Anyone own one of these and how is it? I can't seem to find a Smith and Wesson in one well not with a 5-6 inch barrel. Esox357.

I�ve heard complaints about Taurus quality, but in over 20 years, I�ve yet to come across a Taurus that doesn�t work as advertised. I�ve personally owned:

Taurus
92
66
905
805
85CH

All of them worked and worked well. I recently had a chance to shoot a friends .480 Raging Bull which was the most accurate production revolver I�ve ever hefted. I shot not one, but two sub-MOA 3 shot groups at 100 yards, then stood up and fired two shots that were touching. Holy-Cow, that gun shoots!! Way back when, I was poor and living in a bad neighborhood. I needed a handgun but I didn�t have much cash. I spied a used Taurus model 66 for $100.00 and I grabbed it. It was a bit on the ugly side, but again, that gun shot and shot well, turning in groups under 1.5� at 25 yards all day long (can�t figure out why I let that one go).

The .41 Tracker is a 5 shot on the medium frame, and I think it doesn�t really have a peer for size and weight (and probably strength). I think it would be an ideal gun for packin in the woods.

My list of "I want it" guns is quite long, but when push comes to shove the Taurus Tracker 41 Mag would likely be at the top regarding handguns. I would give it much use.

I have one in stainless. Accurate and reliable; but a handful. I wouldn't want it in the titanium version.

Kevin (as usual) nailed it.

But I chose the 629 (44 mag). I handload it to Elmer Keith's 44 Special Specs: Hard cast SWC at 1200 FPS. Makes it VERY powerful, yet manageable.

BMT

I�m such a dork�

At the moment I was writing that post, I happened to have a Taurus PT111 Millennium Pro in my front pocket and forgot to mention I�ve owned one of those too. Very reliable pistol, mediocre trigger, crappy sights (I plan on fixing that). It was more reliable than my Kahr and my buddies Glock, so I�m sticking with it until it shows signs of letting me down.

Esox;

Get the Titanium Tracker in .41 Magnum, if you're looking for a lightweight, HARD hitting woods-carry revolver.

Personally, I'll take the .357 version (7-shots vs. 5-shots, and .38 Special plinking capable) over the .41, but not by much.

My buddy has one that is very nice. I offered to trade my .41 blackhawk for it but he would have none of it!! If I ever get another .41 it will be a tracker.

Thanks guys, I will give it some more thought. I had a 608 that I sold my buddy and it never had any problems. I am still going back and forth on the 41 vs the 44 mag. The porting on the tracker appeals to me as does the price compared to the Smith. How is the recoil? Esox357.

VERY manageable; the porting helps considerably, making even the VERY lightweight Titaniums (with which I have the most experience) easy to control.

LOUD, though.

One last question regarding the 41, are components hard to find and are they more expensive than the 44 mag? Thanks Esox357.

A friend of mine owns several .41s which includes a .41 Stainless Tracker...he has really enjoyed it. The only drawback is the cylinder is shorter than the S&W or Ruger so some of the heavier cast bullets have to be deepseated and crimped over the driving band.

I am in the market for a TTi Tracker. Bid on one on GunBroker but let it get away...

Componants...no problem getting them, about the same price as .44s. Take a look at the Berry's plated bullets www.berrysmfg.com I use their .41/210, .44/200, .380/100RNHB and .500/350 grain and they are great shooting bullets for the price...no lead smoke or leading of the barrel.

Bob

Not really, and yes.

The .41 is a bit flatter shooting than the .44, about as much so as the .357.

Think of the .44 as the '06, the .357 as the .25-06, and the .41 as a .270, and you're not far off... except the .41 is harder to find components for, has less choice in componentry, and is full-house factory all-the-time.

I looked at the Smith and the Taurus, then bought the SBH hunter in 41. I love shooting the Ruger, but it is certainly no carry weapon.

I also shoot a lot of the Berry's 210's with light powder charges in my Ruger. Such a light recoiling load would be tailored well to a lighter weapon like the Tracker.

I shoot mostly Smith Model 57's. But I do have a Ruger Red Hawk in 41 mag. Thanks for the link to Berry's. One of these days, I'll have to consider a Taurus "something".

You guys aren't making this any easier. Too many choices and I am too damn indecisive. I also had the 45LC cross my mind as well. I will post back with what I decided to purchase. Thanks again for the help. Esox357.

Of the four options in the Tracker, I'd go to the 4" Titanium Tracker, and with the .357 as the pick thereof, with second-place being a toss up between the .44 and .41, with the .44 probably slightly ahead simply for the .44 Special capabilities.

