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View Poll Results: actual experience with taurus
Never owned one, but would if the right deal came along 42 11.76%
never owned one and never will 22 6.16%
owed/still own taurus handguns with no issues 198 55.46%
owned/still own taurus hanguns with problems 95 26.61%
Voters: 357. You may not vote on this poll

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Old February 4, 2013, 11:10 AM   #26
lee n. field
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Owned two. Still own one.

Model 66, developed a problem after about a decade of ownership. Back to Taurus, got fixed. Next time it happened, I bought a couple spares of the part (revolver firing pin spring) and fixed it myself. (Buying these was a notable customer service saga by itself. This would be around 2002.) It wouldn't stay fixed, and I had by that time an equivalent S&W which the Taurus was not the equal of, so it became trade fodder, and went away.

Model 605. No problems so far, that I haven't been the cause of. As far as I can tell right now, it's staying, unless I can trade it towards an upgrade.
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Old February 4, 2013, 11:49 AM   #27
Hal
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Quote:
The taurus bashing by people who have not first hand expeirence kind of gets old
I shot 50 rounds through a Taurus revolver once.
I had to use it to qualify for an armed security position.

It didn't perform nearly as well for me as a S&W.
I'm used to all my shots going into the X.

So..
I don't and won't use one if I can avoid it.
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Old February 4, 2013, 12:08 PM   #28
aarondhgraham
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Purchased two revolvers new:
  • Taurus stainless 6" 970 Tracker in .22 LR.
  • Cylinder spun freely out of the box,,,
  • Sent to Taurus and received barely turning cylinder.
  • Taurus blue 4" 990 Tracker in .22 LR.
  • Cylinder would freeze up after a half a box of ammo,,,
  • Sent to Taurus and received no improvement.

Purchased a .22-PLY and a 25-PLY new through Buds,,,
  • Never had a problem with either of these two guns.
  • The .25 doesn't get shot very much,,,
  • The .22 is a solid performer.

My statement to people who are considering a Taurus is this:
  • Check out the gun very carefully before signing the check,,,
  • If you get a good one from their factory it will probably be good forever,,,
  • If you get a bad one from the factory it's anyone's guess whether they will ever fix it properly.

That's my experience,,,
Your experience might be different.

Aarond

.
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Old February 4, 2013, 12:17 PM   #29
qqq1
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I understand that any manufacturer could have a bad gun come off the line but Taurus could never get mine fixed. Sent the thing in about 6 times if I recall, each time it came back saying completely fixed, working great, fully tested. Never worked after repairs. One time it even fell apart when I picked it up out of the box after getting it back. Any time I called and argued to talk to a manager I was dumped into a no name voice mail and never got called back. I finally made a very detailed complaint to the BBB documenting all the return trips, all the notes saying it was perfect, and how it never worked. On the last day to answer the BBB complaint Taurus told me they would give me a refund like I had asked.
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Old February 4, 2013, 01:01 PM   #30
dopar66
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Had a tracker in 357, very accurate, no problems. Recently traded for a 3-screw Blackhawk 357.
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Old February 4, 2013, 01:23 PM   #31
eldermike
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I have a PT99 that has become the gun I lend to others when I take somoene new to the range. It has never failed to load or shoot a single round in the years I have owned it.
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Old February 4, 2013, 01:36 PM   #32
bird_dog
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I have multiples. No problems. Guns of every other make have come & gone, but I've not traded in a single Taurus:

M44 -- 6 inch 44 mag -- has accounted for several deer. Excellent, durable, and highly accurate gun. My other deer hunting gun is a SRH, and it gets far less field time because the Taurus is older, and has my full faith & trust. Topped with red-dot scope, I'm good to 100 yards with it. It's better than that -- I'm not.

651B -- snubby 357 mag. Small, zero profile hammer. Totally reliable and pretty good (as good as any snubby) in the accuracy department. Very easy to conceal and frequent all-season carry gun.

Tracker 44. New to the fold. Highly accurate, light, and fun to shoot with my moderate 44mag handloads. Fullblown deer loads are another story -- they will definitely wake you up -- but this is a bear-protection gun, and I'm not going to be shooting full house loads all day long with it.

