec" just as loose as it went to them, only now it had a couple scratches on its finish too. He sent it back again and they sent him a new gun. He called them to ask how it was "in spec" one week and "not repairable" the next, they didnt have an answer.

Quote:
I have no idea how to calculate the percentage of returns but I'd guess it's infinitesimally small.
I would guess its not too small. It seems to me that they take the approach of "lets crank out the guns that sell, even if we know that they arent good, then we will fix them after they sell and we have a customers money." I would guess (and thats what it is, so dont ask me for numbers or to back it up) that they have at least 5 times the return rate of any other gun manufacturer, and probably 10 times. Thats my experience from hanging out in gunshops owned by two friends, owning a few of thier guns, and helping buddies who bought thier lemons.
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Old September 30, 2012, 11:22 PM   #43
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I’ve been reading a lot about Taurus lately as I’m just about to buy a brand new PT 1911. Just have to ignore the bashers who say Taurus is junk, or crap or what ever and leave it at that. There is a 1911 forum that has a bunch of sub forums dedicated to the different manufactures, and Taurus is one of them. You don’t see much Taurus bashing in that forum. It sounds like most of the issues, at least with the PT 1911, have been resolved, and the guns are now a solid investment. Still, Taurus will remain a gun people love to bash for some time to come anyway. That’s just the nature of todays forums and social networking.
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Old September 30, 2012, 11:25 PM   #44
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I have never owned a Taurus but have Friends who have had problems with them. I would not trust my life to any weapon with the reputation Taurus has among many experienced shooters.
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Old October 1, 2012, 01:47 AM   #45
youngunz4life
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wingspar, you are making a mistake in my opinion
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Old October 1, 2012, 03:08 AM   #46
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I guess myself and my dad are two of the lucky Taurus owners, I own a 454 Casull Raging Bull and my dad owns a Judge. I reload for both of them, I keep the 45 Colt loads middle of the road for the Judge. As for my Bull, I've shot light loads 240grs. all the way up to 405grs. and it handles them all.

I'm no fanboy, if you don't like Taurus that's fine its your money to do whatever you want. Me, I would buy another Taurus without worrying about it based on the two that are in the family.
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Old October 1, 2012, 10:14 AM   #47
wingspar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by youngunz4life
wingspar, you are making a mistake in my opinion
Everyone has an opinion.

I’m doing lots of research and it will just be a range gun. I’m remote with a 3 ½ hour one way drive to where I can even look at anything else, and the LGS has a new PT 1911 in stock. Taurus is a gun people love to hate. You mostly only hear about the bad ones, and not the majority of Taurus owners who have no problems.
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Old October 1, 2012, 12:51 PM   #48
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Quote:
Maybe it's something in the air where you live Tom.
It could definitely be differing circumstances. We have a range on site, so we get a really good look at relative failure rates. That can be a real eye-opener, and the data we gather from that dictates what we sell to the public.

I know a guy who runs a pawn shop and sells tons of the Bryco and Jennings pistols. He doesn't hear many complaints, but he doesn't have a clientele of active shooters like we do, so his mileage varies.
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Old October 1, 2012, 01:01 PM   #49
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Quote:
I’ve been reading a lot about Taurus lately as I’m just about to buy a brand new PT 1911. Just have to ignore the bashers who say Taurus is junk, or crap or what ever and leave it at that. There is a 1911 forum that has a bunch of sub forums dedicated to the different manufactures, and Taurus is one of them. You don’t see much Taurus bashing in that forum. It sounds like most of the issues, at least with the PT 1911, have been resolved, and the guns are now a solid investment. Still, Taurus will remain a gun people love to bash for some time to come anyway. That’s just the nature of todays forums and social networking.
Be sure and let us know how the gun is running after a few outings. I wish you the best.
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Old October 1, 2012, 02:55 PM   #50
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I didn't vote. I can't be 100% sure, though I'm 99% it was a Taurus revolver I was shooting when the barrel folowed a bullet downrange. Too many years have passed.
That said, I loved my PT22. 1" groups at 15 years, and smooth as silk. Got stolen and never recovered in a vehicle breakin.

I recently bought a TCP. Nice and smooth and will be smoother when I work on it some. I love it too, but wife decided she didn't and commendeered my G26 as hers, so now I guess I dislike them since I really loved the G26.
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