Is it a quality piece?

[fauxpa46]

I would love to have a .357 revolver as my next purchase for my collection, however as pricing does, indeed have something to do with my choice(s), I am in a quandary as to what is a good "bang for the buck". As any gun aficionado would probably agree, one cannot go wrong with either a S&W or Colt, and even a Ruger. However, some more, shall we say affordable guns are being made by Charter Arms, Taurus, or EAA. Not wanting to buy a revolver of questionable quality, I feel it only fair to at least perhaps give these makers a second look, however.

Can any of you speak to your experiences with any of the three above mentioned manufacturers as they compare with the more expensive brands? I certainly believe the old adage, "You get what you pay for", but sometimes the checkbook must dictate the final purchase, if done so within reason.

Thank you for your responses.

Michael

[Sherman A. House DDS]

I have a Charter Arms Pathfinder .22. I bought it in college so that I could afford to keep practice up. I call it the, "staple gun," because it keyholes at 5 yards, and puts ripped holes in the target that look like high velocity staple holes. I've never sent it back to get fixed, because I think Charter has changed ownership about 37 times since I was in college.

My brother had a Taurus .22 that went back to the factory 4 times, before he said to hell with it and traded into a Smith 317.

The morale of the story is, two of the brands you mentioned can't make a .22 that stays together. And you want a .357. I don't know about you, but I'm a surgeon and my hands are literally worth millions to me. I LOVE shooting my Ruger, and Smith .357's, but I'd be damned if I'd shoot anything hot in one of these high volume, low quality, gun rag glossy ad revolvers. Buy once, cry once.

The money you save, you'll wish you'd invested in a quality piece.


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[Duelist]

My dad bought a Taurus 85, IIRC. The firing pin spring broke because of dry firing without a snap cap. Otherwise, it seems fine, if a bit unrefined in the finish and roll marks. A friend bought a Taurus 605. It's basically been a sock drawer gun. They shot it a bit, but I doubt more than a couple hundred rounds in more than a decade. Some of the markings that should be roll marks look like they were stippled on by hand with an engraving pen. Again, some of the finish machining and work is rough.

I'd get a S&W or a Ruger.

[Stephanie B]

Full-charge .357s: S&W L or N frame or a Ruger. Mostly .38s, a K frame.

Taurus/Charter are hit and miss. You can find a decent one (have a '90s era 605) or a real dog (had a Taurus .22 that shot patterns, not groups). Well, they all can make a bad gun, but your chances are better with a Smith or a Ruger.

Was me, I'd buy a used Smith or Ruger over a new Armscor, Charter, Rossi or Taurus.


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[APS-PF]

Even though the new revolvers from S&W and Ruger seem to need to go back to the factory more often than they used to both companies will give you good customer service, pay for shipping, etc. I am not sure the same can be said about Taurus, CA, etc.
If cost is a factor I would much rather buy a used S&W than a new Taurus or CA.

[Lester Polfus]

When it comes to Taurus, Charter, EAA, and their ilk, I can't afford guns that cheap.

[Duelist]

To expand on this further, the checkbook only affects what you buy through what you can spend if you must buy it now. If you can be patient, if you can wait to get what you really want, you can have anything you want.

A new Taurus 605 costs about $325. A new Taurus 66 costs about $500. If you have that in your pocket, great! You probably have enough to buy a used S&W or Ruger.

If you don't have that much yet, or you really want a new S&W or Ruger, keep reading.

Put what you have available to buy a gun today in a savings account instead and add $20 (or whatever you can afford) every payday, and ignore it other than your twice monthly deposit for six months. If you start from zero, you'll have $520 in six months. If you start with the $300 or so it would take to get that 605, you'll have $820. If that's not quite enough to buy the gun you want, save up a bit longer. You can buy anything you want. You just have to be willing to wait for it.

If you are a person who can't have money in the bank because it gets spent on other things, that's okay, too. You can still buy any gun you want. You just have to find a shop that does layaways. Give them your $300 toward that gun you really want, and then make a payment toward it every payday.

Your checking account balance only determines what you can have right now. You can have anything you want, without going into debt, if you have patience or can learn to be patient.

