Taurus 905 Review

**Last Resort** · April 16th, 2011, 11:21 AM

I thought I would share my experiences with my new Taurus 905 revolver. I've been a big fan of the 9mm platform for a while now, and I loved the idea of a 9mm wheelgun. I still love my 38/357, but the 9mm is far cheaper to feed and still packs quite a punch. In reasearching the Taurus 905, I found that it has been a source of considerable debate online regarding its overall quality and the quality of its moonclips. After much research on the taurus forums, I elected to buy one off gunbroker (paid about 350).

I purchased a blued 905 revolver brand new. It arrived with a handful of the famous Taurus moon clips. The first thing I noticed is that although small, the revolver is fairly heavy. This definitely aids in recoil management, as the revolver is somewhat snappy (akin to 38 +p loads) but still quite pleasant to shoot. I also found the revolver to be quite accurate at 25 yards. I found that the moonclips work fine with brass cased 9mm loads, and extraction is flawless. I did not experience any binding with the clips. I fired the revolver w/o the moon clip in place, and experienced no issues whatsoever (extraction takes longer, however it is not a problem for target shooting as the brass shells basically fall right out). I also tried the moonclips using aluminum/non brass cased rounds. This is where the moonclips can cause trouble. The non brass cased rounds expand slightly when fired, and end up jammed in the cylinders. If you attempt to forcibly eject the moonclip, you will warp it, as the spent casings don't easily "pop" out. I found that the 905 works fine w/o the moon clip, as I simply use a flat screwdriver to pop each of the spent shells out after being fired. This method is somewhat time consuming, and far from ideal, but it allowed me to shoot my way through several boxes of ultra cheap russian 9mm ammo. All in all, I love my litle 905. It's small enough to carry, but provides significant defensive capabilities for protection. Its a big step up from a 22lr revolver, but much cheaper to plink with than the traditional 38 or 357 wheel gun platforms. The moon clips are not NEARLY as bad as everybody makes them out to be, however upgraded high quality moon clips can be purchased online from TK customs. The recoil is also nothing to write home about, as some online posters would have you believe it is akin to firing a scandium 44. The revolver definitely prefers brass cased rounds, but budget minded shooters can get away with using cheaper steel/aluminum cased 9mm ammo if they have a screwdriver or other tool handy to force the shells out after firing. All in all, this thing was a GREAT purchase for my growing family of 9mms.

**ithinkimamedic** · April 17th, 2011, 12:15 AM

As another owner of a 905 I can say empirically that the supplied moon clips SUCK! They are flimsy and distorted easily otherwise great concept for a revolver.

**JoeyBones** · April 18th, 2011, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by ithinkimamedic

As another owner of a 905 I can say empirically that the supplied moon clips SUCK! They are flimsy and distorted easily otherwise great concept for a revolver.

Won't the S&W 940 clips work? I bought a big bag of 25 or so clips for I think around $33 shipped, IIRC, direct from S&W...

If I hadn't found my Model 940 for $400, a Taurus 905 -might- have been my next try at a 9mm wheelie...

Regards,

Bones

**ithinkimamedic** · April 18th, 2011, 02:13 PM

Originally Posted by JoeyBones

Won't the S&W 940 clips work?

I have been told yes, I just haven't bought any. Frankly I became disintersted in it shortly after the moon clip issues and back lined it. I really enjoy shooting the J frame size revolvers and have 5 of that size but the 905 is the one that never gets shot (over 2 years now).

**Last Resort** · April 18th, 2011, 04:29 PM

http://www.moonclips.com/cart/shopdi...%2C+5+%2D+shot

FYI...These guys offer a solution to the flimsy 905 moonclips.

**ithinkimamedic** · April 18th, 2011, 04:45 PM

59.99 for 10?!?!??! holy crap!!!

**harold63** · April 18th, 2011, 06:53 PM

Keeping the cylinders swabbed every few rounds will cut down on the binding, tremendously. My Tracker .44 mag. binds after three or four reloads, but a quick swab with some gunk remover and the casings fall right out again.

**rwb1500** · April 18th, 2011, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by JoeyBones

Won't the S&W 940 clips work? I bought a big bag of 25 or so clips for I think around $33 shipped, IIRC, direct from S&W...

If I hadn't found my Model 940 for $400, a Taurus 905 -might- have been my next try at a 9mm wheelie...

Regards,

Bones

I'm in the same boat, looking for a 940, or even a conversion, but thinking about settling for a Taurus.

Then again, there's another .38 J frame in my near future as it is.

Oh well, there will always be more guns.