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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 October 1, 2012, 04:10 PM   #51
youngunz4life
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Quote:
Taurus is a gun people love to hate
Wingspar, I have to agree w/your post. Well said. What I like about this thread is the 'experience' factor though...many taurus threads don't mention that. I do Not love to hate taurus. In fact i didn't listen because the collector in me likes to try different brands(like own a ruger, S&W, taurus, etc). I do not own two firearms from the same manufacturer. Multpile things that happened to me were confirmed by other members as happening to them too. I was actually pretty shocked when this stuff was happening. It isn't a good feeling. I have learned a lot from this thread.

all the best
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Old October 1, 2012, 04:25 PM   #52
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Read about way too many problems to ever buy one new, I'm simply not going to take the chance.
Now having said that...if I had a friend with one I liked for sale and knew it was good to go and had a little range time with it beforehand I'd buy it. I'm not a basher, but I'm not about to ignore the experiences many people have had either. No manufacturer is ever going to 100% on quality control, but I'd buy a S&W and Ruger on faith and the Taurus I'd have to try out first.
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Old October 1, 2012, 04:30 PM   #53
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I think the poll is too broad and should be focused on specific models.

I had a PT92 FS for a short time. A great shooting pistol that never jammed. I put about 500 rounds through it in a couple of months. Love that 5" barrel.

I only paid $435 including tax. In my opinion it is the best value for a full sized 9mm. I liked shooting it, but I traded it away because it was too much work to get to the firing pin and extractor. But that's because it's a Beretta design.
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Old October 1, 2012, 07:59 PM   #54
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Quote:
It sounds like most of the issues, at least with the PT 1911, have been resolved, and the guns are now a solid investment.
Most modern guns are not considered good investments yet some makers produce guns that retain more of their original value than others. Taurus is not one of them.
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Old October 1, 2012, 08:07 PM   #55
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Only have one, Raging Bull .454 and never had a problem with it other than felt recoil.
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Old October 1, 2012, 08:18 PM   #56
rickyjames
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i have bought 3 taurus revolvers and 5 semi autos and have never had a single problem with any of these handguns. they are as reliable as any other brand name i own and as accurate too. all my taurus guns were bought new in box and i still have all i bought.
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Old October 1, 2012, 08:35 PM   #57
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Only experience I have is of an old stainless M85 my mom gave me. Reliable, comfortable, great trigger.

Threads like this and other internet chatter have lead me astray from every considering a different one. Sad, but true.
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Old October 3, 2012, 05:32 AM   #58
Redhawk5.5+P+
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OP

I seen and heard enough from people working at the range and reading first and second hand expedience's on the net. I'm sure some my have been BS, but not enough to change may mind about Taurus.

TBS, my first revolve was a Taurus, a model 608 large frame 8 shot .357 5" barrel.
It performs very impressively, I'd put around 3000 mostly hot factory .357 rounds with some .38s in the mix. Never ever a flaw. I had a lot of people shoot it, all, all were rather impressed, I sold it to my brothers with faith

All TBS, I never heard of a 608 Taurus problem yet, but that's not a high selling gun. Maybe that's good, there not trying to pump out 10,000 of them a day maybe like a 605 or 85.
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Old October 3, 2012, 06:00 AM   #59
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The ones I had worked fine.
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Old October 3, 2012, 06:16 AM   #60
MLeake
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With regard to the air at Tom Servo's location...

1) I've seen some of the problem Tauri he was talking about. He has shown me a few of them, while we were discussing threads like this.

2) I used to live near his LGS, and I've put in a lot of hours at the range he mentioned. I don't remember ever having that range to myself. They have a high volume of shooters; they have an extensive rental shelf, and they rent a lot of guns.

3) I've had a lot of friends who were Taurus owners. They were Taurus owners primarily because they did not have much of a shooting budget; not only did they want an inexpensive gun, but like Tom speculated, they did not shoot much. I would guess I shoot more in a month than most of them shoot in a year (or two, or three). What they consider a high round count is very different from what I would consider a high round count (but a normal shooting session for me is typically 150-200 rounds per gun I decide to shoot).

Of those friends of mine who have owned Taurus, a good percentage have had problems. Between them, and the bad NIB guns that Tom has shown me, I don't plan on gaining first-hand knowledge of the brand.

I also wouldn't buy an '80s vintage FIAT Spyder, though I haven't owned one. I try to learn from the experiences of others, and don't feel any compulsion to prove that things are problem children.

