Taurus Revolvers: An Overview
When compared to other manufacturers, Taurus presents an incredible value in their revolvers. In our experience, however, Taurus revolvers are more than reliable enough to serve well on the range or in concealed carry settings.
Top Taurus Revolvers
- The 66B6: This model isn’t small, but that added length helps wring as much out of the .357 Magnum cartridge as possible, giving you an edge on long-range accuracy. The grips give you a solidly positive feel, which also helps with control. If the 66 is anything, it’s consistent.
- The 605: The 605’s double/single action trigger is smooth and consistent, and the return spring feels a lot like a Smith & Wesson - it really pops the trigger out just as fast as you can move your finger.
- Taurus’s Tracker (627 Tracker): Taurus’s Tracker is an interesting firearm for a number of reasons and would work well for hunting or target use. The 627 Tracker showcases an intriguing set of features, including a ported barrel designed to tame spicy .357 Magnum loads. Taurus’s Ribber Grip, which does away with finger grooves in favor of a more universal hand fit, is also a nice touch that fills the hand nicely. The trigger is also surprisingly nice, being wide and smooth with a polished feel. The double action pull is about 13 lbs, in-line with other Taurus revolvers.
- The 608: The first is that it’s tough to find speed loaders for the 608, although 5 Star Firearms has one.
- Executive Grade Judge: In addition to the upgraded wooden grips the Executive Grade Judge comes with a Pelican Vault case. While it’s a big gun, it also has a very smooth 10 lb.
- Model 856 T.O.R.O.: An idea straight out of the book of “Why hasn’t this been done already?”, Taurus beat everyone to the punch with their optics-ready centerfire carry T.O.R.O. The small-framed 6-shot .38 Special Model 856 T.O.R.O.. The fixed rear sight is paired with a pinned front sight, so if you ultimately decide a red dot on your revolver isn’t for you (yes, it’s an odd pairing) you can replace the front sight with a fiber optic or whatever you prefer and run a decent little carry wheel gun.
Concealed Carry and Hunting
On the smaller end, many Taurus revolvers are excellent for concealed carry use. An ideal concealed carry revolver will typically have a barrel under three inches in length and be chambered in .38/.357 Magnum, the ever-popular self-defense rounds. Some seasoned revolver users very much like to hunt with a wheel gun. If that’s you, the Tracker or Raging Bull models certainly fill the need.
The Taurus 608 Competition Revolver
Are you a wheelgunner? Taurus has some exciting news for competitive shooters and revolver enthusiasts, having just released the new-for-2024 608 Competition. It's the company’s first competition-ready revolver, and, to be precise, it is competition-ready right out of the box. This wheelgun boasts an eight-round capacity and is cut for moon clips to ensure speedy reloads during competition. What truly sets the Taurus 608 Competition apart is its unmatched value. While other competition-ready revolvers may require costly upgrades and customization, the 608 Competition delivers everything you need in one total package-without sacrificing quality or performance.
The words high-capacity and revolver are not often used in the same sentence. However, eight-shot revolvers have been on the scene for a number of years now, and the list is quietly, almost secretly, growing.
Key Features of the 608 Competition
- Chambered in .357 Mag / .38 Spl +P
- Double action/single action (DA/SA) revolver
- Custom bull barrel that measures 6"
- Overall length: 11.37"
- Weight: 51 ounces unloaded
- Adjustable trigger
Starting with a custom 6” bull barrel, with full-length underlug, the 608 Competition adds a fully-adjustable rear sight (which can be removed to allow for optics mounting) and a fixed front post with fiber-optic insert. All of the revolver’s features fit within the revolver regulations of USPSA or ICORE competitions. Constructed of stainless steel, metal surfaces are given a matte finish. The 608 Competition’s lightened cylinder not only saves overall weight but makes the double-action trigger pull lighter.
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The Taurus 608 Competition Revolver has an MSRP of $1,016.
Historical Context
Anyone writing the history of the modern high-capacity revolver should probably not fail to mention two important names, John J. Baumann and Charles Prest. By the time a group of hard-core revolver shooters led by Michael and Sharon Higashi had formed ICORE (the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts) some years back, the hot setup was to have a “Baumann-ized” revolver. This meant sending your large N-frame Smith and Wesson to John Baumann, a machinist located in New York, to be fitted with a seven-shot cylinder and timing to match. Some time later, Charlie Prest began producing eight-shot revolvers chambered for .38 Super.
Prest’s RPM shop donated one such model to be awarded as top prize at the International Revolver Championship in 1995. Jerry Miculek won the gun, and with it, made history. In 1996 Jerry topped the formerly unbeatable Jethro Dionisio for High Overall at the American Handgunner World Shootoff. Dionisio, shooting a semiauto built by Johnny Lim, lost to Miculek in one of the most exciting man-on-man shootoffs ever.
