I have a Taurus 94 .22LR and my dad has a model 85 as a carry gun. We've both been pleased with their performance. They're both probably 15 to 20 years old, so I don't know if quality has changed since then.

One of my friends has been shooting the same PT 92 since before most of the Taurus bashers were born.
He bought it new back in the early 1980s.

I had a friend back then who shot a Taurus model 66 and it was a better made gun than a buddies Smith 19.

I myself have been shooting a used Taurus .44 magnum with no problems for going on over a decade now with no problems. It hasn't shot loose yet like my new 629 did back in the day, either.

I actually like my CIA better than my Chief Special because it locks up on the yoke making the design stronger an better able to handle the nocks and dings pocket pistols accumulate. The gap between the yoke and the crane on my smith was getting looser daily.
I have had to send Smiths back and I have had to send Springfields back, but to date I have not had a problem with my Tauri.
Every maker lets loose a lemon from time to time. In my first hand experience Taurus is no worse in that regard than Smith or Ruger.

I think the Taurus bashing broils down to two things.
Because they are marketed as a budget gun, many people mistakenly 'assume' they are sub par. I sometimes wonder if these folks have ever fired an RG revolver or a Hi Point. Now that's sub par.

The other factor is young people who have gone through the "self esteem based" education system and suffer from the mistaken beleif that they are somehow special.
Such folks don't comprehend the basic realities of industrial manufacturing and the laws of mathmatic probability.
IE out of every 100 items manufactured there will be one flawed one. Out of every one thousand there will be ten, etc... and that the more that are made the more sub standard examples are floating around out there and the greater the chance you will get one when you buy a gun ,or a car, or a tv or a whatever.

So when these naive boobs get a substandard gun (or whatever) they naievly assume "well, since this one is junk and I am special obviously they are all junk and I will never by that brand again!"

If they could put their ungrounded egotism aside for a second they would realize "well, if other examples function properly and mine doesn't, that means I just got a lemon, and I need to send it back to have it made right, its no comment on my esteem whatsoever, just the luck of the draw vs mathmatical probability."

It seems the people that think Taurus makes a good gun have an old one, those of us that will never own another have a more recently purchased one, apparently they have let quality control go out the window in the last few years and could care less?

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ASE master certified engine machinist, gas & diesel
I drive
International's
Rambler's
Jeep's
& the Yamaha

Can't agree w/ speculations. Taurus hasn't been marketed as a budget gun for a long time. They're marketed as high tech...forged parts, high tech materials like titanium..and high quality. My Titanium Tracker was not a budget gun. How do you explain their cra**py customer service?

I think wrenchman nailed it.

Ive got two.

One I bought new in 2000, the other I bought used last year and its not ten years old. My 945 I bought new and its been as good as any other handgun I have owned and beter than the one disappointment I bought. ( a Smith 29-4 4 inch). The other is a Smith copy in a .357 snub nose. Nice little revolver that hasnt given me any trouble.

Just remember this.

If a dealer/service/ manufacturer disappoints one person, that person tells ten people. If they make one customer happy, then that one tells one other person of their good fortune. This is a good old retail service truism about customer service.

Factor in the internet and the ones who feel they got the fuzzy end of the popsicle stick have the ability to tell more people then they could ever reach by word of mouth alone.

Im not saying it isnt true that they got a poor deal, just that everything needs taken into account.

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Be popular? Heck, I have enough friends.
"That way lies madness".

I have a PT-145. I had issues with it initially with FTF. Narrowed it down to a tight fitting slide. Once I started using Slide Glide on it all of my issues stopped. I have been using it in IDPA and it's never missed a beat. I've seen Kimbers, Glocks, Smith revolvers, and a brand new $1500.00 custom, all jam up and have failures to feed. My cheap, piece of crap, junk gun just keeps on ticking.

Guess I'll have to get back with you on the longevity of the weapon.

