For some time now, I've wanted to work up a double-action revolver intended to tackle what could be called the ‘trail gun trifecta.' Such a gun would be reasonably capable of filling the roles of handgun hunting, defense against dangerous game and personal protection. Although finding that flexible, just-right handgun size and performance middle ground has been (and will be) an ongoing endeavor for me, this customized Taurus revolver is just about as close to the ideal trail gun trio that I've managed to pull together so far.
American shooting sports enthusiasts often seek out handguns specialized for either handgun hunting or personal protection. These models generally tend to fill two of the three roles effectively. The dedicated hunting guns, including models like the Magnum Research BFR, Smith & Wesson X-Frame and the long-cylinder Taurus Raging Hunter are top-notch choices for harvesting medium and large game. And with caliber options including .460 S&W, 500 S&W, and .45-70 Gov't., to name a few, they also provide plenty of power for defending against dangerous game. But these large-cylinder, long-barrel revolvers are big, heavy and often overpowered for threats of the two-legged variety.
The other end of the spectrum is represented by what I like to call the 'trail-to-town' guns. These are the concealed-carry to duty-sized revolvers such as the Colt Viper, Smith & Wesson Model 69 Combat Magnum and the Taurus Tracker 692. These models are much more comfortable to wear on the trail or to carry concealed in town while still packing enough punch for both two-legged and four-legged threats. Some trail-to-town models could certainly be pressed into service for harvesting game under the right conditions. But for the most part, their shorter barrels, caliber options and lack of an optic make them less than ideal for handgun hunting.
For this project, my goal was to push further into handgun-hunting features than most trail-to-town guns do without sacrificing too much in the way of portability or flexibility. I've mulled over a variety of revolvers and calibers for a while now. But not too long ago, it dawned on me that the revolver that was more than halfway to the feature set I was looking for has been staring me in the face since it won American Hunter's Golden Bullseye Award back in 2019.
The Short-Frame Taurus Raging Hunter
Originally launched as a .44 Magnum in 2018, the Taurus Raging Hunter series has since diversified to include two frame sizes, all black or two-tone finishes, five caliber options and barrels which are between 5.12 to 10-inches in length. The 'long-frame' five-shot models (roughly X-Frame size) are available in .500 S&W and .460 S&W. The 'short-frame' guns (similar to an N-Frame) are available as a five-shot .454 Casull, six-shot .44 Mag. or a 7-shot .357 Mag./.38 Spec.
The stainless steel barrels are fitted with a hard-coat anodized aluminum shroud. This shroud gives the guns a sleek, modern profile. They also support the pinned front-sight blade, shield the ejector rod and provide an integral Picatinny optics rail which rests in between the front sight and the frame. Not only does this shroud allow for quick and easy attachment of a red-dot optic, it also reduces the forward weight of the gun. Barrels under 10-inches in length are milled with a total of eight round ports, with four to either side of the front sight, to reduce muzzle rise. The 10-inch barrel is fitted with a muzzle brake. The rear sight is a serrated, square-notch assembly which is adjustable for height and windage.
A notable feature of the double-action Raging Hunter revolver series is the use of two cylinder release levers instead of just one. The forward release is of the Dan Wesson variety while the rearward release is a Smith & Wesson type. Both releases must be pressed at the same time in order for the cylinder to swing out to the left side of the frame. These revolvers are completed at the factory with the installation of monolithic textured rubber grips with a recoil reduction backstrap.
The photo that includes two Raging Hunters shows a 5.12-inch barrel, long framed two-tone chambered in .460 S&W (Top) which tips the scales at 60.7-ounces, unloaded. The long-frames are definitely dedicated hunters. The project gun (Bottom) is a 5.12-inch barrel two-tone .44 Mag. (#2-440055RH; $1,083.99). Weighing in at 49.3-ounces with the shortest barrel available in this series, it neatly splits the difference in size, weight and performance between the six-inch barrel or longer hunting guns and the four-inch or shorter barreled trail-to-town guns.
Why .44 Magnum?
Someone reading this is scratching their head and asking why I didn’t go with the short-frame Raging Hunter chambered in the more potent .454 Casull, since both guns are the same size. Someday I'll get around to writing an article about why the nearly 70-year old .44 Mag. is still among the most well balanced big-bore revolver calibers available. But for today, I'll focus on the following reasoning for my choices.
There is no question that .454 Casull is more potent than .44 Mag. However, .44 Mag. is powerful enough for this revolver's intended uses. It provides a notable step up in performance when compared to the .357 Mag. without the added ammunition expense and intense levels of felt recoil associated with .454 Casull. The .44 is a solid option for harvesting hogs, whitetails, mule deer, black bears and other critters in this size range. It has, with the right ammunition, been used to tackle larger game such as elk and moose. Generally speaking, if I were to hunt larger game, a rifle would be my go-to gun. But in a survival situation, either subsistence hunting or fending off an animal attack, a properly loaded .44 Mag. like this one could get the job done.
The .44 Mag. is still among the most popular revolver rounds on the market. A quick look at just one of the larger online ammunition distributors showed 74 options in their catalog ranging from cowboy loads to heavy-duty, deep-penetration hunting rounds. Although the softer-shooting .44 Special is not nearly as popular, this site had no less than 17 loads to choose from, many of which were defense-grade loads intended for two-legged assailants. In short, when traveling or just for trips to the shooting range, .44 Mag. and .44 Special are much more likely to be on hand and available at local sporting goods and big-box stores than .454 Casull or defense-grade .45 Colt. And there is no question that the .44s cost less to shoot than their larger caliber compatriots.
