Brazilian made firearms are among the best I have seen.
They also cost much, much less than American and European models.
Argentina's Bersa is not bad either and also low priced.
For the money Taurus and Rossi are outstanding firearms and you can trust your life to them. Springfield Armory has some of its handguns made in Brazil also.
I rate them all best buys.

Brazilian made firearms are among the best I have seen.
They also cost much, much less than American and European models.
Argentina's Bersa is not bad either and also low priced.
For the money Taurus and Rossi are outstanding firearms and you can trust your life to them. Springfield Armory has some of its handguns made in Brazil also.
I rate them all best buys.

I agree. A few years ago I bought a small titanium 38 special. I compared the Taurus and an S&W. Only because I new nothing about the Taurus, I bought the S&W. The Taurus fit my hand better and was lighter. Had I known then what I have since learned about Taurus, I would have bought the Taurus.

Enkidu

I agree, especially regarding the brand-name "Taurus". I had a wonderful 5-shot .38 snubby, that regrettably, I sold a number of years ago. It was accurate and reliable, and well-made. I've owned several Rossi firearms too, and they were mostly very good.
I'm what you call a "gunaholic" -I love purchasing/trading and trying out new and different firearms.
Unfortunately, I've caused myself some "seller's remorse" by selling/trading some of my guns too readily over the years.:( -I'm getting better though.

lots of the Taurus are S&W licensed designs. SW revolvers are great designs so that is good. Also they have produced the Beretta 22 auto.

Acc to "Gun Tests" they usually are not as accurate as the SWs, but within tolerable accuracy nonetheless.

I've shot a 357 revolver by Taurus, with a 2.5 In barrel or so-- and magnaports-- it still kicks, but it's a solid piece.

I bought a Taurus .38 for my wife to keep under her pillow, but she just bitched about it and made me put it somewhere else. It does make a decent "pillow gun" and it kicks about like a 9mm and is fairly accurate.

I also have a Rossi with interchangeable .22/.410 barrels. It's a kid size gun, but I wouldn't recommend letting a kid shoot the .410 - it kicks like a 12 gauge because it is so light. The .22 barrel is very nice though and it has taken out several rabbits in the garden.

Recently S&W has had a problem with their law enforcement revolver market as their barrels fall off and the trigger is pulled and NOTHING HAPPENS. So far no Sworn members of our law enforcement community have been injured or worse because of these failures but I don't want to see our guys/gals in blue using JUNK and apparently the QC at S&W has gone down the toilet. I had never liked S&W autos overall but had always had the highest respect for their wheel guns. Now they can't even match Rossi let alone Taurus. Rossi has come a long way in the last few years. Their revolvers are now a really good buy. Rossi also makes a nifty little knockoff of the old Winchester 92 lever action rifle in .357magnum among other calibers.
It is a sad day that Americans no longer are the state of the art nor have the craftsmanship to properly make firearms.

I also have to give credit to the Whites of Brazil for voting down the gunban, that was a slap in the face to the international disarment of civilians crowd. The gun-grabbers led by the Hungarian jew Soros, among many other chosenites, as well as the Japanese, were shocked by the Brazilian vote.

lots of the Taurus are S&W licensed designs. SW revolvers are great designs so that is good. Also they have produced the Beretta 22 auto.

True, but when Taurus took over the Smith & Wesson factory in Brazil they didn't get all of the S&W patents on the wheel guns. The yoke on a S&W is a solid axle held to the frame with a tapered screw anchored at the end of the yoke. This was one of the design patents Taurus was denied. Instead, Taurus had to use a screw and notch at the front of the yoke assisted by a détente spring and plunger which is a weaker design. I'm not up on the current Taurus models but I think the newer guns have this same design flaw.

The good thing about Taurus is they have a lifetime warranty on all their guns and a good rep for making good on it. I woudn't buy one though as the resell value is shit. I like a gun that holds it's price.



I've shot a 357 revolver by Taurus, with a 2.5 In barrel or so-- and magnaports-- it still kicks, but it's a solid piece.

I recently bought a Ruger SP 101. .357 with a 2.5 inch barrel. 5 shot in a satin stainless and a spurless hammer. Nice fuckin gun! I recommend Rugers to anyone. As good as S&W without the name related priceyness.

http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Revolvers/Ruger_SP101.gif

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger_SP101.htm

I recently bought a Ruger SP 101. .357 with a 2.5 inch barrel. 5 shot in a satin stainless and a spurless hammer. Nice fuckin gun! I recommend Rugers to anyone. As good as S&W without the name related priceyness.

http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Revolvers/Ruger_SP101.gif

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger_SP101.htm

I own the identical gun, Ruger SP101 .357 2.5 inch barrel. Great gun .
---

Incidentally, the last time I checked the Taurus catalog, they offered a stainless steel .357 revolver that holds 8 rounds and a titanium .357 that holds 7 rounds.

Enkidu

Ruger's Redhawk and their single-action revolvers are excellent.
Security Six .357 spit lead, which indicated to me that the cylinders were not lining up perfectly accurately.

I was interested in those Taurus .357s with the 8 and 7 round capacity now that is a lot of firepower for the bedstand.

A friend had a Ruger GP100. That was a nice one. Now, if only Sig Sauer made revolvers.... :)

Yes Steve SP101 is a sweet wheelgun. I used to subscribe to the publication "Gun Tests" and they rated it highly year after year.

Spurless hammer is a good idea. Why mess around with single action pulls- in reality if you have to use it you're just going to squeeze that trigger muy pronto! Just another thing to hang up on your clothes.

Rossi and Taurus both make .44 Special revolvers also, the best available, even the original Charter Arms Bulldog wasn't that well made.

