S & W worth twice the price of a taurus revolver?

[Old Griz]

Not only is the S&W that much better, so is the customer service. If you ever have to send your Taurus back for service, and you probably will, don't expect a lot of help. I had to send one back three times. The Taurus "lifetime warranty" means you can send it back for life and never get it fixed right. I'll never buy another one. I have never been unhappy with a S&W. Smooth, accurate, and dependable. I have J, K, and N frames, and I love them all.

Now Charter Arms is supposed to be coming out with a .45 ACP pretty soon. I think I'm gonna try one.

[S.B.]

Griz, please keep us posted on the Charter Arms with a range report when this happens?
Steve

[rawhidekid]

If you watch American Rifleman on TV, last Wednesday they were at the Charter Arms plant.  The pink 38 Spl is popular with the ladies.  The 44 Spl Bulldog has always had a good reputation as a carry gun thoughout the years.  Never had one only because I have never seen one for sale around here.

[Rangr44]

[Is a S & W worth twice the price of a taurus revolver?]

No, a S&W isn't worth twice the price of a Taurus revolver - it's worth three times as much as a Taurus - according to my hands-on experience with several different models of each over the last 25 years.

My reasons:

Smiths are smoother "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths are more accurate "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths are more trouble-free "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths are more reliable over the long haul "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths are finished better "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths have better sights "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths have better retained resale value, precentage-wise
Taurii look like Smiths
Taurii  have lower price tags

.

[Old Fart]

Now Charter Arms is supposed to be coming out with a .45 ACP pretty soon. I think I'm gonna try one.

If you watch American Rifleman on TV, last Wednesday they were at the Charter Arms plant. 

I carried a bulldog for years as a back up or ccw.
Never felt a need to be concerned.
I shot thousands of round thru it without a failure.
Those are great little guns.
I watched the same rifleman show.
The thing that jumped out at me was it's back in the original family again.
They said quality has become a priority again.
Might have to buy another one.....

[slim rem 7]

my only bad experience was with rossi ,which looks like a taurus..i brought it back twice to the gunshop inside of two weeks..after replaceing it twice ,,they finally let me have a sig p6 225..i wish i still had it..
 as to smiths..the reason i think it worth twice what the taurus is ,,is because the gun never don t go bang when i pull the trigger..dependability is a premium for a protection handgun..
 by the way the gun shop where i bought the rossi ,,quit carrying them ,due to my experience..
 the owner said he was glad i showed them what not to sell as defensive handgun.. slim
 

[Victor3]

 I have a Taurus "Total Titanium" 38 snub I bought new about 8 years ago. I got it to have a lighter version of my S&W snub.

 I guess I got lucky; the Taurus has been flawless in operation, and external fit and finish is better than my S&W. I haven't taken either apart for a peek at the internals though.

 That said, I'd never buy another Taurus after hearing about their lousy customer service and problems others have had with them.

[quasne.inc]

I appreciate all the responses from the more knowledgable here.  Im going to get the S & W.   Now I just have to convince the wife, or start squirreling away money and get it.  Then put it away for awhile and when she finally sees it tell her i've had it forever.  It might just work.  Thanks guys.

[Hairtrigger]

 That said, I'd never buy another Taurus after hearing about their lousy customer service and problems others have had with them.

I am not a Taurus fan.
That said, you are willing to let others influence you more than your own experience? People that you probably don't know or have never met?
On the internet I firmly believe
Believe half of what you see and nothing that you hear!!!!!!

[S.B.]

 That said, I'd never buy another Taurus after hearing about their lousy customer service and problems others have had with them.

I am not a Taurus fan.
That said, you are willing to let others influence you more than your own experience? People that you probably don't know or have never met?
On the internet I firmly believe
Believe half of what you see and nothing that you hear!!!!!!

Let me ask this: Why waste money on inferior imported merchandise, made by a company who will not stand behind their product? Put American back to work, buy American!
Steve

[Hairtrigger]

When I wrote that I was not referring to the Taurus / S&W debate. In my mind that is apples to spam comparison.
It is more of a comment about all of us internet experts!

[Retsof]

I don't know if S&W's are really worth twice the price of Taurus. I currently have a Taurus Titanium 38 with which I've not had any trouble whatsoever. BTW I like the ports, as they do a good job in reducing muzzle flip and recoil. A snubbie is going to be loud, whether ported or not. YMMV.

With this being said, I am currently looking for a snub nose 38 for my daughter. Despite what I just said about the Taurus I have, I am looking at S&W or Ruger for her. Though I haven't had any problems with my Taurus, I can't totally discount all the negative things I've heard about them, especially with customer service. Anything mechanical will at some point need servicing. In the event she will ever wants to sell it, the S&W and perhaps a Ruger will indeed be a better investment.