Will either the Taurus 608 or the S&W 627PC make you a world-beater? Yes, if you shoot against lowly six-shooters.
Detailed Examination of the Taurus 608
In reviewing the specifications of this revolver one characteristic stuck out. The Taurus 608 was a big gun.
The 608-series pre-dates Taurus’s release of the Raging Bull, but even though the 608 is built on a smaller frame, you can see where the original “Bull” got its design. The 6.5-inch barrel was ballasted by a full lug. The top of the barrel included a vent-rib section approximately 4 inches in length, with a stanchion-based ramp front sight. Serrations starting at the base of the stanchion continued to the very top, where they met an orange plastic insert.
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Adjacent to the front sight were eight ports that bled gas pressure from an unrifled expansion chamber within the barrel. The gas of the burning powder flowed from the chamber out the ports to give a downward force to the muzzle. While the overall length of the barrel was listed as 6.5 inches, only 5.5 inches of rifling applied rotation to the bullet. The barrel appeared to have a very high twist rate.
The 608 is very muzzle-heavy, so, with the help of the porting, there aren’t many cartridges that are going to abuse you with recoil. In fact, Federal’s over-1,600 fps, 130-grain Hydra-Shok load that normally gives very harsh recoil was merely “entertaining,” as one shooter put it.
Upgrades and Design
Taurus and S&W have been going back and forth with design ideas from the beginning, but lately only in smaller details. One such detail carried over from S&W to Taurus is the cylinder latch, which is now scalloped to allow for quicker loading.
Other upgrades in the Taurus 608 since its release in 1995 included a non-weight-bearing ejector rod; crane detent pin; and key-operated hammer lock.
The 6.5-inch model we tested had a distinct muzzle-heavy feel favored by action shooters who play games such as knocking down bowling pins. A 4-inch model is also available, and we think it would be more suitable for carry or home protection.
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Performance and Accuracy
It was during this session and later verified by live fire that we found each of these guns gave better apparent accuracy when fired double action. One tester theorized that it may be one’s personal orientation, or that the double-action hold gave better recoil control, combined with a sensation of more control over the sights throughout the DA press. We felt that we could also maintain more consistent elevation. In single-action firing, the Taurus felt a little bit “notchy.”
The double-action trigger of the Taurus felt like a typical coil-spring mechanism. This meant a smooth take-up to a stacking point, followed by a sudden break. We felt that the Taurus exhibited more “torque-over,” in that we were more aware of the starting and especially the stopping of the rotation of the cylinder by the action of the trigger.
Comparison with Smith & Wesson 627PC
It used to be that if you wanted or needed more than six shots you had to learn to deal with the intricacies of a semiautomatic pistol.
Smith & Wesson Model 627PC
“PC” stands for Performance Center, which is the specialty shop of S&W. When this model was first introduced it was available through only one Performance Center authorized distributor. Recently the 627PC has become available to all S&W dealers.
The Performance Center is a low-volume shop staffed by technicians who take extra time to hand-fit parts. The fit and finish of the 627PC was well above average. For example, lockup of the cylinder was extremely solid and precise. Fore and aft movement of the closed cylinder was nil.
The front sight was a Patridge blade with gold bead for quick reference. The front blade was pinned in place, but easily interchangeable with other profiles. The fully adjustable rear sight could be easily removed to reveal drilled and tapped holes for a scope mount. The face of the rear sight was serrated to resist glare.
An integral, key-operated, trigger lock has been added. The keyhole was directly above the cylinder release, and when the gun was locked, a flag that read “Locked” rose next to the hammer.
Until recently the 627s came with a two-piece wooden grip, but ours arrived with the Hogue Mono-grip. In the past, most shooters changed the fancy-wood grips for something that was more personal, and many shooters felt the Hogue Monogrip was hard to beat. Most of the extra cost of the PC guns is likely in labor and fitting. Skilled workmanship is very expensive today. If we were told the quality of fit or even the steel was better, and the finishing process more time-consuming and thus more costly than standard models, we’d believe it.
The 627PC can be fired with or without the three supplied moonclips. (Extras are available from Brownells, or TKCustom at $35 per 10 clips). This is because unlike the S&W 625 series revolver, which is chambered in .45 ACP, the star of the 627PC acts directly on the rim of the .38/.357 cases instead of just pushing on the clip.
Originally, neither the 608 nor the 627PC came with a spring-detent system at the crane. Taurus now offers one as standard equipment and S&W does, too. Many serious shooters who bought earlier models of either gun added a ball detent to the top face of the crane, but S&W has found a new way to tackle the problem. Our test gun boasted an oversize, heavily sprung, ball detent in the front face of the crane that acted parallel with the ejector rod. S&W chose to mount the detent in the front face of the crane because there was enough metal available there for a solid mount. Taurus uses a peg for detent instead of a ball because it takes up less room and can fit into the limited available space atop the crane.
A comparison of handling gave us the feeling that the 627PC was more practical than the Taurus. Granted, a 4-inch 608 would steer faster and weigh less, but we felt the S&W was more versatile. The 627PC was built on a round-butt frame which was designed to minimize overall length and prevent “printing” when worn concealed. Replacing the standard grip with one that follows the frame more closely could help make this big revolver almost invisible when carried in a close-fitting holster. There are a number of holsters available that make carry of the S&W quite feasible.
Despite comparable results in our accuracy tests, we would have to rate the action of the 627PC superior to that of the Taurus, if only in terms of predictability. The flat-spring design is less prone to making one portion of the trigger stroke seem heavier than another, and there are a number of mechanical cues that the shooter can sense during double-action fire.
The 627PC did, however, shoot the smallest average group with the Federal Hydra-Shok ammunition, and also did well with the .38 Special Federal 130-grain FMJ. Velocity for the longer 608 was predictably higher from the longer barrel, but a difference in excess of 100 fps was more than we would have expected.
The "Just One Handgun" Project
Today's broad selection of specialized handguns is a boon to those shooting-sports enthusiasts who have particular endeavors they wish to pursue. Whether you prefer handgun hunting, target shooting (formal or informal) or you're looking for personal protection, the field of options is expansive. It's also not too difficult to find guns in each of these niches that address the fourth ever present-but often under discussed-shooting-sports category: budget.
Like most folks who get bitten by the shooting-sports bug, I've diversified and specialized the guns I keep on hand for various activities. But back in my early 20s, my wallet was often on a diet. And getting married did little to loosen the purse strings. That’s when I started what has become the three-decade pursuit of the 'Just One Handgun,' or, the J1H Project. The goal has been to find that pistol or revolver which, if you could only own one handgun, will do most, if not all, that you need a gun to do.
Back in my early handgunning days, I settled into the medium-framed, double-action .357 Magnum revolvers as a do-all, or at least a do-most platform. My earliest purchase was a retired Fish & Wildlife 4-inch barrel stainless steel Smith & Wesson 686 with a 6-shot cylinder. This was during the great law enforcement pistol migration of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
That duty-sized .357 Mag. was a hoot to shoot for practice and informal target shooting using the inexpensive HSM brand .38 Special reloads offered at the cop shop where I bought it. When loaded with .357 Mag., it was definitely 'enough gun' for defense against dangerous game where I lived. And stoking it with .38 Spec. +P hollow points made it a better fit for in-the-home protection. Yes, a 686 is on the beefy side for concealed carry but I worked it out until I found something a bit more compact.
I would go on from the 686 to experiment with other affordably priced, used .357 Mag. revolvers that were fairly plentiful at that time. They included other Smith & Wesson models along with Ruger GP100s with 3-inch, 4-inch and 6-inch barrels.
Despite working with a variety of calibers and platforms over several years, the .357 Mag. Time has passed and multi-purpose handgun requirements have changed. Today folks are looking for just-one-handguns with features that older revolvers may not provide. Increased ammunition capacity is a much higher priority than it used to be. Right up there on the list of must-haves is the option of mounting a micro red-dot optic for both sporting and defensive applications. Handgun barrels that are compensated, or ported, to reduce muzzle flip and felt recoil, are making a notable comeback for personal protection models.
I've been left to wonder if there might be any .357 Mag. revolvers currently in production capable of ringing all of the J1H bells, including the more moderate price tag. And not too long ago, I discovered a contender. I found it while researching the new-for-2025 Taurus 608 Competition. This factory-custom 6-inch barrel wheel gun has a sporty cylinder and feature set tuned for formal and informal target shooting.
The 'standard' model of the Taurus 608 .357 Mag. is an all-stainless steel double-action built around the company's large revolver frame. This makes the 608 comparable in size and weight to the Smith & Wesson N-Frames. The 608's cylinder measures 1.75-inches in diameter, which is slightly larger than the 6-shot Smith & Wesson 629 .44 Mag. (1.70-inches) and just a bit smaller than a 6-shot Ruger Super Redhawk .454 Casull (1.80-inches) that were on hand for comparison.
The reason for using a .44 Mag. size cylinder in this .357 Mag. revolver is to have enough space and material strength to give this gun an 8-round round capacity instead of the more common 5- and 6-round configurations. This may not be all that impressive to semi-automatic pistol fans, but to folks who know and understand the .357 Mag. This 608 ships with a 4-inch long 'duty-size' barrel. This is a handy middle ground option which fits in between the portability of snubby 2-inch and 3-inch barrels and the performance of 6-inch to 8-inch hunting handgun barrels.