Yes Steve SP101 is a sweet wheelgun. I used to subscribe to the publication "Gun Tests" and they rated it highly year after year.

Spurless hammer is a good idea. Why mess around with single action pulls- in reality if you have to use it you're just going to squeeze that trigger muy pronto! Just another thing to hang up on your clothes.


Oops! I just noticed. My SP101 has a full spurred hammer. It must be a different model. I just checked the gun. It is a 2 1/2 inch barrel SP101, but it has the full hammer. My small S&W 38 special has no exterior hammer. A hammer is good for accurate target shooting, but I wouldn't use it in any survival situation.

Enkidu

True, but when Taurus took over the Smith & Wesson factory in Brazil they didn't get all of the S&W patents on the wheel guns. The yoke on a S&W is a solid axle held to the frame with a tapered screw anchored at the end of the yoke. This was one of the design patents Taurus was denied. Instead, Taurus had to use a screw and notch at the front of the yoke assisted by a détente spring and plunger which is a weaker design. I'm not up on the current Taurus models but I think the newer guns have this same design flaw.

The good thing about Taurus is they have a lifetime warranty on all their guns and a good rep for making good on it. I woudn't buy one though as the resell value is shit. I like a gun that holds it's price.





I recently bought a Ruger SP 101. .357 with a 2.5 inch barrel. 5 shot in a satin stainless and a spurless hammer. Nice fuckin gun! I recommend Rugers to anyone. As good as S&W without the name related priceyness.

http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Revolvers/Ruger_SP101.gif

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger_SP101.htm

I have some experience with Taurus, I own one of their large caliber revolvers and it's extremely well machined and has performed superbly with full power loads.

I see Taurus is offering some interesting semi's now, and for the price they're certainly worth a shot.

What can be said about Ruger, their revolvers are super strong, the Super Redhawks in 454 and 480 a pleasure to shoot and very well balanced for such large caliber firearms. The SP-101 is another great revolver.

For semi's, Ruger is probably the best for reliability and price. And now Ruger is putting out a 9mm with hi-cap mags and I would assume their 40 and 45 will be offered in higher capacity as well. The price just can't be beaten, the only downside I've encountered with Ruger semi's is appearance, and until recently they were somewhat "bulky." But where it counts most, working and working no matter what, Ruger semi's don't come up short.

Taurus and Ruger offer great bang for the buck. :cheers:

I have some experience with Taurus, I own one of their large caliber revolvers and it's extremely well machined and has performed superbly with full power loads.

Taurus' revolver in .454 Casull Magnum is quite a handful but nothing went wrong in over 200 rounds fired. Thing weighs a ton too, not for concealed carry.:D

Rossi and Taurus both make .44 Special revolvers also, the best available, even the original Charter Arms Bulldog wasn't that well made.
Up until about a yr. ago, I owned just three hg's: a P90 .45 ACP, a P89 9mm (both stainless Rugers) and a Beretta Bobcat in .25 cal. The Beretta I sometimes carry ankled and neither Ruger would fit in the glove compartment of my car, especially when in their Uncle Mike's holsters. So, I scoured the classifieds and eventually found a Charter Arms .38 snub (5 rd.) that fits perfectly. Though the original J frame-type wood grips look awesome, I found the gun hard to control when running P+ ammo through it. I fitted it with some Pachmayrs and it's much easier to handle and thus more accurate. Though the gun's not designed for hot loads, I figure what the hell, I really don't shoot it much anyway -- it's just in case I find myself in a life-threatening situation and needing at least halfway decent stopping power with approx. 65% one-shot stopping success, why not?

Cute little thing it is.

http://www.lesjones.com/www/images/posts/thun380lt_mat_lg.jpg

Bersa Thunder .380 - I give it 2 thumbs up. Low cost, well made, light, and easy to conceal.

http://www.lesjones.com/www/images/posts/thun380lt_mat_lg.jpg

Bersa Thunder .380 - I give it 2 thumbs up. Low cost, well made, light, and easy to conceal.

You really think so ?
I am not questioning if the gun is good , or its quality . But .380 sure is a weak load , low muzzle velocity and low total energy . If I used one , I would want a full magazine and a baseball bat .

I'm losing interest in .380 and 9mm . Any good alternatives ( I want more energy and muzzle velocity , but still light weight and compact ) ?

I have heard and read very good things about the Kahr .40 cal polymer-framed pistol. I even held one in my hand at a local gunshop, and I liked it!
I liked the feel of it, and it is very lightweight for it's caliber.
If I wasn't using every spare dollar of my discretionary income to buy gold and silver right now, I'd consider buying one.

You really think so ?
I am not questioning if the gun is good , or its quality . But .380 sure is a weak load , low muzzle velocity and low total energy . If I used one , I would want a full magazine and a baseball bat .


7 round clip, high-grain hollowpoints and always aim for the head or heart for instant erasure. Otherwise, kneecaps will do. There is no arguing with a larger calibre but for the money this little beasty isn't bad at all. Especially when you don't want everyone to know your carting it around.

Otherwise, gimmie a S&W .50 :D

:cheers:

7 round clip, high-grain hollowpoints and always aim for the head or heart for instant erasure. Otherwise, kneecaps will do.

Yeah , but the only problems is , most monkeys don't understand or obey the command "hold still ":D
Hitting a stationary target is one thing, hitting a moving target is something entirely different !

Some buffed simian could take a lot of abuse , especially if high . I think that it would take a cap with a lot of energy to stop one of those or to convince him to peacefully lie down .

a good suggestion , nonetheless .

any more suggestions , light , compact and powerful ?