Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Taurus Tracker 41 Mag?

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.