Some folks love 'em, some folks despise 'em. I have no first hand experience with Taurus.

Folks say Taurus has a great warranty and customer service.

If it is used, can you shoot it first?

i picked up a used Ruger Security Six for $350 a couple of years ago.

 

They say that Taurus' quality has improved a lot lately, but my experience with the 627 was not very good. I had only fired a few boxes of ammo through it when the cylinder locked up and wouldn't open. I got if fixed and sold it shortly thereafter, and that was my first and last Taurus. A friend of mine bought another model (the .380 revolver, whatever it's called) and tried to break it in by working it with snap caps, and after about 100-150 snaps the transfer bar broke and fell out of the gun.

If I were you, I would buy a S&W instead. A "pre-owned and pre-scratched" S&W won't cost you much more than the Taurus, you know it will work and you don't have to worry about putting more scratches on it. It will hold its value better than the Taurus as well.

 

I've been told by gun store people that Taurus' quality control has been up and down over the years and you never really know if any particular gun was from a good or bad era. Their lifetime warranty might be good but I was told customer service was not.

The only Taurus I've owned was a PT 99 9mm another officer sold me dirt cheap as he was moving and needed the cash and offered it to me for what a gun store offered him. After shooting the pistol I felt it was mediocre at best. It wasn't long before I traded toward something else for more than I had in it.

Everybody's experience is different. I'm only going from what gun store people tell me. They may sell Taurus but basically because it fills a market niche between Charter Arms and S&W.

 

The only Taurus I've ever owned is one I bought in 1998 -- Raging Bull revolver
chambered in .454 Casull. It's been a great revolver.

Finish is excellent, accurate at well beyond 100 meters, locks up like a bank
vault. I used to take it hunting -- don't hunt anymore but still shoot it once
in a while at the range. Trigger pull (single action) is crisp and breaks like glass.

Can't fault it.

 

I picked up a used Taurus 627 about a year ago. I had a young friend that needed a 357 to carry for general use in the back country, I intended to give it to her. I cleaned it up and pulled the side plate and inspected, there is a guide for this activity over on Taurusarmed.net. The gun was a 2012 production and had seen some use. Looked good, had been adequately cared for. I loobed it properly and promptly put 250 rounds of my cast bullet hand loads thru it over a period of 2 hours. It functioned flawlessly. Then I did 50 rounds of cast bullet 38 Specials. Good gun, I had to tighten screws when I was done. I presented it to her and she was very pleased to add it to her small family of revolvers. She reported back later that it was just right for her to carry and use in her outdoor activities.
I own and use 8 other Taurus revolvers, 38 Special to 44 Magnum, even have a middle 70's production model 82 that still works well and looks good. I look for used taurus revolvers second only to Colt used. They are a good value, IMO. I have never owned or used a Taurus self shucker so I have nothing to say about them.

 

No matter what "other" gun you seek out to take the place of the Python, none of them will give you the joy and pleasure of the Python with it's V spring action. I tried the same, and quickly came to the conclusion that Pythons only really shine when they're doing what they were made for. So I shoot and use what I like now. Life's too short to worry about wear on fine shooting guns.

 

Thanks Senior for the input. I'm going to pick one up in the next few weeks.

 

Kelly, welcome to COLTforum.

Responses to your inquiry will reflect that this is NOT BrandXForum.

 

Get a Taurus 689, I love mine looks somewhat similar to a Python and are incredibly accurate. I win at competition with mine all the time. Unfortunately you picked a bad site to bring any other gun up other than Colt, so you will not get an accurate assessment. Just like politics on this site if you say xyz vs Colt, you will get crapped on...good luck with whatever you decide.

 

Thank you for your insights. I appreciate it, I will pick one up in a few weeks.

As far as being crapped on is concerned, I have a theory with that. It's always the smallest dog that has the loudest bark.

 

Here's a bad pic...

 

Here's a better pic...

 

IN MY OPINION, you can't go wrong with a new/used GP100 or Security Six Ruger .357. Built like a tank, proven quality/reliability - go bang, bang, bang and don't worry about a little scratch. Nothing wrong with Taurus but I like American made!

 

I'm going to look at both of those along with the Smith below. That's why I like these forums I get great advice. Thanks!

 

Shoot a 586 S&W and you'll forget about everything else. L frame Smiths in general have fantastic trigger pulls and the 586 is consistently smooth. I love my 3-5-7s and Pythons but I call em like I see em and pre lock 586 is standard bearer in my book. I just bought this 586-3 6" Sunday at NGD for $640. Kind of an oddball with blue matte finish and round butt. Special run of 2500 6" and 2500 4" in made around 1989. I see shooter grade 586's go for $500 or a little less regularly and 686's too, I just prefer the non stainless but own both.

 

That's a sharp looking revolver. I will take it into serious consideration. Thanks for the information.