I suppose it depends why he wants it....
the taurus is an excellent revolver for the value, it's basically a copy of S&W. Taurus bought a S&W plant and started building their revolvers under license....
stay away from older S&W "K frame" revolvers though, those tend to have problems shooting regular load magnum ammo.
no there is not charter arms, that's about as poor a revolver as I've ever seen. they don't even take the time to align the cylinder properly, damn thing shaves lead when you shoot it.... go hold one at the store, you'll feel just how many corners they cut in making it, stick with a taurus, or a used S&W. S&W's quality control in 1925 beats the current standards of Charter....
Poop Smiths quality control in 25 beats their own current standard. The CA since they have been taken over by different owners are getting very good reviews. I would not own one years ago, unless it is one of the originals, but I will probably buy a new one at some time. Taurus on the other hand has been getting nasty reviews as of recent, just look at the reviews on Bud's. Several guns had to be sent back for repair, BRAND NEW.
I owned a old Taurus at one time, bought it for less then a 100 bucks new. Out of the box it shaved lead, loose timing, wide BC gap, but it worked. It was a smith copy of a 4 screw K frame. The new ones are not even firing out of the box.
Reviewed By: Thomas S on 05/24/2011 Rating: 1 of 5 Stars! [1 of 5 Stars!]
Bought this gun a little over a week ago. I have no ideal how it shoots since I had to send it in for repair right off the bat. With the cylinder open you could cock the hammer (not supposed to be able to do that). The cylinder hand sticks out way past where it should, and the cylinder has huge amounts of slop/play in it. I've owned Taurus's in the past with no problems but after reading other people's reviews this will be the last. I'm giving it one star simply because this was a brand new gun. One other thing, in no way is this Bud's fault, every transaction I've had with him has been smooth without a hint of problem.
Reviewed By: calon m on 03/30/2012 Rating: 4 of 5 Stars! [4 of 5 Stars!]
Functions well and give it an A for the money. Mechanics are ROUGH and need finishing which I will do. Cylinder release also hangs and sticks so it will need to be pulled and finished as well. Hey Taurus..a grinding wheel wouldn't kill ya
Reviewed By: Thomas S on 07/22/2011 Rating: 4 of 5 Stars! [4 of 5 Stars!]
Follow up review. After six weeks I got the gun back from Taurus and it works flawlessly. It just bugs me the gun had to repaired new from from the factory. My father got one these Taurus's a couple weeks back with no problems at all. Not sure if I'll but a Taurus again. Once again Bud's service was outstanding.
Now these are just a few guns out of many good reviews, BUT it is more than I would want to deal with when other guns have better reviews. Bud's is not the only site where there are Taurus complaints. And Taurus does repair the guns, but then the owner has nothing to show for the money until it is fixed and returned.
I will have to look at Rossi reviews to see where they are, but the reviews for the CA has been great. I would take a CA over a Taurus any day, but for the OP CA does not have a 6 shot 357.
IMO Ruger blackhawks are the best buy out there, but they are single action. I have a Pietta 44 mag that I am very pleased with, and it has become my EDC. Extremely accurate. EAA(Sig) also has a single action that is friendly priced in SA, which also has a good reputation. The only thing I do not like about the BH is the countersunk cylinders.
J&G has a used Ruger Security Six blued, but it is a six inch barrel. For a DA, if the OP can afford it, should go with the Ruger SP100.