why do people dislike Taurus?

[TNWNGR]

We own a couple of revolvers and a couple of pistol's that were made by Taurus, two of them are excellent the other two are so-so.

[Guest RottenCore]

Here is an article I found. It seems to me that Taurus is stepping up their game. If they are such a bad gun manufacturing company than why are they still in business? Yes companies like Glock and Smith and Wesson make good guns, I just don't think people should down Taurus so much. Not everyone can afford a S&W or a Glock, yet we all need protection.

[Guest RottenCore]

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/04/daniel-zimmerman/taurus-no-more-bull/ here is the article

[Jonnin]

They got off to a bad start in the USA. Some of their early guns had a shaky reputation. I do not have any experience with those -- it could have been brand snobbery or a few lemons or whatever --- but first impressions stick and they made a bad one. Since then, they have cleaned up their stuff and for the most part, it is pretty good now. They are not military grade rugged, or heirlooms, but they shoot, are reasonably priced, and word is that with the service center in the US now, repairs are much better.

My wife loves her 941 22 mag so much that she bought the 22lr version of it too. And my mom liked that so well she also got one after seeing them. The taurus replaced the S&W that cracked after just 3 months (lightweight metal 22 mag PD model). Last weekend we were shooting at skeet clays at 25 yards, and she decided to try. She managed to hit 2 clays in 3 shots with that 2 inch barrel mousegun. We were both expecting her to empty the gun at it and not even get close.

We had a 709 for a couple of years. A good carry piece, but it was never very accurate. It was reliable and concealable, easy to operate.

They fill a niche. And I do not know how many thousands of judges and family have been sold, but enough that someone felt the need to COPY taurus (this is kinda funny since its usually the other way around) to get in on that action. I have no use for the judge, but I have shot one and it was very nice with .45s in it, accurate and comfortable.

[subsonic]

I carry a 605 snubby that's nothing but sweet to shoot. I decided on all steel rather than an alloy or composite piece, so far so good.

[dickenscpa]

I have been a staunch supporter of Taurus for many years. Took my HCP with my 2" .38 snubby and have shot many rounds thru it. Took that class with my Dad and will never sell it. It's hammerless and the smoothest DAO trigger I've ever shot. Rides on my ankle almost every day. I've also had the following that didn't perform quite as well.

PT1911 - went thru extractors like candy. Made 3 trips to Miami.

Judge - cylinder quit locking up. Made a trip to Miami and got traded.

2 709Slims - quit locking back the slide on an empty mag but would lock back with rounds left. Dad took one of them to fool with but hasn't shot it to date.

24/7 Pro DS 45acp - dropped the mag after every shot. One trip to Miami and multiple mags from Taurus.

Never sent the 709s to Miami, they just sent me replacement mags that would work for about 5 cycles apiece. Last set they sent me I've never loaded so they should work a bit. The Judge went to Miami and came back in about 2 weeks and has been fine every since. I know the guy who has it. I came to the conclusion the 24/7 Pro DS was a single shot gun and gave up. Gave it to a friend that knew its history. The first time the PT1911 went to Miami, it was gone so long I almost forgot I had it. I sent it in March and had to get my LGS to jump up and down to get it back in July. On the 5th round the extractor broke again and all series 80 guts went flying.

I wanted to go with an aftermarket ext for the PT1911 but sent it to Miami to get a stock one for a backup. The one choice for aftermarket to eliminate series 80 was on backorder anyway. Took right at a month. When I got it back there was no barrel in the gun. When we called they had no idea where the barrel was and couldn't send me another since theirs is "matched." They made me send it in a 3rd time for a barrel just so I could get rid of it.

I still won't bash Taurus but I've bought 6 of their guns since '09 and had problems with 5 of them. If I have the choice I probably won't buy another. I'll definitely limit myself to their revolvers only.

IMO they should cut a huge portion of their fringe models and concentrate on quality for a few models. Lifetime warranty is great if it's for piece of mind. Gets old when you realize it's a necessity. They're supposed to cover shipping in the first year, that doesn't always work. If I could only afford one gun to protect myself and it consistantly took multi month vacations to Miami, I'd be even more urinated.

Brad

[UncleJak]

I had a Taurus pt22, had to send it back 2 times. It took 6 months for it to get corrected. Now, I stay away.

[daddyo]

I distrust any weapon I have to send back the factory even once. Of the ones I currently own, not a single one has had to be repaired. I did have one that I had to return, and after it was repaired, I got rid of it as quickly as I could.

Warranties are nice and all, but if I can't trust it, I don't carry it.

Edited May 8, 2012 by DaddyO

[mikegideon]

I distrust any weapon I have to send back the factory even once. Of the ones I currently own, not a single one has had to be repaired. I did have one that I had to return, and after it was repaired, I got rid of it as quickly as I could.

Warranties are nice and all, but if I can't trust it, I don't carry it.

I don't know if I would go that far. You're an M&P guy. They had striker issues in some of those guns early on. They are plenty reliable now, as you know. I have always had a general rule of thumb. If the cops will carry it, so will I.

[peejman]

It's very difficult to rebuild a tarnished reputation. Just ask Simpson race products.

My PT-145 has been excellent.

[Guest A10thunderbolt]

I buy Taurus revolvers that's it though. They do have a bit of trigger pull. Never had any Problems.

