Looking for a revolver

[RedFord150]

alright i'll take a look at taurus also. my brother has a thing for american made guns, but if the price is right, and the quality is good im sure he wouldnt care if it was american or not

I have owned 5 Ruger Revolvers and 1 Taurus revolver. I sold the Taurus and will never buy another.
I liked the Ruger GP100 so much, I bought a 2nd one that will be a gift to my Daughter on her 21st B-Day.
The S&W 686 is a also a great gun. It is normally more expensive than the Ruger. I have never owned one, but I would not hesitate to purchase if the right deal came along.
These Forums are loaded with Ruger and S&W fans that wil tell you nothing but good about these brands. The Taurus owners are not anywhere close to 100% happy. For every happy Taurus owner, you will find 1 that will never buy the brand again.
Good luck.

[1JimMarch]

GP100 gets my vote. The Ruger design rocks - no sideplate, there's a lockup latch right at the crane, the single cylinder release button releases latches at the crane and rear of the cylinder simultaneously, it's designed to be completely field stripped by the user, documented in the manual and the tool for doing so is stored under one of the grip panels I kid you not.

The grip "frame" is actually more of a "stub" - there's a huge variety of grip types and shapes available. Look at Badger Grips for some of the more radical flavors.

[axhoaxho]

Another vote for the Ruger GP100. I have a 4" stainless steel version, and it is a workhorse revolver that I trust.

Regards,

[sirgiles]

+1 on a S&W 686

[Cowtown44]

Guns, Fishing and Other Stuff in Vacaville has both the GP100 and 686P. I shot several hundred rounds in a shoot off to decide which I would buy. The 686 had a slight edge in accuracy in my hands. In my hands, both were superior to my Glock. You can't go wrong either way.

[Old4eyes]

Taurus = Run Away, Run Away.
I've got a Tracker, out of the box the cylinder would not lock up properly allowing the hammer to drop on a round that was not lined up to the forcing cone. Way off-center hits on the primer. If the primer had ignited, the round could have been slamming into the edge of the forcing cone.

Mine was not the only one to have that problem, shop owner verified he had two others that had the same issue. After confronting Taurus at the SHOT show in Vegas and getting a wishy-washy answer, he stopped carrying Taurus, and I back him up on that decision.

First attempt at repair had Taurus repair telling us to use .357 rounds rather than .38 specials. Yeah, right.

The got it fixed the second time, but how it got out of the factory the way it was was sheer negligence. Fix time was almost two months for two attempts.

Trigger on my Smith 686 is WAY better. You get what you pay for. Taurus is cheap, it is not a bargain.

Go for a Ruger or a Smith. If I had the money, I'd go Smith but Ruger makes a quality revolver as well. I'd go for the GP100 line in Ruger to have the weight to help with the recoil. The 686+ gets you 7 rounds, which is what the wife wanted and what she got.

[Musashi]

Taurus = Run Away, Run Away.
I've got a Tracker, out of the box the cylinder would not lock up properly allowing the hammer to drop on a round that was not lined up to the forcing cone. Way off-center hits on the primer. If the primer had ignited, the round could have been slamming into the edge of the forcing cone.

Mine was not the only one to have that problem, shop owner verified he had two others that had the same issue. After confronting Taurus at the SHOT show in Vegas and getting a wishy-washy answer, he stopped carrying Taurus, and I back him up on that decision.

First attempt at repair had Taurus repair telling us to use .357 rounds rather than .38 specials. Yeah, right.

The got it fixed the second time, but how it got out of the factory the way it was was sheer negligence. Fix time was almost two months for two attempts.

Trigger on my Smith 686 is WAY better. You get what you pay for. Taurus is cheap, it is not a bargain.

Go for a Ruger or a Smith. If I had the money, I'd go Smith but Ruger makes a quality revolver as well. I'd go for the GP100 line in Ruger to have the weight to help with the recoil. The 686+ gets you 7 rounds, which is what the wife wanted and what she got.

yeah personally I'd probably save up for the s&w, mostly cause I for some reason associate them with revolvers. But after this topic I think I'm going to help my brother get the gp100. Anyways Thanks everyone for all your help

[erratikmind]

Gotta love the S&W model 686. I purchased my first one back in 1981. It has a 6" barrel. It's one sweet shooter.

[greyfell]

Should be able to find a nice S&W or Ruger .357 for that budget. Have him check out the used forums to find a model he likes. .357 is an excellent choice as he can shoot either .38 or .357, and the ammo is not too expensive.

In the S&W line, I recommend a couple of classic .357 revolvers: the Model 27and the Model 28, "Highway Patrolman." These are heavier framed, therefore recoil isn't worrisome and accuracy is pretty good. The Model 28 is the Model 27 without the goo-gaws, and without sacrificing basic quality.


Stephen

[Vacaville]

Guns, Fishing and Other Stuff in Vacaville has both the GP100 and 686P. I shot several hundred rounds in a shoot off to decide which I would buy. The 686 had a slight edge in accuracy in my hands. In my hands, both were superior to my Glock. You can't go wrong either way.

This store is crap. Take the MSRP of any gun and then add $200 for what you'll pay there. The 686 sells for well over $900 there, the GP100 is now up around $650. Go there if you want rudeness and to pay up the nose.

[Musashi]

This store is crap. Take the MSRP of any gun and then add $200 for what you'll pay there. The 686 sells for well over $900 there, the GP100 is now up around $650. Go there if you want rudeness and to pay up the nose.

that sounds like gunworld in burbank

[586L-Frame]

[wrightb]

Just throwing it out there again, I watched a local expert shoot 5 rounds of 38 special from my own 2" SP101 in 357 through the same hole in target around 15 feet out! Just depends on what he wants, a snub nose or a long barreled paper target killing machine. Either Ruger will do your money justice, and the Smith and Wesson will do it justice and look and feel beautiful while doing it.