Changing Thoughts on the Taurus 692 Executive Grade [2026]

I first picked up the Taurus 692 Executive Grade back in the Fall of 2024. It received a lot of attention from me over the following year, making its way to Revolver Roundup and becoming my primary training gun. While the 692EG wasn’t without shortcoming, it quickly cemented itself as my favorite medium frame revolver. It was the subject of multiple revolvers, and something I chose to carry for protection on more than one occasion. Little did I know that its star would begin falling in relatively short order.

Competition Viability of the 692 Executive Grade

In late 2025 I got back into sanctioned competition shooting after an outlaw-only hiatus. With this in mind, I’ve started looking at my guns through the lens of matches. What is legal for a particular gun game, what is practical, and what just won’t work. The 692 Executive Grade is not particularly well suited to any competition, whether that be USPSA, SCSA, IDPA, or ICORE.

The gun is flat out illegal for IDPA use due to its 7-round capacity and barrel porting. In USPSA I’m stuck in Limited or Open, fighting with 2011’s and other modern autos, which is a metaphorical death sentence. For Steel Challenge the gun is legal for Optical Sight Revolver if an optic is mounted, but then I’m under-capacity for standard in that division, which does create a competitive disadvantage from the outset. Similarly, the 692EG is only legal for ICORE Open, which again allows for optics and 8-shot revolvers, which puts this gun at a disadvantage.

Caveat

Yes, technically I can shoot the 692 Executive in a handful of matches in very specific divisions. If I’m really committed to improvement, then sure, that’ll work, and damn the match results. But I’m not that pure of heart. I want to win, and this gun isn’t helping. Rather than try to shoehorn the 692EG into the above options, I’ve simply gone to other guns to stay more competitive. I’m still not winning, but at least I can’t blame my gear.

If you’re not a competitive shooter, then this probably doesn’t matter to you, and that’s fine. However it’s an increasingly big deal for me. If this gun were to have an unported barrel, I probably would’ve tried my luck with it in a few other divisions, but that’s not the case.

Retention Shooting with the Taurus 692 Executive

While we’re on the subject of the Taurus 692 Executive Grade’s ported barrel, let’s talk about retention. Hopefully we never need to use our firearms to defend ourselves. Unfortunately that isn’t always within our control, and neither are the terms in which they’re used. There’s a distinct possibility we may find ourselves needing to shoot from a position of retention, such as the Thumb Pectoral Index. That’s a problem with a ported barrel.

Craig Douglas of Shivworks, among others, have repeatedly shown that ported barrels can cause pieces of jacket to be shed during firing, launching bits of bullets towards the shooter’s face. In our moment of crisis, the last thing we need is our own gun fragging us, potentially harming our vision in the process.

For me, that’s another nail in the coffin of the 692 Executive. I can’t totally control the circumstances in which I may need to deploy my gun, but I can control what gun I deploy. That means I’m choosing something that doesn’t have a possibility of taking me out of the fight when functioning properly.

Use Case for the 692EG

So what is the Taurus 692 Executive Grade good for?

It’s a reliable, supremely economical, fun, reasonably accurate, and overall great gun. However, the 692EG sits almost purely in the “fun” category of guns, not being particularly well suited for what I desire in a carry gun or a competition gun. For a few months I toyed with the idea of retaking a Rangemaster course just to attempt a Casino Drill coin run with the 692 Executive. With seven rounds in moon clips, carried AIWB, this gun is well suited to such a task. That’s a lot of work for something that doesn’t have much payoff.

Moving forward, this gun would effectively only see range time when plinking or in select classes. In reality, this means the 692EG sits in the safe collecting dust as other more practical guns get used in its stead. If you want a training gun, a fun gun, or something nice to look at, this may fit the bill.

Changes Aren’t Permanent, but Change Is

I am writing this section a few months after having written the previous portions of this article. Since then I’ve once again had my thoughts on the Taurus 692 Executive Grade reshaped. At first I considered totally rewriting the entire article, but I think making an addition, rather than a revision, better suits the piece.

During the past few months I’ve done a lot of revolver shooting, and shot a handful of IDPA and ICORE matches with wheelguns. These have been new and old S&W guns, a new Ruger, and a Manurhin. The Manurhin had to return to Beretta after its review, but the other guns are my own.

Throughout this time I’ve continually run into problems with my modern Smith and Ruger revolvers, requiring professional service to get them running again. Issues include overclocked barrels, problems with the cylinder stop, frozen triggers, and more. The frustration and disappointment has been immense, not to mention the time and money wasted trying to troubleshoot and rectify these issues.

Standing Tall

However, one gun bucks this trend, and continues to run without hesitation. This gun is the Taurus 692 Executive Grade.

I had kept the 692EG at arm’s length for some time due to the above complaints. When I realized how reliable the Taurus had been, I had to shake my head a little, with the Brazilian blaster getting the last laugh over its domestic deadbeat brethren.

Does this mean that my earlier marks against the 692 are no longer valid? No, the gun still has room for improvement. However it certainly has proven itself, and has given me a reminder about why I liked it so much in the first place. So much so that now I have to rewrite the outro to this article that I’d worked so hard on.

Closing Thoughts on the Taurus 692 Executive Grade (again)

The 692 Executive was an awesome learning experience that made range time enjoyable. When first writing this, I thought I’d outgrown the gun. For a time I looked at it like a first girlfriend you loved as a freshman in high school but grew apart from. Then I realized I wasn’t giving the 692 Executive enough credit.

Don’t take this as a condemnation of the 692EG. This gun isn’t a specialist, it’s general purpose, and does a good job. In fact the 692 Executive Grade may be the best production revolver on the market right now.

This is me getting new and different context to reframe my thoughts. It may help you down the line as well.

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