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Taurus Tracker .45 ACP report.
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Last week I subcumbed to the revolver bug yet again. For some time I have had a hankering for a .45 acp revolver, but I considered the Smith & Wesson n-frames to be a bit too large for the relatively weak .45 acp round, especiallly if the revolver might fill a role as a carry gun. The 625 while a nice range gun is huge, I can justify that size in .44 magnum but not .45 acp.
so while I was at the range about a month ago, a gentlemen was shooting the .45 ACP tracker in the stall next to me. He admired my, then new to me, 629 Hunter, and offered to let me shoot his Tracker. Well I was impressed, excellent trigger, accuracy, and ergonomics. The porting did not seem to make the gun any louder in the enclosed firing position than any of my 1911 .45s. The double action trigger was at least a couple of pounds lighter than my circa 1987 629, the single action had a tiny bit of overtravel but not bad at all. He reported that he had put about 1,000 rounds through it in the year he had owned it with no problems.
The Taurus trackers are the size of a Smith K frame. The 2 Inch makes an excellent ccw revolver. The 4" inch, a good compact trail gun, all with 5 rounds of .45 acp. I'm not sure where you will find a more compact .45 acp revolver since no one else makes one. So last week I called my favorite shop and asked them to order one 4" tracker in .45 acp. It arrived from Davidsons the next day. I put 150 rounds throught it Sunday and it shoots great. The double action trigger pull is very very smooth and lighter by a couple of pounds than my smith & wesson 629 right out of the box.
It fired and extracted reliably even at 150 rounds. I had to raise the sights slightly to compensate for my 200 SWC loads but it was right the money. I shot some good targets offhand.
The fitting of the gun is excellent carry up perfect, and it full lockup there is absolutely no play in the cylinder at all. The lockup is tighter than on my Brand new 2005 S&W 686. The Taurus also has an actual finish on it a very attractve and even matte stainless (Beadblast???). New stainless Smiths are lacking a finish and sort of have an uneven polish on them.
Drawbacks to the Taurus are the lack of Hogue wood grips to fit the Tracker frame, nobody else makes the 5 shot stellar clips, and the fact that the .45 acp model is discontinued due to an apparent lack of sales. The headspace is tight so any handloads that dont drop to the bottom of a case gauge will not chamber, I found this to be the case with my LSWC handloads (too much crimp, adjusting the crip die for less crimp fixed the problem). But my plated 200 SWC loads worked perfectly, as did federal hydrashok, and speer lawman factory ammo. The gun will also not chamber .45 autorim so I have heard (I dont have any anyway)
The advantages are a K frame sized gun in stainless steel, thats a whole pound lighter than a smith N-frame, and shoots .45 acp whats not to like?????
If smith made a K-frame sized 5 shot .45 acp I would have bought that instead but they dont.
PLUS they are about $230 less expensive than an N-frame smith.
I would highly recommend this gun, and also suggest the .44 magnum version they are still making to someone looking for a .44 magnum carry gun.
If you want one in .45 acp Davidsons still has plenty in stock and the .44 magnum version is still being made.
An aquaintance told me that other day that an outfit called eagle firearms in western Pa. has these on closeout for 225 +10 shipping, and no I dont know their number nor do they have a website. They are a wholesaler. If its true thats a screamin deal.
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Last week I subcumbed to the revolver bug yet again. For some time I have had a hankering for a .45 acp revolver, but I considered the Smith & Wesson n-frames to be a bit too large for the relatively weak .45 acp round, especiallly if the revolver might fill a role as a carry gun. The 625 while a nice range gun is huge, I can justify that size in .44 magnum but not .45 acp.
so while I was at the range about a month ago, a gentlemen was shooting the .45 ACP tracker in the stall next to me. He admired my, then new to me, 629 Hunter, and offered to let me shoot his Tracker. Well I was impressed, excellent trigger, accuracy, and ergonomics. The porting did not seem to make the gun any louder in the enclosed firing position than any of my 1911 .45s. The double action trigger was at least a couple of pounds lighter than my circa 1987 629, the single action had a tiny bit of overtravel but not bad at all. He reported that he had put about 1,000 rounds through it in the year he had owned it with no problems.
The Taurus trackers are the size of a Smith K frame. The 2 Inch makes an excellent ccw revolver. The 4" inch, a good compact trail gun, all with 5 rounds of .45 acp. I'm not sure where you will find a more compact .45 acp revolver since no one else makes one. So last week I called my favorite shop and asked them to order one 4" tracker in .45 acp. It arrived from Davidsons the next day. I put 150 rounds throught it Sunday and it shoots great. The double action trigger pull is very very smooth and lighter by a couple of pounds than my smith & wesson 629 right out of the box.
It fired and extracted reliably even at 150 rounds. I had to raise the sights slightly to compensate for my 200 SWC loads but it was right the money. I shot some good targets offhand.
The fitting of the gun is excellent carry up perfect, and it full lockup there is absolutely no play in the cylinder at all. The lockup is tighter than on my Brand new 2005 S&W 686. The Taurus also has an actual finish on it a very attractve and even matte stainless (Beadblast???). New stainless Smiths are lacking a finish and sort of have an uneven polish on them.
Drawbacks to the Taurus are the lack of Hogue wood grips to fit the Tracker frame, nobody else makes the 5 shot stellar clips, and the fact that the .45 acp model is discontinued due to an apparent lack of sales. The headspace is tight so any handloads that dont drop to the bottom of a case gauge will not chamber, I found this to be the case with my LSWC handloads (too much crimp, adjusting the crip die for less crimp fixed the problem). But my plated 200 SWC loads worked perfectly, as did federal hydrashok, and speer lawman factory ammo. The gun will also not chamber .45 autorim so I have heard (I dont have any anyway)
The advantages are a K frame sized gun in stainless steel, thats a whole pound lighter than a smith N-frame, and shoots .45 acp whats not to like?????
If smith made a K-frame sized 5 shot .45 acp I would have bought that instead but they dont.
PLUS they are about $230 less expensive than an N-frame smith.
I would highly recommend this gun, and also suggest the .44 magnum version they are still making to someone looking for a .44 magnum carry gun.
If you want one in .45 acp Davidsons still has plenty in stock and the .44 magnum version is still being made.
An aquaintance told me that other day that an outfit called eagle firearms in western Pa. has these on closeout for 225 +10 shipping, and no I dont know their number nor do they have a website. They are a wholesaler. If its true thats a screamin deal.