The Titanium is just THAT much lighter, and corrosion-proof, not just resistant. 7-shots in .357 beat 5 in the .4 magnums, IMHO, and I'll go with that... and probably will.

I have the stainless Tracker in .41 mag. I also have a S&W Mountain gun in .41mag. The Tracker is lighter and smaller then the Mt gun. In my hands they are a wash as far a accuracy goes.

The ported barrel on the Tracker makes it about the same as the heavier Mt gun in controllability.

The only knock I have on the Tracker is the short cylinder. It makes heavy for caliber bullets a bit of a pain to fit without the nose of the bullet hanging out the front of the cylinder. As stated above I have to seat the 230gr and larger bullets a bit deeper then they are designed to go so as to make then cycle in the Tracker cylinder.

For conventional weight bullets (up to 215-220 gr.) there is no need to seat them deeper as they are not so long as to bind the cylinder.

At this point I think I should say if you plan to load heavy, the S&W with it's larger frame would be the better choice. If you want to stay with bullets 220gr or less and not shoot a lot of heavy hunting loads, the Tracker would be my choice. Personally I shoot more low power target type loads in either of my guns. The Tracker will handle loads up to factory pressures. I just don't feel comfortable pushing this little revolver much past the levels seen in the loading manuals.

Components are more available for the .41 now then ever before. You may not find what you want at the gun shop down the street, but on line it is not difficult to find all the brass you want and bullets too.

http://www.proshootpro.com/

http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/bro...**675***9015***

I think the 210 in the 41 mag is a good match for my use. I won't need a different bullet unless the 210's are not accurate? I already owned a 357 mag and liked it but felt that a bigger round is what I wanted. I have limited experience with the 44 mag and 45 LC and none with the 41 mag. I want something for the woods that is legal to take deer/hogs with. I think the 41 or 45 LC fit the bill. The double action models are easier to find in the 41 which makes it appeal to me. I will take the plunge pretty soon. Esox357.

Could anyone give me some comparisons for recoil for the 41 mag titanium tracker? I haven't decided the 4" or 6" is the way to go yet but I am concerned about the recoil.

Here is a list of some of the handguns I have experence with.


BH 4 5/8 357mag ( full house 180s)

BH 4 5/8" 41 mag (factory 210's)

BH 4 5/8 45 colt mostly cast at 1050fps

SBH 5.5" full house 240's

contender 14' 45/70 and 14" 35 rem

I liked them all except the contender.. the 35 I thought unpleasant and the 45/70 painful.

I see the taurus has a built in porting.. will this make it to loud to hunt with out hearing protection?

How is the trigger on one of these babies?

I basicly will carry it as backup when hunting and woods protection. There are no griz where I live so a medium power 41 mag would be a great general purpose load for me.

I am basicly attracted to a handgun lighter than my single 6 thats can do it all but 24 oz 41 mag seems like it might be too much.

NoKnees

I have the 26 oz. S&W M357 AirLite .41 Magnum... With full loads it is a handfull to shoot but not near as unpleasant and uncontrolable as the .44 Magnum M329.

My carry everywhere load for the M357 is a 230 grain Leadhead Keith bullet ahead of 8.0 grains of Unique for about 925 fps...very pleasant load to shoot and will penetrate anything I need penetrated.

I would bet that the Taurus would kick less with the softer grips and porting..

Bob

Darn you guys.

Now I am lusting after a 4 inch Ti Tracker in 41 to load with "41 specials" for carry. Dang it!

Good thing to lust after, IMHO.

As for a recoil comparison of the Titanium .41, 4", I'd say a hot unported .357 is about right. 4" version. The ports, and the funky, but VERY effective grip, of the Taurus make a world of difference in recoil.

But, she's loud... VERY loud.

I have the big ole 7.5 inch scoped Ruger for the magnum power loads and hunting uses.

I bet the Tracker would be quite pleasant to shoot with a 170 Sierra jhc loaded to 850 fps. And you would hardly know it was on your hip.

Yep, had one, carried nice, recoil was a touch nasty.

But way, way, way too DAMN LOUD... Sold it.

Shot it in 3 degree weather, ear's still ringing... If it were not ported ....

