I don't own a revolver :(

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PaiN

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..in the last few months the little guy in my(our) head(s) has been reminding of this frequently(mostly thanks to Toerag)..

I had been looking at .22 revolvers for awhile but couldn't find the right one. So, I dropped the idea of revolvers until yesterday(which happened to be my birthday) I checked in at a local gun\pawn shop, they had a Taurus 4" .357 M66....first the DA\SA trigger is fantastic, which took me by surprise, besides that the gun fell perfect into my hand the weight and balance were right on...yep, I like the Model 66 :)
I didn't bite, because I didn't know anything about the gun and he was asking $489 which looked high. I left to do some research. I can't find anything said bad about the 66, but at $489 this stores price is ~$70-90 more than it is retailing for around here.
Any opinions on the Taurus M66 .357?
 
I don't own one yet either. It's on my "to buy" list as well. I've read lots of good things about the S&W 686 and the Ruger GP100. Everyone loves the 686 and most people say the GP100 is nice but not as pretty as the 686. The general consensus is that you can't go wrong with either.
 
If it's going to be your first revolver... I'd get a S&W. No doubt. The Taurus 66 is the copy of S&W's 686.

Taurus copied it for a reason [wink]

Save a few more bucks and get the original.

Rugers are good too. Built like tanks.

And if you do enough research, like Cross-x said, you'll find that Taurus has a spotty track record.

This was my first revolver:

S&W Model 19-2 2.5" in Nickel - .357 Magnum
IMG_2275.jpg


Then came:

S&W Model 60 2" Stainless - .38 Special
IMG_6817.jpg


S&W 34-1 2" in Nickel - .22lr
IMG_3103.jpg


S&W 64-3 3" Stainless - .38 Special
IMG_3981.jpg


And the most recent being my S&W 28-2 6" Highway Patrolman in matte blue - .357 Magnum
IMG_4085.jpg


When you get your first one... it's hard to stop!

And yes, I'm a picture whore.
 
Hanwei said:
If it's going to be your first revolver... I'd get a S&W. No doubt. The Taurus 66 is the copy of S&W's 686.

Save a few more bucks and get the original.

Rugers are good too. Built like tanks.

And if you do enough research, like Cross-x said, you'll find that Taurus has a spotty track record.
And yes, I'm a picture whore.
Click to expand...

Yes, Hanwei is a picture whore, and thank goodness for that! Few post better pictures than he does. He also is right on with his comments. Guns are no different from any other item; when you buy, buy as much quality as you can afford.
 
This morning I went to look at a Ruger SP101 4" ss in .357 with the Hogue style grip, it is a very beefy gun, over the phone the salesman said he could do it for "about" the same price as the Taurus 66.....Once I got there his "about" $100 more [frown] ...I was to pissed to buy it
So, I left with nothing
 
PaiN said:
This morning I went to look at a Ruger SP101 4" ss in .357 with the Hogue style grip, it is a very beefy gun, over the phone the salesman said he could do it for "about" the same price as the Taurus 66.....Once I got there his "about" $100 more [frown] ...I was to pissed to buy it
So, I left with nothing
Click to expand...

That sucks. Who was the retailer? They should be pointed out for pulling such BS. If it were in MA I would point you to AG Guns in Lowell. They list the Ruger GP100 4" SS $456. I assume you meant the GP100 since I don't see at SP101 in 4" with Houge grips.
 
I have 2 revolvers, both Ruger SP101's. A snub nose DAO 357 and a 4" 22lr. I put Hogue Monogrips on both. I bought them used from Four Seasons and they were very reasonably priced. (under $350 each). They are well made, stout and great shooters.
sp101small.JPG
 
eisenhow said:
That sucks. Who was the retailer? They should be pointed out for pulling such BS. If it were in MA I would point you to AG Guns in Lowell. They list the Ruger GP100 4" SS $456. I assume you meant the GP100 since I don't see at SP101 in 4" with Houge grips.
Click to expand...

ops...my bad it was an SP100
I had been looking at the SP on the site just before I posted [rolleyes]

as for the retailer....I'd rather not bad mouth, in the past I've had good dealings with them...I think it was the sales guy not the store, if you know what I mean.
 
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Since I own stock in both S&W and Ruger I heartily recommend that you purchase either one of those brands.[wink] I like the Ruger GP100 or an S&W 686 with a four inch barrel for general use. Ergonomically, I actually like the Ruger a tad better, but a Smith is a Smith.

Over the years, I have tended to look at S&W K frames in .357 (M19, M66, M13, M65)with a little bit of a jaundiced eye. There have been too many reports over the years of K frames not standing up to a steady diet of .357's which is why the L frame was developed. I might have a conservative stance on this, but if you buy a K frame .357, I would recommend that you shoot lots of .38 spl and be a little sparing with the .357 rounds.

Taurus takes a bad rap (yeah, I know what Carl at 4 Seasons says about them) but Taurus also spent a lot of money and R&D upgrading their revolver line in the 1980's and frankly I would rate many Taurus revolvers from that period higher than I would the S&W's of that period, both in fit and finish and smoothness of action...but again, that's just me. At one time Taurus represented a tremendous value in revolvers. Still all in all, I'd stick with the American brands.

I wouldn't sell Colt short either. If you can find a Trooper, Trooper Mk III, Trooper Mk V, Peacekeeper (a short lived transitional model), Lawman, or King Cobra that is in good shape and reasonably priced, snatch it up !

The nice thing is that there are plenty of good .357 revolvers on the used market that won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Mark L.
 
Thank you, mark that's good info.
The fact is there is a huge number of revolvers I could choose from. $400 is my limit and I want new. I don't like purchasing used guns. I'm still new to this and I'm not confident in picking a "good" used weapon at the right price and what I see in used cases are usually(always) not what I'm looking for.
 
I sold a GP100 to a member here on the forum for $260. It was in almost new condition. I had two of them and the second was a gift. There are deals out there for sure. The GP100 will last forever.

There are many great Smith revolvers too, but like has been said here, I'd buy an older one without the lock, maybe stainless steel. A 4" barrel and adjustable sights on a .38/357 is one of the most useful guns going.
 
I got crazy for afew hours there, lucky I was at work and couldn't go impulse buy. Its a damn awesome peice but it would be wasted on me and I'd be wasting $600 on it. Its not the type of gun for a shooter like me.

I know a PC Smith would be a pistol for some of you here [wink] SO, if you're interested in that clearanced S&W 627 PC its at Cabela's in E.Hartford
 
Avoid the Taurus.

Both other guns are better, will last longer and give better service.

Like Mark said, while I love my Smith revolvers, my Ruger GP100 whould be the last gun I'd sell of all the revolvers I own. It's a perfect all around gun, and I think it looks better than the Smiths, but don't tell that to my friends in the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association.... I'm passing!
 
I've bought a few guns over the years that were cheap knock-offs of original designs. I can tell you from experience, save the extra dough and get the real one. My problem was that I'd be at a gunshow, or a shop, and had a certain amount of money on me. I had to leave with something, so I'd settle for the lesser-reputed ones. (FEG pmk-380 instead of a Walther, or a Bauer .25 instead of a Baby Browning.) I once bought a Jennings .22 for $90, only to get to the range and realize the breechface was cracked, which made it fire full-auto by just chambering a round. I had it destroyed the next day. Stick with quality.
 
As an aside, I thought that Bauer .25's were rated quite highly in that particular class of firearm (heaven forbid if you shoot someone with a .25, you might piss them off and they might hurt you)..they were made in Michigan as I recall. Not the equal of a Baby Browning, but were they really that bad?

Mark L.
 
mark056 said:
As an aside, I thought that Bauer .25's were rated quite highly in that particular class of firearm (heaven forbid if you shoot someone with a .25, you might piss them off and they might hurt you)..they were made in Michigan as I recall. Not the equal of a Baby Browning, but were they really that bad?

Mark L.
Click to expand...

Actually no, I don't think they're considered "bad quality". Just a knock-off. Although mine (I still have it) has developed a small crack in a thin part of the frame by the trigger bar. The safety also broke a few years back and I bought a replacement, which was machined at the wrong angle so that the safety doesn't even work now. I've only shot it a handful of times. Probably 150 rounds at the most. But now it sits in the safe and who knows if I'll ever even shoot it again.
They were made in Fraser, Michigan. The company also changed hands a few times and the gun subsequently went by the name "Fraser .25", then "PSA .25". The latter being Precision Small Arms.
 
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On the way into work I stopped by the pawn shop that I first met the Taurus 66. It was still there...well, now its not [wink]
The pistol just feels good in my hand and the trigger is my favorite, by far, of the three. I said how over priced thier 66 was compaired to other new 66s'. The gun was NIB and the pawn was asking $489, I barganed it down to $400 w/ a 50 round box of Magtech .357.

Now I do own a revolver. [grin]
It might not be a gun that's around to give to my grand-kiddies...but hell, who cares, I believe the world is ending in 2012 anyway ....
 

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