I've a little Taurus model 85. It's an older gun with the large upper side plate screw (reminiscent of the 5 screw Smiths). It's been a wonderful little gun for me. I once held an impromptu shoot out of my snubbies and shot the 85 the best that day. It can more than hold it's own.
However, it's not the main focus of my post. Visiting my favorite local gun shop, I found they had a pretty much pristine Taurus model 431 of the shelf. Outside fit and finish is as good as many of the S&W revolvers I've owned over the years. Lockup is solid, timing is right on, the DA is smooth, and the SA is crisp with no creep. The only way I can see to test the durability of it, is to buy it and a $289 price tag helped with that decision. Did I mention the the 431 is chambered in .44 Special?
The Uncle Mike's rubber grips it came with make shooting "Cowboy" loads quite enjoyable. Speaking of which, once I figured out the elevation with the particular load the shop had on hand, it seems to shoot well enough at ten yards (excepting, of course, operator error ).
While the rubber grips make for soft shooting, I don't find them as pleasing to the eye as grips made from other materials. I found a nice set of wood grips on Ebay and have them installed now. I need to make a range visit with them, but I think they will do just fine.
Regards,
Greg
Forgot to mention that I picked up a nice metal poster at the swap meet this weekend.