Taurus 738 TCP 380?

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  • BankShot

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Sep 3, 2020
    693
    63
    Clark County
    I just bought a Taurus 738 TCP from a friend that needed some money. I know they don't have a great reputation, but I was wondering if anyone has had some experience with them and what you thought of them?
     

    Mgderf

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    43   0   0
    May 30, 2009
    17,879
    113
    Lafayette
    Had one that wouldn't feed more than 3 consecutive rounds without problems.
    Sent it back to Taurus.
    They deemed it "unrepairable", without describing the problem, and sent me a brand new one for replacement.
    I sold it unfired.
     

    BankShot

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Sep 3, 2020
    693
    63
    Clark County
    Had one that wouldn't feed more than 3 consecutive rounds without problems.
    Sent it back to Taurus.
    They deemed it "unrepairable", without describing the problem, and sent me a brand new one for replacement.
    I sold it unfired.
    Mine is unfired, so hopefully it's not that bad. LOL. He bought it about seven years ago, put it in a drawer and left it there. I didn't expect it to be that good of a gun. I would have given him the money, but he insisted that I take it. I guess I'll get it to the range sometime and see if it will feed correctly. Thanks for the input.
     

    Chewie

    Old, Tired, Grumpy, Skeptical
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    6   0   0
    Dec 28, 2012
    2,334
    113
    Martinsville
    Mine runs fine with no issues. I have heard plenty of complaints about them though. Probably 50/50 that you have a good one. Only way to find out is to shoot it.

    My wife had one and it was ok. Her issue was her grip, kept hitting the mag release and it would drop the mag just enough to not feed but not drop. We got rid of it, Not worth messing with and her frustration kind of killed her desire to shoot at all.
     

    russc2542

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    24   0   0
    Oct 24, 2015
    2,111
    83
    Columbus
    Mine was bought umteenth-hand. I don't shoot it regularly but I have had it out many times and it's always worked 100%. Remember a lot of guns in this bracket never really get cared for or cleaned any are bought by people that can't shoot well to start with, worsening any problems. If you have ANY bad forms (bad trigger control, limp wrist, poor sight alignment) it'll be 10x worse on a TCP because it's so small.
     

    DadSmith

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Oct 21, 2018
    22,200
    113
    Ripley County
    I just bought a Taurus 738 TCP from a friend that needed some money. I know they don't have a great reputation, but I was wondering if anyone has had some experience with them and what you thought of them?
    A friend of mine has had one for years, he's shot it a lot and hasn't had any problems with his. IIRC he bought his when they first came out or close to it.

    Edit:
    I made fun of him when he bought it, I've since ate my words.
     

    EyeCarry

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    9   0   0
    May 10, 2014
    1,532
    63
    Bloomington
    I still carry mine from time to time. It runs just fine. Several hundred rounds through it over the years. I bought it secondhand and I think it still needed broken in at the very beginning. After that it was fine. I shoot flat nose copper plates for practice and Critical Defense for carry.
     

    Mgderf

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
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    43   0   0
    May 30, 2009
    17,879
    113
    Lafayette
    Mine is unfired, so hopefully it's not that bad. LOL. He bought it about seven years ago, put it in a drawer and left it there. I didn't expect it to be that good of a gun. I would have given him the money, but he insisted that I take it. I guess I'll get it to the range sometime and see if it will feed correctly. Thanks for the input.
    One big problem a lot of people have with it is that they " limp wrist" it, causing a lot of failure to eject/feed.
    Mine did not have that problem, but there was something wrong with it.
     

    Amishman44

    Master
    Rating - 98%
    48   1   0
    Dec 30, 2009
    3,678
    113
    Woodburn
    Taurus...I don't know a single individual, personally, who's ever owned one who hasn't had to send it in for repairs! You may have gotten a good price on it, but I would definitely shoot it several times with different ammo to see how it feeds, handles, stays together while shooting (yes, I've had parts fall off of Taurus's while shooting them), etc., before I would 'trust my life' with one.
    The older Taurus .38's, from the early '90's when they were using the old S&W molds, were pretty decent (I have 2) but when they went to their own design(s), things got pretty shaky!
    Good luck!
     

    MrSmitty

    Master of useless information
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Jan 4, 2010
    4,488
    113
    New Albany
    There is a podcast called "By the Horns" by Taurus Shooters KC Eucebio, and Jessie Harrison, they interviewed the current CEO of Taurus, he addressed this problem with guns returned for repairs, he said they had problems, but have worked hard to fix them, and worked hard to repair the brand. I think anything older than 7-8 years old might fall into the hit or miss category.... I have 2 Taurus products currently, but they are not the semi-autos. As to the OP's gun I would shoot it, and any problems come up ,send it back to Taurus. If I had a need for one, right now I would buy any Taurus out there, their GX-4 was just voted Gun of the year by Guns and Ammo......JMHO.. Good luck!
     

    shootersix

    Master
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Mar 10, 2009
    4,280
    113
    I bought one unfired for 60 bucks, the guy read a few things on the net and said he didn’t trust it. He also threw in 2 extra mags (I think it came with one) 2-50 round boxes of full metal jacket, a box of hydra shocks, 2 boxes of critical defense and a Hunter leather pocket holster

    I sold one box of ammo to a friend for 20 bucks, so as of now, I’ve got 40 bucks invested in the set up

    FYI the leather holster is 35 bucks!

    And as I type this, it’s in my back pocket! I carry it 5 days a week at work!
     

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