Taurus vs S&W Pocket Revolvers

[steelmover]

I am very interested in purchasing a small snub nosed revolver for pocket carry. How does the taurus compare to the S&W other than price. I currently carry a Springfield XD Compact .45 with a galco inside the waistband holster. I am in the car alot and it is a real pain.
Thanks for your help.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[pogo2]

In general, the quality and functioning of S&W revolvers is much better than that of Taurus. If they were priced the same, nobody would buy Taurus and S&W would have the entire market.

[P95Carry]

I cannot speak for the lightweights but - my first carry gun was a Taurus M85 snub, all steel. That gun was flawless for function and served me well for all the months I carried it. I would still trust it.

On balance I would choose a Smith if financing no problem - but a good Taurus is still worth considering. I say ''good'' because IMO some lemons do show up - but when you get a good one they should do fine.

[pgrass101]

I carry a Taurus 605 everyday and it is a solid gun.

I would call a new Taurus even with a new S&W. Taurus did have a habit about producing some lemons in the past, but I believe that is cleared up now.

Taurus does have a good rep for customer service and replaceing guns when it is required.

If buying a used gun I would go with S&W because their quality was actually better than it is now (IMO).

[kansas_plainsman]

Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. S&W comes with one of the best customer service departments around. Their guns will usually be excellent right out of the box.

BUT,

It's common on the boards to see Taurus trashed. Years ago they may have deserved it; that's where much of the conventional wisdom got started. These days, Taurus has stepped up, and is a maker of good quality guns. Their customer service is as good as most gun makers. Taurus also has a lifetime-of-gun warranty.

Their guns will usually be quite good right out of the box.

And they will usually cost a third less than a similar S&W model.

Buy either one depending on your priorities - I own both brands - most likely you'll be happy with it whatever you decide.

[craze]

I'm going to cast my vote for S&W. I don't own a Taurus and never have, but the couple of people I know that actually own a Taurus snub seen to like them and have had no problems with them. For me when I think of a snub nosed revolver I think S&W j frame. Kind of like when some people think of a "real" motorcycle they think Harley Davidson. When I bought my snub I wanted a "real" snub and sprung for the 642. In reality a Taurus would probably serve me just as well. As stated above, just a matter of personal preference.

[cockedlocked01]

It all depends on your priorities. If $ is a top consideration, the new Taurus's are fine. If it isn't an issue, S&W J-frames are the standard that all the other snub-nosed revolvers are compared to.

If at all possible, see if you can try out what you want to buy (Borrow or rent) first. That'll probably answer your question. Since both manufacturers have good customer relations, if there was a problem, it won't be for long.

[freetrapper]

I have a Taurus 85 (steel version) and have run hundreds and hundreds of rounds through it and never had a complaint. I also have a Taurus 65 in .357 that has been flawless with even more rounds ran through it.

Other than some of their early guns I think they are a very solid gun with great customer service and they get a very undeserved bad rap.

[fed_wif_a_sig]

I've owned both, but just never felt truly comfortable with a Taurus. Dont know why but just never felt the same. I know that the Taurus held up and shot well, but since them days, I'm down to two revolvers and my lil Smith just wont be replaced anyday soon. It has been modified to how I like it and carried in an ankle rig as a back up for almost 15 years. That is just less than I've been married and the Smith has given me a lot less problems (ok I'm glad momma dont read these here forums).

[plblark]

I own a Taurus 85 Ultralite in Stainless Steel and like it. It's a great gun for the money and when I bought it, Money was a big consideration.

The place where S&W has it better than Taurus is in fit and finish (trigger pull) and Grip availability. EVERYBODY makes a grip for S&W... not many for the Taurus and they cost more.

I'm wishing for a S&W M&P 340CT something fierce now.

[MD_Willington]

Yep, I'm buying a Tuarus next week, the warranty follows the gun, you fill out the paperwork on the website with the serial #.

And I've had good results with S&W too on a used pistol...

[USPnTX]

I have the Taurus 85 in titanium and have never had any problems with it. I think the S&W are probably better made but for the price it is hard to beat the Taurus.

[chiefs-special-guy]

The Taurus is made in Brazil. The SW is made in the USA. This may be a consideration. It is for me.
God Bless

[briansmech]

made in the usa did it for me, too.

justifiably more money, but im the kind of guy that, if i bought something because it was a better bargain, would never be satisfied with the product.

s&w by a significant portion of those who own both, is said to be at least slightly better reliability, and reasonably better customer service, with much better accessory availability, made in the usa....

[Chorizo]

I own a Taurus 450 ss 2.5" and my wife a Taurus mod 85 titanium and both function well and have held up to lots of shooting. BUT, I spent a lot of time handling and checking timing prior to purchase as Taurus has more than its fair share of timing issues with the revolvers.

With that said, the only revolver I had to get rid of was a S&W model 629 in 44 mag as the timing could never be fixed after numerous visits to the shop and I have a S&W Model 29 that is in the shop now for a sticky cylinder release, so draw your own conclusions.