Well, Sunwheel, I'm 59, and trust me I did NOT benefit from an esteem-based education. (Having been involved daily with the local school system for 7 years, I know what you mean and agree 100%)

My disdain for modern Tauruses (Taurii?) is based on an adage learned from my father: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

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"Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and the keystone under independence...The rifle and pistol are equally indispensable. The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that is good." George Washington

yep, they all dish up some lemons, that's true enough....though Taurus seems to specialize in them lately.

I'm thinking if one will do some checking around the various forums available online, they'll make an interesting discovery: based on feedback from actual owners, Taurus does in fact seem to have more QC issues than other manufacturers (especially as of late).

I mean just check out taurusarmed.com.... seriously, how many other brand-based forums have a section totally dedicated to complaints/problems...? pretty telling... contrast this w/glock, XD, Sig, Ruger based forums, and you'll see a lot less problems posted about those weapons.

ask a local gunsmith which manufacturers he sees in for repair/returns most often...betcha Taurus will be near the top of the list.

finally, check out 10-8 forums, and see what the consensus is on Taurus, from folks who go into harm's way every day as part of their job. take a poll on any forum, asking LEO's if they would carry a Taurus, and the overwhelming response will be a resounding "no". surely these fine individuals are not all "naive boobs"....?

for that matter, how old does one have to be in order to be exempted from "naive boob" status? I'm 30...does that mean I qualify as a "boob"?

I don't recall esteem factoring into my education, but maybe that's because I attended a private school? or can one really say that a person's choice in a self-defense handgun is a result of the education system? surely this is not the case, as they would have made sure all of us "naive boobs" understood that guns are evil, and we are better off without a means to defend ourselves...

or perhaps some of us young whipper-snappers just know how to look at the info available to us, and make an informed decision about which guns are known for quality. nope, I don't think I'm special, or that the world owes me anything, but I do have sense enough to pay attention after hearing the same story about Taurus over, and over, and over again....

as mentioned before, I currently carry a Taurus...it's been no problem, but some of my other Taurus' have been nothing but trouble. after trying many other pistols, it has become apparent that Taurus' overall quality cannot compare to some of the other manufacturers. so, once $$$ allows, I'll be relieving my Taurus of duty, and replacing it with a Springfield XD. I gave Taurus a chance, but they just don't measure up.

crazy choice, I know...no doubt a result of my "ungrounded egotism". but what else would you expect from a naive boob?


-JJ

Shoot what you like and like what you shoot. I don't shoot Taurus guns, They just never appealed to me and I have heard nightmare stories about lousy customer service. But if a man wants to own 'em, shoot 'em and enjoys 'em, more power to ya, I say.

So because you like Taurus and I had a poor experience with mine makes me a naive boob? Tell me more about this ungrounded egotism.

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i was having trouble with my second one after they replaced the first...
right at the end of the conversation mike made the comment to his boss.. you know hes gonna shoot this thing a lot.. at that point the boss pointed me to an sig p6 225,,used of course..one of the smoothest semi autos that ive ever owned..he let me take it home instead of the taurus i was not satisfied with ..one of my better days..slim

You guys noticed that the original poster has never been back?

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MikeG

Interesting how there are such mixed opinions. I have owned a Taurus PT-99 that was extremely reliable and actually was more accurate a weapon than the Beretta 92FS that I also owned at the time. Since then I was a believer of Taurus as a brand. I have owned varied pistols since then and have had quite a bit of luck with all of them whether 9mm, .40, .45, etc. What I can not state though is any involvement with their customer support. Thankfully, I have not needed it.

I'd buy further examples of their pistols.

I've shot the Millenium 45 and the Ultra Lite .32 revolver. I absolutely loved both of them

I have a PT40. About 15 years old. I don't use it much. Doesn't feed very well. Wouldn't shoot 5 rounds in a row without jamming when I got it. Sent it back to the factory and they worked on it. It is better now, but still jams occasionally