Some people like to find out for themselves, I guess.
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Old October 3, 2012, 06:51 PM   #61
Gaerek
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My problem with Taurus is that they seem to be inconsistent. Not going to get into everything I've shot, or seen shot, but sometimes they make a gun that works great, other times, it'd be better used as a doorstop. Case in point, the Taurus 1911, straight out of the box, that would FTE about every 8-16 shots...no matter who shot it, and how they shot it. I watched (and shot 8 rounds myself with an FTE) 5 other experienced shooters put 1-2 mags through it, and every single one got an FTE.

I'm sure it's just a problem with the ejector and any gunsmith worth his salt could probably fix it, but from that point on, gave me a bad taste in my mouth for Taurus products. I won't buy one, and I certainly wouldn't trust my life to one.
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Old October 3, 2012, 07:44 PM   #62
leadchucker
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I own an often bashed Taurus firearm. A judge. I bought it for my wife to keep next to her at night when I'm out of town. It's one of the few handguns I own that she can shoot competently. No complaints at all about its quality. It's a good little gun.

Never owned any autos, or had to deal with Taurus over any warranty issues, so I can't comment on that.
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Old October 3, 2012, 07:50 PM   #63
krunchnik
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I like,currently own a m627 and a m921 both Tracker models,one in 22 Mag and the other in .357 Mag.No problems at all.Several hundred rounds thru them both.My son has a PT92 and another semi-auto in 9mm,both of his have been trouble free also.
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Old October 3, 2012, 09:27 PM   #64
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There should have been an I don't care choice.
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Old October 3, 2012, 09:34 PM   #65
langenc
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I didnt vote. No response to fit my situation.

I have only seen a couple other than the gunshop. No one ever brought one to Tue nigh 'pistol night'. Never fired one.

All I know is that some posters have trouble w/ customer service for that company..
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Old October 3, 2012, 10:14 PM   #66
StainlessSteel215
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I qualify myself as MORE than eligible to post in this thread.....because Ive experienced both sides of this coin in both semi auto and revolver...

But before I post, these are my personal opinions and EVERYONE is going to experience a lemon or two here and there. It happens. Its when multiple lemons consistently coming off an assembly line that's the real issue. So...with that said...

1) My first revolver was a Taurus Ultra Light 357 mag. 2" snubby. All I can say is I shot multiple ammo, multiple grains and round types.....and that gun fired dead on with ZERO wiggle in the cylinder gap when you set it in place. When I sold it it fired just as good before I put 2000 rounds through it. It was a truly amazing gun and very well built.

2) My 2nd Taurus just 2 years ago was a brand new Taurus model 66 in 357 mag...the full size 6" barrel. When I first bought it...it was big, controllable, light, crisp and tight as hell. ZERO wiggle in the cylinder gap once the cylinder was set in place. Then.....not long after I bought it and got about 300 rounds in it.... lead shavings began appearing because the cylnder got mushy and has at least a full millimeter of play. Well, by the time I approached about 600 rounds it was not cycling when I pulled the hammer back. Got hung up on the same 2 cylinder chambers each time. When I went to sell it...the Smith told me this was a troubling trend he saw with similar Taurus models.

3) Now...as of just a month ago I decided to give Taurus one last chance and picked up the PT809 semi auto 9mm at a GREAT sale price (around $350). Well...I am here to report that thig gun is quickly becoming my favorite full size 9mm range gun that I have EVER owned. The trigger alone makes it worth it. Clean crisp break and reset....smooth pull....the whole works. So far Im up to 500 rounds of 115gr ball ammo and not a single hiccup...nothign but tight groups and consistent ejections & feeding. I SERIOUSLY GIVE THIS GUN 5 STARS!

