Taurus 605 TORO Stainless 357 Magnum 3in — Superb Optic-Ready

Description

The Taurus 605 TORO Stainless is a five-shot .357 Magnum with a three-inch barrel, matte stainless barrel, frame and cylinder, and an optic mount machined into the top strap for a micro red dot.

A dot on a small revolver solves the problem that small revolvers have always had. Fixed sights on a three-inch gun give you a very short sight radius and a front blade that disappears in poor light; a red dot gives you a single bright aiming point at any distance, and it does not care whether your eyes still focus at arm’s length. The Taurus 605 TORO Stainless is one of the few carry-size revolvers that comes cut for one from the factory.

What is on the gun

• The Taurus 605 TORO Stainless has five chambers in .357 Magnum, which also take .38 Special and .38 Special +P.
• A three-inch stainless barrel with a shrouded ejector rod — longer than a snub, short enough to carry.
• A factory optic mount on the top strap of the Taurus 605 TORO Stainless, with a cover plate fitted for those who prefer irons.
• Matte stainless barrel, frame and cylinder, which is the right material for a revolver carried against the body.
• A black rubber grip, an exposed hammer and a transfer bar safety.

Three inches is the useful compromise

• A two-inch .357 throws most of its powder out of the muzzle as flash. Three inches recovers a meaningful part of that, and the difference in blast is noticeable.
• The extra inch also gives a full-length ejector stroke, so empty Magnum cases clear the cylinder properly instead of needing a second push.
• It still carries. An inch of barrel adds almost nothing to concealment on a belt; the cylinder is what prints, and that is unchanged.
• With a dot fitted, the Taurus 605 TORO Stainless is genuinely accurate at distances where a snub is guesswork.
• Budget for the optic and a holster cut to clear it. Both are part of the real cost of an optic-ready gun.
• Full-power .357 in a small stainless revolver is firm. Practise on .38 Special and carry what you shoot well.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-605P39
• UPC: 725327634430
• Calibre: .357 Magnum / .38 Special +P
• Capacity: 5 rounds
• Barrel: 3 in, stainless steel
• Frame: small, stainless steel
• Cylinder: stainless steel
• Sights: fixed, with factory micro red dot mount
• Action: double action / single action, exposed hammer
• Safety: transfer bar
• Grip: black rubber

.357 Magnum and .38 Special are standardised by SAAMI, and the Magnum case is a tenth of an inch longer — which is why a .38 chambers in this revolver and a .357 will not fit a .38-only gun. If you shoot mostly .38 through it, clean the front of the chambers before returning to Magnum brass, or the longer cases will stick.

The black version of the same revolver is stocked as the 605 TORO. Without the optic cut there is the two-inch Taurus 605 and the hardwood-gripped 605; for an enclosed hammer, the 650 stainless. The optic-ready Judge TORO uses the same idea in .45 Colt and .410.

Why the Taurus 605 TORO Stainless earns its place

• The Taurus 605 TORO Stainless has a factory optic mount on a revolver small enough to carry every day.
• Three inches of barrel — enough to make .357 worth chambering, short enough to conceal.
• Stainless throughout, for a gun that lives against a body.
• Two cartridges out of one cylinder, so practice stays cheap.
• Revolver simplicity: no slide, no magazine, nothing to forget.

This suits a shooter who carries a revolver and wants to shoot it well past seven yards, and anyone whose eyes have started to argue with a front sight. It is a serious everyday carry gun and a sensible nightstand gun. The Taurus 605 TORO Stainless is not a range toy — five rounds and a slow reload keep it honest — and if you have no intention of fitting an optic, the plain 605 costs less and does the same job.

In stock now at MAG5 Firearms in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Handgun sales ship to a licensed dealer in your state, where you will complete a Form 4473 and the background check before taking delivery.