Taurus Tracker 45ACP range report

R

RON in PA

New member
Got a Taurus Tracker in 45 ACP this weekend and had the opportunity to shoot 65 rnds. of 230 gr ball. The revolver, for those who don't know, is a five shot piece that uses easy to load and unload full moon clips. It is SS with a 4" barrel ported for recoil contol. The gun is almost identical to my L-frame Smith 586 in size, has Taurus's patented rubber grips and adjustable sights.

I shot mostly at 7 yards with a one-handed bullseye stance and was able to keep most shots in ragged one hole groups when shooting SA. The SA trigger has no creep and breaks like glass at maybe 4 pounds. The DA is another story, it's no S&W, stacks like an old Colt, but is manageable shooting two handed. Shot a SA group at 50 feet with a Weaver stance and had 4 shots touching with a called flyer.

The gun handles the recoil of 45 ACP ball very well, the porting and grip do their job. The workmanship is nice, tool marks are at a minimum. The DA trigger is my biggest complaint. One other complaint, Taurus didn't design the gun to use 45 autorim cartridges, you have to use the full moon clips or just drop the cartridges in and forgo the extractor( they seem to work ok w/o the clips do to proper chambering).

The gun is a keeper and I recommend it based on my limited experience. My experience is very similar the the Dope Bag report in the 1/03 American Rifleman. And since someone will ask, the price is $525 full retail list, I paid $415 plus tax and fees.
 
Not trying to give you a hard time but the role for this piece seems to be as a CCW/self defense weapon. That would seem to indicate DA as the most advisable method of shooting, yet you say the DA is not so good. Doesn't sound like a keeper to me unless you have some other role in mind for it. I'd be curious about your thinking on this.
 
Dave T: Good point, but the less than Smith&Wesson DA trigger does not stop this from being a viable self-defense gun. I can still keep all shots from a cylinder in a pie plate at 7 yards firing DA, one-handed. When I criticized the DA trigger my frame-of-reference is a Smith K or L frame.. These revolvers, especially when broken in, have the best trigger DA trigger pulls extant. Hopefully the Taurus will improve as it is shot.

My main reason for getting the Taurus was not as a carry piece, but as a range gun for shooting 45 ACP in a revolver, sort of an alternative to a Smith 625. This it seems to do verywell.
 
Ron,

Thanks for the review... been wondering about that particular model... just as something to keep my Ruger SP-101 in 9mm company. :D
 
The double action trigger in my Tracker 425Ti did improve alot after about 250 rounds. I do not have a reference against a S&W but the Taurus before and after was much better.
 
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