Taurus

Polymer mouse guns aren’t for everyone. Some of us prefer a more substantial .380–but they’re getting to be rather scarce. Here’s one you should consider if you ever come across one used. The Taurus Pt-58.

The 85 is a rock-solid revolver, but Taurus has added something special to this one. The hammer spur can be removed with a simple twist. Now the classic wheel gun can be easily converted into an even better option for concealed carry.

Some of the readers of GunsAmerica have asked about guns that are easy for people with weakened hands to carry. Age, arthritis–why should these things slow keep you from carrying? Well Taurus has listened, and their TCP is now available with an assistive device that makes racking easy.

I have always been a fan of the .44 Magnum, not because it is the biggest boy on the block (it’s not), but because you can always get ammo for it, and it’s easy and cheap to reload. But probably the biggest strength of the .44 Mag is that you can get ammo at most any gun shop, and even at Walmarts that still carry ammo. To me that outweighs the little bit of extra power you can get with guns that are more powerful, and that have much more expensive and rare ammo. I think every gun accumulation should have a .44 Mag in it. And if you can afford one of the top name (and price) brands, you should consider them. But if you’re on a budget, I have found that this new generation of Taurus products are extremely high quality. The Model 444 Raging Bull 44 Mag .has been around for a generation at this point, and at a street price of under $700, I thought it was worth a new look and a range test. After a couple hundred rounds downrange, the gun did not disappoint. The Raging Bull is a handful, to hold and to shoot, but if you are in the market for a .44 Mag, I think you’d be surprised by this big Taurus stainless steel revolver.

We got a sneak peak of the Taurus Curve last year, but didn’t get to give it the full attention it deserves. This isn’t a gun that shines on the range. It has to be carried in order to be appreciated. We’ve had The Curve in rotation some this summer, and are here with a follow-up on our initial review.

When you think about it, we wear our guns a lot more than we shoot them, yet they are designed primarily for shooting. The new Taurus Curve fixes that. The grip on the gun is curved, so that when you were it on your hip or carry it in your pocket, the guns hugs the contour of your body. It is a 6+1 .380 ACP semi-automatic pistol with a consistent trigger pull for each shot. The MSRP for the introductory model is $392, and it will come with an integral LaserLyte light and laser combo built in. The Curve also comes with a Kydex pull-off trigger guard holster, and screwed onto the side of the gun is a steel clip for inside the waistband or inside a purse pocket carry.

When I got an invite to the factory at Taurus Firearms, I thought I had just scored a free trip to Brazil! But little did I know, Taurus makes many of their guns right here in the USA, near my stomping grounds in Miami. Those of us who were invited from the gun media family got to see how they make the Taurus tipup pistols, called the small frame or Model 22, and many of the .380 TCP parts being made, as well as guns from Taurus’s Heritage cowboy gun series and even some of the OEM parts that Taurus builds for other manufacturers.

For urban combat and self defense, many would argue that there is no better choice in a firearm than a pistol-caliber carbine. It has almost no recoil or muzzle rise, little muzzle flash and plenty of punch to get the job done in close quarters. The H&K MP5 is legend when it comes to SWAT and SPEC-OPS deployment, and it has achieved that status firing the 9mm cartridge, despite concerns of many that the 9mm is underpowered. The Taurus CT9 and CT40 are new entrants into the pistol-caliber carbine market, and they look and work a lot like H&K’s follow up to the MP5, called the UMP. The civilian version was called the USC, and is no longer produced (it was too expensive). The Taurus CT9 is a more full-featured gun than the USC, and with an MSRP of $879 and street prices under $750, this new carbine should fly off the shelves. As this article is coming out, the .40 S&W version was released, but we were able to test the 9mm gun. Our results showed the CT9 to be extremely reliable and tolerant of different types of ammo. The accuracy is at least as good as other pistol caliber carbines we have tested, and the features on the gun are all you could want for home and personal defense. This year is going to see a new emergence from Taurus since Mark Kresser took over the company. With the new focus on quality control and great customer service, the affordability of Taurus products will finally be backed up by a company that puts customers as #1. The CT9 is the first truly new product from Taurus for a while, and minus a couple peeves, it seems to be everything you could want in a pistol caliber carbine.

The new Taurus View with the transparent Lexan side plate was unveiled at the January SHOT Show in Las Vegas. Since then there have been several brief but glowing reviews based on limited time with the gun at the show. We wanted to see for ourselves—is all the hype deserved? Or is it just a gimmick to sell guns? At scarcely over half a pound, with a titanium cylinder and barrel, there is hardly a gun in the market to even compete with the View at a street price of around $500. But with an extremely lightweight revolver, in the venerable .38 Special, always comes punishing recoil, which I’ll get to. The Lexan panel is nifty, and does have some actual use, but to me what makes this gun stand out is the extreme pocket-ability and light weight at a competitive price to the tiny semi-autos in the comparable 9mm. And while the gun isn’t perfect, all of these mostly positive reviews showcase a new direction for Taurus, with vastly improved quality control and customer service, at the same Taurus affordable prices. The View isn’t for everyone. She kicks pretty hard. But if an extremely lightweight and reliable revolver is on your bucket list, we found the Taurus View to be well worth your attention.