[AkRay]

Are Snap On tools worth that much more tha n Craftsman tools?  Maybe.  I don't know.  But your Smith & Wesson will hold much more of its' value if you ever have to resell it, so it's a better investment.  In addition, you get more enjoyen

[pneuby]

Not much more for me to add to the words of these gents:

Not only is the S&W that much better, so is the customer service. If you ever have to send your Taurus back for service, and you probably will, don't expect a lot of help. I had to send one back three times. The Taurus "lifetime warranty" means you can send it back for life and never get it fixed right.try one.

[Is a S & W worth twice the price of a taurus revolver?]

No, a S&W isn't worth twice the price of a Taurus revolver - it's worth three times as much ...My reasons:

Smiths are smoother "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths are more accurate "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths are more trouble-free "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths are more reliable over the long haul "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths are finished better "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths have better sights "Out-of-the-box"
Smiths have better retained resale value, precentage-wise

my only bad experience was with rossi ,which looks like a taurus..
 

It looks like one because it IS one, for all intents and purposees. Same ownership, and I suspect, a lot of the same tooling and factory folks. 

[S.B.]

pneuby, don't think so. Remember the law suit back about 2 decades ago?
Steve

[pneuby]

No Sir, sorry. I'm missing the connection. While Rossi is owned by Taurus, it was once separate, to my understanding. BOTH companies have a design that is largely based on a S&W, internally. Leaf-mainsprings are replaced by coil springs, and no parts are '100%' similar. IOW, it's not a dead-nuts clone so as to get around the patents and lawyers.

[Spirithawk]

The only Taurus I have exsperience with was my son'r Raging Bull in .45 L Colt. It was the smoothest, most accurate handgun you'd ever want to own. Admittingly though it was a custom order and far from the standard Raging Bull. He killed a nice buck with it. One shot at 75 yards and the buck did a flip and was very much dead.

[Dogshooter]

I have a S&W performance center 629 (scoped) that I have had for a few years that I hunt with and decided to get a Taurus Tracker in 44 just to be able to shoot more often. I liked the feel of it enough that when a .41 showed up on the local gun shop's shelf, I bought it too. After shooting both and then taking out the Smith, I found there was no comparison.  The Tauruses were both "OK" but the Smith was SMOOTH. I sold both of the Tauruses and found a Smith 629 Mountain Gun with a 4" barrel and can say I'll never go back. Are Smiths worht double what a Tauus sells for? IMHO, absolutely!

[JPShelton]

GET  OUT THE  CALCULATOR

this  is what  i did  to  justify  that performance center  smith and wesson

a gun  will  last your  lifetime
so  take the number  of years  left  in  you  life  [approximate]
devide  that  into  the difference  in  the gum  cost  [subtract cheap gun  from the one you want]
  WOW    $5  a year  to  have   the BEST   wasn't that  easey

so  your old don't  have that many years......better spend it while you can

Excellent post!!

When I was a kid, the advice from my shooting and hunting mentors was always to buy the best quality firearm you could afford, and to be patient and save for that quality.  Their argument was pretty much as outlined in the above quote.  Ammortized over the life of the firearm, the extra cost of a quality piece of equipment compared to second best really isn't that much.

Also, if you shoot with any degree of frequency or volume, you'll spend far more on the metal you send downrange than you will on the metal you launch it with.

With a quality firearm, there is no "coulda woulda shoulda."  There is satisfaction and pride of ownership for a lifetime.

JP

[Rangr44]

Experience counts.

I have owned Smith's, Taurus, Rossi's, Dan Wessons, Colt's, Hi Standards, Charter's, and quite a few more various handguns over the last 50 years.

Anyone interested in a Taurus or Rossi, instead of a S&W, should go ahead and buy/use one for as long as they want.

If it works/shoots well, good for you. I can't fault such owners from saying so about their examples.

If it doesn't, God help you...................... because:

If you return it under warranty, it will be torture.

If you decide to sell it off, you will find out that there will be precious few buyers for a used Taurus/Rossi, at any price, never mind a fair one - unless another inexperienced "looker" is found.  IOW, your "return on investment" will be nil.

.

[CajunBass]

I've owned three Taurus revolvers over the years.  I didn't shoot two of them a lot, but I liked them nontheless.  Fit and finish seemed to be quite good on both (a 7 shot 357 and a 5 shot snubbie).  The other one, a "clone" of a model 10 Smith & Wesson, I shot the snot out of.  It worked like a champ.  The blue wasn't as nice as on a Smith & Wesson, and the grips were downright ugly with checkering that looked like it had been done with a Swiss Army Knife, but they and the gun worked fine.

