Taurus
Authorized Dealer • São Leopoldo, Brazil • Bainbridge, Georgia Since 1939
Forjas Taurus S.A. was founded in 1939 in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, originally as a tool-and-die operation that moved into firearms production in the 1940s. The defining inflection came in 1980 when Taurus acquired Beretta's Brazilian factory — including the tooling, drawings, and trained workforce that had been producing the Beretta 92 series under license for the Brazilian military — making Taurus a Beretta-pattern pistol maker by inheritance. Today Taurus Holdings (which also owns Rossi and Heritage Manufacturing) operates its US arm from Bainbridge, Georgia. Keep Shooting carries twenty-one Taurus SKUs covering the full breadth of the catalog — the Judge, the Raging Bull big-bore line, six 1911 variants, concealed-carry pistols, and the G2 / G3 / TH9 / PT740 striker-pistol magazine ecosystem.
Taurus at Keep Shooting
Forjas Taurus S.A. is the Brazilian firearms maker founded in 1939 in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, now operating its US arm from Bainbridge, Georgia under the Taurus Holdings parent that also owns Rossi (lever-action and revolver production) and Heritage Manufacturing (single-action revolvers). Taurus occupies the mid-tier price bracket in the American handgun market — revolvers priced $300–500 against the Smith & Wesson and Ruger equivalents at $700–1,000, 1911 pistols priced $500–700 against the Colt and Kimber $1,000+ tier, and a striker-fired concealed-carry line (G2, G3, GX4, TX22) positioned against the S&W M&P Shield, Sig P365, and Glock 43 bracket. The Keep Shooting catalog covers twenty-one Taurus SKUs across every major product family the brand produces: six revolvers (Judge, Raging Bull series, 617, Ultra Lite 85), six 1911 variants, four concealed carry pistols (738 TCP, 709 Slim, Millennium Pro 9mm and .40), and five magazines for the modern G-series and TH-series striker pistols.
The Judge — A Revolver That Fires Shotgun Shells
The Taurus Judge Public Defender is the compact-frame version of the revolver platform that turned Taurus into a household name in American shooting. The Judge fires both .45 Long Colt and .410 bore shotgun shells from the same chamber — an unusual combination made possible by the geometric similarity between the .45 LC cartridge and the .410 shotshell rim. In defensive use, the Judge can be loaded with any mix of cartridge types in its 5-round cylinder: .410 birdshot for short-range spread, .410 buckshot or slugs for heavier terminal energy, or .45 LC for traditional revolver-cartridge performance. The Public Defender adds a shorter 2-inch barrel and compact polymer grip for concealed-carry and home-defense use without the full-size Judge's barrel length. For ammunition, the same gun pulls from both the handgun ammo and shotgun ammo catalogs — one of the few firearms in the catalog where that's literally true.
Raging Bull Line — The Big-Bore Hunting Revolvers
Taurus's Raging Bull series is the brand's flagship big-bore revolver line, sized and built for hunting calibers that exceed what standard .357 / .44 service revolvers were designed around. Keep Shooting carries three Raging Bull configurations: the Raging Bull .44 Magnum (the canonical Dirty Harry caliber, still the standard for handgun deer and hog hunting), and two .454 Casull variants — the Raging Bull Model 454 with the standard 6.5-inch hunting barrel and the Raging Bull Model 454 2-1/4-inch snub-nose for shorter overall length. The .454 Casull was developed by Dick Casull in the 1950s as a lengthened, higher-pressure .45 Colt case, generating approximately 50% more muzzle energy than .44 Magnum. Raging Bull revolvers feature a cushioned-insert grip with a rubber recoil-absorbing back panel designed specifically for the felt-recoil management that big-bore calibers demand — one of the brand's signature engineering details on the platform.
1911 Platform — Six Variants of Taurus's American Classic
Taurus is one of the most prolific budget American 1911 makers, with the platform priced well below the $1,000+ tier where Colt, Kimber, and Springfield Armory compete. Keep Shooting carries six 1911 configurations covering finish, barrel length, and frame-treatment variations: the standard Taurus 1911 (blued steel, Government-length), the 1911B-1 (matte black blue), the 1911BHW (black with hardwood grips), the full-size 1911FS, the 1911PBL (polished blued long), and the 1911SS-1 (stainless steel). All are chambered in .45 ACP and accept standard 1911 magazines from the catalog — the 1911 spec is well-standardized across makers, so a Taurus 1911 frame accepts Wilson Combat, Chip McCormick, Mec-Gar, and most aftermarket magazines without modification.
