44 mag taurus

[greyling22]

I'm looking for a used 6" taurus 44 mag, stainless, to accompany my marlin. they come in 3 flavors: tracker, m44, and raging bull. what are the differences, pros or cons. I shoot a medium power reload, will keep the gun a long time, and put several thousand rounds through it.

as far as I can tell, the RB is built like a tank, and the most expensive, and the tracker looks the same, but weighs less. (allow gun perhaps?) and thoughts?

I know there are other brands out there, I have at least one sample of most of them. smiths are nicer, but too expensive, redhawks are stylistically uacceptable, that leaves taurus. **taurus hates please do not chime in, your opinions have been noted in other threads.**

 

[scottishclaymore]

The Tracker is a little light for that round, IMHO. Recoil doesn't hurt, but it is a little hard to control.

 

[greyling22]

good to know. thanks.

 

[novaDAK]

redhawks are stylistically uacceptable

function over form. I'd rather have an "ugly" gun that works, than a "pretty" paperweight.

Just my opinion of course, and yes I read your last sentence in your OP. I'm not a hater, I'm just a Ruger fan

 

[mnrivrat]

OK - I can chime in on the Tracker anyway, as I own and shoot a 4inch version in .44 Magnum.

First of all I believe you are looking at three differnent frame sizes. The Tracker is the smallest of the three and is a 5 shot model about the same size as an L frame S&W .

I like mine - I like mine a lot ! That said, If I were to shoot a steady diet of magnum rounds I think I would go to the M44 with its larger frame. I have no reason to believe the Tracker won't stand up to a steady diet of magnums, but it makes sense to me that it might not do as well as the M44 in that regards.
I shoot primarily 44Spl through mine. It is much more comfortable to shoot that way (in fact realy comfortable) and I see no reason to subject it to the strains of magnums on a regular bases. It does shoot them fine, but recoil is such that I realy don't want to go above a medium magnum round in the lighter gun . It is all steel by the way.

The tank of the lot is the RB as you note - shoot anything you want through that n .44 Mag loads on a regular basis and it shooudn't bother it a bit. It is however heavy and on the large size .

 

[BBA]

A 6in Raging Bull is nicely balanced and shoots well. I have a 8in RB in 454 and it can get heavy but does soak up the recoil. The trigger smooths out after hundred dry firings or get an action job.

 

[shaggy430]

I've got a 4" stainless Tracker that is ported and the recoil is greatly reduced. I can shoot it very comforably. You wouldn't be disappointed with one.

 

[greyling22]

well, thanks to all for the input. I guess now I just need to make it to the cabelas and try them all on for size.

 

[Taurus_9mm]

I owned a 6" M44 back in the late 90s and primarily shot 180 gr & 240 gr. fodder out of it. Accuracy was good as I recall and recoil felt to me like a hot .357 load from an unported 4" barrel.

I own both a Tracker and Raging Bull but neither are in .44 Magnum. The Tracker is a .357 and the Raging Bull is a .500 Mag. The ribber grips on the Tracker took some time for me to adjust too and initially I had planned on removing them and putting on a more traditional set of grips. In time though I became accustomed to them and don't have a problem now. They really are comfortable for the heavier 158 gr. & 180 gr. loads.

Back to the Raging Bull. They're big, heavy and durable revolvers. Garrett Cartridges state that their .44 Magnum 330 gr. Super-Hard-Cast (1,400 FPS) is recommended for Rugers, Dan Wesson and the Taurus Raging Bulls, so they're designed to take a lot of punishment.

http://www.garrettcartridges.com/products.asp

"330-GR SUPER-HARD-CAST GC LONG-HAMMERHEAD AT 1400-FPS

THIS 44 MAGNUM AMMO IS RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN RUGER AND DAN WESSON DOUBLE-ACTION REVOLVERS, AS WELL AS THE TAURUS RAGING BULL. IT IS ALSO RECOMMENDED FOR THE GARY REEDER 5-SHOT ULTIMATE 44 MAGNUM, AND THE JOHN GALLAGHER CUSTOM LONG-CYLINDER RUGER SINGLE-ACTIONS. THIS AMMO SHOULD BE FIRED ONLY IN THOSE RECOMMENDED REVOLVERS! THIS AMMO IS BOTH TOO LONG AND GENERATES TOO MUCH CHAMBER PRESSURE FOR SAFE USE IN S&W AND RUGER SUPER BLACKHAWK REVOLVERS. IT IS ALSO TOO LONG FOR USE IN THE FREEDOM ARMS REVOLVER.

ENERGY: 1440 FT/LBS; TAYLOR KNOCKOUT VALUE: 28; MEPLAT: .320"; CHAMBER PRESSURE: 43,500-CUP; SECTIONAL DENSITY: .255; TRAJECTORY: +2" @ 50-YDS; ZERO @ 100-YDS; -7" @ 150-YDS"

Best of wishes, and I hope you find the right Taurus for your needs.

www.taurusarmed.net

 

[Guillermo]

I guess I am a wimp. I traded my Titanium Tracker 357 after one trip to the range.

I cannot imagine shooting a light 44 magnum