Fink's Custom Guns, VZ Grips and 5 Star Firearms Work Their Magic
Having worked with stock, fresh-from-the-factory models of the Raging Hunter in the past, I can safely say that these guns arrive ready to use right out of the box, no tinkering required. But a few years ago, I teamed up with Fink's Custom Gunsmithing (FCG) out of Paulden, Ariz., to trick out a three-inch barrel Ruger SP101. I was very happy with the results, especially the way their action job made an already good trigger even better. I definitely wanted them to apply their action-job magic to this gun. The result of their skilled small-parts polishing was a double-action trigger-pull reduced from around 12-pounds to a buttery smooth 9-pounds 8-ounces. Manually cocking the hammer for single-action fire reduced the trigger's arc of travel to just an eighth of an inch. Although the factory single-action trigger was closer to 5 pounds, the tuned trigger exhibited a clean, crisp break with 3 pounds 13 ounces of trigger pull ($185).
Next, I was looking for a rugged sight system fashioned after one of my favorite configurations for concealed-carry guns. The front sight features a bright yellow/green ring around a Tritium night sight. This bright dot is paired with a fixed, serrated rear sight with a 'U'-shaped notch. It’s a system which is quick and easy to acquire in close-range defensive situations. In this case, the sights were tuned for 15 yards at the custom shop.
For those who are scratching their heads at this choice, remember, this is a three-purpose revolver. For handgun hunting or shooting at distances much greater than 20 yards, the revolver's rail will be fitted with a red-dot optic for aiming. The only reasons to use this gun without an optic in place is to make it more compact for use as a trail gun, or when staging it for personal protection in town where it would likely be loaded down with defense-grade .44 Special loads that generate less noise and muzzle flash and are less likely to over penetrate. At across-the-room distances, this is an ideal sighting system that works well for me. It took some work to make it fit this gun, so this was the most costly of the modifications ($325).
David Fink, the owner of FCG and an all around great guy, was kind enough to work with me over the phone to work out finish options. This revolver started out as a two-tone, so I wanted to stick with that theme. In the end, the barrel shroud, stainless barrel, fluted cylinder, controls and appointments were given a matte black Cerakote finish. The stainless-steel frame was treated with a Patriot Brown Cerakote in order to maintain a two-tone finish. David suggested that they use their in-house laser to engrave the brown frame with a topographical map pattern, to compliment this revolver's outdoor theme. The final results were even better than I had hoped ($175).
To cap off this custom gun, I traded out the factory rubber grip for a handsome, compact, hard-side model from VZ Grips. The VZ 320 Taurus LFR ($85) shown here is in the company's three-color 'Hyena Brown' finish with an intentionally smooth gripping surface. Made from layers of black, tan and dark brown G10, the colors and patterning tie in perfectly with the revolver’s two-tone finish and laser engraving. It also proved to be a just-right fit for my somewhat smaller hands, providing the roll back under recoil that I was looking for. This grip series also fits the Taurus Judge and Tracker models.
I often spend some time talking about holsters, but this time I wanted to give some page space to some of my favorite support gear, which is made here in the United States by 5 Star Firearms. Working out of Kenosha, Wis., this company offers a wide selection of twist-knob revolver speed loaders which are precisely machined from billet 6061 aluminum. This makes for loaders that are durable, reliable and lightweight. The model 6X-44Mag loaders which fit the Raging Hunter are available in a natural silver finish ($24.95) or one of nine anodized finishes ($28.45) including black. These loaders are equally useful for practice sessions or for carrying additional ammunition in the field.
5 Star also offers a variety of aluminum loading blocks. The hybrid unit shown here ($35) has one side that serves as a shooting-range block that supports up to four loaders. The other side has a canted post which serves as handgun stand. This keeps the revolver up and off of the bench top to help preserve the gun's finish. It’s a handy and affordable accessory set that is ideal for managing a big-bore revolver at the shooting range and for storage in a gun safe.
At The Range
The Fink's custom Raging Hunter performed admirably at the shooting range. It fed, fired and ejected the ammunition tested without any malfunctions or misfires. The aluminum barrel shroud gives this Raging Hunter a handy and balanced feel akin to a 4-inch barrel revolver. Barrel porting can be a little tricky. Not enough gas redirection for the gun's caliber and you get added noise and flash with little benefit. But too much will cause muzzle dive or cause the gun to drive straight back into the shooting hand in an uncomfortable manner. This revolver's porting system was just right, taking the edge off the recoil when firing hard-hitting rounds.
A Crimson Trace CTS-1550 red-dot optic was mounted to the barrel for formal accuracy testing. DoubleTap Ammunition provided four loads for the formal bench rested accuracy testing conducted at 25-yards. They included three heavy-duty .44 Mag. rounds and one defense-grade .44 Special load. Each load was fired for three 3-shot groups with a LabRadar LX chronograph used to measure bullet velocities for 10-shot strings. Looking at the results, and the well managed level of felt recoil, the 240-grain hard cast load proved to be an ideal fit for this wheel gun. Here is the full set of range results:
Parting Shots
In closing, what I'm about to say isn't fair, but it's probably true. When American handgun hunters consider which brand of revolver they will use as a base gun for customization, Taurus is probably not at the top of their list. Taurus is best known for its more affordable products. But what drew me to the Raging Hunter for this project is precisely that these guns are fairly priced while being tricked out with factory features not found on more expensive models.
As mentioned earlier, a stock Raging Hunter is ready to use right out of the box. The barrel porting, the optics rail, double cylinder lock-up, smooth action and sturdy construction come standard. But I wanted a bit more than Taurus offers off-the-rack. Thanks to Fink's Custom Guns, VZ Grips and 5 Star Firearms, a great revolver was transformed into the trifecta trail gun that I was looking for. Want to see it shoot on camera? Check out my video on it here.
