Taurus Model 605 Executive 2-605EX39 357 Magnum

Offering custom treatments on revolvers is a tradition among wheelgun manufacturers. In fact, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, and Taurus all produce custom-shop variants of popular models. These gun receive extra fitting handwork, along with premium finishes and tuned actions. Many are also tweaked for a specific task, such as everyday carry (EDC), competition, or a viable choice as a fancy BBQ gun. We acquired three revolvers given such glam and performance makeovers at the factory:

● The S&W Performance Center Pro Model 640 takes a factory J-frame and transforms it into a very capable EDC option.

● The Taurus Model 605 Executive is one of the nicest 605s we have ever handled. Taurus has given the Executive treatment to a few of their revolvers. All of these guns are made in Brazil and assembled by one gunsmith from start to finish.

● The Ruger SP101 Match Champion evolves the ugly duckling SP101 into a swan with beauty and performance.

All three revolvers use a small frame; hence, they have five-round capacities. They also share high-visibility sights, with some being better than others. Barrels lengths varied from 2 to 4.2 inches. The Taurus and the Ruger have double-action-to-single-action triggers, while the S&W has a DAO trigger. Grip sizes ranged from small on the S&W and Ruger to medium on the Taurus. Because these revolvers vary quite a bit from each other, in this evaluation we’re comparing the custom gun to similar guns we’ve handled by the three makers in the past.

With that said, we feel that all three of these revolvers showcase the manufacturers’ factory-customization skills, but of course, these upgrades and treatments come at an additional cost, about $600 starting with the Taurus and upwards to $800 for either the S&W or Ruger. Is the custom work worth the extra dinero? We think it is, depending on what you are looking for. All of these revolvers performed well. Yes, you’ll see our gripes about their double-action trigger pulls. One would think a factory-custom revolver would have a DA trigger-pull weight in the single digits. On the plus side, there was not a lot of stacking in DA mode. The grips allowed use of a strip-style speed loader, but empties hung up on the edges of the grips. In the end, the beauty of these guns is in the eye of the beholder.

How We Tested 

All of the revolvers checked out with proper cylinder-to-frame headspace and barrel-and-chamber alignment. As a reminder, the typical space from the forcing cone to the front of the cylinder should be from 0.004 to 0.010 inches, with the Taurus at 0.005 inch, the Ruger at 0.006 inch, and the Smith at 0.009 inch. A larger cylinder gap can allow gases to escape from the side of the gun when shooting, which we experienced with one of the revolvers.

To level the playing field for accuracy testing, due to the S&W being a DAO carry-type revolver, we set targets at 15 yards. The Taurus and Ruger we fired in single-action mode at 15 yards. At 7 yards, we tested for speed and accuracy using IDPA cardboards targets with perforated zones. All speed shooting was done in DA mode, and we spit lead out of these revolvers as fast as we could, pushing ourselves to the edge of our ability while not eroding our accuracy. There were very few hits outside the A zone once we acclimated to the guns, and then we clustered shots into large holes.

Test ammo consisted of 38 Special, 38 Special +P, and 357 Magnum choices; Aguila 357 Magnum ammo loaded with 158-grain SJSP bullets, Blazer 38 Special +P loaded with 125-grain JHPs, and Armscor 38 Special with 158-grain FMJs. As you might assume, recoil was noticeable with 357 Mag ammo and pleasant with 38 Specials.

We used the S&W with and without the moon clips, and we used Tuff Products QuickStrips ($12; TuffProducts.com) speed loaders on all of the revolvers. The Tuffs are flexible strips of polymer that hold cartridges in a row. You can load two chambers at a time with the QuickStrips, and they lay flat in a pocket for concealed-carry reloads.

All of these 357s performed well, but there were differences when the data was tabulated and empties picked up. Here’s what we thought:

Taurus Model 605 Executive 2-605EX39 357 Magnum

$567

Gun Tests grade: A- [BEST BUY]

The 605 Executive is the best-looking 605 we have ever seen. The finish is nice, and the wood grip is comfortable, especially with 357 Magnum loads. Accuracy was excellent.

The 605 Executive is the nicest-looking 605 we have ever seen. The polished-gray stainless steel is well executed and contrasts nicely with the silver-finish trigger, hammer, and cylinder latch. The frame is Taurus’s small-size unit, and the markings on the exterior are well done and give the 605 Executive a bit more class than the typical 605. 

The barrel features a full lug for extra weight. The front edge is tapered for ease in holstering. All the sharp edges were nicely rounded. We would prefer that the front edge of the cylinder have a more of a chamfer to aid when holstering.

The wood grip is checkered and feels good in hand even with heavy 357 Magnum recoil. A nitpick is the grip does look dated, like it was copied from an S&W catalog circa 1970 or the Colt Python. It gives the 605 Exec a traditional look.

The front sight is equipped with a brass tube that is shiny enough to be easily picked up when aiming. A fiber-optic tube would pop more, but might make it look like the 605 came from the neon side of town rather than the country club side of town. The front sight is pinned in place. The rear sight is a groove milled in the top of the frame. The end is cut in to reduce glare. It provides a good honest sight picture.

The hammer spur is checkered and wide enough to provide a sure surface to cock it with your thumb. The trigger is wide and smooth, and speaking of smooth, so is the trigger press. The weight required is a whopping 16 pounds, but it feels much less.

The cylinder chambers have slight chamfers. We’d prefer more. The crane has a detent that locks into frame at the front of the cylinder. The pin in the ejector locks in the back of the frame.

Armscor 38 Special cartridges with a 158-grain FMJ bullet gave us the best group, which measured 1.33 inches; average was 1.35 inches. That was impressive. The Blazer 38 Special +P ammo with a 125-grain JHP gave a best group of 1.52 inches and averaged 1.65 inches. Again impressive. The 158-grain SJHP Aguila 357 Magnum had a best of 2.26 inches and averaged 2.38 inches. Good accuracy across all ammo, and, in fact, the Taurus was the top in accuracy among the three revolvers. 

Even though the grip is traditional in shape, you can still grasp it high. With the S&W and Ruger, the grip automatically makes you grasp high on the revolver. With a high grip, the 605 Exec tore through the speed challenge, proving to be easy to control at speed and with recoil. The torso A zone was easy to master at 7 yards, and the more surgical top A zone shot was simple due to the slick trigger. The trigger was easy to stage until the sight picture was perfect, and we continued the trigger press to fire the revolver. We did, however, dock it half a grade due to the heavy trigger pull.

The full-length ejection rod disgorged empties with authority, but the hulls did hang up on the top part of the wood grip. Gravity’s assist is required to quickly and efficiently remove cases from the chambers. Re-contouring the left grip would allow speed loaders to more easily fit and for empty casings to fall more freely. The cylinder latch operated smoothly.

Our Team Said: The Taurus 605 Executive revolver is about $280 more than the standard 605 stainless wheelgun, and in our opinion, the Executive is worth the extra money if you want a smart-looking revolver. It might not be as ornate as some BBQ guns, but it would fit right in at a pig pickin’. Don’t attend many pig pickin’s? Then it would be fine — both in looks and performance — as a concealed-carry 357. 

To collect accuracy data, we fired five-shot groups from a bench using a rest. Distance: 15 yards with open sights. Velocities and energies were recorded using a Garmin Zero C1 Pro chronograph.

Written and photographed by Robert Sadowski, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT