The right guns?

[Brody James]

Hello everyone,

I know that this is a question that many have asked and has many opinions. I also understand that and that your shooting style, hand size and strength are all factors - not to mention wallet size. New to the sport, I am considering getting the Ruger sass .45s. The general opinion seems to be that Ruger makes a very good product at a fair price. I have pretty good sized hands so small grips don't really work for me. Some feedback would be appreciated.

I would love to get a set of colts but the Rugers, a set at the cost of one Colt, appear to come ready to roll right out of the box while the Colts need some smithing to get them ready. Is this true?

 

Thanks in advance for your time.

 

Brody

[Cindy Nielsen]

I bought a pair of Smokewagons from Taylors Firearms about 3 years ago and I love them! I also had the end of the cylinder pin ground off. The hammers came low, but i ended up having them lowered a little bit more. I love my guns and am thinking about buying another pair or a pair of Running Irons and use my Smokewagons for a back up pair.

[Karen Cobb]

good choice!

[R.D. King]

Personally, when I've dry fired the Taylors at the Venders I find myself mis-cocking a lot and the trigger pulls were way to light.   THe Rep told me I needed to retrain my finger to press forward on the guard, so that I wouldn't be resting it on the trigger when I ran and I would have to retrain myself on how to cock the guns.  (neither of which I am willing to do at this point in my life.)

 

We have only had two club members purchase the Taylors.  The first guy's guns would fire one round then the cylinder would jam.  He sent them back to Taylor and was told it was his fault because he didn't know how to set the safety.  He eventually made them take the guns back,  which they did after charging him a $150 return fee.

 

The second member has sent his guns back to Taylor three times.  He called me today saying that he just got the guns back from Taylor and they wouldn't work and asked if he could borrow my Rugers for next weekend.

Based upon these negative experiences I'd be reluctant to purchase the Taylor revolvers.

[Dottie McDonald Linville]

I purchased a set of Taylors Running Irons and love them.  They have never caused me any problems and I have shoot fairly well with them since last December.

 

I found Taylors and Company very easy to deal with, and the guns came with a complete action job.  The tiggers are not light and the cylinders spin smoothly.  They are very easy to clean and the grips are nice.

 

The cylinder pin has to locations to keep the hammer safe.  Education for the first club member may have to be reinstructed on where to place it.  Short of using construction hammer to damage the cylinder I don't see how dry firing it would mess up the cylinder.

As for the customer service I received from Taylors, it was top notch.

 

As with all guns you have to use them to get comfortable with them.  You can't pick up every gun and have it perform perfectly the second you handle it.

 

Every law enforcement highly encourage their own to practice, practice. 

 

 

 

[Karen Cobb]

Dottie,  I have to agree with with everything you said about Taylors and the Runnin Irons I purchased my second set in July and have never had a problem with them. the mistakes I made were mine not the guns!!!

[Cindy Nielsen]

I have had the same experiences with Smokewagons from taylors as Dottie has.

[Denny Chapman]

RD,

I've seen a lot of lower level shooters discover they are riding the trigger when they handle a finely-tuned gun. Two options are to not ride the trigger or ask for a heavier trigger pull (which Taylor's will accommodate). I personally remove my finger from the trigger between each shot and find that I can still fire very quickly. Sounds like one of your club members did not know how to operate the cylinder rod safety, which has two notches - one for safe position which keeps the hammer from falling fully. I recommend shortening them for our mounted shooting guns (mentioned in previous posts in this string). I am proud to be associated with Taylor's and the design of the Runnin' Iron, and still believe it is the best out-of-the box mounted shooting pistol on the market today. That being said, I don't care what guns my students shoot as long as they are safe and having fun - just glad to see more folks getting into the sport that we all love so much...

[R.D. King]

You're right Denny, neither of us knew then about the two notches on the cylinder rod. Obviously, he didn't receive proper operational instruction from the dealer.  That said, maybe Taylor should supply a second cylinder rod with every new  purchase? AS far as keeping the finger out of the the trigger guard, I believe that would be impractical on the fast five, gates and other areas of quick shooting.  The heavier trigger spring makes good sense.  I always suggest that to knew members whenever they get actions jobs  .

[R.D. King]

Adendum to my 9/25 comment:

This past weekend, 3/25/12,  I had a chance to examine Rock's Taylors and ask a few questions.  Here's my reaction:

The Taylor is better balanced than my Montadoes.  They are thinner and lighter.

The problem I once experienced with the mis-cocking wasn't present with Rock's guns.  He explained that he, too, originally had this problem 'caused by many years of using Rugers.  It was due to where the trigger rests in the cocked position.  He had his Taylor modified by increasing the trigger pull pressure and eliminated the mis-cock.  THe Taylor comes with a light 1-1/2 lb trigger and he increased it to 2 1/2 lbs.  ( I personally have 4 pounds on my Rugers.)

Even though I have had my Rugers worked on by Monroe and believe them to be as smooth as they can get, Rock's Taylors were better.

I still don't know if the Taylors are as rugged as my Rugers, but am reconsidering their positive attributes.

 

[Brody James]

My New Vaqueros with Bisley hammers and a trigger job. Ready for fun! Thanks to all of you for the advice. So many choices but these were the right fit for me. Although, I bet I get different grips in the near future.

[John Chemente]

Hi everyone, just signed up today and I am new to this CMS. I have just finished reading all the comments on what type/make gun to buy. I have looked at the Uberti  "El Patron". Has anybody info on this gun? What is the standard barrel being used 3.5 - 5.5?

John

[Payson Peterson]

Welcome John!

 

I would say there are many more guns in the 3"-4&1/2"(or 4&5/8") lengths than the 5&1/2 or longer.  Way back when I started there were many 5.5" and even quite a few 7.5" guns, but the sport was much different then.  I am not familiar with the El Patron.  I do know that I have shot Rugers for well over 15 years without issues and I have put mine thorugh the wringer as far as practicing gunspinning (and dropping) and many mounted shooting runs and they have been very reliable!

 

As mentioned earlier, find what fits you.  If there are clubs near you, you can handle many different guns and most people will loan you guns to try for a run.  I usually have an extra pair or two with me, and will also let someone try out my main match pair.  Where are you located?