[fauxpa46]

When it comes to Taurus, Charter, EAA, and their ilk, I can't afford guns that cheap.

Well said! I like that.

[fauxpa46]

To expand on this further, the checkbook only affects what you buy through what you can spend if you must buy it now. If you can be patient, if you can wait to get what you really want, you can have anything you want.

A new Taurus 605 costs about $325. A new Taurus 66 costs about $500. If you have that in your pocket, great! You probably have enough to buy a used S&W or Ruger.

If you don't have that much yet, or you really want a new S&W or Ruger, keep reading.

Put what you have available to buy a gun today in a savings account instead and add $20 (or whatever you can afford) every payday, and ignore it other than your twice monthly deposit for six months. If you start from zero, you'll have $520 in six months. If you start with the $300 or so it would take to get that 605, you'll have $820. If that's not quite enough to buy the gun you want, save up a bit longer. You can buy anything you want. You just have to be willing to wait for it.

If you are a person who can't have money in the bank because it gets spent on other things, that's okay, too. You can still buy any gun you want. You just have to find a shop that does layaways. Give them your $300 toward that gun you really want, and then make a payment toward it every payday.

Your checking account balance only determines what you can have right now. You can have anything you want, without going into debt, if you have patience or can learn to be patient.

Best answer so far. Excellent reply. Thank you for the boot in the seat of my pants. Great advice. At 70 yrs. old, I know this concept, but boys and their toys sometimes push patience out the door!!

[okie john]

I would love to have a .357 revolver as my next purchase for my collection, however as pricing does, indeed have something to do with my choice(s), I am in a quandary as to what is a good "bang for the buck". As any gun aficionado would probably agree, one cannot go wrong with either a S&W or Colt, and even a Ruger. However, some more, shall we say affordable guns are being made by Charter Arms, Taurus, or EAA. Not wanting to buy a revolver of questionable quality, I feel it only fair to at least perhaps give these makers a second look, however.

Can any of you speak to your experiences with any of the three above mentioned manufacturers as they compare with the more expensive brands? I certainly believe the old adage, "You get what you pay for", but sometimes the checkbook must dictate the final purchase, if done so within reason.

I used to work on an indoor range that rented handguns, including several Smith & Wesson (M-64, M-19, M-36, M-17, M-34) and Ruger (SP101, GP100, Super Redhawk) revolvers. We ran a toothbrush under the extractor stars every few days, cleaned them more thoroughly about every 500 rounds, and kept them well-lubricated with BreakFree CLP. They went through tens of thousands of rounds before needing routine maintenance, including replacing springs and other small parts. The Rugers were somewhat more robust than the Smiths, especially those that were fired with hot 357 and 44 ammo, but only after the cost of ammo was many multiples of the cost of the guns themselves. Warranty service was acceptable on these guns, but we wanted to keep them on the line as much as possible because they got shot so much (and made so much money) that we kept a stock of smaller parts on hand and had more complex repairs done locally by a guy who could turn them around in a day. Overall, Smith and Ruger revolvers gave very solid service and were relatively easy to keep in service given the boatloads of ammo that our customers ran through them.

The 2-3 Taurus revolvers that we put on the range began to have trouble in the first few weeks and were useless in a few months, during which time they were probably fired less than 2,000 rounds. Warranty service sucked, parts weren't available, and our local guy wouldn't touch them, so we never replaced them. We never tried Charter Arms, and I don't recall that EAA was a going concern in those days. Overall, these models were not up to the extended use and borderline abuse of a commercial setting.

Based on that experience, I would buy a Taurus/EAA/Charter if I intended to shoot it less than a few boxes of ammo a year AND if I did not plan to rely on it for defense against people or animals. If I planned to shoot more OR if it would fill any type of defensive role, then I would buy a more robust weapon (S&W, Ruger, earlier Colt). If cost were a driving factor, then I would definitely buy a police trade-in S&W, which should cost about the same as a new gun of lesser quality.

For what it's worth, Gen1 Glocks and our single GI-grade 1911 were far tougher than any of the revolvers, most repairs were easier and faster to execute, and they required far less maintenance overall.

Hope this helps.


Okie John