Welcome to another Wheelgun Wednesday on TFB, where we cover anything and everything relating to revolvers. Over the last couple of years, I’ve taken a look at a lot of Smith & Wesson revolvers, but today, we’ll look at the Taurus 605 which is a very affordable five-shot .357 Magnum, snub-nose revolver. I’ve seen numerous Taurus 605 revolvers in gun stores, and it’s a popular choice for people looking to get into concealed carry. Let’s dig into the Taurus Model 605.

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TAURUS 605 REVOLVER, INITIAL IMPRESSIONS & SPECS

My first experience with Taurus revolvers was my brother-in-law’s Model 44, years ago. I was impressed and he has had good reliability with it, so I’ve been looking forward to trying out some other wheelguns from Taurus. The Taurus 605 revolver debuted in 1995, and has since been offered in stainless, black oxide, and Cerakote finishes, as well as a version that has a polymer covering. The 605 is also available with 2 and 3-inch barrel lengths, and several different grip options. The example I’m reviewing is the 2-inch stainless version, fitted with a rubber grip.

Upon opening the box, the 605’s fit and finish looked well done, and the grip felt great in my hand. The grip has a lot of checkering worked into it on the backstrap and from the slightly protruding thumb shelf to the butt. The overall aesthetics appealed to me, and even though it may not be barbecue gun material, it’s still a smooth, simple design. The grip, when not in the hand, has an aggressive look to it, but I was of course curious how the magnum loads would feel.

Both the double action and single action trigger pulls felt easy to pick up and didn’t have any gritty texture to them. We’ll cover the trigger more in a bit, but I was impressed by my quick dry fire session. The rear sight is typical for snub-noses in that it’s a gutter sight milled into the top strap of the revolver, with the rear notch featuring a cut that aids in contrasting the front sight. On this stainless model, the integrated front sight is lit up nicely by daylight. One downside is that since the front sight is part of the barrel, there’s no option to swap it to a night sight, or one with a colored insert. However, that would add cost to manufacture, and they were still easy to pick up in the daytime. The three-inch models appear to have a pinned front sight that should be interchangeable.

Basic Specs:

• Item Number: 2-605029
• UPC: 7-25327-20302-5
• Capacity: 5 Rounds
• Action Type: Double Action / Single Action
• Firing System: Hammer
• Front Sight: Fixed
• Rear Sight: Fixed
• Grip: Soft Rubber
• Cylinders Included: 1
• Caliber: 38 Spl +P / 357 Mag

Measurements:

• Frame Size: Small
• Barrel Length: 2.00 in.
• Overall Length: 6.50 in.
• Overall Height: 4.40 in.
• Overall Width: 1.40 in.
• Weight: 24.00 oz

Features:

• TSS (Taurus Security System)
• Transfer Bar

Materials:

• Frame Material: Stainless Steel
• Barrel Material: Stainless Steel
• Cylinder Material: Stainless Steel

Finishes:

• Frame Finish: Matte Stainless
• Barrel Finish: Matte Stainless
• Cylinder Finish: Matte Stainless

TAURUS 605 REVIEW, RANGE TIME

Snub-nosed revolvers are typically a limited use gun, relegated to concealed carry, with the expectation of engaging a bad guy at 10 feet or less, which they do well at. However, the Taurus 605 greatly exceeded my expectations in the accuracy department. On my first outing, I was able to consistently hit my MK Machining steel target from 30 and 40 yards. On my next range session, I was coming extremely close to hitting a 12-inch steel plate at 100 yards with .38 Special, holding about two feet over the plate. It helped that the target was propped up on the ground so I could see the impacts just in front of it, some of which were just skipping into the plate.

The accuracy was largely aided by the great trigger of the Taurus 605. Given the intended role and range of snub guns, one might think that the manufacturer would be willing to sacrifice a bit of detail to the trigger, especially on a budget revolver, but Taurus knocked the 605’s trigger out of the park. There wasn’t any grit or extra play, and it was smooth throughout its whole travel, every time. The single action was crisp and light as well, which is what I started out with on the 100-yard line, but I was doing just as well with double action!

Most of my rounds through the Taurus 605 revolver were with .38 Special, which was naturally mild when it came to recoil. I shot a mix of 158 grain and 125 grain .357 Magnum loads, which was a sharper recoil impulse in the hand, but not a deal-breaker since the rubber grips wrap around the frame. The empty cases ejected easily, with an occasional hold out closest to the frame. My S&W Model 36 HKS speedloaders were perfectly sized to the cylinders chambers, so each reload went in smooth and quick.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite the bad wrap Taurus has gotten over the years, I had a lot of fun with the Taurus 605 revolver. I liked the fit and finish, and it felt right in my hand and was easily controllable, even with the stoutest magnum loads I had. I also like the price compared to many other revolvers on the market. The matte stainless, 2-inch model 605 I tested is listed at $405.92, and the 605 line as a whole ranges from $388 to $540 depending on the options we discussed above. You can view all of Taurus’ 605 line HERE, or check out the rest of Taurus’ revolvers and semi-auto pistols at their website, TaurusUSA.com. Stay tuned as we’ll also take a look at the Taurus Model 66 in a future edition of TFB’s Wheelgun Wednesday.

If you’re in the market for a concealed carry revolver, I can certainly recommend the Taurus 605. What do you think about it? If you’ve already been carrying and shooting a Model 605, let us know how your experience has been.

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