The Best Taurus Revolvers in 2023

1. Taurus 66

Taurus has a reputation for producing reliable, affordable revolvers, and the Taurus 66B6 6″ .357 Magnum brings a formidable punch to the Taurus catalog, giving you a self-defense, hunting, and sport shooting option that’s doing its best S&W 686 impression.

The 66B6 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. That length doesn’t significantly impair the revolver’s balance and the 38 oz dry weight means recoil is negligible.

The grips give you a solidly positive feel, which also helps with control. And the double-action trigger is decent but heavy (my trigger gauge stopped at 10 lbs but I wager it’s closer to 12-13 lbs), while the single-action pull knocks effort down to about 5.5 lbs, for a much snappier (if still a touch heavy) response.

If the 66 is anything, it’s consistent. It goes bang with any ammunition type, and the seven-round capacity gives you a leg up on traditional six-shot revolvers.

The Taurus 66 is a great entry-level revolver that makes getting into the wheel gun game more wallet-friendly than its higher priced, bigger brand equivalents.

2. Taurus 605

Taurus’s 605 is a stainless steel, 5-shot revolver chambered in .357 Magnum that’s geared toward concealed carry, with 2 and 3-inch barrel options available.

In what would likely be a great trail gun, the 605 pairs a fantastic grip with a 20.00 oz dry weight, which really helps tame recoil from both .38 and .357 rounds.

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. The double action is similar to the 66 in terms of pull, roughly in the 13 lbs with a 5-6 lb single action pull.

The cylinder locks up nicely, there’s some slight movement absent the trigger pull, but once you bring trigger tension the cylinder stays put.

3. Taurus 627 Tracker

Taurus’s Tracker is an interesting firearm for a number of reasons and would work well for hunting or target use. A medium frame revolver available in both stainless, matte, and matte black oxide, it’s chambered in everything from .17 HMR to .44 Mag, the Tracker gives you a ton of options to find the right fit.

The 627 Tracker showcases an intriguing set of features, including a ported barrel designed to tame spicy .357 Magnum loads. The ports are definitely effective — I’ve seen people hit full-size steel at 70 and 80 yards with a 627 — but it also makes the gun louder and can produce a decent muzzle flash, which is less than ideal for dark or self-defense situations.

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 barrel also features 6 vents on the upper rib, that allow you to mount a scope for hunting or target use.

The pinned front sight also uses a bright, easy-to-see orange insert in the ramp, which makes target or hunting use much more approachable.

The trigger is also surprisingly nice, being wide and smooth with a polished feel. The double action pull, stop me if you’ve heard this one before, is about 13 lbs, in-line with other Taurus revolvers. Single action was a more approachable 5-6 lbs.

4. Taurus 608

The Taurus 608 is an eight-shot (get it?) medium-frame revolver that packs a lot of the features from other Taurus wheel guns into a higher-capacity product.

In addition to the additional round, the 608 has the hi-vis front sight and ported barrel from the Tracker, as well as and adjustable rear sight, a really nice over-molded Hogue grip, and that big, wide trigger, making it really easy to shoot and incredibly accurate.

It’s a competition-style, 8-round revolver that has the same snappy single action as the Tracker and comes in at about half the price of similar products from other brands.

The 608, though, has a few gotchas.

The first is that it’s tough to find speed loaders for the 608, although 5 Star Firearms has one. The gun is also front-heavy relative to the S&W 686 and doesn’t have quite the reliability the higher-end revolver offers.

4. Taurus Judge Executive Grade

Originally dubbed the very logical “4410” despite the gun firing .45 Long Colt and .410 shells, the Judge came to be when Bob Morrison, then Executive Vice President of Taurus learned that judges in Miami high-crime areas were purchasing the 4410 for personal defense.

He eventually persuaded Taurus leadership to call the gun “The Judge” to reflect the profession of those early adopters.