Design and Features
Commercial .357 Mag. The porting system consists of a total of eight round vents milled into the barrel with four to each side of the front sight block. This system is essentially the same as the factory porting introduced by Taurus during in the late 1990s. It's relatively simple to install and it has proven to be effective, so it has remained unchanged for nearly three decades.
To better accommodate the heat and blast of the ports, the front sight base is a milled in integral extension of the stainless steel barrel. The base is milled and drilled to support a pinned, blackened and serrated sight blade with a bright orange stripe.
The cylinder's extractor rod is knurled at the tip for added purchase when expelling spent cartridge cases. The cylinder release, located on the left side of the frame, is of the Smith & Wesson design. This means it is pressed forward, towards the muzzle, in order to swing the cylinder out to the left side of the frame.
The checkered spur of the exposed hammer allows it to be manually cocked for single-action fire. This hammer is outfitted with both a transfer bar safety and the Taurus security system.
I like the trigger on this gun. It's the old-school wide, rounded and smooth-faced variety often favored for hunting revolvers. The rounded shape, along with the smooth action, made for comfortable shooting at the range. The double-action trigger weighed in at 10-pounds 7-ounces with the single-action trigger exhibiting 5-pounds 11-ounces of pull weight.
I was glad to see that this current Taurus double action revolver trigger cycles cleanly and smoothly with a level of fitting that can comfortably compete with more expensive models.
This version of the 608 ships with a comfortable and hand filling clamshell-type soft rubber grip.
Mounting a Red-Dot Optic
But what about mounting a red-dot optic? The Taurus revolvers that have a removable rear sight assembly, like this one, can be outfitted with a Weigand Machine and Design WEIG-A-TINNY Mini Scope Mount ($39.95). Available in black or silver finishes, this aluminum 5-slot Picatinny rail mount is installed in place of the rear sight. It's just the right size for a variety of red-dot optics fitted with rail mounts. This rail is unique because it is not exactly a drop-in component. It features this company's patented 'self fitting lug' system. The four small lugs are flattened to a just-right size as the rail is driven gently into the rear sight slot using a polymer mallet. The result is a snug, reliable fit for that particular revolver.
For the range evaluation, the 608 was topped off with a Swampfox Justice II. This sporting optic features a 6-MOA red dot with a 30mm ruby-coated lens that provides a nice, wide field of view.
Speed Loaders and Accessories
The high-quality milled aluminum speed loaders and loading block were kindly provided for testing by 5-Star Firearms. I've often included their silver or black finish accessories in other reviews. This time around I thought we should show off some of their other colors. These loaders are anodized in bright red and hot purple with the block treated in a sporty blue. Other color options include green, gold, pink and orange. Although the color options add variety, they can also be used to color code for ammunition. For a revolver like this one, the red loader could be used to indicate full power .357 Mag. while another is used for defense-grade .38 Special +P.
Range Performance
The 608's informal and formal testing was conducted using various grades of .357 Mag. Its frame size and all-stainless steel construction give it an unloaded weight of 45-ounces. This does not contribute to ease of carry either on the trail or concealed per se. But this revolver's weight, ported 4-inch barrel and the shock reducing grip make it a real sweetheart to work with at the shooting range, even with full power .357 Mag. ammunition. The levels of felt recoil were energetic but manageable. This revolver would be a great fit for someone who is used to working with 9mm pistols but wants to take a step up in power to the big-bore revolvers. And for those who want to keep the .357 levels of recoil to a minimum, the 608 can safely chamber and fire the full range of .38 Spec.
Formal bench rested accuracy testing consisted of firing 3-shot groups into targets set at 25-yards using three different loads of ammunition. Two of the loads used were the more budget minded Federal American Eagle 158-grain and Remington UMC 125-grain jacketed soft points. They are representative of the .357 Mag. ammunition commonly available at big-box and sporting-goods stores, and also useful as multi-purpose rounds. The test set was rounded out with Hornady's 125-grain FTX Critical Defense load designed specifically for two-legged threats. A LabRadar LX chronograph was used to measure bullet velocities for 10-shot strings.
I recently saw a social media video in which the 20-something presenter gave double-action .357 Mag. revolvers the once-upon-a-time story treatment that more seasoned media members reserve for revolvers like the Colt Single-Action Army!
Okay, okay ... I recognize that the .357 Mag. and its wheelguns do not garner much media attention these days. There are much more recent and exciting hunting revolvers and calibers to choose from now. And for daily carry, small-frame revolvers and pistols rule the roost. But when it comes to a middle-ground, multi-purpose, just-one-gun, a model like the 8-shot Taurus 608 .357 Mag. can cover a great deal of shooting-sports territory at a fair price.
tags: #taurus #competition #revolver