Taurus 692

From switch-caliber revolvers to 9mm revolvers to a semi-auto .22 LR rifle for $139 — full MSRP — Taurus and Rossi broke out the goods at SHOT Show 2018. TTAG is looking forward to getting our hands on some of these news guns to see how they do, as Taurus has talked a big game about upping their engineering and manufacturing quality of late.

The Taurus 692 comes in two sizes, two colors (matte black or matte stainless), and with two cylinders. One cylinder holds seven rounds of .38 Special or .357 Magnum, and the other takes 9mm. Swapping them is about a five second affair thanks to a quick-release button on the right side of the frame.



Both sizes sport ported barrels, and all size and finish combos MSRP at $659.


The Taurus 856 is a six-shot .38 Special. It’s compact and weighs 22 ounces. MSRP is a very affordable $329. I was pleased with how smooth the gun was, from the trigger in both DA and SA to the cylinder release to the lockup.

Taurus’ Raging Hunter is a monster of a .44 Magnum, available either in two-tone as seen here or in all black. With the ported barrel, 55 ounce weight, and rubber grip with cushioned insert it’s sure to be a soft shooter. You know, as .44 Mag goes.

If you need more recoil absorption and better aim, there’s always the nice, long Picatinny rail on top of the barrel shroud for mounting an optic.


The Raging Hunter’s cylinder is solidly locked in place both front and rear.

MSRP on this 14.1-inch-long handgun is $919.

Finally, Rossi is releasing the RS22 semi-auto at a single-shot price.









Adjustable fiber optic sights, railed receiver, large charging handle, decent looking stock, and a 10-round box magazine in a 4.1-pound package. For $139. MSRP. I’m intrigued. If its 18-inch barrel were a 1/2×28 threaded 16-inch one, I’d already have an RS22 on order.

We do have a review loaner on order, though, so stay tuned.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

55 COMMENTS

  1. Bring on the Taurus haters.
    In all seriousness, if these turn out to have decent QC, I’d love to get my hands on one of those switch caliber 9mm/.357 revolvers. That sounds great.

    • Devoted revolver fan but not a Taurus hater. I’ve owned two Tauruses and I liked them both enough that I’d really like to replace one of them that got away (Model 80 4″ .38).
      Much of the bile I read from Taurus haters is based on second-rate(sometimes third-rate) customer service and inconsistent quality control. For every gun that is derided by some blog comment you’ll see it followed by three more guys claiming “I own the same gun and never had a problem”. That means poor QC. An occasional dud getting out the door is just something that happens, but the fact that it happens as often as it does for Taurus means something needs to change.
      Your odds of getting a problem-free Taurus are pretty good – but pretty good really isn’t good enough for a device you may be betting your life on. Test it thoroughly before you decide to slip a Taurus into your holster.
      🤠

      • I don’t disagree that you have a good probability of getting a Taurus firearm that may never need customer service. But, from first-hand experience, pray you never need Taurus customer service. I own a Taurus 44 mag revolver. I have not had an issue with it, like it, won’t buy from Taurus ever again. When I did have an issue purchasing a magazine for a Christmas present (for the father in law), it turned into a numerous month affair, where I lost money, and was told that I was lying about the proof of delivery because the original I bought had to be returned and replaced. I intend to waste as much time on this blog denigrating the Taurus name as they wasted of mine- gonna be a while.

        • Own 5 Taurusi, a Model 44 and a semi-auto 908. 44 has turned into a good firearm while the 908 is junk. Sent the latter back to Taurus, on my dime, without ever getting it fixed. I decided to keep the 908 to remind me of Taurus QC. Would not want to sell the junker to anyone, just wouldn’t be right.

      • I have one of the early PT1911s that people seem to have so much trouble with. I can’t make the thing choke. It’s tight, it’s accurate, it’s dead-nuts reliable. Love that gun.
        But yeah, I would definitely give a Taurus a very careful looking over before purchasing. I hope they sort out their QC and customer support issues.

      • I had to take a pawn shop .45 ACP Taurus away from my father in law as he had someone’s murder (not mine) in mind. I think it’s a P145 or something like that but most of the metal’s been worn down making it difficult to read.

        Shoots like a dream and have hundreds of rounds down the pipe with it with nary a hiccup. The only problem I’ve had was finding spare mags. So, works for me and I’ve no complaints.

        But then, I used a .45 in the Marines too and thought that was also great. So, my standards might not be up to some of yours.

    • I’ve owned two Taurus revolvers, and both left a large amount to be desired. The first was a stainless 8-shot 357, and the cylinder would constantly fall off of the crane, the pins were too small or the holes too big.

      The second was a judge snubby, and the lock up and everything about it was sloppy. Not to mention, firing birdshot out of it and getting peppered because it didn’t have enough force to stick to the pallets we were shooting at.

      If Taurus could get the QC together a bit more, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy some of their J-frame types. The only company worse than them is Kel-Tec.

    • Many decades ago I owned a Ruger Single Six with .357 and 9mm cylinders. It’s where my love affair with the 9mm started. Hotter than a .38 spl but a wee bit milder than the .357 it seemed like a perfect round.

    • It’s the grips that give me pause. We’ll see if there is any aftermarket compatibility. I also find the barrel length choices a bit odd, but 3″ isn’t bad. I just wish 4″ were an option.

  3. I’d like the 692 in a 3 or 4″ barrel. THAT is a helluva’ cheap price for a 22 semiautomatic…

  4. Just pray that you never have to send it in for repair. I sent a 7 shot .357 in that was locking up. Got it back with the front sight indexed at about 1 o’clock.