Tracker 22 (7-shot Model 970, not the newer 9-shot 992). Topped with a red-dot scope, super accurate at 50 yards, and a lot of fun to shoot. 7 shots, totally dependable.

Maybe I'm just lucky. I have equal numbers of other brands in the safe, but don't feel like I'm taking out the "cheap gun" when I take out one of the Taurus guns. Again, for deer hunting, I completely rely on the M44. For carry, I trust my life to the 651. And these are not safe-queens, especially the M44 and the 651. I shoot the hell out of them, thousands of rounds through the M44, and they've held up (including the blued finishes) beautifully.
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Old February 4, 2013, 02:03 PM   #33
dalegribble
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i have owned taurus handguns for years, 3 revolvers and 4 semi autos. as i said i have had taurus guns for years and never had a single problem with any of them. my next handgun will be a taurus 22/22mag revolver.
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Old February 4, 2013, 02:21 PM   #34
Adamantium
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I owned a Taurus 94 for a couple years. Shot about 2000 rounds through it no problem and ended up selling it because I wasn't shooting it very much anymore.

I currently own a PT99, shot about 3000 rounds through it, great gun. It is currently lent out to my ex-gf because she is getting threats from some freak. That's about as good of an endorsement as a gun can get.

I also bought a PT709 for my ex-wife while she was thinking about getting a CHL. She never did so I ended up selling it. It only got shot 200 times or so but was a good gun during that brief time as well.
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Old February 4, 2013, 04:33 PM   #35
Redhawk5.5+P+
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Quote:
Glock bashers are far and few between the Taurus bashers. Besides, Glocks are used my LEO's in America and other parts of the world. Can Taurus say that?
But still 9 mil (AKA 9mm), boy, my point is solid.

I was kind of believing Glock haters even before I shot one, but when they first came out, I thought it was the most awesome (9mm G17) handgun on the planet earth.

Enough said, My G20 6.61" + Comp well rock your World, to heck with the rest, it's just about the badest 10mm money can buy if not the....
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Old February 4, 2013, 05:24 PM   #36
FrankenMauser
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Quote:
Originally Posted by James K
To be fair, FrankenMauser, what has your experience been that you make those comments?
A) It was a question, not a statement. What's the point of only asking people that own them and like them, or people that have never owned one? The people that have owned (or still own) a Taurus, but didn't like them, is a pretty sizable group of people to be ignoring. But... ignorance is bliss.

B) More than half a dozen firearms, that I have owned or been directly involved with.
For starters -
A .357 revolver that blew its barrel off with the first shot. (It had been over-torqued and cracked at the factory.)
A .38 Special revolver that unscrewed its barrel with 4 shots fired. (Under-torqued.)
A .357 revolver that had its timing so far off, it was striking the extreme edge of the cartridge primers and splitting bullets on the forcing cone. (Complete lack of quality control.)
A PT-138 that might let you get 2 shots off, before jamming, if you were very lucky - and that was only when light firing pin strikes were letting it fire at all. (Stupid design, and no quality control.)
A post-Taurus Rossi 62 "Gallery" that A) would barely feed and never eject, and B) fired any time the action closed. (Cheap parts, and no quality control. Before Rossi was eaten by Taurus, the 62s were good rifles.)

Out of just those 5, four of them had serious safety issues.
And, of course, their "customer service" is an absolute joke.

One of the above posters covered their repairs well...
"If you get a bad one from the factory it's anyone's guess whether they will ever fix it properly."
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Last edited by FrankenMauser; February 4, 2013 at 05:29 PM.
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Old February 4, 2013, 05:35 PM   #37
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4 years over 5000 rounds and still clicking along like new.
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Old February 4, 2013, 05:39 PM   #38
patriotic
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My experiences and my opinion on why there are Taurus bashers especially the PT1911 is because of jealousy. When you pay about $700 for a PT1911 with features other manufactures charge extra for and the pistol performs just as well as 1911’s costing 2 to 3 times more it is a tough pill to swallow. Then there are those “Top of the Line” 1911s that you must shoot 500 or so rounds just to have them work correctly or pay extra for a guaranteed accuracy that cannot be proven and compare them against this $700 Brazilian pistol that works like a charm right out of the box. Sure there have been issues with the PT1911 just like every other manufacturer of 1911s. I hear bashers say it doesn’t cost enough to be a good gun but the cost is in the labor and the cost of the parts you must buy from a third party. If you make all of your own parts, use machines (CNC) that you make yourself to cut down human labor cost sure you can make a better gun for less. What would you say if I told you your Colt, Springfield, Kimber and Smith & Wesson had Taurus MIM parts?
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Old February 4, 2013, 05:42 PM   #39
TennJed
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenMauser View Post
A) It was a question, not a statement. What's the point of only asking people that own them and like them, or people that have never owned one? The people that have owned (or still own) a Taurus, but didn't like them, is a pretty sizable group of people to be ignoring. But... ignorance is bliss.

