My first .22 magnum (Taurus 941 Ultra-Lite, 2" barrel)

[Mr. Magnum]

The store just called and my new Taurus revolver is ready for pick-up. I will be picking it up tomorrow. I ordered the matte stainless finish. The shiny stainless steel just doesn't do it for me and can blind you on a sunny day. The shiny blue looks good, but it gets scratched way too easily. Matte stainless just looks the coolest. I searched all over the internet for the cheapest price I could find and (www.brazilianguns.thegunsource.com) had the cheapest price for this model listed as 'new'. I found it on other sites for $350.00 or higher. They had it for $323.65. That was the last one they had at this price. Now they have it back ordered and listed for $378.00. I have read much about these small revolvers and I must say, I'm a bit worried that I may get a 'lemon'? I hope not! This will be my very first Taurus. I know their Raging Bull line is respected because they are made well. It seems they focus the most on their more expensive line of revolvers. I have read about how some of these small magnums start to bind up in the ejector where the star is. A friend of mine told me that after firing around 24 shots through it, I'll have to use a toothbrush and clean both sides of the ejector star and the where the star slaps back into the cylinder. He said after doing so, the problem of the trigger pull goes back to normal. It seems there are some kernels that get stuck in this area and this makes the cylinder hard to rotate while pulling the trigger in D/A mode. This is also a problem on the S&W 351PD model. These .22 magnum loads are just born dirty. I've shot many a .22LR in my day, but I'm looking for a bit more power so I'm going with this model. From what I've heard, as long as you keep it very clean, there shouldn't be any issues with it. I'll be using this gun as an ankle-worn carry piece so it won't be getting a whole lot of action. This could be what this gun is best for. I will, however, fire approximately 3 boxes (at 50 rounds each) of Winchester JHP Supreme @ 30 grn., Winchester Supreme JHP @ 34 grn. and finally, a box of Winchester Super-X FMJ @ 40 grn. out of her just to break the little bitch in. I've heard Winchester rounds work the best through this revolver. I'll let you all know how it went after I take the Taurus leap. If you have any thoughts, feel free to let me know.  Thanks

[Mr. Magnum]

   OK. I picked up my new Taurus and I brought it home and gave it a good cleaning and oiled it up. I was proud of my 'new' gun until I noticed that the front site doesn't line up with the rear site. The rear site being at 12:00 and the front site being at 11:59. This only says one thing. THE BARREL ISN'T SCREWED ALL THE WAY ON! Although it is on very tight, it's not twisted all the way on. Also, the slide that releases the cylinder doesn't always work. At times it slides forward and allows me to open the gun and at times it won't slide forward no matter how hard I push on it. I have to bring the hammer back a few times before it will allow me to open it again. I have read a ton of threads about Taurus' costumer service and how they really suck, but I'll say this, when I called Taurus, I was only on hold for around 30 seconds. Then, a man answered and I explained the problems I was having with my gun. He was very polite and informed me that Taurus would have FedEx pick my gun up within 24 hours and they would either fix the problem or replace the gun. I was shocked! I expected them to act as if they didn't care at all, but to my amazement, they actually cared a lot about the problems I had encountered with my new Taurus. I was polite to them and they were very courteous in return. They said my gun will be returned to me within 2 - 3 weeks. I'll let you all know what happens.   

[Cottonwood]

Word of caution about buying guns: 

This could have been checked out at the store, and found upon examination at that time.

[Mr. Magnum]

Yes, I know. Unfortunately, I was in a rush and only checked to see if the gun was clean and if the cylinder holes lined up with the barrel. The gun was not clean. It had been fired. Not a lot, but when I found the time to clean it, I pushed two pads through it before there was no longer any trace of powder and lead remaining. There was a small scratch on the finish and a small crack or 'dig' on the back of the frame next to the hammer. I'm kind of glad I didn't notice these imperfections at the gun store. They would have had to return it to the place I ordered the gun from. I don't trust that place now (http://www.brazilianguns.thegunsource.com). At least now I get to deal directly with Taurus myself. With all these things wrong with the gun and the fact that when I opened the box, the gun was wrapped in a dirty, oily rag, and the clear plastic Taurus bag the gun is supposed to be in was all wrinkled up underneath of the gun, I won't be dealing with The Gun Source in the future. They had this model listed at $323.65 which was the best price I could find online and the add read that it was the last one in stock available at that price. I asked them over the phone if the gun was new and they assured me that it indeed was. Now, if you look on their site, the gun is listed as back-ordered and it's now listed for $379.00. I should have just paid the $350.00 that I saw it going for on a few other sites.   

[Mr. Magnum]

    Well, I just got off of the telephone with Taurus FOR THE 50TH TIME! They informed me that they will be replacing my 941 Ultralite .22 magnum with a new one. Keep in mind, I HAD TO SEND IT BACK TO THEM TWICE! The first time I returned it, they sent me a letter which read, 'We are returning your revolver to you. A part has been replaced and the gun has been test fired. All is in working condition.' Upon receiving the firearm the very next day, the first thing I noticed right out of the box was, they had fixed the tiny scratches in the finish that were on the frame, but while they were suposedly fixing what else was wrong with it, they added around ten scratches to the wheel! Then I checked the barrel and the front sight STILL WAS NOT LINED UP WITH THE REAR SIGHT! The barrel still wasn't screwed on all the way or it was screwed on too far. Either way, this gun was definitely a LEMON! I called them and told them about it and I sent it back to them the very next day.

After three days, I kept calling them and they would continue to tell me the same thing - "Your firearm is going in front of our 'Review Board' to see if it can be fixed or needs to be replaced." Why in Hell would they tell me it was fixed the first time they returned it to me when clearly it wasn't?!?! On the repair slip, it stated that a part had been replaced, but they didn't even list which part!

They also kept telling me that there was only one manager in the factory and it takes three managers to have a complete Review Board. Finally, I talked to them yesterday and they said the gun had gone in front of their Review Board and that it was going to be replaced with a new one directly from the Taurus factory. I just spoke with them on the phone and now they are telling me that the new gun was pulled and is all ready to be shipped, but they cannot ship it at this time due to the fact that their inventory is in the process of being checked. So now I will have to wait another three days to a week before it's sent to me. (Keep in mind, it's been since June 17, 2011 that I first picked this gun up from my local gun store.)

The only bright side to this story is that a guy from Taurus called my local gun store and had them fax a copy of their FFL directly to him so I wouldn't have to put out another $30.00 just for them to fax a copy to Taurus. (Taurus did not yet have my local gun store in their records, so I deffinitely would have had to fork-out another $30.00 for this minescule transaction that takes less than ten seconds to complete.)

Before all this took place, I was planning on purchasing a Raging Bull .454 Casull from Taurus, but now, I have my sights set (pun intended) on a new Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in .454 Casull and .45 Colt. Needless to say, I will never buy another Taurus. If they would have fixed the problem the first time I returned it, I may have thought about it, but not now. It seems like, from what I've gone through and read about Taurus, is that they put all their time into their larger bore guns (.357 and up) and they really don't care much about their smaller bore guns. What they need to do is start caring about their customers, no matter what size or the cost of the firearm they are purchasing!   

[Bigeasy]

Hate to sound like a wet blanket, but there is a reason people often don't speak well of Taurus.  I have had a few myself, and had problems with each, ranging from a 9mm that was badly innaccurate to another that was unlocking early, blowing a case head, and cracking the frame.  Service was like pulling teeth.  Of course that was years ago, and things may have changed.  Seems when the quality control shift is working, they seem to be OK.
 
Wait to you see the muzzle blast / flame you get out of that 2 inch barrel.  I have a little Freedom Arms mini revolver in .22mag. with I think a 1 1/2 inch barrel, and my theory was always if the bullet didn't do the job, the muzzle blast burn would.
 
Larry

[Mr. Magnum]

@ Bigeasy:

Thanks for the response. Yes, I've heard about the muzzle flash made by the .22 magnum cartridge fired from such a short barrel. I kind of like that myself.   

I am on a waiting list to get some of Hornady's new 45 grain FTX Critical Defense ammo. I've read that it's going to be the best .22 magnum ammo ever made. They are supposed to be great even when fired out of a 2" barrel. At this time, I have a box of Winchester 34 grain JHP Supreme. I've read that these will perform the best when fired from the Taurus 941 Ultralite. I haven't fired this gun once yet. It's been over a month and a half since I ordered it. You know I can't wait to try it out.      I'll let you know how it goes.

Below is an enlargeable high resolution photo:

[andy1300]

Nice, I just got my Taurus 991 blue this week, shot 100 rounds yesterday, shoots nice *

[Mr. Magnum]

Went to the gun store to pick up my new replacement 941 ultralite. This time, everything on the gun is tight. Aside from the few scratches in the finish, it was OK. The problem I had with it this time is that THEY SENT ME A GUN WITH THE WRONG FINISH!!!!!!! It's supposed to be matte stainless. Instead, it looks gray. The trigger, lever and cylinder release button are all matte stainless, but the frame, cylinder and barrel are a gray, almost a green color. It's very ugly!      I called Taurus and they told me that some matte stainless finishes are darker than others. That's bullsh*t! I've seen thousands of guns with the matte stainless finish and none of them looked like this. Also, I told the guy on the phone that if he owned a car dealership and I walked in and ordered a new car from him that was already there on the showroom floor and told him to have it ready for me the following day and I came to pick it up the following day and the paint had been changed to green and there were scratches on it, should I just accept it 'as is' and forget about it? HELL NO! I want what I ordered! So now, they are telling me that the gun is going in front of a 'review board'. The last gun that had the croocked barrel went in front of their so-called 'review board' as well. They replaced it with this gun that has the wrong finish AND scratches. He also told me that when gun parts are delivered to them from Brazil, they often have scatches on them. I asked him why they don't fix the scratches before sending guns out to customers. He replied with, "I aggree with you on that one." Taurus International is a JOKE! Now, I'll probably be sitting here waiting for another month to see what kind of surprise they send me next. The only company I will buy from in the future is Ruger. They make the sturdiest revolvers on Earth and S&W models are way over priced.

I'll let you all know what happens.