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What's the deal with Taurus handguns?

67K views 218 replies 162 participants last post by  Kilowatt3 
#1 ·
From what I have seen on this site and on other sites on the internet, it seems like most people handgun owners do not have alot of positive things to say about Taurus handguns. I know they are a Brazilian company, is it the quality, comfort, reliability that is substandard? I know they copied Beretta and the 92F. Seems like they copied Smith and Wesson in some designs as well. They sure have a huge selection of guns at reasonable prices, both revolvers and pistols. How do they stay in business in the US? Maybe they sell alot of guns in other countries? So thoughts on Taurus handguns????? Would you buy a Taurus with all the other quality manufacturers out there????
 
#2 ·
Uneven quality and unreliable service on the handguns that do go down.

I've never owned one but have been close to more than one Taurus owner who has been bedeviled with Taurus quality issues including one who had several, all of which were troublesome.

I've seen nothing in that line that I wanted to take a chance on.
 
#34 ·
Uneven quality and unreliable service on the handguns that do go down.
Yeppers! It's a hit or miss proposition - much more so than other makers. I've had more negative experience than positive with Taurus and I probably won't buy another one. If I find a great (I mean steal) deal, I might buy one to hand over when "they" knock on my door to confiscate firearms....
 
#3 ·
I believe they sell alot of guns to uninformed buyers who dont shoot regularly. I have friends who have bought a Taurus for a defense gun and think they are good to go because they now have a gun and put very few rounds through it. Taurus innovative ideas such as the Judge just add to the sales by those who dont research before they buy.

As to your last question, why take a chance when buying a gun to trust your life to. I spend a little extra for better quality, reliability and service. My money goes to Glock.
 
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#4 ·
No real Taurus experience here with the exception of a 617 that I had awhile back and have since traded. It was a 7 shot 357 mag with factory ports. I did not have any problems with it but the trigger left much to be desired. It wasn't my cuppa tea but it was serviceable. I think if you stick with Taurus revolvers and pass on their semi autos you'll have a better chance of having a decent gun.
 
#206 ·
I purchased a Taurus 605B2 .357 Mag is 2008 as a BUG for on duty carry and as an off duty weapon. NIB, it was jacked up. The cylinder turned in an oblong circle, causing case headstamps to catch on the frame and lock the gun up. It was sent back three times, each time returned saying it was repaired, when in fact it wasnt. My sister, an experienced shooter, purchased a .40 cal millennium compact for ccw / home defense. At 10 yds, it shot groups rivaled only by a shotgun, pushing 3-4 inches. I would never bet my life on a company that cannot produce consistent quality products. Spend a little more and get a weapon that you can trust.
 
#5 ·
Everyone else has pretty much summed it up. Personally, I would rather put money into something that has a better track record, and customer service. There are some people on the forum that have had zero issues with them, but there have been enough threads where people have had issues to make me shy away. I personally feel there are better options in each category that they compete in.. so I never felt compelled to seriously consider a Taurus.
 
#6 ·
I have two: a PT99 purchased in 1985 with about 8,000 rounds through it without the first bobble, and a PT140 purchased two years ago with about 1,200 rounds through it. The only problem was the mag release broke at 300 rounds and it went to Florida and back is less than a week, and has been flawless since. Both pistols handle anything I have fed them.
 
#46 ·
I have a PT99 that I bought in 1986. It has been completely flawless. I couldn't guess how many rounds have gone through it - several thousand for sure and it has never jammed, stove-piped, failed to feed, whatever. It has been a superb pistol. Another plus for this gun is the 1911 contol.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the 9mm recoil and my Taurus 99 may never get retired.
 
#7 ·
I own two of them. But I'll mirror what others have said here and that is the reliability is below that of Glock, SIG, and other expensive guns. However, their quality is much better than the "Saturday Night Specials" like Jennings, Bryco, etc.
 
#8 ·
In my opinion, they are inconsistent. My wife and I both have TCP 738s that have been flawless and were only $250 each. Conversely, I bought a PT145 .45 a while back, and it was a mess with fails-to-everything. Generally speaking, I no longer consider Taurus on my list after that one. They aren't THAT much cheaper than more proven guns typically. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a TCP based on my experiences though, if that is what floats your boat.
 
#9 ·
Taurus = junk.
I have owned several Taurus handguns over the years and never had one that was worth anything. I tried giving them the benefit of the doubt time and time again but gave up on them completely after my fourth one had problems. I also work at a local gun store and cringe every time someone asks to see a Taurus. We've had one of their PT-22s come back twice now in a two month period and I doubt if it will ever be repaired to where it functions properly.
 