The Executive Grade Judge has a really nice, hand-polished satin finish, which gives it a luxurious look, and they kept the barrel at 3 inches to help with concealment, although it’s also 36 ounces dry, which is a healthy shank of steel to pin to one’s hip.

The Executive Grade Judge is also the only version of the pistol with wooden grips, that both look fantastic and feel solid in hand.

While it’s a big gun, it also has a very smooth 10 lb. double-action trigger pull with a crisp break, with an almost shockingly light single-action trigger pull that comes in at just over 3 lbs.

You get the standard 5 rounds of either caliber and rather than a fiber optic or blacked-out front sight, the gun includes a brass insert front sight which just oozes class.

Yes, it’s about 50% above the normal Judge price, with a street price of about $800, but few guns make you feel as much like Dirty Harry (and it also includes a Pelican Vault case).

Check out our full hands-on review of the Taurus Judge Executive Grade for more.

5. Taurus Defender 856 TORO

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. revolver.

The small-framed 6-shot .38 Special Model 856 T.O.R.O. (Taurus Optic Ready Option) is milled at the factory to accept Holosun K/Shield RMSc footprint red dots.

The Defender 856 includes Taurus’ target-style double action trigger and is rated for +P 38 Special loads, and the factory rubberized grip gives you a comfortable texture and reasonable grip for such a small handgun.

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. In my humble opinion, however, the optic is what really makes the 856 TORO special.

Yes, the red dot is mounted much higher on a revolver than a semi-auto, which can complicate zeroing and make finding the dot challenging, but since the dot doesn’t move (like it does on a semi-auto’s reciprocating slide) follow-up shots are easy, and your red dot should last much longer.

Want to know more? We have a full review of the Taurus Defender 856 TORO.

Revolvers are fantastic for a number of reasons, for one you’re not dropping brass all over the place, and for the past several decades Taurus has made a major name for itself in the revolver market.

Affordability

First and foremost, when compared to other manufacturers, Taurus presents an incredible value in their revolvers. As fewer law enforcement agencies and people more generally carry revolvers, they’ve generally gone up in price as collector’s pieces.

On the other hand, Taurus has made a considerable effort to keep revolvers alive and well in concealed carry, defense, and hunting by keeping them a lot more affordable than others in the market.

Reliability

Second, Taurus revolvers tend to be reliable. This is true of most revolvers, but some folks worry that inferior parts are being used at this price range.

In our experience, however, Taurus revolvers are more than reliable enough to serve well on the range or in concealed carry settings. This is an excellent attribute in a revolver, as one of the main reasons people still choose revolvers generally is their reliability even in adverse situations, which makes Taurus revolvers an excellent choice for concealed carry or security work.

Revolvers all work more or less the same, so the differences between the types are really down to caliber, barrel, and features for their best purposes.

Concealed Carry Revolvers

On the smaller end, many Taurus revolvers are excellent for concealed carry use. The 605 models in their various flavors are slick and easy to carry, avoiding the longer barrels and hammer spurs of bulky or bulgy handguns.

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. The tiny size does make these wheel guns snappy to shoot but also makes them extra concealable, which I value very much when we’re looking for an EDC handgun that I can carry without printing or otherwise signaling to others that I’ve compact got a size revolver under my hoodie.

Standard Revolvers

Some models are more old-school revolvers — medium frame guns intended for open carry for those that carry because of work or relatively relaxed state laws: here, the model 66B shines.

These are favorites of folks who do security thanks to their subtle black finish and the fact that they just plain work for target shooting, self-defense, or any other application, even after years of riding in a gun belt all day, every day without much maintenance

Hunting Revolvers

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. These, coming in calibers ranging from the tiny 17HMR right up to .44 Magnum, give you a range of options.

These models tend to have bull barrels that make the gun less prone to muzzle flip when firing, which I very much appreciate when we’re trying to make accurate follow-up shots on moving targets, especially at the extended ranges sometimes necessitated by hunting.