So...only time will tell and we shall see. This gun will be my make it or break it as far as Taurus is concerned. I even did a quick video review on it in my sig...nothing fancy but exposes the gun for everything it's worth. Ill do a range trip soon and try to tape it.
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Old October 3, 2012, 10:37 PM   #67
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Taurus's "exploding watermellons in the dark parking garage" ad vid for the Taurus Judge rubbed me the wong way: they touted the Judge as the Bee's Knees for self defense, when in fact there are much better choices, both for terminal ballistics and size/weight of gun..... they targeted that ad at the the "ballistic innumerati", counting on exploding watermellons to sell their cheap guns..... and it worked. The fact that they got voted "Handgun of the Year" by a major gunrag ... when the gun itself was nothing more than a reheated novelty, but the ad campaign was ..... very successful.... still turns my stomach to this day: somewhere, someday there is going to be somebody that gets killed trying to stop a determined crankhead with an underpowered 1/2 ounce load of birdshot...... they are going to be just perplexed as to why this methhead is beating them to death with their own gun when they put two (TWO!!!!!!1111111!!!) shots to CoM and that dude's chest did NOT fly apart like those watermellons on Youtube .....
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Old October 3, 2012, 11:25 PM   #68
Gaerek
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I will give Taurus one thing...they know how to sell a gun. People who don't know guns who see a Judge ad on TV or see an ad in a magazine think, "Wow! I can shoot shotgun shells out of that thing?! That's amazing!!!" People who do know guns see it for what it is...a novelty. Really, about the best thing the can be used for is as a snake gun, and I'd personally prefer to use .45 birdshot instead.
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Old October 4, 2012, 12:04 AM   #69
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I don't bash Taurus because I haven't owned one yet. Would I buy one? Probably, if it fit my parameters. If I wanted a .410 nightstand gun, I'd look for a Governor, but if a new Judge were half the price, I'd probably buy it instead. Why? Because the number of times I am likely to fire that particular gun is very, very little, so I don't care if it is good for 2,000 rounds at any number of minutes of angle.

One of my favorite Flintstones guns is a Llama IXA .45ACP. It rattles like a martini shaker. Take it apart and it looks like it was carved with a hand chisel. But it feeds everything, reliably, and is amazingly and consistently accurate (not to Gold Cup standards, of course) relative to its construction. And it is still going strong after forty years - I would bet my life on it.

IMO, judgments about firearms ought to be relevant to their use - the number of rounds expected to be fired through them and the degree of accuracy expected as of the day of purchase, measured against the price paid and the competition.
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Old October 4, 2012, 03:06 PM   #70
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I put dislike, from outside experience. There are three elderly gentlemen who are members at my gun club. They shared with me that the reason they only own Taurus is because they've each had some kind of issue, and they simply mailed the guns back and gotten new ones. For one of them, who owns approx. 6 Taurus pistols and revolvers, this had happened three times. they rationalized this as "it's like getting a free upgrade to a new pistol after you've used it a bunch". I only own handguns for self defense (home and carry) so I'm primarily more concerned with reliability.
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Old October 5, 2012, 07:29 AM   #71
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I don't bash Taurus, but I go into a Taurus purchase with the thought that it will be a 50/50 chance I will end up with a lemon.

That being said, I only have one, a TCP. I really like that gun, it has been flawless an I liked it better then all the other offerings in that category (LCP, Kel Tecs and what not). I got it as part of a trade and I don't think I would outright purchase another Taurus.

Life is too short and money too hard to come by for me to take a gamble on a gun like that. Especially when there are so many different offerings by other more reliable makers. Generally speaking, if you just save up a little more you can get the better manufacturers gun anyways.
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Old October 5, 2012, 02:44 PM   #72
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I don't bash them, but...

I will never buy one. Not worth the gamble IMO. I'd always be afraid of a catastrophic failure........at the worst possible time.
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Old October 5, 2012, 03:42 PM   #73
Pond, James Pond
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I will never buy one. Not worth the gamble IMO. I'd always be afraid of a catastrophic failure........
Same for me really. As it happens, Taurus revolvers are quite plentiful over here: about the only revolver sold that is not something viewed as exclusive.

However, no simply courier job to the factory if it goes wrong here, so I would not buy one.

I try not to be overly influenced by what I read, but I've read enough to make me think twice and thrice...
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Old October 5, 2012, 07:52 PM   #74
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I've had three, one 44 special and two 45 autos. They were all purchased new and never gave me any problems. The stainless steel wheelgun was traded in on a XD45, and I thought I received a very fair allowance for it. I've had a few problems/recalls with Ruger over the years, but considering how many I've owned, I'm not going to bad mouth them either. As far as being angry at misleading tv spots, don't you dare turn on your set until after the election. Both parties love to twist words and misquote facts to the point of absurdity.
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Old October 7, 2012, 03:53 PM   #75
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Well, I had a Taurus TCP 380 come back yesterday.

The buyer bought it last week and this week the slide refuses to retract, no matter how much you fiddle with the key lock and such. It's hung up proper.

Going back to Taurus for repair.

This is a rare instance for us and we sell quite a few Tauri.
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