#11 ·
I only have 1. The Taurus PT1911, which I carry. I have had zero problems with it that weren't my fault (faulty assembly).
It has been as reliable as my USP and I make it a point to invite those who speak ill of MY Taurus to hit the range.
I've converted 2 who have purchased their own and another one, a Kimber salesman never showed up.

Good Luck. Sam
 
#14 ·
I don't think all of their guns are junk, but definitely do your research before buying a Taurus. Make sure you get one of the "good" ones...

I generally see no point in buying most of what they have, as I can usually identify multiple options from more reliable manufacturers to buy instead (that often are the same price, or only nominally higher).
 
#15 ·
Some people have had failures and had to send them back for repairs or traded them in. A lot of the people that trash them have never owned one, just perpetuated the hate. Some know someone that had a Taurus that FTF once or some such. Others think they're awesome. Look at the comments thus far...I've never owned one, but... I've had several and they suck, I've never had problems with any of mine... Wide variety of opinions which means...decide for yourself if you want to give one a whirl and take all our opinions with a grain of salt. As for me, I have 2...a PT740 and a TCP 738. I have over a thousand rounds through both and the only single FTF was a bad round...not the gun. I also have 3 glocks...I prefer Glocks as a personal choice, but I carry my Taurus' on occasion as well and I trust them completely.
 
#131 ·
No Problems With Taurus!



I'll give a big DITTO to imjustron, seems like the rep is spread by a lot of people who've never owned a Taurus. I have six different Taurus pistols and they've all been flawless. I'll eventually get a Sig and/or a Walther probably but I'm not going to make a comment on their quality until I've actually owned and shot the weapons. I carry a Taurus 809C and I trust my life with it.
 
#16 ·
my personal experience is w/ one of their snub nose revolvers in .22LR and it has been sent back for the cylinder failing to cycle, had to open it and close it again to get it to move, multiple times a trip to the range. i sent it back and still has times when it doesn’t cycle properly. i only keep it b/c i paid around 200 for it and it makes a good little snake gun w/ some rat shot when I’m out fishing, wouldn’t kill me if it fell in.

on the other side i have a buddy who has a few of the and loves them and carries them every day and has never had a problem when he takes it out shooting.

just my 2 cents for what its worth.
 
#17 ·
I have a PT 709 Slim with over 700 rounds through it. Had 2 failure to eject the first day shooting but it has been flawless since. I like the thinner grip vs the double stack grip width of my G19 as I have somewhat small hands. Mostly, I carry the Glock for it's greater capacity but will carry the Taurus without hesitation.
 
#19 ·
I have a SS Tracker in 44. I have never had an issue and have put close to 600 rounds thru it. My brother has 24/7 Pro Millinium in 45 and has had no issues. I had it at the range over the last month feeding it everything I could find. Never had an issue and I am looking to buy one for my wife. She loved it and shoots it well.

Like other have said, you will see people say they have never owned one but then bash the product. I carry a G19/P226 and would not hesitate to carry a Taurus. I do carry my Tracker OWB in the winter. Its too big for summer carry. :embarassed:

Like any other firearm, it would get range time prior to belt time. Rent one and if it fits, buy one.
 
#20 ·
My wife and I have three Taurus revolvers, a 605, a 650, and a 66. Only the 66 has ever had any issues, and a thorough disassembly and cleaning solved that (it was purchased used). I have a friend who has two Taurus sem-autos; he has never had any problems with either one.

I have never had to send a Taurus back for service, but I have heard some people say their service is very slow (don't know if that is true or not).
 
#21 ·
"I've never owned one, but..."


Hi imjustron;

I'm one of the ones who said I've never owned one but I have had hands-on experience with the problems that others have had with Taurus guns. They were most unsatisfactory.

A local friend's Taurus Model 66 .357 had an issue with the single action sear on the hammer. One day he found the hammer wouldn't hold when he cocked it for single action shooting. I opened it up to find the entire area of the single action sear had broken off from the hammer in a fairly large chunk. He'd been leaving this revolver as a house gun for his wife when he was away on trips.

A brother-in-law's Taurus stainless steel Model 617 .357 Magnum snub was rougher than a cob when cycled and had a heavy gritty trigger pull. It would almost catch and bind mid-cycle when used in double-action mode. He got it to smooth up a little with the simple expedient of cycling it endless times on a weekend while watching TV. It smoothed up to some extent but never became entirely satisfactory, especially when cycling the revolver double-action.

