Taurus Tracker .44 mag Snubbie & Range Rpt.

[Pancho_Villa]

This one was another I got at the gunshow over the weekend. Guy cam in all wet from the storms that blew in from Mexico on Sat. He wanted to buy a .50 cal muzzle loader I had, but had no $. He said he had a revolver he couldn't handle in the truck if I would swap. I would have to see it. Figured it was .38 ro something.

Nope. It was this .44 mag 5 shot stainless Tracker. Nice snubbie witha box, no paperwork. He would take my smoke pole and 250 for the .44. He had no use for it and wanted to try primitive hunting this year. He did not want to spend much on a new gun. Told him I would give him the smoke pole and 150, no more. If he ould not do that, he could go sell his gun and bring me 150 for the rifle. He played with it a little and I gave him the manual & a breech plug remover tool. Gus was a used N.E.F. break open muzzle loader I had no use for and didn't have much into it. I had bought it for 75 bucks to get a nice scope off it for one of my rifles. Well, the guy was all wet and didn't want to wander around for long in the show. He would take the deal. Worked for me.

A pic of the gun and a test target with some old .44 spl. loaads. Kinda warm ones at 950 FPS witha 240 gr. hardcast lead bullet Iused in .44 mags for less recoil. Still has plenty of power. Gun shot pretty much to POA. Trigger is a bit creepy in the release. Definitely not as good as my S&W 629 .44 mag.. But, I can live with it for the weight reduction and smaller size.

http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/thumb2_120-401.jpg (http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/120-401.jpg)II ain't much for the fiber optic front sight, but used gun buyers can't be bicky. Rear is fixed. And as I said, trigge is a bit creepy in SA. It is O.K. in DA. Grips are rubber.

http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/thumb2_122-404.jpg (http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/122-404.jpg)

[muggsy]

With a trigger spring kit and a bit of polishing that trigger should smooth up nicely. I don't know what's available for the Tracker, but it shouldn't be to hard to find out.

[Newman31Bravo]

I had a 6 inch tracker, they are nice revolvers I regret selling mine.


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[berettabone]

You got yourself an alright carry firearm there............................................. yeah, there has to be something you can do with the trigger.

[DeaconKC]

Very nice pick up!

[Pancho_Villa]

I always wanted a snub 629 to go with my 4" gun. However, I have only seen 2 at the gunshows in the past few years. One was not for sale and the other was more than I would pay for anything. So, I can live with this one.

[Pancho_Villa]

Finally got around to shooting some magnums out of this gun. I had no factory stuff. I had to dig up the lightest loads I had that I used in my S&W 629. It was still stout, 240 gr. JHP over 18.5 gr of 2400 powder & a magnum primer. I tried shooting up to 20 grains out of it, but it had extraction problems. My Super Blackhawk will take a couple of more grains than that.

Needless to say, the recoil was objectionable. As long as you do not fire alot of it, it is not bad. It comes back sharply in the web of the hand.. Extraction was a bit stiff, but accuracy was better than the .44 spls. Guess I will have to cut the load sown a grain or two and try again. I had no extraction problems wih the .44 spls at @ 950 FPS (estimated). So I will work up from there in magnum cases.

[CJB]

In my range days, I sold a customer a Lew Horton S&W 29-dash-something. Blue, 2-1/2 (or was it 2-3/4?) barrel. In two weeks, he traded it back to me for something else. He had maybe... maybe 24 rounds through it. Maybe.

I picked it up, as it had a really nice feel. This was one of the earlier shorty 29s and while N frame size, had the K butt size for better carry. Also had a very nice set of S&W Goncalo Alves grips, shaped like the Badger grips I'm fond of.

I think I shot it the most of anyone, getting maybe 150 rounds through it.

For sale. We had four guys working at the range, they all bought, shot then ditched that mean shooting revolver.

I mean it was a beat-you-up gun! This was all about... oh... 1987ish, and brothers... the knuckle on the middle finger of my right hand still remembers that gun when the temperature drops a bit. Mothafokker... oww!

~~

Pancho, great swap! Keep shootin' those cuarenta y cuatro especiales in that destructor de la mano!

~~

It was at that time, I withdrew from the Magnum Mania Society, and decided that I could do well with .45acp, .38special, that sort of thing. The .45 LC has joined the ranks too. Something to be said about lobbing 200g .38 Specials at 800-850 fps at something!

Truth be told, I've bought four .357 revolvers in the past year and a half. Three LCRs and a Smith J frame. The plan was to just shoot "especiales" in those too, of which, one LCR and the Smith are sill in the harem. Frankly, they're unfired, and may remain so just because I carry the Kahrs mostly, and lately the nifty Pitbull .45

[Iggy]

I got over the magnums too. Carried a .45 little bit of everything in one gun until I ran across the Kahr CW45.

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p246/Iggy25/BampWBellygun_zps185b6c68.jpg
Carried a 41 magnum as a duty gun. Never have fired a 44 Magnum and ain'ta gonna neither.

I ain't afraid of recoil. I carried a 12 gauge pistol on in a saddle scabbard on my horse and on a snowmobile and ATV, but never ran across the opportunity to shoot an 44 and that's just fine.

