My buddy has a mark II and a mark III. I've always wanted one of those. There is just something quite classic about it. I dig the Tarus you have here though. That's a really nice piece. A long long time ago my wife was moonlighting at a party store/sporting goods store. The guy there had a .380 that felt so nice in my hand, but I knew that shooting it would be expensive due to shells in that caliber being hard to find. If I bought something now, it would probably be a .38 revolver with a longer barrel. None of that snub nose stuff for me. Reliable and relatively cheap to shoot, but still has some kick to it.
The Mark II and III are classics; nice feel, easy to shoot and reliable. The pragmatist in me says the Ruger Mark IV is the way to go...but I like a more military-style firearm so I'm doing the research and will see what happens. This Taurus is looking like a good option.
I understand what you mean about the .380, I'd make that same decision everything I own (I have plenty) needs to be readily available, (ammunition (or components).
I've been thinking about a revolver over the last two years and the .38 would be my choice also, good knockdown yet still comfortable to shoot.
You know what they say... Wheel guns are real guns! My friend is on a shooting league and he mentioned that a lot of the other people on the league use Mark IIIs for their matches. I wish I had written down what model that .380 was. While not practical, like I said, it just felt really good.
Lol, indeed I've heard revolver-guys say that about a million times. I get it too, but have been a semi-auto guy when it comes to handguns. I'll get one though, eventually, but the .22LR has to come first.
Mark III's are probably the most used for that purpose (matches). There's a good reason for it.