B) More than half a dozen firearms, that I have owned or been directly involved with.
For starters -
A .357 revolver that blew its barrel off with the first shot. (It had been over-torqued and cracked at the factory.)
A .38 Special revolver that unscrewed its barrel with 4 shots fired. (Under-torqued.)
A .357 revolver that had its timing so far off, it was striking the extreme edge of the cartridge primers and splitting bullets on the forcing cone. (Complete lack of quality control.)
A PT-138 that might let you get 2 shots off, before jamming, if you were very lucky - and that was only when light firing pin strikes were letting it fire at all. (Stupid design, and no quality control.)
A post-Taurus Rossi 62 "Gallery" that A) would barely feed and never eject, and B) fired any time the action closed. (Cheap parts, and no quality control. Before Rossi was eaten by Taurus, the 62s were good rifles.)

Out of just those 5, four of them had serious safety issues.
And, of course, their "customer service" is an absolute joke.

One of the above posters covered their repairs well...
"If you get a bad one from the factory it's anyone's guess whether they will ever fix it properly."
Not sure why you think I am ignoring anyone. I am neither a fanboy or a basher. I have had limited experience with them and wanted to see how the poll numbers shook out with people tha have owned them and had problems vs no problem. You can obviously choose the option for owned with problems. If you notice there is no option for love them either. I guess by your reasoning I have ignored that large group of people. Your "ignorance is bliss" comment is misguided.

I am simply looking for numbers on how many people have owned and had problems vs no problem. The people like yourself that hate them can feel right at home on the last option.
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Old February 4, 2013, 05:52 PM   #40
RamItOne
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Of course they do make guns that function well, if all they ever made were guns that didnt perform well they would not still be in business. however one company can have more QC issues than another companies.
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Old February 4, 2013, 05:58 PM   #41
LockedBreech
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Quote:
Originally Posted by patriotic View Post
My experiences and my opinion on why there are Taurus bashers especially the PT1911 is because of jealousy. When you pay about $700 for a PT1911 with features other manufactures charge extra for and the pistol performs just as well as 1911’s costing 2 to 3 times more it is a tough pill to swallow. Then there are those “Top of the Line” 1911s that you must shoot 500 or so rounds just to have them work correctly or pay extra for a guaranteed accuracy that cannot be proven and compare them against this $700 Brazilian pistol that works like a charm right out of the box. Sure there have been issues with the PT1911 just like every other manufacturer of 1911s. I hear bashers say it doesn’t cost enough to be a good gun but the cost is in the labor and the cost of the parts you must buy from a third party. If you make all of your own parts, use machines (CNC) that you make yourself to cut down human labor cost sure you can make a better gun for less. What would you say if I told you your Colt, Springfield, Kimber and Smith & Wesson had Taurus MIM parts?
Just jealousy at the low price / high quality? Then how do you explain the almost universally positive reputation of $400 Rock Island Armory 1911s, even by folks that own much more expensive 1911s?

My brother and dad owned three Tauri between them. The two autos were a 9mm and a .40. Terrible. One choked all the time and the other actually had pieces fall off at the range. The wheel was an M85 and locked solid.

I can't stand Taurus not because of jealousy, but because they could have gotten a family member killed :-/

There is no conspiracy against Taurus. They're not hated to be hated. They have earned their reputation as a hit-or-miss, middling quality brand. Some are great. A lot aren't.

Last edited by LockedBreech; February 4, 2013 at 06:35 PM.
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Old February 4, 2013, 06:25 PM   #42
MLeake
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I am frequently amazed by the number of Taurus people who insist this is about the low price of their guns, and the owners of expensive guns just looking down their noses at them.

