Taurus tracker .44 mag questions...

[TSH77769]

I am interested in a Taurus Tracker .44 Mag, stainless steel. It is to be a general purpose handgun for a friend for whom it will be their only gun.

I need to know for sure if they have a one piece barrell or a two piece as the plan is to buy the 6" and have the porting cut off. If it is a one piece barrell this is relatively simple, if a two piece barrell, this would not be feasable (sp).

I need to know for sure if there is any projectile weight or velocity restricitons. For example it is my understanding that certain revovlers can not be used with either too light or too heavy bullets due to bullet pull under recoil and or other issues. Also, I need to know what the cartridge overall length max is for this gun.

Thanks very much for your help.

Tsh77769

 

[Hawken50]

i have one so i'll try to help.

i have no idea if it's a one or two piece barrel. i do know that there is an expansion chamber at the porting.

there are no weight or vel. restrictions that i know of, however there is a length restriction, the cylinder is a tad short.

cartridge oal cannot exceed 1.626" (according to the link posted, i'll confirm that for you when i get home.)

i've never had the short cylinder be an issue, 300grn hornady xtp's, which are the longest bullet i load for it, fit fine.

here's a good review on gunblast.

http://gunblast.com/Taurus-Tracker44.htm

 

[Lucky Derby]

I to hate the fact that many revolvers are only offered in ported models. I really dislike porting. I understand your desire to cut it. I do not believe that Taurus has gone to a 2 piece barrel.
That aside, unless there is a need for the power of a .44 I question it as a good all purpose caliber for most people. Yes I know that light specials can be used, but these are just as expensive as .44 magnums. So unless your friend is wealthy, or reloads, or needs a .44 for protection against bears or the like, it might be a good idea to look at a good .357 magnum. Taurus makes several, including the Tracker. It will be much cheaper to shoot .38's for practice, and full house .357's have more power than is needed in a handgun most of the time.

 

[Legionnaire]

+1 on what Lucky Derby said. Buying a Taurus and paying to cut the barrel shorter, recrowning, and reinstalling the front sight seems like an expensive way to go. I owned a Taurus M44 (sold it because I didn't like the porting) that I never had any trouble with; others, though, have complained about Taurus' hit-or-miss quality. For an "only gun" I'd not put the extra work you are contemplating into a gun from a manufacturer with questionable quality.

Unless there is a compelling need for the .44mag, I'd vote serious consideration of a stainless 4" Ruger GP100 in .357 mag. It will stand up to hot loads, and shoot .38spls for plinking and/or practice. And if you really do need a .44, I'd look for a 5.5" Redhawk, or one of S&W's "Mountain Guns."

 

[bender]

sold it because I didn't like the porting

can you expand on this comment ?

 

[Legionnaire]

Sure. Personal preference only. I did not like added muzzle blast, and it was tough keeping the expansion chamber at the ports clean. For all intents and purposes, it felt like a had a hard-to-clean 3" barrel. It was my first experiment with a ported barrel and I learned I just didn't care for it. Ports may have their value in certain circumstances, and maybe in reality what I didn't like was the expansion chamber in the barrel rather than the ports. But any way you cut it, the porting just didn't float my boat.

No complaints about the fit and finish of the gun, though. I was surprise by the smoothness of the out-of-the-box double action trigger, and it was a fine shooter. But I've decided barrel porting isn't for me.

 

[Legionnaire]

Mis-spoke. Several years ago I had a Contender in .35 Rem with a 15" barrel with a muzzle break, so I guess that was really my first experience with a ported barrel. I hated that one, too. The break made the gun way too loud. I shot it a lot at the range and knew it was loud, but the first time I took a shot at game without hearing protection, my ears rang for three days. That was on a Friday afternoon. Monday morning I ordered a pair of Peltor Tac-7s, because there was no way I was going to continue hunting with that monster without protecting my ears! So I guess I've doubly sworn off ported barrels!

 

[mnrivrat]

Taurus 44 tracker has a one piece barrel so doing what you want should be no problem.(cutting a 6 inch down to eliminate the porting)

I have a 4 inch ported and for me the porting is no problem . I also have a Taurus model 94 in .22 LR that I cut the barrel from 4 inches to 2&7/8" because that is what I wanted .

I do my own work so money was not the problem but if you have to have it shortened for you , you might want to check out the cost first just so that there is no surprise. Having exactly what you want is always worth the price in my opinion so if the rest is what your looking for - go for the modification.

I like the Tracker .44 mag as the frame size is like having a K or L frame ,only with the power ability of the .44 mag. I shoot mainly .44 Spl and I don't see a down side to that except the ammo is a bit more expensive. I've owned a number of .38/.357 K and L frame guns and this is what I wanted so I pay a little more to shoot it.

 

[bender]

thanks for the explaination of your "porting" opinions, Legionnaire.

I've never had anything with a ported barrel, so I didn't know. I always wondered about people (on TV or in movies) running around shooting a .44mag with no hearing protection... I've never owned or shot a .44mag so I don't know how loud they are.

Seems like in any possible SHTF scenario, people would want something they could shoot without making themselves deaf for days.

I still want a .44mag though, even after saying all that. I'd shoot .44special at the range probably though.

I clicked on the gunblast.com link that Hawken50 provided above. The Tracker is a nice looking gun.

 

[Legionnaire]

bender, when I gave up the Contender, I started hunting with a scoped Super Redhawk in .44mag. NOT a ported barrel. Interestingly, I've taken a number of deer with it. Can't tell you how loud it is sans hearing protection, though, because I now wear the Tac-7s when handgun hunting. I hunt with rifles and shotguns without hearing protection, but not with the hand gun. After the experience with the Contender, I've been frightened of shooting any large caliber pistol without my ears covered. I'm pushing 50, and thus far have no measurable hearing loss (thank God). But from my experience, whatever else porting does, it increases muzzle blast.

Sorry TSH77769, for the minor thread hijack; but I'm with you on wanting to get rid of the porting. And I also agree that the Trackers are fine looking guns. I'd really like an unported .41mag myself ... but not as an "only" gun.