I purchased a SS Tracker 44 mag with 4" barrel about 6 months ago. My friend purchased an S&W 629 with 4" barrel at the same time, so we had the opportunity to compare them while we tested them and broke them in.
The 629 was better finished and the fit of the side plate and crane was closer. The rear sight blade on the Tracker did not inspire confidence as it wobbled around. It's a design problem that can't easily be fixed, but it apparently doesn't hamper accuracy.
The Tracker had a smoother and crisper trigger action than the 629. Both revolvers had a 3.5 lb. SA trigger pull. The Tracker had 2 lb lighter DA at 9 lb.; but the short, smooth, slightly curved trigger lever on the Tracker caused my trigger finger to slide to the bottom end of the trigger where a sharp edge abraded my finger.
When firing 5 shot groups at 25 yards from the bench, the 629 averaged 1.6" while the Tracker grouped a little tighter at 1.4". (Double Tap 240 gr. Gold Dot JSP.) My 629 Classic with 6.5" barrel can beat that, but not by much.
The Tracker has a 4" barrel, but the last 1" at the muzzle is bored out larger to make a gas expansion chamber to reduce recoil. Combined with the porting, it gives quite a bit more reduction in recoil than just having the porting. But in terms of velocity and muzzle blast, it's more like having a 3" rather than a 4" barrel. Velocity of the Double Tap load (advertised at 1500fps in a 6.5' barrel) was 1381 in the 629 and 1347 in the Tracker.
The 629 weighs about 7 or 8 oz. more than the Tracker, but the Tracker has a ported barrel with expansion chamber. We agreed that the recoil of both revolvers felt pretty similar, but the recoil of the Tracker seemed a little milder.
The muzzle blast of the Tracker was noticeably louder. Another shooter came over and started lecturing me about porting. He explained no gun should ever be ported because it increased the muzzle blast. Afterwards he returned to shooting his .357 snub which was louder than either of our .44's. Later we did a side by side comparison of the 4" Tracker with a 3" barrel 629. The ported Tracker seemed no louder (or perhaps only slightly louder) than the 3" 629. But the Tracker is louder when compared to unported barrels of equal length, particularly if you are standing on the firing line about 8 ft. to the side.
As far as practical considerations go, the Tracker (this particular specimen anyway) seems to be every bit as good as the 629 for carrying as a hiking, camping, and defense revolver. Except for finish, the quality is comparable. Like many shooters, I don't like the porting. But full power 44 magnum loads would be too brutal to fire in an unported Tracker. So for me, the 629 would probably be the better choice even though it weighs a little more.
As good as this Tracker is, I don't think I will buy another Taurus. When disassembling the Tracker, I lost the tiny sear spring. This is a $4 part that takes 10 minutes to replace. Taurus won't sell me the part. They insist that I must mail them the revolver so they can replace the part. They estimate a 4 to 6 week round trip. You got me once Taurus, but never again.
