Yes, that's another issue. Taurus is known for poor quality & even worse warranty repair. And it's never a good idea to shoot someone a little bit.
Taurus firearms are pure junk, my neighbor had one a revolver lock up on him over a year to get it back never again ever will he own one. He will not even shoot it due to the years time frame, said he learned his lesson, he really did especially after us telling him not to buy one.
I've had a couple of Taurus revolvers over the years and had no issues with them. I had a .357 and an Ultra Light .38 that I shot the heck out of at the range. For a while I owned a .40 cal Taurus Millennium Pro and lover the thing. It was light, accurate and fit my hand well. But I had the same issue lots of folks had. They put the mag release with where your thumb sat when you gripped the thing, so the mag would constantly drop out. It broke my heart. Not many guns fit my hands that well. I was at the range with a friend who had a brand new Walther .22 he bought, and it kept key-holing the target. We looked down the bore and it had no rifling. Someone skipped that step in the manufacturing process.
Any manufacturer can make a mistake. As long as they make it good, I'm okay. My wife chose a Taurus millennium when I gave her the choice of any gun in the store and is happy with it although she doesn't shoot much. I bought a Henry .22 for one of my sons, and when we got it home, nobody could hit anything with it. Astounded, I took it back to the store and they had a gunsmith on site. He evaluated the gun and found it had a bent barrel. Henry took it back and returned a flawless rifle that he still has and loves.
Amazing, isn't it? One would never think of Walther shipping an unrifled barrel or Henry shipping one that's bent. But as you said, nothing is perfect. When I was deciding on a carry gun, I bought ones I was interested in so I could do multiple range trips over a period of time to fully try them. Some I kept but most I sold. I'm still disappointed with that Taurus Millennium Pro. I really really liked it. It was so naturally accurate in my hand. I never looked to see if they issued a different version with that mag release relocated.
When some are good & some are bad, that's known as "Spotty Quality Control." Yes, any manufacturer can have a few bad apples, but some are known for having many. And they are usually the cheaper-priced brands.
Have you encountered [reasonably] verified issued with Taurus? I bought my first Taurus revolver over 30 years ago (it was my first handgun) and shot a lot of .357 out of it with no issue, but one data point is kind of irrelevant. I've also shot a lot of +P ammo out of that .38 Taurus Ultra Light. Early on folks looked down their noses at Tanfoglio, but my 9mm EAA Witness never gave me any issues. Uh, back on topic...I guess the only penetrating power that Byrna might have is in the market of the uninitiated.
One of my sons has a .44 mag Taurus revolver that is the most accurate handgun I have ever shot. His wife has a .357 in the same model (?Tracker" I think) and I cannot hit anything with that, although she does fine with it. I dunno....
It's how it fits your hand. That's why I went through so many models over so many range trips. Holding it in a gun store and looking at the sights don't do nuffin'.
30 years ago, Taurus had better quality control. Most of their manufacturing problems started 15-20 years ago. Yes, I've been to the range with friends who had Taurus revolvers that locked up (a common issue). And many complaints on gun forums about their warranty repair.
On the outside, Taurus revolvers look like Smith & Wessons, so some people think they're getting a bargain because of the lower price. They don't understand that a revolver is actually a complicated mechanism - more complicated than an auto. It requires precise fitting, polishing, surface hardening & proper heat treating of internal parts to function. That takes man costly man hours. Auto pistols are simpler:
That's because Taurus does not have deep enough pockets to fund the kickbacks required to win a government contract. You've probably bought some police trade-ins when new leadership comes in and changes stuff up. (CDNN Sports may be out your way.) The guns have hardly been fired (if at all), and may have a little holster wear. Out with the Glocks,in with the Sigs.