Taurus 650 3 Inch Stainless 357 Magnum 5-Shot — Superb Snub

Description

The Taurus 650 3 Inch Stainless is a five-shot .357 Magnum with the hammer fully enclosed inside the frame, a three-inch barrel and matte stainless barrel, cylinder and frame.

The enclosed hammer is the point: nothing protrudes, so the revolver comes out of a coat pocket, a handbag or a car seat cleanly every time. The three-inch barrel is the refinement. Most guns built this way are two-inch snubs, and the Taurus 650 3 Inch Stainless keeps the snag-free draw while recovering the velocity, the ejector stroke and the sight radius that a snub gives away.

What the enclosed hammer and the extra inch each give you

• The Taurus 650 3 Inch Stainless has no spur to catch on a pocket lining or a seat belt. It can even be fired from inside a coat pocket, because there is no hammer to snag as it falls.
• Every trigger press is the same. The Taurus 650 3 Inch Stainless is double-action-only, so there is one thing to learn rather than two.
• A full-length ejector stroke. On a two-inch gun the rod is too short to push fired Magnum cases fully clear; three inches fixes that, and it matters more than most buyers expect.
• Noticeably more velocity and far less muzzle flash than the same load out of two inches.
• Matte stainless throughout, which is the right material for a revolver that lives against a body.

Honest notes

• Double action only means no thumbing the hammer back for a careful shot at distance. For a gun meant to be drawn fast at close range, most owners consider that a fair trade.
• The trigger is long and deliberate, and it takes real practice to shoot well. Dry fire is free and it is the whole skill.
• A full-power .357 in a small revolver is firm even at three inches. A good .38 Special +P load gives up far less than the price difference suggests and is much easier to shoot quickly.
• Fixed sights. Nothing to adjust, nothing to knock out of zero, and nothing to snag.
• Five rounds and a slow reload. Carry a speed strip and accept that the Taurus 650 3 Inch Stainless is a gun you shoot well rather than a gun you shoot a lot.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-650139
• UPC: 725327636489
• Calibre: .357 Magnum / .38 Special +P
• Capacity: 5 rounds
• Barrel: 3 in, stainless steel
• Frame: small, stainless steel
• Cylinder: stainless steel
• Action: double action only, fully enclosed hammer
• Sights: fixed
• Safety: transfer bar
• Grip: black rubber

.357 Magnum and .38 Special are both standardised by SAAMI. The Magnum case is a tenth of an inch longer, which is why a .38 chambers here and a .357 will not fit a .38-only revolver — and why, if you shoot mostly .38 through it, the carbon ring left at the front of each chamber will make Magnum cases stick until you scrub it out.

The two-inch versions of the same revolver are stocked in stainless and matte black. If you want a hammer spur, the Taurus 605 is the same frame with an exposed hammer, and the 605 TORO adds a factory red dot mount to a three-inch stainless barrel.

Why the Taurus 650 3 Inch Stainless earns its place

• The Taurus 650 3 Inch Stainless gives a snag-free draw, which is the most useful feature a pocket revolver can have.
• Three inches of barrel, so ejection is positive and the cartridge performs.
• Stainless throughout, for a gun carried far more often than it is cleaned.
• One consistent trigger press to learn, with nothing to switch off.
• Chambered for .357 but perfectly happy on .38 Special for practice.

This is a carry revolver for someone who wants the clean draw of an enclosed hammer without the compromises of a two-inch barrel — a coat-pocket gun, a car gun, a backup. It suits a shooter who will practise on .38 Special and keep a defensive load in it. The Taurus 650 3 Inch Stainless is not a range gun and not a first revolver for a new shooter; the double-action-only trigger is a skill that has to be earned.

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.