Spot

I have a 6" S & W 57 and a 4" Ti Tracker.
If you plan on hunting w/ it get a Black hawk or 8 3/8" S & W (my neighbor is selling his - it is pinned and recessed too <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />). I wouldn't deliberatly hunt w/ a 4" or 6" ported barrel. Too short - Too LOUD.
I bought my Ti tracker as a lightweight carry piece in bear country. The cylinder is short but I managed to get 250 gr Cast Performance bullets in it seated flush w/ the end of the cylinder. I consider this set up minimum for bear, and only carry it when a bear encounter is "unlikely". For a likely bear enconter I carry a 475 Linebaugh.
Recoil in the 4" ported Ti tracker is not uncomfortable, but I also find the 35 Rem Contender not uncomfortable. With 250 gr bullets it is like full tilt 44 mag stuff. With the 210gr bullets it is pleasent. The grips play as much a role in this as does the porting.
If you want to hunt w/ it get a steel frame long barrel. If you want to carry it get the 4" Ti. If you want to plink w/ it get a steel frame - any barrel length. There is no law about buying more than 1 (yet).
If you are not confused yet - - -Darn!!!

PS Components are easy to find and not anymore expensive than 44 stuff.

...I just found a used one that I am going to look at Tuesday...with any luck...who knows...

Bob

As for me , I would use as a general woods carry pistol. If I were to go out to hunt I would carry one of my rugers in 44 or even the 45 colt.

Basicly I was hoping to get something as light or lighter than my single 6 to carry and as effective as the 45 colt is with lead at 1050 fps.

I think I am going to find one and see how it feels to hold, aim and carry before I puller the trigger on one.

I've had the Titanium Tracker 4" in 41 since they came out. I wasn't real happy with a few things in the beginning but got them all straightened out and I like it just fine now. Sent it back because the cylinder swing out was stiff, I polished the inside of the cylinders because they were rough and case extraction was stiff with just moderate loads, I also did a considerable amount of fine tuning on the trigger. Right now I like it a lot and it is possible these things were fixed a long time ago.

It is accurate enough out to 50 yards and what an absolute joy to carry. Recoil with heavy loads is simply brutal and abusive. 3-5 rounds with hot 250gr hardcast will cause my hand to tremble uncontrollably for several minutes. The recoil on my 454 is not even close to being in the same league. The 41 is so sharp.

I would suggest not to exceed moderate 210 loads. I like 170s up to deer and out to 50. Nothing wrong with the 210s but it is working good with the 170s. I load them at 1100fps.

Most recently I took a nice tom cat with it. Here is a vid cap a moment before the Taurus bites him.


Here's a link to the album with a few more pics of the hunt including the recovered bullet:
http://sports.webshots.com/album/556244825wUmZkv

I really enjoyed the pictures, Tundragriz, and Congrats on the fine cat! Way to go!

I too own a .41 Mag Taurus Tracker and have found it to be accurate though it smarts the hand fairly good due to it's size & lighter weight. It's super loud and with saying that, the noise from it's ported barrel is my only complaint.

I have a 4" .41 in the titanium.

I love that pistol. I shoot the federal castcore 250's in it. and find the recoil just fine. I think the grips and porting do the trick to tame recoil. I also reload 210's and 220's with a starting load of universal clays for mild target loads.

I carry it a lot while out in the woods. Sometimes I carry it on my belt in a holster or I just put the whole thing in my hunting jacket pocket. Just a joy to carry.

In my opinion the 44 mag stainless 4" would be just as handy. It is only a couple ounces heavier. Costs about $200 less and there are plenty of ammo options. Fedral makes a 300 castcore that would fit. And there are medium loads available for target practice.

I ended up buying the Tracker Ti I found last Tuesday and took it to Pennsylvania while small game hunting with friends who were doing the late season deer with flintlock rifles.

The only loads I had with me were 210 grain Berry's plated bullets with 8.0 grains of Unique for 950 fps from a 4" barrel. Recoil was no worse than the S&W M657 Mountain Gun I had with me.

The DA pull is not as smooth as the S&W and the SA pull is more like a Ruger than a Smith... I never realized it as this is my first Taurus but the gun has a transfer bar type safety/ignition like a Ruger vs. the slide out of the way safety bar of the S&W...

Before I pass judgement on accuracy/shootability I want to get a little more used to the trigger pull. Will also be doing some 1-3 shot drills with a timer and shoot the Taurus against a M657 Mountain Gun, a M357 Airlite and a M57 S&W.

It is a joy to carry and for the money, worth the price...

Bob

Tundragriz

Great story and pictures. What load did you use on your cat?

RGS,
Used 21.0 gr. of 2400, Sierra 170 JHC, chronyed at 1103 fps.