[DeaconKC]

Iggy, do you still have that .45 S&W? I WANT IT! [grovel, grovel]

[Pancho_Villa]

Hey CJB & Iggy,

I too am long past the magnum mania. Started with a Super Blackhawk as my first gun in 76. Then I got a Thompson Contender with a 10" & Super 14" barrels in.44 mag. Followed up with a 10.5" Super B. that a local sold me. Decided that the 10.5 was a good club cause ya sure couldn't carry it. Even the 7.5" was too long. Back then, there were no 4 3/4" Super Bs unless ya had one cut down. That cost too mcu. Got a short .41 mag Blackhawk that I carried around alot on the rancho & as a backup to a rifle when hunting.

The S&W 29s were impossible to find anywhere around here, so Rugers were the ticket. Eventually I sold the 10.5" and the Contender & still have the other 2. Since then, the 29s got easier to find. I had several, but the recoil was much worse than the Rugers. Still have a 4" Mod 529, but it desn't get fired much, as well as the others.

I have gone the .38 spl route also. I shoot more of that than anything else. Shoot alot of cast bullets in the 140-160 gr weight. Got 4 .38 spl. & 5 of the .357s to shoot them out of.

But I still like to pick up a .44 now & then.

[Bawanna]

I still have my 7 1/2 & 10 1/2" Super Blackhawks. Haven't shot them in years but still fondle them from time to time. Carried the 7 1/2" a lot back in my hunting days.

Also still have my TC Contender in 30-30 Winchester. I shot it this last summer and it's still a joy. I wish it was a 14" instead of a 10. Not enough barrel to work efficiently in a 30-30. I loaded a ton of different loads and bullet weights, I could match factory but never really beat it.

It's good out to a 100 yard pretty easy. Got a little 2x Burris on it.

I have a 6" Smith Classic Hunter that is a gem, never really shot it much, nearly parted with it a few times but I'm very happy I didn't.
It's a great gun and every time I think of parting with it, I just hold it and then back in the toy box it goes.

Now I'm pretty much 45 all the way, either ACP or Long Colt. I know that's not a proper name but we all call it by that so that's what it shall be.

[yqtszhj]

You all continuing to talk about 44 and 45 revolvers in every other post is going to get me in trouble. I'm trying to hold out but I'm finding it difficult. Even Grab a gun is after me sending emails about ruger .357's for $339. I've found my newest itch is revolvers recently.

[b4uqzme]

I have a SBH Bisley in 44magnum and recommend it highly. Not so sure about no snubby tho. I'm a little too sensitive for that. :cool:

[berettabone]

I'm loving the WC SP 101...........................I don't find the .357 loads so bad, not that I'd want to shoot 200 rds.of it at a time.............the wife doesn't even think that .357 is so bad. She thinks .40 is worse as far as recoil. I've had the revolver bug for some time, just haven't found another one that I want yet............................................... ......

[Pancho_Villa]

Guess I shouldn't be an enabler. But, if it feels good do it. Here is an old model, 3 screw frame Ruger Blackhawk .357 without the factory safety changes. It will stay that way. It still spells a 4 click action that spells C-O-L-T. I carry all 6 chambers loaded & haven't had an AD with it. Not bad with full bore .357s and a rear ***** cat with any .38 spl load.

http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/thumb2_001-387.jpg (http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/001-387.jpg)

Even though I have these 2, I am still beating the bushes for an SP 101 with a short barrel. The Police Service 6 will take heavy magnum handloads. Recoil is sharp, but controllable. The LCR has pretty vicious recoil with 158 gr. full power magnums. Very controllable with lighter bullet magnums or .38 spls.

http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/thumb2_53-52.jpg (http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/53-52.jpg)

http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/thumb2_92-161.jpg (http://www.bersaforum.com/images/1/1/8/92-161.jpg)

[Alfonse]

The LCR has pretty vicious recoil with 158 gr. full power magnums. Very controllable with lighter bullet magnums or .38 spls.



Yes, I bet the airweight smiths are the same too. I only shoot .38 spcl or +p in my LCR. I readily admit to not having .357s on my man card for flyweight, snub nose revolvers.

[getsome]

Some peoples world goes back and forth and others goes round and round....I'm definitely the latter...I fell in love with S&W revolvers at 12 years old when my grandpa gave me a beautiful K22 revolver and have been in love ever since.....The K22 was stolen in a burglary some years later and I still grieve over losing it....

I guess we all have let some guns go that we later realize was a mistake and my 2 were a 4" blue model 57 .41 mag and a 4 3/4" Ruger Blackhawk .41 mag....This was around 1983 or so and .44 magnum Smiths were impossible to find so I went with the .41 but at that time I didn't reload and the only two loads for the .41 mag were the full power rounds and the lighter and hard to find police load....Let me tell you, both those guns would kick the crap out of you with the full power stuff and like someone else mentioned, my middle knuckle on my shooting hand still hurts....I traded both guns for the new then .45 acp S&W 645 which was my first semi auto pistol....Still regret that move...

On a side note, I had a gunsmith do a trigger job on the Blackhawk and he messed it up and I ended up with a dangerously light trigger so I sent it back to Ruger with a note explaining what I had done and asked them how much it would cost to put it back to factory specs....A couple weeks later I got the gun back in like new shape and the invoice said "No Charge".....Ruger has some mighty fine customer service....