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Personally, I would buy a military surplus handgun, preferably the CZ-82 in 9x18 Makarov, or a well-used S&W revolver or a Glock, before buying a Taurus or Rossi.

Yes, yes, I know...lots of people swear by them, and the majority of them work great and shoot accurately....but that 'majority' is not an overwhelming majority. A 75% success rate is not quite good enough to suit me, personally, when there are so many manufacturers who can beat that. Taurus has had quality control issues, forever. The difference between them and other manufacturers that use the same materials and methods is that the 'good' manufacturers find their mistakes more often, and pull the guns off the line before shipping them to the consumer.

I have handled two identical Taurus guns, with serial numbers very close together, that were like night and day in a comparison of 'fit and finish' and trigger feel. Rossi, at one time, had a decent reputation, but they are now made by Taurus, so I can't say about them.

My point is that you can buy a high quality used gun, that has been well proven, for $250 - $400, and have less reason to worry about it malfunctioning at the moment of truth. It's not new, but neither is the Taurus after the first range session. Also, when you consider how much the ammo is going to cost, if you practice enough to be proficient and confident, the initial outlay for the gun should not dissuade you from buying a little more quality.