The Pistol Saga: A REJECT
Taurus revolvers are copies of Smith & Wesson revolvers. Almost line for line. Therefore, an ‘action job’ suitable for a Smith would do the same magic on a Taurus. Yeah, there’s some problems with quality control in Taurus metalurgy, but it should not be that much of a problem. If this little handful is copied from a Smith “J” frame, the spring kit from either Wolf or Bullseye (if they’re still in business) should fit with little finagling.
Recoil is a function of the ratio between (momentum of the bullet weight and velocity) and (weight of firearm). If one shoots the same weight bullet at or about the same velocity from the same firearm, recoil will be at or about the same level. It does not matter if the case involved is a .38 Special or .357 Magnum.
By the way, bullet velocity is primarily dependent on two factors; ratio of powder charge to bullet weight and expansion ratio. In other words, the more powder burned, the faster the bullet goes; and, the longer the barrel, the faster the bullet goes. Since in the case of a single firearm the barrel length is fixed, the powder charge is the determining factor. In a small case to barrel diameter cartridge (like most handgun rounds) the velocity loss is not as much as in a bottle neck rifle cartridge.
Which is another way of saying the .357 Magnum round that recoils more has more horsepower than the light recoiling .38 Special round.
All that being said, a weaker round that strikes the target is superior to a stronger miss.
If one is a reloader - as is your humble servant - one can experiment with load combinations. Your humble servant finds a heavier bullet at lower velocities gives a more comfortable and easier managed recoil than a light, fast bullet.
That’s enough for now. Here endeth the leccion.
Yes, but they’re only clones on the outside Archie -
A little history on the company – Taurus, based in Brazil, has been making guns since 1941 and importing to the US since 1968. In 1970, Bangor Punta Corporation, then owner of Smith and Wesson, purchased a holding share of Taurus. This explains why many of the Taurus revolvers look a lot like Smiths, as many were made on the same tools. Sadly, few, if any parts are interchangeable - Taurus using coil springs for the main spring, unlike Smith and Wesson. In 1977, Taurus broke out on its own, cutting all ties to Smith and Wesson. By 1984, the company created a subsidiary know to all as Taurus USA, based in Miami, Florida.
So a Taurus 650 looks just like a S&W Centennial/642, but internally the parts are different. So the springs won’t interchange.
It must be something in the hammerless design. I have a .357 Taurus Tracker with a vented barrel which reduces the recoil upkick considerably, and my carry gun is a Taurus Ultralite 38 Sp. Both have very smooth actions and reasonable trigger pulls. A friend has a .357 snubbie in the same frame as my Ultralite—I haven’t fired it but he says it’s a bit of a brute. I like Tauruses (probably should be Tauri)-- nicely made and very effective, at least the ones I have experience of.
Posted by formernavalperson
03/31/2009 at 06:27 PM
There ya go. And my doc could have had a clunker, and he could be really poor at keeping it clean and oiled. That’s why you have to shop around. It’s probably best to try a 2nd Model 650 just to see ... but ... if one is great and this one sucked, then what does that say for quality control at the factory.
Yep, it could be the design. Anybody out there have a S&W Centennial / 342? Is the trigger the same kind of deal?
Granted, you WANT a bit of a heavy trigger on an emergency pistol, so you don’t pull it by accident in an adrenaline flooded situation. But this one was just too much. And I’m twice the size of my wife, for whom I’m doing most of this research.
My DUHHHHHH moment with a firearm was when I went shootin’ with Colonel Panik (from LGF) a few months ago. I asked him why the first shot was always such a bitch to pull. This was with a Sig P220. He explained the double action feature, and then said all I had to do was just cock the hammer and I’d be good to go.
DUHHHHHH. I’m glad my fiance is comfortable with firearms.