  5. I’d imagine they’d pick the good examples for a show.

    Let’s see what happens when they get reviewed in ‘the wild’ (ideally not guns selected by the company for review)

  6. I like the looks of that 6 shot .38 snubby. I’ve had good luck with Taurus revolvers.

    The rear sight on that .22 looks a match for my Gamo air rifle.

  7. That rossi 22 looks identical to a mossberg 702, mag release, safety, charging handle and receiver profile.

  9. The only Taurus that I want is one of the Judge revolvers. I don’t really view 410 / 45LC revolvers are serious practical weapons, so it is the one time I would be will to take a cheaper and lower quality Taurus over a S&W.

  10. Does the 9mm cylinder require moon clips or does it have spring loaded detents to hold
    the rounds in place?

  11. How much velocity and accuracy do you lose when you shoot a 9mm (0.355 inch diameter) bullet out of a barrel that is sized for 0.357 inch diameter bullets?

  13. I feel the raging bull is a bit over built for .44 mag. It makes sense for .454, but the recoil from .44 mag is a bit overplayed. At least in any full size revolver, it’s really not that bad.

  14. The Raging Hunter… hrmmm… who let Ralph out, and into the good booze, again?

    *mutters something about “nice things”*

  15. I used to be revolvers only, I was thinking of getting a nice .38 that Taurus looks like the one

  16. That raging hunter is awesome. I’m guessing .454 Casull is next. That would be quite a gun. I’ve owned one Taurus semi-auto (24//7 G2 in 9mm with stainless slide). It was nice. Well built, good reliability. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the trigger was a little heavy for my tastes and stacked quite a bit. I did like that it was DA/SA and had restrike capability. Other than the less than stellar trigger, it was a great gun.

    I’ve been intrigued by the Taurus Revolvers. The ones I’ve handled have been very nice – good finish and great triggers.

  17. Never owned a taurus. my dad carries a 5 shot snubby in 38 special. Ive shot it a couple of times, and quire honestly i like it better than the ruger lcr. Trigger is better and was just more comfortable to handle.
    I have been thinking about a 44 magnum, i will have to give one of these a try.

  18. Have a 454 Raging Bull built about 2009. Light and crisp SA pull, heavy but smooth DA pull, 1″ 25 yard 5 shot groups from bench or tree branch. Best pistol for accuracy and reliability I have ever owned. Glad I did not get one of the lemons I read about.

  19. I own and like my Taurus revolvers, I only had a problem with my m94ultralight stainless. love the gun, but the barrel is canted to the right, I sent it back to them to have them turn it alittle so my front sight is not leaning to one side, and they sent it back to me with the same problem. otherwise my 38s are really nice little guns. I have the m817. and 2 m85s ( one stainless and one stainless ultralight) and think they are the best. great triggers and unlike S&W they use stainless steel hammer and triggers (looks like all the lockwork is stainless, which makes a lot of sense to me ) I used to carry these for work and they have been completely submerged in water, been in the pouring rain for about a half hour, ( covering someone) and drenched in my sweat all day. and they still work fine, and look good. I did have issues with their grips though, have since changed them with their wood grips from their site. and the m817 ( 7 shot 38 spec lightweight version of the 357 mag m617) I just took a knife to the grips and modified them. ( ironicly it was a S&W knife). but they shoot well and have nice triggers, and put up with a lot of abuse and still work. (although it is nice to clean them and oil them.).

  22. I’m not sure that “notable” and “Taurus” should be in the same sentence together. In my experience with Taurus, I’d argue “notorious” and “Taurus” typically blend well.

  23. I always thought the Taurus Tracker revolvers looked cool ….Until I saw all those You TUBE video horror stories of these revolvers exploding and barrels flying off the frame ! That doesn’t inspire consumer confidence! Nor safety…Nor reliability in self defense, or basic target shooting 🔫!

    • Aaron, we have folks still moaning about Ford Pintos from 40 years ago. As for YouTube? The world is filled people with smarter phones than brains. Thus we have vids of people eating laundry pods. Follow the rules of gun handling & handloading; you have few issues like those.

  24. Is the Taurus 856 revolver rated for plus-P? I checked the site and they don’t say but the do say, “Known for its easily managed recoil impulse, the .38 Special round of the 856 can accommodate ammunition ranging from light target loads to self-defense rounds.”, but that doesn’t settle it very well.

  25. I’ve had a bunch of Taurus pistols. PT92’s PT100, Model 85, a Rossi 38 snubby and currently a PT 709 Slim.
    I’ve never had problems with any of them. They have all gone bang when I pulled the trigger. I’d say that maybe I’ve just been lucky with my 25 years of Taurus experience but from what I read of all the others who say “Maybe I’ve been lucky.”. I think that it’s more likely that maybe that’s the norm.

  28. I’m rather digging that 692. I’ve had numerous Taurus firearms, and the only one I had legit problems with was a 65 from the 70’s. The coolest thing about my 605 is that I found out (by lucky accident) that not only could it chamber 38 Spcl. and .357, but it could chamber and fire 38 Super as well. I’m wondering if if the 692 is capable of that too.

  29. I have never had a Taurus or ROSSI FIREARM BUT JUST RECENTLY ORDERED A ROSSI RS22LR RIFLE WHICH HAS A GOOD PRICE. IT HAS GOOD REVIEWS. AND HOPE I LIKE IT WHEN I GET IT. I UNDERSTAND TAURUS HAS TAKEN OVER ROSSI WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW I LIKE IT WHEN I GET TO SHOOT IT

    • I picked up a Rossi RS22 today at Rural King for $119. It is accurate and shot perfectly and the last shot hold-open works fine. It is very light and I like it very much. I would recommend the little gun to anyone who wants a cheap light rifle.k

Comments are closed.