Taurus Tracker 970 in .22lr

I had one and it was a great range gun.
It felt muzzle heavy at first, but then I realized that the full underlug helps steady your shot a little.
It was accurate, shooting 5/8" 7 shot groups at 25 yards off a bench with Remington Target 22. Sights were great.

The thing I hated the most was cleaning the gun.
7 small chambers is a lot of cleaning. I suppose with a 22LR you could get by with simply wiping the outside off and lightly brushing out the chambers.
It was a little heavy and awkward to carry as a side arm while hunting.
The 970 is best at the range.

I ended up trading it for a Ruger GP-100, which is almost exactly the same size.
Kinda wish I still had the Tracker.

If you intend to carry it a lot then consider the model 94. It's a slightly smaller frame with a 9 shot cylinder.

Taurus 970

benatilstate
I have a Taurus 970 that I use to teach lady handgun classes with. I have four 22s that we use and the Taurus was the cheapest of the four and by far the most accurate. Numerous times the students have tried to purchase this revolver from me. It is a keeper. I squirrel hunt with it.

I recently bought both a Tracker .22 and a Gp100.
I found that the tracker trigger was very heavy and rough.
I also find that this creates a lot of smoke when I fire it. Far more than the gp100 .357. I don't know if this is normal for a .22 revolver, or if I have a problem with this gun. Either way I'm not too happy. I think I will go the range and rent a S&W 617 and see if it is as 'dirty' as my Tracker.

With the GP100, often I will shoot with only 2 live rounds randomly distributed in the cylinder, and dry fire the other 4. I think this helps my shooting more than shooting all 6 rounds, and it really stretches the ammo. I will also mix up .38s and .357s.

herbie,
Guns don't create smoke. It's the ammo.

For simplicity sake I indicated that the gun was generating smoke. This gun may appear to blow more smoke because the cylinder gap may be too large, it may be out of time/alignment, or maybe my .22 ammo is smokier that my .38/.357 ammo. Maybe it is a combination of one or more of these. Maybe it is just my perception. I will have to try a different .22 revolver and compare it with my Tracker.

my tracker experiance

i bought one after really wanting one for a very long time. i took it to the range several times, using iron sights, 4X scope and a red dot. i just couldnt group any better than 3 1/2 inches at 25 yards. my ruger 22/45 MK II with a 2X red dot can get 1/2" groups at the same 25 yards. my ruger single six with iron sites shoots better than the taurus with a red dot did at 15 yards.

i really liked the looks and feel of the tracker, but it just wasnt a shooter. i did replace the "Ribber" grip and put on the hogue overmolded replacement. also, the sites were very good and very visible, quick site alignment was possible if not effective.

i may have gotten a bad one, but i feel very fortunate to have all really good rugers.

you may want to try a full underlug taurus 94 in 4 or 6 inch barrel.

good luck! -Eric

I have the tracker 22 and its been a very good gun. Its accuracy is as good as my S&W 617 and the trigger is very good. I like the weight and sights. I am not fond of the ribber grip on a target gun because its squishyness makes it hard to get a consistent grip but haven't gotten around to changing the grip yet. Mine has been a fine revolver for the money.

I have one and am more than satisfied with it. I will probably replace the grips with Hogues though, as I don't like the ribbed grips as much as some do. It's just a personal preference. I don't like any kind of "spongy" grip on any tool which requires precision for effective use.

anybody have a price on a blued one?

i am going back and forth on these things.

currently forth.

bump on price checks.

Best i saw today was 319 for blued and 359 for stainless.

Bill

If you can live with SA, the single six is a ball to shoot. I have an approach/avoidance with the Tracker, just feels heavy.

every time i buy a SA .22 i wish i had a DA, been thru it twice and have a Heritage that hits everything i aim at. and its really cool looking too.
Pearl handle birdshead grips.

Check out the prices at Budsgunshop.com. I bought mine for $269 plus shipping.

I am very happy with the gun so far. I have it scoped with a handgun scope and get really good groups with it. I plan to use it on squirrels this fall. It's definately worth the money.

Todd

AWESOME,

they are actually here in Kentucky and its $260 if i drive down there and grab it.

thanks for the heads up.


Bill

I just got this one about a week ago from a THR member for $250. It was slightly used when I got it and now it has about 1,000rds through it. I only clean after every 300 or so... It is simply the best shooting .22 handgun I have ever owned. At 50 yards (no small number for a .22), I am able to hit soda cans at about a 75% hit percentage, laying prone-unrested. I am one of those people that never seem to keep a gun, I always sell and try something else. Well, I have found a keeper.

For simplicity sake I indicated that the gun was generating smoke. This gun may appear to blow more smoke because the cylinder gap may be too large, it may be out of time/alignment, or maybe my .22 ammo is smokier that my .38/.357 ammo. Maybe it is a combination of one or more of these. Maybe it is just my perception. I will have to try a different .22 revolver and compare it with my Tracker.

Click to expand...

You can't put a feeler gauge in there and MEASURE the cylinder, barrel gap? It ain't as hard as setting the valve lash on a Desmo Ducati, trust me.

.22 is normally smokey. It's a by product of being a heel seated bullet and externally lubricated. It won't kill ya, ain't toxic. I'm sure my Ruger Old Army is much smokier.

Noticed this thread because I'm also looking at S and W 617's/DA 22 LR's (noticed the thread is a couple months old). My question is for "borrowedtime69". You mention in one thread that the 970 is way better than the 94. Then, you mention in another thread that you recommend the 94 over the 970. In this thread, you complain that the 970 would do no better than 3.5 inch groups, then in an ad in which you are selling the 970 you say that your 970 is an accurate gun. So which is it????? (For others looking at this, do a search on "Taurus 970" using a "title only" search in advanced search.)

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=214783&highlight=taurus+970

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=229042&highlight=taurus+970