Taurus 608; Worth the Gamble??

[Onward Allusion]

From an owner of one . . .

I have a 6" 608 in bright SS. Very very accurate. Perceived recoil with full house 357 loads is less than a S&W Model 10 or a Taurus 82 due to the weight & porting. Trigger is super smooth, but it was worked on. It's an older no lock model. 8 rounds of Doubletap makes for a decent house gun.

 

[badge851]

I have eleven Taurus® revolvers.............
• Mdl 85B2CH 38 Special - 1994
• Mdl 669SS4CP 357 Magnum - 1996
• Mdl 85B2 38 Special - 1997
• Mdl 617SS2 357 Magnum - 2003
• Mdl 605SS3 357 Magnum - 2006
• Mdl 85SS2UL 38 Special - 2007
• Mdl 605SS2 357 Magnum - 2010
• Mdl 605SS2 357 Magnum - 2012
• Mdl 425SS2 41 Magnum - 2012
• Mdl 85SS2UL 38 Special - 2012
• Mdl 992B4 22lr/22Mag - 2013

All have performed superbly and I continue to shoot them all almost every week.

I have only encountered two problems.........
• Mdl 85B2CH broke a firing pin after 11,000+ rounds. I replaced the firing pin & it's still going strong.
I have zero complaints with Taurus® customer service. The one time I had to send a gun in they fixed and returned it when they said they would. Specifically.....................
• Mdl 617 developed excessive cylinder to forcing cone gap (.011") after almost 6,000 rounds. I sent it to Taurus® and they replaced the cylinder and adjusted the crane and yoke. I've since put 2,000+ rounds through it and it's still going strong.

I will not hesitate to buy additional Taurus® revolvers. They are an outstanding value.
• [B]www.taurusarmed.net[/B]

 

[lapetrarca53]

Can't speak to revolvers but, my Taurus TCP PT738 (.380acp) has been flawless through the first 500 rounds.

That led me to become interested in a Taurus PT709 Slim in 9mm.

That has also been flawless for 1500+ rounds.

That led me to become interested in a full size 9mm. Enter the Taurus PT809 9mm that I picked up yesterday.

Can't wait to get some range time in with it this weekend!

Taurus has stepped up their game......do you understand what an ISO certification means?

Then again, maybe I'm just INCREDIBLY lucky!

 

[EricandSuebee]

Taurus may have had a bad rap in the past but since the new CEO took over, they are working very hard to get out of their past and make things right, including CS & QC.

 

[skizzums]

just took out the 357 rossi m92 today for the first time, 400 rounds of all kinds of off-the-wall cast boolits, all cycled flawlessly and it shot great

i dont care for the rear bull-horn sight, but its a great gun so far

this is my second taurus ive been pleased with, have the 357 poly protector with prob over 1k w/o issue

i dont doubt peoples problems, but i think the majority have good experiences, with the dramatic cost savings you have to expect you may have to deal with CS with some

 

[gyvel]

I think the best advice here is: "Caveat emptor."

 

[Woodslab]

608

I have the ss608 6". 357 .I have been reloading and shoot about 200 to 300 rds every weekend at the range. My favorite round in 125 bullet 21.8 grns w296. I don't mind the ports. The shockwave hits your face. It is one of the loudest calibers to begin with. The porting adds to it. I haven't had any problems mechanically. Smooth trigger out of box. I bought it in 2005 I think. I do have some flame cutting, but I use it for testing some terrible trial loads. I pushed a 125 bullet over 1700 with this gun.

 

[Micahweeks]

I have owned a couple of Taurus revolvers over the years and have shot many. I've never had an issue with them. But, I will say this. You can tell pretty easily a difference in quality between them and a Ruger or Smith.

I had a Taurus 66 for a little while (sold it to help finance my Glock 35). It worked just fine. I never shot .357 out of it. I had probably a thousand rounds of .38 sitting in my closet at the time and was content just to shoot that until I ran out. But, the Taurus did just fine.

Now that I own three Rugers and one S&W, I probably won't buy another Taurus. It's not that the Taurus is "bad" per se (at least not to me). It worked. If I had nothing else to carry, I'd feel fine with it on my belt. But, there's just a very noticeable step up in quality when you look in a Ruger or Smith.

The materials in the Smiths and Rugers seem... more subantial? I can't think of another way to express it, but they just "feel" sturdier and better finished. I like that, and it's why I now choose Ruger as my primary revolver brand. I like Smiths, too, when I have the extra cash. If I find myself on hard times, I'll pick up a Taurus. But, I just have more confidence with my Rugers because of that feeling of sturdiness.

 

[Axelwik]

I bought a new 608 and the cylinder locked up after 50 rounds. Brought it back and got a Ruger GP100.

I recently got another Taurus, a Judge, and the trigger stopped resetting. Traded that for a S&W.

I'll never buy another Taurus.

By the way I really don't mind the locks on my Smiths. I travel a lot for work, and I think it limits my liability if a dishonest maid digs through my luggage and finds a gun when I'm out where I can't carry. Not like having a safe, but that's hard to do on the road.

 

[Wheel-Gunner]

Thanks for everyone's comments. I still haven't made up my mind, but am leaning towards grabbing my 7-shot 686 and riding off into the sunset. 8 shots would be cool, but getting a revolver that binds and locks up (seems to be a fairly common complaint regarding the 608) would only frustrate me.

By all means, keep the comments coming from those that have first hand experience with the 608.

 

[leadcounsel]

I've got a few Taurus handguns. I've had a lemon, but am overall satisfied with Taurus.

I don't have the 608, but I have a full-size 7 shot Taurus (I don't recall the model #). It's solid, reliable, and heavy! It was my first revolver and it was very affordable.

I take chances on Taurus but at below market value and only due to the warranty.

If I were searching for a new revolver, and something I was going to rely on I would probably look to Ruger or Smith, and be okay with 6 shots and speedloaders.

 

[Brotherbadger]

I've had good luck with my father's Taurus Revolver, but that's a very small sample size. If you have the money for a Smith, I'd honestly wait till you find one.

 

[gyvel]

I think the key word in your heading is "gamble."

 

[Glock20/460long]

Bought a new one 5-6 years ago. About 4000 rounds (.357s) later she's still a good runner. Nice trigger too. Not as nice as my S&W 327 R8 M&P or my 627 V-comp, but, hey, it was 1/3 the price.

TBS, I never had to send it back for work like my 627 or my 327. I sold it to my bro with faith.

 

[Kevinch]

I've had 1 Taurus revolver, a Model 85 that did have to go back to the factory for repair right after I bought it. This was back in the early-to-mid 1990s. The barrel was cranked in too far, canting the front sight so it wouldn't shoot anywhere near POA, & it had light primer strikes shooting DA. Once returned, it was fine. Sold it to a friend who AFAIK still has it.

FWIW, my 686-2 had to go back to S&W to have the cylinder gap adjusted.

I currently own (2) Taurus semi-auto pistols; a PT940 (.40S&W) & a PT1911 in 9MM. Haven't shot the 1911 enough yet to offer a solid opinion but it hasn't missed a beat when I have taken it out. The 940 is a gun I've thought of selling numerous times as it is the only .40 that I own & I have enough different calibers without it. But I always take it out to shoot up my ammo before I sell, & when I do I'm reminded of how well it shoots. It's just dead accurate, even compared to my higher end 1911s. I always clean it, put it away & forget about selling.

If there is a Taurus I like, I wouldn't think twice about buying it.