Nice-to-haves include things like an adjustable target sight, barrel porting, and a top strap notch that gives these the leg-up in the field and at range.

.410 Revolvers

Finally, Taurus has been famous for making revolvers that fire .410 shotgun shells or 45 Long Colt. These were popular for self-defense for a while, but we’re a little skeptical about that today. Instead, these revolvers are reasonably good for moderate pest control for shooting small game and varmints like snakes and rodents.

The patterns on these tend not to be remarkably consistent thanks to the short barrel, but they certainly have their use in the pest control realm and as a varmint control revolver.

While they are impractical for self-defense, they are enough of an oddity to occupy their own distinct category.

Since revolvers look and function similarly, getting a closer look at the specific features you want can help you make an informed choice as to the models you’d like to consider.

Caliber

The first feature that I always consider when purchasing a firearm is caliber. For example, 17HMR is an excellent hunting and target cartridge, but I wouldn’t necessarily use it for self-defense.

Similarly, .44 Magnum might be a little bit much for squirrel hunting. The caliber, in our minds, determines the utility and use of the firearm.

Barrel Length

From there, I look at barrel length. When looking at concealed carry, I like to consider barrel lengths of under four inches to conceal the firearm easily.

On the other hand, I prefer as much barrel as possible when it comes to open carrying or hunting. All things being equal, the longer the barrel, the more muzzle velocity and thus accuracy you will get.

However, with concealed carry, muzzle velocity has to be weighed against the fact that I want to conceal my firearm from others, so some compromises are generally necessary for that kind of application.

Trigger & Action

The type of trigger also makes a big difference in revolvers. Those with exposed hammers tend to be double-action/single-action triggers. In simple terms, if you want a longer trigger pull, all you have to do is remove the safety and fire.

If you cock the hammer, on the other hand, you’ll get a much shorter trigger pull which is better for more accurate shots. Some models do not have an exposed hammer spur but, since they’re a revolver, they do have a hammer that is simply smaller.

On these models, the inability to cock the hammer manually makes them, in effect, double action only triggers.

Under $500

If you were to ask 10 folks at the range to describe Taurus revolvers in a work, the majority would probably say some variation of “affordable” (with one or two jaded shooters using a term like “cheap”.) For about the $500 mark, you can get a concealed carry Taurus pistol that will work well and reliably for years.

This is the sweet spot for many folks who want to concealed carry a reliable firearm without going through a ton of expense in the process. Additionally, since revolvers are so simple, often a front blade sight and non-adjustable rear sight — there isn’t much maintenance involved to keep one of these affordable revolvers running reliably for years, if not decades, to come.

Over $500

Here you’ll be looking at the upper end of Taurus handguns, including their hunting revolvers and larger-barreled revolvers.

The hunting revolvers, in particular, can get a lot more expensive than the basic concealed carry models but offer features likely not found on the lower end of the spectrum — things like an adjustable rear sight, ported barrels, fiber optic sights, and a longer ejector rod shroud.

However, when people are looking for specialized hunting revolvers, these are still considerably more affordable than some of the other options out there from other manufacturers.

Overall, Taurus’ revolver pricing makes them a superb choice for people who want good value for money, and the quality of their revolvers is more than high enough for the vast majority of shooters out there.

As much as I would love to range test every one of these Taurus revolvers there are times when certain products or categories are a real challenge — be it availability, cost, or simply a lack of resources — we can get stymied going hands-on with all the potential candidates.

Rather than present a never-ending list of all the Taurus revolvers on the planet, we selected those which we felt best represent the price points laid out above — giving you a solid representational list to serve as a jumping-off point for your own research (you are going to do you own research, right?)

To avoid disappointment or steering you in the wrong direction, we bolster our own experience with conversations with experts, comb through reviews on retailer sites & sales data, review industry publications, other blogs, and otherwise surface the best information available.

We aim for all thriller, no filler, as they say.