SHOT Special: Taurus

Anyone who pays more than a little attention here knows I’m a big, big fan of Taurus. Like I say in the audio portion, I personally own several Taurus firearms, with the plan to pick up a few more. Taurus had some pretty neat new products out at the SHOT Show, as well as one product no where to be seen. Check out the exclusive audio content for info on new products from Taurus.

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The big news is that Taurus has decided to discontinue their Gaucho line of revolvers. The Gaucho is a single action revolver, but had a transfer bar safety making is safe to carry with six rounds. Sadly, Taurus said they weren’t really selling any more, so the excellent Gaucho has gone the way of the dodo. Sorry SASS fans.

All is not lost, there is good news from Taurus, in the form of loads of new products. First, Taurus is expanding the Judge .45/.410 line of revolvers with an Ultra-Light version with a 2 3/4 chamber, and a whole new version with a 3 inch chamber.

Above is the 3 in chamber version, below is the Ultra-Light.

Taurus is also expanding their line of semi-auto pistols. In addition to the new 709 Slimeline series of pistols which are serious concealment pieces, Taurus has also added a couple of mid-sized carry guns. A while back, Beretta offered the 92 series pistols in a “compact size”, but they went away. Taurus has essentially brought them back, with the Model 917 and Model 58. The Model 917 is essentially to the PT92 as the Glock 19 is to the Glock 17, except for one niggling detail. The 917 comes from the factory with a 20 round magazine, and accepts the standard magazines from the Pt92 series as well. The Model 58 is basically a 917 slightly scaled down for the .380 ACP round, again with a 20 round magazine. I don’t know what I need a 20 shot .380 for, but I kind of want it. The biggest cosmetic difference between the two guns is that the Model 917 has an accessory rail, and the Model 58 does not.

Either of those would make excellent carry guns, in particular the .380 would be quite easy to conceal and offers minimal recoil in exchange for a serious amount of firepower. Of course, I can hear people saying right now “of course you’ll need 20 rounds, it’s a .380”. I try to stay out of caliber wars, but the .380 from that pistol would produce better terminal ballistics than a .38 Special out of a 2 inch snubbie (on average).

Now, a new revolver that I don’t quite get, but think is cool is Taurus’ new 5mm Remington Magnum revolver. What I really like is the marketing material Taurus put in their press kit for this gun:

Read the blogs and find out the pent-up demand for the re-introduction of this great little round. We are proud to team up with the new surge and demand for this great ammo by offering our high class revolver with NINE shots of this blazing 5mm bullet. Challenge yourself to handgun excellence by mounting a good scope and smiling all day in the field.

This is why I love/love Taurus. They pay attention the consumer. When the opening line of your marketing material is “Read the blogs” it becomes a lot harder for New Media’s detractors to mount a case.

The round is going to be made by Augila (who also makes the 60 grain .22 rounds I love) and sold under the name “Centurion” in the US. Their stated specs say that the 5mm magnum will put out a 30 grain pill at 2300 FPS from an 18 inch rifle barrel; no velocity data yet for the revolvers.

Also, for the guys who maybe don’t want to buy a whole new gun and cartridge combo, Taurus is also making essentially the same gun in .22 Magnum.

As well as all the products above, Taurus is releasing a new line of concealed carry revolvers in .38 Special, with a six shot cylinder. They’re also ramping up their CCW revolver line by adding the new “Magnesium” framed revolvers, which are extremely light and also have a six shot cylinder with a 2 inch barrel. No word yet on whether or not Taurus is going to offer a revolver in .327 Federal, although I certainly hope so.

Despite the loss of the Gaucho line of revolvers, 2008 is loaded with new products for Taurus. I’m certainly interesting in checking out their new Model 58 and Model 917; can’t have too many good carry guns.

3 Comments

  1. Actually, they’re not. According to the guy at their booth and their 2008 catalog, they are going to offer the stainless Thunderbolt rifle in .357 Magnum in 2008. Of course, they said that at last year’s SHOT (according to some) so I don’t know if it will actually happen, but it would be cool.

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