Ruger, S&W or Taurus

[jeffrice6]

GP or Pre-lock 686! Owning both, the last forever wheel gun would have to be the GP.

[HOGDOG1955]

i have a colt king cobra, a smith 686 plus and 2 gp100s. i bought a taurus 38 in 1973 and after shooting maybe a thousand rounds of semi wadcutters thru it,THE FRAME CRACKED. a guy i play poker with bought 2 taurus 9 mms about 2 yrs ago. one didnt make it thru 2 mags before it broke and had to go back to the factory. but i do know a few who love their taurus, borh revolvers and semis. myself i will spend the money and stay away from taurus;

[morrcarr67]

Yes I'm quite happy with the fit, finish and function of it. My dyed in the wool S&W collector brother was quite pleased with it also and frankly that's hard to do. I don't know about the newer Taurus stuff (and I wouldn't buy a semiauto Taurus due to reviews) but this one IS 5 years old and either they worked the kinks out of it or it was GTG from the factory.

Interesting, because it was the reviews I've read that; in part, made me put those two on my wish list.

[Agent 0range]

Love my 686 (even with the Hillary hole). Smooth, accurate, and reliable. It replaced my semi auto in the bedside GunVault.

[b.thomas]

For the price you can't beat a Ruger............BUT if you can get a good Smith and Wesson without a lock, then go for it!

[Rob454]

I have a snubbie 605. The trigger was really stiff. Put some Wolff springs in it and now its great. It's my night stand gun. I want to put a laser grip on it because it has no night sights but its a snubbie and they all have fairly horrible rudimentary sights.. other than that it is accurate and has no issues.

[Bungi]

Ruger GP100 - 4 inch barrel.
Best value of them all (IMO).

And - your great grandchildren won't wear it out.

[gorenut]

You said you liked the GP100 better than the Smith. I say go for it. Its strange that you're having trouble locating one (maybe you don't have a Turners around?). Personally, even though I really like the GP100, I'd choose a Smith over it. Smiths really do feel like more refined and finessed guns (but you pay for it). It's better to have both though.

They way I see the 3 major revolvers that people most often consider:
Ruger: Workhorses
Colt: Pieces of art
Smith: A very nice balance of being both

I know I'm missing Dan Wessons, never had any experience with em (but would love to try em out)

Never had any experience with the Taurus, so I won't comment on it.

[aghauler]

Interesting, because it was the reviews I've read that; in part, made me put those two on my wish list.

Only based on a few reviews I've seen in the past about the current issues with the Taurus Semis and certainly haven't read them all! Frankly I' ve got more semiautos than I'll ever "need" and will be selling a couple, so I'm moving to more wheel guns, not that I "need" more of them either.

[RedFord150]

I have owned many Ruger revolvers over last 30 years or so. I have nothing but good experience. I currently have a GP100 and a Speed Six in my safe.
My Son owns a Colt Trooper and it is a great Revolver.
I previously owned a Taurus Revolver. It is now gone and I will never own another.
The S&W owners can give you their own opinions.
Your money, your choice.
Good luck.

[paratroop]

I have a feeling taurus really only cares about the quality of certain models. My brand new 94 broke with less than 100 rounds. But the replacement transfer bar they sent me looked to be of way better quality. I just think some models get a little more love at the factory.

[Jeepergeo]

You left out Colt

Colt - No longer made - Established and proven, smooth and reliable. $$$$$$$$$$ ( 3 x S&W )

My advice - go for an older S&W ( 38 revolver ) - they can be quite inexpensive and fun to shoot, but are not .357 or SS.
Or if you want a newer gun, go for used 686... But Ruger really does make fine guns.

Oh yeah, the Colt snake guns are nice. Python would be my choice...maybe when the bonus comes in!!!

[yzErnie]

Yzernie has 2 trackers in 357. I held one before I decided to buy a compact 1911 from him. It was very nice, a little small in my hands which shocked me but it still looked and felt pretty good in my hand. I chatted with Ernie about this gun and he was saying that Taurus is much better than they use to be but you get what you pay for.

This comment was brought to my attention by one of my customers and I feel I need to clarify what was said.

Taurus guns are good guns and Taurus has come a long ways in respect to their production and quality control issues from a few years back. When I said "You get what you pay for" the remainder of that conversation was not included in the above poster's comment. What was said is the Taurus revolvers do not have as much final finish work done to them as, say, a Smith and Wesson revolver. Meaning, the final finish work for appearance of the piece such as more rounded outside edges of the cylinder/barrel etc, polishing of the stainless steel is what I was talking about.

In manufacturing processes, time = money. The Taurus guns are less expensive than, say, a S&W revolver mostly in part to the time (read money) it takes to make the gun 'prettier'. THAT is what I meant when I said "You get what you pay for", not meaning the is gun is of substandard quality. Are they a S&W?...no, but they are a viable piece for someone who does not want to pay the higher S&W prices.

Thanks, Ernie