[Guest cardcutter]

I have had 6 of them over the years. My 669 vent rib 357 had a better triger pull and was more accurate tha my brothers S&W custom combat masterpiece for less than half the cost.

If you get a good one they are great

I have no Brand loyalty.

I have had bad ones from several other makers.

[BigK]

Every thread I've ever read about Taurus, Kel-Tec, or Hi-Point sounds the same.

Some had a bad experience, some good. Some hate them, some don't. Some defend them, some pile on.

Nobody can deny they have more issues on average than more expensive brands.

Nobody who has one that works will admit there are design flaws.

I think the customers that buy on price point alone will accept the flaws, while those who've had nicer guns won't.

[walton6467]

I think the customers that buy on price point alone will accept the flaws, while those who've had nicer guns won't.

This. I'm guilty, I won't lie. Some of us just can't afford expensive guns and have to make do with what we can afford.

[Jonnin]

I distrust any weapon I have to send back the factory even once. Of the ones I currently own, not a single one has had to be repaired. I did have one that I had to return, and after it was repaired, I got rid of it as quickly as I could.

Warranties are nice and all, but if I can't trust it, I don't carry it.

This. I have had any number of my guns modified, but almost none repaired. The few "repairs" I have had were simple enough that I understood them. Thinks like replacement of the screw that fell out of my blackhawk, or polish of a rough part, DIY sorts of things. Most complex was my p238 which needed 0.01 mm knocked off the slide stop so that certain brands of ammo would not hit the stop during feeding. If I can understand the issue (and fix it myself), I still trust it. If it goes back and I get a 4 page report of stuff done to it, it will be sold. I did break the unbreakable extractor in my para, but its a target / range gun, and if it breaks again, I will fix it again.

Edited May 8, 2012 by Jonnin

[Caster]

Well, even if Taurus isn't as bad as some say, why fly a wing seat in coach when you can get in first class for a few more bucks?

[dickenscpa]

Well, even if Taurus isn't as bad as some say, why fly a wing seat in coach when you can get in first class for a few more bucks?

Well this kinda sums it up for me. When I bought that PT1911 it was new at the LGS for $399. This was only Jan '11. I see people asking $500-750 for used ones now. TBH, for that kinda cash I'll go with a bit more repituable brand.

I'm not a brand snob though. I have every model of RIA 1911 in 45acp. I love these things. I shoot them all every week and haven't had the first hiccup with them. I've got some Sigs and Rugers too, never had the first problem with any of these guns.

Brad

[Guest A10thunderbolt]

What other brand offers a .357 revolver 2" barrel life time warranty for $350.00 (I bought it 7 years ago)

[tnhawk]

I don't understand why people talk bad about Taurus inc.... Someone please explain, why the hate?

I don't talk bad about Taurus, as I've never owned one. The former owners may feel otherwise.

[daddyo]

Not necessarily talking about Taurus here, but what good is a warranty when your weapon fails in a true SD situation?

Maybe you can tell the BG "Oh, that wasn't supposed to happen. Dang (insert brand here)!!! I'm gonna have to send it back to the factory for repairs. Good thing it has a lifetime warranty! Can you give me 4 weeks and then we can pick this up where we left off??"

[Guest A10thunderbolt]

I buy Taurus Revolvers I haven't had a failure yet. I don't really trust any gun until I have tested it thoroughly anyway. Any brand can have failures, its just that Taurus has a few more come off the line, but if your willing to wait on repairs it might be worth the money. I think throwing out a gun just because it needed repaired is a bit extreme especially when you can shoot a few hundred rounds through it and see if it has any problems.

[daddyo]

Any brand can have failures, that's true. It's just that some are more prone than others.

[TNWNGR]

Well, even if Taurus isn't as bad as some say, why fly a wing seat in coach when you can get in first class for a few more bucks?

There's a lot of truth to this but often as not the few dollar's more make a big idfference to folk's on an increasingly shrinking income level. With Taurus there are certain product's that I know work well and that my wife has researched as well so those got the go ahead. QC issues on revolvers have since come to light but we were very fortunate to have good products. The two Taurus handguns that I consider so-so, PT22 & stainless steel 2" 38 Spl both work 100% but have little issues that are irksome.

[Guest A10thunderbolt]

I will admit when buying a Taurus I wouldn't try any of their light weight or specialty style guns, just go for the old heavy steel.

[I_Like_Pie]

There is a lot of Blah – Blah garbage so far in this thread. You want to know why Taurus is seen as a second tier competitor in the firearms world?

Because they, like most Brazilian firearm manufacturers, got their start from buying second hand or left over tooling from other companies. They didn’t design them and only learned how to crank out guns in volume at very attractive prices. They bought production turn-key and did not focus as much attention on marketing, customer service, development, and distribution.

Because of this they only made a good physical product, but that is not all that is needed for a proper customer experience. They didn’t have the ability to modify design to keep up with consumer preference –remember they bought tooling and not the engineers that designed the guns. They didn’t have a proper marketing and customer support network to give customers assurance of a quality product, and finally when something did go wrong with a product they didn’t have an efficient way to address the problems with the customer.

They did this for 20 or so years. They may be improving, but customers don’t forget. It is reflected in price, it is reflected in reputation, it is reflected in resale value. A good analogy would be GMC. They spewed so much garbage for so long that even if they do produce a good product every now and then…people still don’t trust them. Don’t underestimate how much of a business is built on reputation.