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Taurus 94 Revolver
rabump199
Member Posts: 238 ✭✭✭
Looking for some recent input about the Taurus 94. Is it reliable revolver for target shooting and such, not for defense, Looking at adding a 22LR revolver to collection, options of S/W, Dan Wesson,Charter Arms, I wish Ruger would make a DA revolver. I am a big Ruger fan.
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Looking for some recent input about the Taurus 94. Is it reliable revolver for target shooting and such, not for defense, Looking at adding a 22LR revolver to collection, options of S/W, Dan Wesson,Charter Arms,
Hopefully you aren't going to use a .22LR revolver for defense. Reliability isn't as big an issue for target shooting as it is for defense, or hunting.
The "gold standard" in double action .22 revolvers is the Smith and Wesson model 17 (or K22, or 617, or model 18, which are all sort of variants of the same thing). They're pricey, but if you buy a used one, and don't abuse it, it will last a lifetime of shooting and only go UP in value. IMO, they're worth the money. If by target shooting, you mean "serious" (competitive) target shooting, this is the one to get, I think.
Smith made a smaller frame double action .22 "kit gun" called the model 63 that's a good gun too, though it doesn't quite have the "heft" of the bigger gun.
Taurus 94 might be OK if you find a good one. There are ones out there that aren't so good so be careful. Watch out for out-of-alignment cylinder holes/bad timing, unsmooth actions, and generally poor fitting.
Can't speak to Charter arms .22s in particular, since I've never shot one. Other charter arms guns I've tried have been a little stiff in the double-action department.
Dan Wesson built a good .22, though they're a bit hard to find now, and aren't so cheap anymore.
Colt built a few VERY nice double-action .22s, but they're fairly expensive nowadays.
quote:
I wish Ruger would make a [.22LR] DA revolver.
Me too. I wonder why they don't.
Edit: Duh. . .forgot about the older .22LR SP101. Not as elegant as the Smith, but built like a tank, and I'd take it in a heartbeat over the Taurus or Charter. Good luck finding one for sale, though. . .there are currently ZERO listed on the auction site here, and checking completed auctions, older ones seem to be selling for $600+ now, actually MORE than the comparable .357 guns. That makes sense, since they're rarer and out of production, but ouch.
The question basically answers itself. Quality double-action .22s cost the same to make as their .38/357 counterparts. With decent .22 autos literally running 1/2 the price, the market for DA .22 plinker revolvers at $400+ can't be that big. If Ruger were selling a lot of these guns, it never would have discontinued them.
Edit #2:
As a frame of reference, used but serviceable quality Smith K-22s can be had for $500, or occasionally even less, which to me makes the Ruger a bit less interesting at roughly $600.
On Colt, yeah, the Diamondback would be the best of its DA .22s, but those have become hugely collectable and that's an $800-1000 gun now (ouch again). I was thinking more like a Colt Trooper MKIV, still not cheap at around $500-$600, but more exotic than the Smith or Ruger and also increasingly collectible. They're also heavy as rocks, by the way!
On an 8 shot scandium (or titanium) kit gun, not going to happen. Scandium is alloyed with aluminum to make it stronger, but .22LR is a low recoil, low pressure load, and you just don't need the extra strength of scandium there. If ordinary aluminum alloy frames are good enough for .38+P wheelguns or 9mm/.45ACP autos (and they are), then they should be plenty good enough for .22LR wheelguns with steel cylinders. Scandium would just add another $150-200 to the cost without offering any real benefit.
If you do want something like this, Smith already offers something pretty darn close. The Smith 317 has a 3" bbl, 8-shot 22LR cylinder, adjustable rear and fiber optic front sights, and best of all weighs only 12.5 ounces:
Not quite a 4-incher, but arguably better since the 3" bbl is more portable.
Best
My daughter wanted a small revolver that she could carry easily and shoot cheaply. I got her a Taurus 94 w/2" barrel and some speedloaders. The trigger is rough and heavy so she couldn't shoot it double action(I even had problems with it). Single action wasn't quite as bad and it might get better with lots of use but the initial trials showed I'd made a poor choice and I don't think she shoots it at all.
Get the poor girl a set of Wolfe springs, smooth the internals (like you'd have to do on a Colt, Smiff or Charter Arms), and let her shoot it again!I just shined up the internals on my 941, added a trigger return spring, and it's more pleasant to shoot now than my old Security 6!