Taurus 450 Ported

[Big Mike]

Hello,

Does anyone have experiences with this revolver? I have seen the CDNN has had them for sale for a while and have it in their current catalog. I never really looked at it too closely primarily because of a few factors; barrel length, porting, and the fact that it is a Taurus.



Well, I happened into a shop today that had one. I looked at it and found it quite comfortable to hold in the hand. It had excellent balance for me. The ports on this thing are HUGE(6 of them). I would say that the fit and finish of this particular revolver were just about excellent, with no burring marks or anyother imperfection.

What are the shooting impressions of this revolver? Are there any good .45LC self defense loads that would be effective out of the 2" barrel? Any response would be appreciated.

Side note: I am also looking at the Ruger SP 101 and GP 100 (3" SS).

Thanks, Mike

 

[Jim March]

There IS some good 45LC defensive fodder out there, but it's "tuned" for longer barrels.

Example: Proload has the superb Gold Dot round loaded to duplicate performance in a 45ACP, but it's a 230grainer. We know that out of short 3" semi-autos, those often don't expand well. That barrel is effectively closer to 1.5" once you count porting .

If Cor-Bon would take that 165grain Pow'R'Ball projectile and load it fairly hot in 45LC cases, that would be perfect. But they don't.

The best you could hope for would be the Cor-Bon 200grain JHP in 45LC cases. You'd get maybe 850fps if you're lucky out of that tube . You'd really need to handload, using the 185grain Gold Dot and get it hauling out past 900 - 950fps if possible from that thing.

 

[jjmorgan64]

I've got one, and like it a lot, fun little gun to shoot, fairly accurate with my reloads. The porting has never been a problem with mine, don't even notice it.

Havn't put it over the chrony yet. but I do recommend them.

 

[braindead0]

I suspect the lockwork is similar to the tracker series, my wife loves hers..

My opinion on Taurus revolvers (have none on pistols) is they are the best value for your dollar.

The Ruger on the other hand is an excellent choice if you like hot-rodding (the GP that is, not sure about the SP).

 

[Jim March]

Just sent this off to Georgia Arms:

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Guys,

There's a number of 45LC guns that have short barrels, and there's worry that the 230grain Gold Dot (available as a standard load from Proload) won't expand. The Taurus 450 and the new short bird's-head Ruger Vaquero are good examples.

Have y'all considered brewing up 45LCs with Gold Dots at 45ACP velocity or a bit hotter, offering both the 185 and 230 Gold Dot in that caliber? You've got the components already from the 45ACPs, and 45LC is an easy caliber to develop loads for . We need the 185s for short-barrel guns and the 230s for 4.68" and longer tubes. If you can cover both, you'll have the most complete set of 45LC defensive fodder available anywhere.

Thanks for at least listening,

Jim March

PS: you might check this thread on www.thehighroad.org -

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19563
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They do 45LC ammo, but at present don't load the Gold Dots in 'em. If we can get them to load both the 185 and 230, we'll have a good set of answers for 45LC defensive use.

Until they do, if you don't handload Weshoot2 at Gray Area Ammo could brew up a 185 Gold Dot-based solution in 45LC for that thing.

 

[gold_cup]

Big Mike,
I own the 41 magnum version of this same firearm. I have it in both stainless steel and total titanium.

There is a brief write-up from a couple of years ago at Taurus 415 review .

I really like both of them and have been thinking about adding one in 45 Colt. My two examples are both accurate and reliable. The 19 ounce Titanium 41 magnum is a handfull and not for the recoil sensitive. The 30 ounce stainless steel version was much more pleasant to shoot.

I would imagine that in 45 Colt this would be a pussycat.

Mark

 

[Big Mike]

Jim, Mark and all,

Thanks for the excellent response and replies. I do appreciate it. Mike

 

[Stainz]

The CCI Blazer 200gr GDJHP @ 875 fps is available in .44 S&W Special from a sporting goods chain, 'Academy Sports', for ~$13/50. I love the .45 Colt - and reload it for my various firearms. I also reload .44's, but that defensive round from CCI really works - hits POA at 12 yd with my new 2.5" barrel fixed sight S&W 296. You might consider a .44 Special chambered little one, like the Charter Arms Bulldog or one of the Taurus. The 296 & 696 are history now from S&W - may be available new from some distributors. The hammerless 296's recoil is abrupt but manageable at 21 oz loaded. The 696 tops out over 38 oz and has an exposed hammer and adjustable sights. Neither is, or needs, porting. They were big-buck and poor sellors... I bought new ones 'on closeout' - and love them.

Stainz