I have had bad luck with the consistency of Taurus build quality. I would get the Ruger.
I have the Ruger and works fine.
a S&W 357 mag would be the best , one with at least a 4” barrel . With the right round you should be able to take down a bigfoot. The hi-point is good too , the 45acp, 10mm or the 40s&w would do . hi-point will also fix them for free !