Any experience with the Taurus Tracker in .45ACP?

[Texfire]

I was thumbing through the latest CDDN catalog and a revolver caught my eye.

Taurus Tracker 4" Stainless
.45ACP 5-shot
Full lug barrel
Ribber Grips
Factory Ported

Anyone have any experience with this firearm in this chambering? I've seen alot of pro and anti Taurus opinions but that seems to happen with any firearm. I'm curious as to input from people who have actually shot this specific revolver. In an associated question, any experience with a Taurus 905 in 9mm?

Tex

 

[Old Fuff]

I have a friend that has a .45 ACP Tracker, and loves it. His experience with the stainless steel version has been completely positive. Right now he's trying to find the same gun in .45 Colt.

Taurus 9mm revolvers seem to be O.K. so far as the revolver goes, but there have been complaints about the full-moon clips not working well, and nobody I know of makes a replacement. Taurus may be about to discontinue their 9mm revolvers, and if so obtaining clips in the future might be difficult.

 

[Texfire]

Good to know. I noticed that I couldn't find the Tracker in .45ACP in their catalog. I'll have to determine if I can find moon clips for it, otherwise it becomes a moot point.

Tex

 

[SouthpawShootr]

Last I looked, you could order Taurus' Stellar brand moonclips directly from Taurus. They seem a bit flimsy, but they appear to get the job done. I also ordered some from here:

www.moonclips.com/cart/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=90&cat=.45+acp+-+Taurus

Work just fine, but a little expensive. They're much sturdier than the Taurus factory moonclips.

 

[BryanP]

Taurus tends to take a scattershot approach to new models. They put out a bunch of new stuff and then discontinue what doesn't sell. The .45ACP Tracker fell by the wayside. Despite all the people who claim they'd buy a new .45ACP revolver, it appears to be a niche market.

 

[SouthpawShootr]

Maybe for these niche designs, they should turn to limited production. Produce a batch every couple of years or so, whatever the market will bear, then you fill the niche. They've already taken the time to design the gun, most of these frames are shared with other, more popular models, so switching the production line for a month or so every few years shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Old Fuff]

Part of the problem wasn't so much that the cartridge/revolver combination was unpopular, but because the ported barrel wasn't always well received. Taurus may be dropping this feature, at least on some models.

I also believe they are shifting more resources toward pistol and cowboy gun production. Both of these are markets where they want to increase penetration and gain share.

We shall see...

 

[SouthpawShootr]

Part of the problem wasn't so much that the cartridge/revolver combination was unpopular, but because the ported barrel wasn't always well received. Taurus may be dropping this feature, at least on some models.

Never really like this feature myself. Wouldn't be a deal killer for me, though. I did manage to get my 455 snubbie without the ports though. I have an 85TI that has the ports. Don't care for the ports much. Gun's pretty good.

 

[remuda]

45acp tracker

Be careful. Nice gun, fit my K frame holsters and ribber grip made big bore recoil manageable. Reasonably accurate with no complaint as to porting. Bad news - after about 200 rounds the cylinder exploded into about 5 pieces. Top strap bent in "U" shape and all out of whack and my drawers were messy. Just lucky no one was hurt. Factory warranty was honored and new weapon provided - sold immediately. Might have been a fluke, but I'm not gonna mess with this puppy again.