Same brother-in-law's Taurus PT1911 does work but is rough and noticeably less accurate than other 1911s that both he and I have. Trigger pull is ragged.

Same brother-in-law had a Taurus Model 94 .22 snub revolver that had a really crummy trigger pull when used in single-mode and had cylinder indexing problems when fired double-action. The revolver spit particles to the point that it was unpleasant to shoot. Accuracy was dismal.

Same brother-in-law had become disenchanted with Taurus and swore off of them but then got excited about a Taurus Model 431 .44 Special. I was along when he shot it the first time. When fired double-action the cylinder would bind to the point of tying up the revolver at least once per cylinder-full of ammunition shot. Since we were out in the middle of nowhere in a remote part of Texas and wanted to fix it to shoot, we tore it down. Turned out the hand was bent. This was a new gun by the way. We carefully straightened the hand and gained reliable function while at the kitchen table in the cabin. It failed again however when we sashayed outside to give it a test-shoot. In short order it began hanging up again. Seems the hand was bent again. The hand was too soft and would have never been serviceable until it was properly heat-treated. After dallying with it for too long, Taurus fixed it after a fashion and he swapped it away.

All the handguns mentioned above were new purchases.

These are only the more recent instances of my observations of Taurus "quality." I have more examples. In my own opinion Taurus guns have not performed well enough to avoid being trashed by folks.

A used 20 year old to 80 year old Smith & Wesson revolver of a type that most closely corresponds to the model of Taurus desired would be a better acquisition in my view.
 
#22 ·
I have 2 revolvers and 3 semi-autos and have not had any problems with them. Have not shot a gazilyon rounds thru them, but so far they work fine. To make a case for Taurus, their not a real high priced firearm, and as a general rule they are a good product. If you want a top of the line firearm, be prepared to spend more money, and even then you could still have problems. As long as the maker or dealer stand behind their product there should be no big problem.
 
#23 ·
I have several Taurus pistols, 2 of them are rotated around and carried almost daily. They have been nothing but reliable through thousands and thousands of rounds. They are a PT111 and a 24/7 DS in 9mm.

Has Taurus has some problems with some of their products, apparently so. But I can't say anything bad about the ones I have.

I do think that some of the problems associated with Taurus or other pistols for that matter are not necessarily the pistol but the shooters. New shooters might tend to look at the lower priced products when they are getting started. This lack of knowledge or lack of experience with guns might result in those products having more "issues". But some of the "issues" might have been the operator and not the equipment.
 
#24 ·
I have owned there Taurus revolvers, and have only kept one due to poor quality of fit and finish, as well as functionality. Taurus makes all of their guns and parts in house with their own built C&C machines... you would think their quality control would be a little better. I wanted to love the model 94 in 22lr, but would not fire after 50 rounds or so... the cylinder would bind up so bad you could pull the trigger any longer.

I have attached a pic of the Taurus that i did keep... it has been flawless for about 500 rounds now... shot mostly with 38 special loads, but did put some light 357 magnums downrange. It handles well, feel good in the hand, and has a very smooth trigger. Good luck. I am sick of drinking lemonade from Taurus from all the new lemons i have purchased. Bunker
 

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#25 ·
Taurus could be a decent contender in the serious pistol market if they would just pick say 5 to 10 models and really hone in on those. They have chosen quantity over quality.

They do have some interesting and even neat designs and ideas, but it always seems as if they are a juggler with far to many balls in the air.
 
#28 ·
I do think that the fact they try to do so much "new" causes some of their issues.

Not bashing them, but when Glock stepped up and put out Gen 4 it had issues. Think what itwould be if Glock put out 4 or 5 different models every year or two.
 
#26 ·
I have seen many with problems, including a PT22 with an off center barrel that keyholed like mad and was visibly wrong. I have seen a lot of problems with the small autos. I once had a snub as a rental with the word "magnum" on the barrel misspelled. I would have kept it but the forcing cone cracked. I have seen several revolvers with screws or ejector rods that constantly back out.

But.. One if their .22mag revolvers we rent is super accurate, and one of their stainless .22lr revolvers is the longest lasting .22 rental we have had so far. The old 92s work great in every example I've ever shot, and a former employee had a 1911 that we customized with some aftermarket parts and it turned out to be a good base gun.

Bottom line, too inconsistant to trust if you can afford better, but serviceable in some versions.
 
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