


Founded in Porto Alegre, Brazil back in 1939 and known officially as Forjas Taurus (Taurus Forge) the company manufactured tools and dies until its first revolver offering in 1941 - the Model 38101SO.

Seeing an opportunity for a fresh approach, the GLOCK pistol was born - you know the rest of the story. Gaston Glock didn’t know diddly squat about guns but did know a thing or two about materials and engineering. The story of successful gun companies emerging from some material or fabrication expertise in an unrelated field is not new. You’re probably familiar with the company’s more popular handguns like the Millennium Series, PT-24/7, Spectrum, Judge, Raging Bull and a slew of other pistols and revolvers. So, what is this gun I’ve seen brand-new on the streets for about $250? The Taurus G3 polymer-framed striker-fired pistol. We’ll have to see if this bold strategy pays off! I’m just kidding - I’m always happy to save two cents here and there. Why the 98 cents? My guess is they’re trying to undercut all those models tagged with a “.99” price suffix. This issue’s cover feature is an eminently affordable gun with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price starting at just $327.98. Whether or not you’re in the frustrated “it’s out of my reach” camp, we’ve got some delightful news for you. I’ll drool over pictures of a Bugatti Veyron any day of the week even though the odds of me owning one are about the same as Nancy Pelosi speaking at the next NRA Annual Meeting. On the other hand, it’s fun to see and learn about top-shelf products, even if they don’t rank equally with luxuries like food, water and electricity on the family budget. Seeing expensive guns made of unobtainium feels like watching someone else scarf down a bone-in ribeye served on a sizzling steel plate - with a side of Brazilian rolls dripping with butter. Sometimes we at Handgunner take a little heat for highlighting guns requiring a letter of credit from a Swiss bank to buy.
