Post by TMan on Nov 11, 2006 8:53:39 GMT -5
When I picked up the pistol, my dealer ( I used to refer to her as my dealer's wife, but she has really taken over and I never see him anymore. Hope he keeps her away from his boat. ;D ) asked me what was so great about the pistol, and I started explaining the features, and let her dry-fire it.
She made me proud: she very slowly applied pressure until it broke. Her response: "crisp, but not near as good as some of your other guns". It seemed a little heavy to me too, but she doesn't have a trigger gauge. Now a few observations:
This is the "blued" model, but the finish looks much more like it has been parkerized. The fit was perfect, but there was a little wear on the front of the slide where it slides into the frame.
When I ordered the pistol, the price she quoted me was $419. When I received it yesterday, the price was $444, which was about a 6% increase, still way under the $617 MSRP, but was it as advertised?
The two things I've found missing were the trigger job and beveled magazine well. The Shooting Times article mentioned that theirs was breaking at 3-1/2lbs. Mine? Try 5-1/2lbs. I measured it with the spring gauge and with the digital one, and I got the same results.
In fairness, the two above items were not mentioned on the manufacturer's web-site. However, there is a link from their site to the Shooting Times article. Obviously, what Dick Metcalf received was a prototype model. Magazine articles should be written about models that were plucked in random off the shelves not sent directly from the manufacturer. In other words these magazines are not Consumer Reports.
Where I thought they went a little far was their claim of polished feed ramp. I think we have different definitions of what polished really means. As a kid I thought I polished my shoes, then I went into the military... Their other claim of custom grip panels is a real stretch too. The fit of these plastic grips is fine, but custom?
One thing really ticked me off when I took the gun apart (just field-strip), it was bone dry. There was no trace of oil anywhere and the barrel was dirty, which proves it was tested at least. Their manual says to clean the gun after every shooting and after every 200 rounds if you are shooting tons of rounds on a particular day. If I had taken this to the range and put 200 rounds through the pistol, it would have had serious wear. I guess with the price of oil these days - why bother.
I'll find out next week how well it shoots. However, even if it is as good as a match pistol, it won't add much to my satisfaction.
The best feature of the pistol is the warranty, which is the standard Taurus warranty i.e. lifetime.
Now, getting back to my dealer's question: what is so great about the pistol? Answer: the price and the mark-up for the dealer (33%) to the MSRP price. So a dealer like one of my locals that gets a 20% markup would be selling it for $496, which is still below the $617 MSRP on Taurus's web-site and they would sell a lot at that price.
So for $500 is it worth it, or should you spend twice that amount for a competitor's pistol? I was looking at some S&W 1911's while at Sportsman's warehouse yesterday (I needed ammo and scope rings). Why don't I own of of those? They are stainless, and really beautiful looks. Do looks matter? Yeah, or I wouldn't have married my wife. I would only have to spend a few hundred more for a S&W.
Oh, one strange thing with the pistol is the Taurus lock. It is integrated into the hammer - so much for dropping in an aftermarket hammer. Incidentally, since this thing has a lifetime warranty, I will not be making any changes to it.
In case you haven't concluded it: so far after an initial look, this pistol has not knocked my socks off. I'm a real Taurus revolver fan. My 608 is one of the best shooting 357's I've ever shot. I'm also very fond of my Raging Bull. However, this is not a $1600 pistol for $500. I would expect a pistol like this to sell at more stores for $700, so for $500 it is a deal. My advice: spend a little more.
Hey, where the heck are my socks? Oh yeah, they are over by the Beretta Neos.
She made me proud: she very slowly applied pressure until it broke. Her response: "crisp, but not near as good as some of your other guns". It seemed a little heavy to me too, but she doesn't have a trigger gauge. Now a few observations:
This is the "blued" model, but the finish looks much more like it has been parkerized. The fit was perfect, but there was a little wear on the front of the slide where it slides into the frame.
When I ordered the pistol, the price she quoted me was $419. When I received it yesterday, the price was $444, which was about a 6% increase, still way under the $617 MSRP, but was it as advertised?
The two things I've found missing were the trigger job and beveled magazine well. The Shooting Times article mentioned that theirs was breaking at 3-1/2lbs. Mine? Try 5-1/2lbs. I measured it with the spring gauge and with the digital one, and I got the same results.
In fairness, the two above items were not mentioned on the manufacturer's web-site. However, there is a link from their site to the Shooting Times article. Obviously, what Dick Metcalf received was a prototype model. Magazine articles should be written about models that were plucked in random off the shelves not sent directly from the manufacturer. In other words these magazines are not Consumer Reports.
Where I thought they went a little far was their claim of polished feed ramp. I think we have different definitions of what polished really means. As a kid I thought I polished my shoes, then I went into the military... Their other claim of custom grip panels is a real stretch too. The fit of these plastic grips is fine, but custom?
One thing really ticked me off when I took the gun apart (just field-strip), it was bone dry. There was no trace of oil anywhere and the barrel was dirty, which proves it was tested at least. Their manual says to clean the gun after every shooting and after every 200 rounds if you are shooting tons of rounds on a particular day. If I had taken this to the range and put 200 rounds through the pistol, it would have had serious wear. I guess with the price of oil these days - why bother.
I'll find out next week how well it shoots. However, even if it is as good as a match pistol, it won't add much to my satisfaction.
The best feature of the pistol is the warranty, which is the standard Taurus warranty i.e. lifetime.
Now, getting back to my dealer's question: what is so great about the pistol? Answer: the price and the mark-up for the dealer (33%) to the MSRP price. So a dealer like one of my locals that gets a 20% markup would be selling it for $496, which is still below the $617 MSRP on Taurus's web-site and they would sell a lot at that price.
So for $500 is it worth it, or should you spend twice that amount for a competitor's pistol? I was looking at some S&W 1911's while at Sportsman's warehouse yesterday (I needed ammo and scope rings). Why don't I own of of those? They are stainless, and really beautiful looks. Do looks matter? Yeah, or I wouldn't have married my wife. I would only have to spend a few hundred more for a S&W.
Oh, one strange thing with the pistol is the Taurus lock. It is integrated into the hammer - so much for dropping in an aftermarket hammer. Incidentally, since this thing has a lifetime warranty, I will not be making any changes to it.
In case you haven't concluded it: so far after an initial look, this pistol has not knocked my socks off. I'm a real Taurus revolver fan. My 608 is one of the best shooting 357's I've ever shot. I'm also very fond of my Raging Bull. However, this is not a $1600 pistol for $500. I would expect a pistol like this to sell at more stores for $700, so for $500 it is a deal. My advice: spend a little more.
Hey, where the heck are my socks? Oh yeah, they are over by the Beretta Neos.
