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Taurus Raging Bull 454 Review?
- Thread starter j-heart
- Start date
Steve Smith
New member
Almost any official review will say its great. Reviews will tend to be gunwriters, who tend to be advertising sluts. You should search here on TFL for better info, and also ask over at www.sixguns.com "Campfire."
Here's a review for you, directly from me:
I had the 6.5" barrelled .454 Casull Raging Bull. Accuracy was excellent, and as long as I did my part, I could hit an 8" plate at 100 yards every time standing. I'm not the pistol shot now that I was then, for sure. I'm sure if I were to really get on a bench and get serious, it would've printed roughly 4" groups, maybe better! I really took a beating when I decided to sell it, as I paid $650 for it (that was a great price then) and sold it for just over $500.
Pros:
Handles the .454 Casull well...recoil is straight back and manageable.
Comfy grips with "recoil pad" on the rear.
Good looks, good sights.
Cons:
WAY too heavy.
DA grip size was much too large.
Sticky chambers...I think that they were oversized and stretching brass.
B/C gap was about .002" IIRC. Good for velocity, bad for reliability.
Scope mounting (yuck!) was iffy, even with their mount. The mount may allow the scope to move.
All in all, the .454 Casull was the wrong cartridge for me. I liked the idea of having a "bad boy" round, but the .454 is, I believe, excessive and inefficient. A lot of powder is needed to feed its appetite, and its not doing a lot more than a good hot .45 Colt is. Unless you plan to take it to Africa to hunt something dangerous, I don't think you'll need it. As a matter of fact, many Cape Buffalo have been taken with hot .45 Colts. Its a much more efficient cartridge. If you really plan to take the gun on "Safari," then by all means, get yourself a Freedom Arms instead...might as well make sure its a good pistol, if it has to save your life.
Here's a review for you, directly from me:
I had the 6.5" barrelled .454 Casull Raging Bull. Accuracy was excellent, and as long as I did my part, I could hit an 8" plate at 100 yards every time standing. I'm not the pistol shot now that I was then, for sure. I'm sure if I were to really get on a bench and get serious, it would've printed roughly 4" groups, maybe better! I really took a beating when I decided to sell it, as I paid $650 for it (that was a great price then) and sold it for just over $500.
Pros:
Handles the .454 Casull well...recoil is straight back and manageable.
Comfy grips with "recoil pad" on the rear.
Good looks, good sights.
Cons:
WAY too heavy.
DA grip size was much too large.
Sticky chambers...I think that they were oversized and stretching brass.
B/C gap was about .002" IIRC. Good for velocity, bad for reliability.
Scope mounting (yuck!) was iffy, even with their mount. The mount may allow the scope to move.
All in all, the .454 Casull was the wrong cartridge for me. I liked the idea of having a "bad boy" round, but the .454 is, I believe, excessive and inefficient. A lot of powder is needed to feed its appetite, and its not doing a lot more than a good hot .45 Colt is. Unless you plan to take it to Africa to hunt something dangerous, I don't think you'll need it. As a matter of fact, many Cape Buffalo have been taken with hot .45 Colts. Its a much more efficient cartridge. If you really plan to take the gun on "Safari," then by all means, get yourself a Freedom Arms instead...might as well make sure its a good pistol, if it has to save your life.
Ruben Nasser
New member
Exactly what Steve says...
I've shot a friend's 454 Ragging Bull many times (never tried it scoped, though) and have exactly the same experience.
I don't mind the small B/C gap, just clean often.
The recoil is milder and straight compared to a FA 454.
Too BIG, and I don't like the looks, but it is a great shooter (but quality is not even close to a FA).
454 is fun to shoot, but IMHO 44 mag is much more practical.
I've shot a friend's 454 Ragging Bull many times (never tried it scoped, though) and have exactly the same experience.
I don't mind the small B/C gap, just clean often.
The recoil is milder and straight compared to a FA 454.
Too BIG, and I don't like the looks, but it is a great shooter (but quality is not even close to a FA).
454 is fun to shoot, but IMHO 44 mag is much more practical.
Steve Smith
New member
I agree that the Ruger is a better designed gun for the round, but the DA grip is still way too big, and the gun is even heavier, I think. The SA gun in this caliber is, IMHO, the way to go. Too bad Ruger felt that recoil would be too bad in their BH Bisley for this cartridge. That would sell like hotcakes. It's not like the gun can't take it. Linebaugh's been making .475 Maximmums off of BH .357 Maximmums for years...not to mention the .475 Linebaughs.