I have owned a Novak custom, and own a Baer and a Hunter Custom at present.

I have also owned guns bought for a whole lot less, in a similar price range with comparable Taurus products (Beretta PX4 - $400ish; FNX pistols - also $400ish; used S&W - high $300s; new S&W 442 - $350).

If I can find a gun I like at a lower price, I'll pounce on it quite happily. I wish I had a better opinion of Taurus, because I think a 9mm J-frame sized revolver would be very good to have, and they have the only one of those currently on the market.

It isn't a snobbery issue, it's having seen, first-hand (though I did not OWN them), Taurus revolvers that arrived NIB with binding cylinders or very bad timing, or cylinder alignment that was obviously not parallel to the barrel. We are talking errors that could be seen without even picking the gun up from the shelf, in a couple cases.

Does that mean that ALL, or even MOST Taurus guns will come like that? Of course not. If just means that having seen them, myself, I have no trouble believing the posters on TFL who describe having purchased such guns - though I do think some of them should have done better inspections prior to the purchase.

Having heard from a gun shop owner and a gun shop manager (both of whom I know, and one of whom is a long-time TFL member) about repeated problems with shipping, turnaround times, and communications issues with Taurus CS for their problem NIB guns, I have no trouble believing the posters on TFL who describe having had such problems.

It isn't about the lower cost. As another poster mentioned, RIA has a good reputation, and those guns are not exactly expensive.
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Old February 4, 2013, 07:09 PM   #43
bonefamily
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My wife had a PLY-25 .25 acp. She discovered that she does not like DAO triggers so traded it in for a Bersa. However, the gun functioned perfectly the time we had it - approx. 100 rounds.
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Old February 4, 2013, 08:31 PM   #44
LeadFistExpress
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No Problems with Mine

I have owned two Taurus .38 revolvers. I still own one and both shot fine. I never had any issues with them.
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Old February 4, 2013, 08:45 PM   #45
wrightme43
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I have enjoyed both that I have had. My dad likes all of his as well. I have just never had a problem with any of them. The only gun I have had a problem with was a Ruger .22. Sold it. I still bought a Ruger Scout rifle. Crap happens. Things break.
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Old February 4, 2013, 08:51 PM   #46
Justice06RR
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I've only owned 2 semiauto Taurus pistols, both were flawless in my experience. One new 709Slim and a used 740Slim, both were pocket carried.
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Old February 4, 2013, 09:32 PM   #47
Hansam
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I've owned several Taurus handguns.

.44mag Tracker
.44mag Raging Bull

a few PT1911s

PT1911AR

PT92

.17HMR Tracker

TCP

Millennium 45

Of all of those I had a broken extractor in the PT1911AR and the Millennium 45 kept failing to feed. The other guns functioned flawlessly and the only thing I could complain about some of them was a horribly gritty trigger pull.

I still have the PT1911AR - its no longer stock and I've replaced the extractor, firing pin, recoil spring and barrel bushing (not with Taurus parts - mostly Wilson Combat parts) but it is now functioning flawlessly and shoots extremely accurately.

Over all I've had good experiences with the company although their customer service is horrible. Would I buy another Taurus? Probably although I'd stick with their revolvers as they seem to be better in the way of QC and finish from my experience. Would I suggest Taurus for another person? Probably not since for the same or just a little more money better guns can be found ie. Ruger.
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Old February 4, 2013, 09:40 PM   #48
31kilo
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709 slim, not reliable for ccw, 94 no problems.
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Old February 4, 2013, 10:14 PM   #49
weblance
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I have 3, a 905 revolver(perfect) a POLY PT-22(perfect) and a Model 94(issues) Here is a picture of the machining, new out of the box. The cylinder shaves lead badily. I have since smoothed it with a stainless tornado brush, and its much better. The dealer I ordered it from refused to send it back to the distributor, and recommended I sent it to Taurus. I didnt, and haven't been in his shop since.

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Old February 4, 2013, 10:39 PM   #50
Valerko
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Considering Taurus is owner of Remington and probably more US gun makers , you should look at whoooole thing differently now.
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