Concealed-Carry Pistols — 738 TCP, 709 Slim, Millennium Pro
Before the G-series striker line came to dominate Taurus's CCW catalog, the Millennium Pro and Slim series carried the concealed-carry market. Keep Shooting carries four pistols from this generation: the Taurus 738 TCP (a .380 ACP pocket pistol in the Ruger LCP / S&W Bodyguard 380 size class), the Taurus 709 Slim (single-stack 9mm in the S&W M&P Shield size class), and both Millennium Pro 9mm and Millennium Pro .40 S&W compact-frame pistols. The Millennium Pro was the direct predecessor to the G2C / G2S and G3, sharing the same general grip geometry and double-stack magazine pattern.
G-Series Striker Magazines — G3, G2S, TH9, PT740
The current Taurus striker-pistol catalog runs the G-series (G2C, G2S, G3, GX4) and the TH-series (TH9, TH40), the modern successors to the Millennium Pro line. Keep Shooting stocks OEM replacement magazines for all four current platforms: the G3 15-round Magazine for the full-capacity 9mm compact, the G2S 9mm Magazine and G2S .40 S&W Magazine for the single-stack slim CCW variant, the TH9 17-round Magazine for the hammer-fired full-size 9mm duty pistol, and the PT740 .40 S&W Magazine for the legacy PT740 slim-frame .40 pistol. Browse the side-by-side view in the full Taurus magazines category.
Service and Concealed-Carry Revolvers — 617, Ultra Lite 85
Two non-Raging-Bull revolvers complete the Taurus wheelgun catalog. The Taurus 617 is a 7-shot .357 Magnum compact revolver — the high-capacity magnum equivalent of a Smith & Wesson K-frame in a smaller, more concealable package. Seven shots of .357 in a snub-nose-grade frame is an unusual combination; most 7-shot .357 platforms are full-size service revolvers like the S&W 686 Plus. The Taurus Ultra Lite Model 85 is the aluminum-frame version of the Taurus Model 85 — the brand's five-shot .38 Special snub-nose in the J-frame size class that competes directly with the Smith & Wesson 642 and Ruger LCR. The Ultra Lite is the weight-reduced concealed-carry option, typically running 15–17 ounces empty versus the steel-frame Model 85's ~21 ounces.
Pairing & Cross-References
Browse the full Taurus magazines and 1911 magazines categories for side-by-side mag selection. For shooters comparing American mid-tier handgun makers, see our Ruger catalog (the closest direct competitor on both revolvers and concealed-carry pistols), Smith & Wesson (the J-frame and K-frame revolver comparison plus M&P Shield vs Taurus G2/G3), and Beretta (the parent designs of the Taurus Beretta-pattern PT92/PT99 line that followed the 1980 factory acquisition). For striker-fired duty pistols compare to Sig Sauer (P320 and P365), Glock (G19 and G43X), and the Kel-Tec and Hi-Point budget-tier American competitors. For ammunition to feed the platform, see the 9mm catalog for the G2/G3/TH9/709/Millennium Pro, the handgun ammo category for .38 Spl, .357 Mag, .40 S&W, .44 Mag, .45 ACP, .45 LC, and .454 Casull, and the shotgun ammo catalog for the .410 birdshot, buckshot, and slug loads the Judge Public Defender is chambered to fire.
Frequently Asked Questions — Taurus
Yes, we maintain inventory of the most popular Taurus products. Each product listing shows real-time stock status. If an item is temporarily out of stock, you can sign up for back-in-stock notifications on the product page.
Yes! All orders over $49.95 qualify for free shipping, including Taurus products. Orders typically ship within 1–2 business days.
Keep Shooting offers hassle-free returns on Taurus products. If you're not completely satisfied, contact our customer service team for a return authorization. All products must be in original, unused condition.
Yes, Keep Shooting is an authorized Taurus dealer. All products are sourced directly and include full manufacturer warranty coverage.