Is a Smith & Wesson worth twice as much?  Well, yea they are.  Even having said the above, I think they are.  The Taurus served me well when I needed a gun that didn't cost a lot of money.  If that was all that mattered, they'd probably work just fine today.  But I've owned a pretty fair number of Smith and Wesson revolvers also.  About all I can say is the Smith's are just "better."  In my case I really can't tell you why, but I know they are.

[45-70.gov]

GET  OUT THE  CALCULATOR

this  is what  i did  to  justify  that performance center  smith and wesson

a gun  will  last your  lifetime
so  take the number  of years  left  in  you  life  [approximate]
devide  that  into  the difference  in  the gum  cost  [subtract cheap gun  from the one you want]
  WOW    $5  a year  to  have   the BEST   wasn't that  easey

so  your old don't  have that many years......better spend it while you can
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i  was going to say...'i agree...good  post''
then  i realized  it was  my own  post  way back

is this a sign of  old age...guess  i am in the spend it while i can group now

[Squib]

the internal operations are very similiar but the smith has more trigger parts in it and a different mechanism in the hammer lock.  all the rebound spring assembly stuff that keeps the trigger pressure more consistent and creep free in a smith isn't even in the taurus in ANY form.  that is good for shooting, bad if the gun gets really dirty inside.  the gun locks on a taurus directly impede the hammer's ability to cock by blocking the disengagement of the sear contact points (might make the trigger gritty if there are some burrs, might not).  a smith locks the SIDE of the hammer and doesn't let it rotate backwards enough to cock but DOESN'T affect the actual sear CONTACT points or "tripping" of the trigger.

http://www.snubnose.info/docs/model60-15.htm
http://www.snubnose.info/docs/lockwork.htm

I can only find s/w diagrams, realize that the REBOUND assembly ain't there, and the lock is different.  other than that the taurus has not the polish job in the cylinders.  beyond that I don't know of any legitimate functional difference.  (snubs from both have tight fitting cylinders if you know how to check that sort of thing competently).

[Victor3]

 That said, I'd never buy another Taurus after hearing about their lousy customer service and problems others have had with them.

I am not a Taurus fan.
That said, you are willing to let others influence you more than your own experience? People that you probably don't know or have never met?
On the internet I firmly believe
Believe half of what you see and nothing that you hear!!!!!!

 It's not only internet info; A friend got a bad one and I've met a couple of guys at the range who had problems with theirs. Also, I doubt that everyone I have read about on gun forums are fabricating stories about bad customer service.

 I just happened to have got a good one. I saw a real live Ford Pinto at the market the other day. Doesn't mean that the ones we heard about bursting into flames was just a baseless rumor. 

[ejpaul1]

all depends on your perspective I guess. I have an old pinned and recessed model 29 I bought a few years back. Made in 1974. The only other 44Mag I would have in its place is a redhawk. I like them. Having said that, my Dad has a taurus 357 mag. He has had no problems with it and he's been shooting it a few years. Depends really on who you talk to. Beware of the over opinionated. My old model 29 shoots every time, just like my dads taurus. EJ

[Mohawk]

To me it is worth triple the price. There is a reason the SW revolvers have been copied the world over by many gun companies. What do they say about flattery? Same goes for Tabasco sauce.

[ejpaul1]

Mohawk, have you tried cholula's hot sauce, franks or lousiana? They're pretty good. Thy have thier own flavor. EJ

[Mohawk]

Oh yes. Even went to the Texas Hot Sauce Festival here in Austin. Tabasco still tops them in my book! Good flavors no doubt but not that Tabasco original flavor. I went through two bottles on my last deer. Choula is my second though! I look for the wooden cap when Tabasco is out of reach.

[Rutin2tin]

I'm not sure that it has been said yet, but with USA produced revolvers one can buy upgrade parts; both aftermarket and factory upgrade items.

For example: I recently added a flash chromed & forged .400" Target Trigger and .500" Target Hammer to My S&W 686-1, a forged rimfire, .500" Target Hammer and forged .400 smooth Combat Trigger to My S&W 617 (no dash), and I just bought a mess of Colt Trooper Mark III parts, (a frame-destroyed, court confiscated gun), and I installed the near perfect smooth, wide target trigger into My Colt Trooper Mark III.
Ruger double & single action parts are available from Ruger, and custom made hammers and triggers and other action parts are available from Power Custom, Inc.

If My revolvers were Taurus products, I doubt that I could buy upgrade components such as Target Triggers, Target Hammers, Target Grips, custom tune spring kits, etc.

That's another way of viewing the value of USA produced revolvers.

I highly recommend Colt, S&W, and Ruger revolvers, because Your great, great, great, grandchildren will enjoy those firearms if they are properly maintained.

[Mohawk]

Good point. I still get a rabbit here and there using my Grandfather's .32-20 hand-ejector S&W 4" revolver. Issued in the 1920's.