By William Bell

One of the most iconic firearms during the era of the Old West was the single action revolver. It was epitomized by the Colt Single Action Army (SAA), a six-shooter that was made for the military, but was also very popular with civilians, especially lawmen. At the time of its introduction, it was state-of-the-art and could be found in the holsters of town marshals, rangers, and deputy sheriffs among others. Some officers were still carrying the old “Thumb-buster” well into the 20th Century. Taurus brought out a look-alike version of the SAA in 2005 that they called the Gaucho. It was aimed at the cowboy action shooting (CAS) market and found some favor with CAS competitors, but it was discontinued in 2009.
Now ,15 years later, Taurus is again bidding for a part of this market-share with a new sixgun called the Deputy.
The new Taurus Deputy is chambered in two of the most popular calibers for CAS; the .357 Magnum/.38 Special and .45 Colt. It can be had with either a 4-3/4” or 5-1/2” barrel, and it’s fabricated from alloy steel that is given a high polish and lustrous deep blue finish. The hammer and trigger have a matte-blue finish. Unlike the original SAA, the Deputy has a more modern action, with a transfer bar mechanism that allows a cartridge to be carried in the chamber, under the hammer, in perfect safety so your six-shooter can really be a six-shooter.
You still get that traditional “4-clicks” as you bring the hammer to full cock, and the hammer must be at half-cock for loading. It also has a frame-mounted firing pin. The two-piece grip panels are made from black polymer that is checkered and has the Taurus logo. It has a square-notch, fixed rear sight and the front sight is a rounded blade type. It comes in a black plastic carrying case that’s foam-rubber lined, and includes a safety padlock and owner’s manual.
My test sample of the Deputy is in .45 Colt with a 4-3/4” barrel. I took it out to a “square range” to chronograph my test ammunition and do an accuracy potential evaluation. I had 5 different .45 Colt loads; all had lead round-nose flat-pointed bullets and were the type used in CAS events. You can see the velocity data in the table provided.
I shot three 5-shot groups with each test cartridge at a distance of 36 feet; typical of target distances at CAS matches. The shooting was done from the bench, using a sandbag rest. My best 5-shot cluster measured 1.02” and was made using the Winchester Cowboy Action Cartridges. You can see the rest of the performance information in the table.
The Deputy shot some pretty decent groups, and the three-group averages were all below the 2-inch mark. I was concerned before my range session about the trigger pull which was “stiff” and somewhat creepy, but this didn’t seem to effect accuracy all that much if any.
The sights were fairly well regulated; I did find that to get center hits on my 7-1/2” oval targets that I had to aim at 5 o’clock, about an inch out from the orange target center. Recoil posed no problem with the “plow-handle” shaped grip frame and the checkered grip panels. Now that I knew where the gun was shooting, it was time for the “Acid Test.”
I dressed up in my cowboy costume and took the Deputy out to a CAS-style match put on by the Scarlet Mask Vigilance Society.
As the Winchester ammunition had come out on top, I used it for competition shooting with the Deputy. The match that day was composed of six different stages and I shot in a 4-gun category; two sixguns, a lever-action rifle and double-barrel shotgun.
I mated the new Taurus sixgun with an older SAA clone in .45 Colt that I have used for many years. It has had an action job, which created an issue. Cocking the hammer on the Deputy took more effort than it did for the other gun, and we’ve already talked about the trigger, so I was a bit slower shooting the Deputy that I was with the other six-shooter.
The plus side was, I had no misses with the Deputy. The other “hogleg” with its lighter trigger pull went off before it was intended a couple of times costing me some misses. During the match I had no malfunctions or other problems with the new Taurus wheelgun. If you are looking for a six-shooter for CAS or want a handgun with that Old West flavor, you should give the Taurus Deputy all due consideration.
Taurus Deputy Specifications MECHANISM: Single action revolver CALIBER: .45 Colt (or .357 Magnum) CAPACITY: 6 cartridges BARREL: 4-3/4” (5-1/2” also available) OA LENGTH: 10-1/4” EMPTY WEIGHT: 36.4 oz. SIGHTS: Fixed notch rear, blade front FINISH: Polished blue steel STOCKS: Black polymer, checkered MSRP: $606.99