Taurus Model 608 .357 Interest w/ 6 1/2" barrel
I'm looking hard at buying this pistol but not so sure about the 8 round capacity relative to "thinned wall" cylinder and higher impact ammo. Any feedback on this and has anyone had problems selling theirs due to negative "press" on this pistol? This is strictly for nite stand purposes and water jug shooting. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I recently bought a S&W 340PD Air Lite for carry and am not too impressed w/ the machine quality of the components. The Taurus seems to hold its own. I'm rambling sorry. . .
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I've heard of no problems with the hi-cap cylinders on any recent revolvers, Taurus or S&W. With modern alloys & hi-tech testing, they are quite confident of their strength.
Tauri seem to have a higher percentage of problems related to quality control, including breakage of CNC parts. In recent years, their US service has declined, with folks reporting long waits & broken guns returned still broken. If it's a gun I'm going to stake my life on, I'm going with a quality manufacturer.
I recently bought a S&W M637, & have no complaints. Yeah, I miss high polish forged steel, but the fit & function of current guns from them are still top notch.
Personally, I think that the gun you depend on for home defense should be the same one you take with you when you go out at night.
Neal0 -
Neal, it's almost impossible to CC with a Taurus 608 sporting a 6" barrel. Most are full underlug, ported, and shiny as heck! It'd be like hiding a bulgy gold brick! Or a puppy!
Mr. duk
I have a pair; a 6" and the 8 3/8", both stainless, both smooth as a er, well, you know, and that was outta the box.
Both show no signs of exploding in my hands, the walls of the cylinders are actually thicker than those on my older Rossi 971.
Both have been used as competitors at Big Bore silhouette, and the longer one got me an honest 36 3 weeks ago.
There are even speedloaders for them, Maxfire, IIRC.
Don't be skeered to buy a Taurus; they have a Lifetime warranty exactly like Colt.0 -
I have the Taurus 357 tracker with 6" ported barrel.
It's a seven shot. Had it about 5 years and shot thousands of rounds with never a problem.
It's very accurate and has a nice smooth trigger.
Must of got one of the rare ones[:D]0 -
I had this 608 for a while before I gave it to my son. It was a big heavy horse that was fully functional. The finish was good, but the fit wasn't up to a S&W. Of course I didn't give a S&W price either. I don't think they were very popular, but it seemed to be a servicable revolver. My son lives on a mountain in Alabama and keeps it loaded with, first 4 with snake shot and the next four with full .357s.
It would be good in a gunfight, if the badguy was counting shots.[:D]
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If it says Taurus, leave it alone. It is not worth all the problems it could bring you, just because you think it is a bargain. When is the last time you got a bargain PITA you could not get rid of?
Best0 -
quote:Originally posted by dukgrinder
I'm looking hard at buying this pistol but not so sure about the 8 round capacity relative to "thinned wall" cylinder and higher impact ammo. Any feedback on this and has anyone had problems selling theirs due to negative "press" on this pistol? This is strictly for nite stand purposes and water jug shooting. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I recently bought a S&W 340PD Air Lite for carry and am not too impressed w/ the machine quality of the components. The Taurus seems to hold its own. I'm rambling sorry. . .
I wouldn't worry about the 8 round capacity. Modern steels are good and the cylinder advance grooves have NOT been offset from the chamber walls, so you don't lose thickness there. I think if you were to actually mike the minimum wall thickness, you'd find that there was no significant difference in steel thickness here compared to a typical medium frame or other .357s.
Edit (responding to TSR1965 below), you're right about the cylinder stop notches. . .what the heck was I thinking?. Still, I don't think the metal here is going to be thinner than in other designs, and I also doubt the cylinder wall is the weak point in this gun.
If you think you may want to sell the gun within any short amount of time, then I'd suggest just omitting the middle step and not buying it to begin with!
Put differently, a different brand gun is probably going to be more "liquid", for whatever that's worth.
Yes, Taurus has a (in my opinion well-deserved) reputation for poor quality control, *BUT* there are plenty of good ones out there. So I wouldn't let that by itself be a deal-breaker, especially if you have the ability to test it thoroughly and/or return it easily.
Also, a potentially lower resale value does cut both ways. If the resale value of the gun were affected by Taurus' reputation, then you should be able to get the benefit of that lower price if you buy an already used gun.
If you want to know what the prices of these guns are in the "real world" you can do a quick search on the auction site here. (They probably go new for about $500-550, used for $400).
Like a few of the other above, I question the practicality of a huge gun like this for the specific purpose of home defense. Yes, it "could" work, but there are far better choices out there. This one is a fairly bulky and heavy gun, and the long barrel makes it harder to handle, and easier to grab/twist away from you. For water jugs, hunting, or silhouette shooting, a 6" bbl is great, but for purely indoor use, I'd suggest a shorter barrel.
As mentioned above, this is NOT a concealed carry gun.
If you truly are looking for a higher-capacity long barrelled .357 with full underlug, then I'd suggest taking a good look at the Smith 686+, for roughly $150 more than the Taurus. Yes, it only holds 7 shots, but its likely a better gun overall, its an easier sell later, and parts and accessories are more readily available.0 -
quote:Originally posted by beantownshootah
quote:Originally posted by dukgrinder
I'm looking hard at buying this pistol but not so sure about the 8 round capacity relative to "thinned wall" cylinder and higher impact ammo. Any feedback on this and has anyone had problems selling theirs due to negative "press" on this pistol? This is strictly for nite stand purposes and water jug shooting. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I recently bought a S&W 340PD Air Lite for carry and am not too impressed w/ the machine quality of the components. The Taurus seems to hold its own. I'm rambling sorry. . .
I wouldn't worry about the 8 round capacity. Modern steels are good and the cylinder advance grooves have been offset from the chamber walls, so you don't lose thickness there. I think if you were to actually mike the minimum wall thickness, you'd find that there was no significant difference in steel thickness here compared to a typical medium frame or other .357s.
If you think you may want to sell the gun within any short amount of time, then I'd suggest just omitting the middle step and not buying it to begin with!
Put differently, a different brand gun is probably going to be more "liquid", for whatever that's worth.
Yes, Taurus has a (in my opinion well-deserved) reputation for poor quality control, *BUT* there are plenty of good ones out there. So I wouldn't let that by itself be a deal-breaker, especially if you have the ability to test it thoroughly and/or return it easily.
Also, a potentially lower resale value does cut both ways. If the resale value of the gun were affected by Taurus' reputation, then you should be able to get the benefit of that lower price if you buy an already used gun.
If you want to know what the prices of these guns are in the "real world" you can do a quick search on the auction site here. (They probably go new for about $500-550, used for $400).
Like a few of the other above, I question the practicality of a huge gun like this for the specific purpose of home defense. Yes, it "could" work, but there are far better choices out there. This one is a fairly bulky and heavy gun, and the long barrel makes it harder to handle, and easier to grab/twist away from you. For water jugs, hunting, or silhouette shooting, a 6" bbl is great, but for purely indoor use, I'd suggest a shorter barrel.
As mentioned above, this is NOT a concealed carry gun.
If you truly are looking for a higher-capacity long barrelled .357 with full underlug, then I'd suggest taking a good look at the Smith 686+, for roughly $150 more than the Taurus. Yes, it only holds 7 shots, but its likely a better gun overall, its an easier sell later, and parts and accessories are more readily available.
If that is a 608 in the picture above, the cylinder stop recesses are right over the chamber, not off set. Not the best design to start with.0 -
quote:Originally posted by GONESHOOTING
I have the Taurus 357 tracker with 6" ported barrel.
It's a seven shot. Had it about 5 years and shot thousands of rounds with never a problem.
It's very accurate and has a nice smooth trigger.
Must of got one of the rare ones[:D]
Me too, mine is a titanium model, good trigger, smooth shooter, none of my Colt or Smith revolvers will outshoot it. Had mine for roughly 8 years or so.0
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