Large guns have a special place in my heart, as they do for most people. The Taurus Raging Hunter in 44 Mag is a handgun that put a huge smile on my face the moment I held it in my hand. The Raging Hunter is well constructed. There is extremely little play in any of the moving parts, the cylinder locks positively in place with a dual latch system, and the porting on the end of the barrel is not only attractive but reduces recoil effectively; making for a great shooting experience.
The Raging Hunter is available in 3 different calibers: the 357 Mag, 44 Mag, and 454 Casull. Each of these is also offered in 3 different barrel lengths; 8 3/8″, 6 3/4″ and 5 1/8″. These offerings allow the raging hunter to find its place in most anybody’s arsenal for a specific purpose. In this review, I will be focusing on the 8 3/8″ 44 mag offering that I have.
Interesting Features
The Raging Hunter’s construction was well thought out. The safety features such as the dual cylinder latch system and transfer bar safety are simple yet effective. The Aluminum barrel shroud keeps the barrel rigid, lightweight, helps dissipate heat and the integrated Picatinny rail allows the mounting of many different optic types. The barrel is ported toward the muzzle which helps keep the recoil to a minimum when shooting the hard-hitting cartridges that the Raging Hunter comes chambered in. The padded grip also makes his gun pleasant to shoot. This handgun is packed with many other features that make this firearm a steal at the MSRP of $910.27 for the matte black anodized model.
Initial Impression
The Raging Hunter comes in a simple cardboard box, which I find appropriate because it is not about what is on the outside, it is what is on the inside that matters, right? The one that I received was the matte black single tone model. When I lifted it out of the box, I couldn’t help but notice the authoritative heft that it has. However, it is much much lighter than all-steel handguns of similar size coming in at 55 ounces. The Raging Hunter loses some weight because of the use of an aluminum barrel shroud which also functions as an optic attachment point because of it’s integrated Picatinny rail.
I was very eager to fire the Raging Hunter, but I could not yet so I threw some snap caps in the cylinder and proceeded to “shoot” much of the taxidermy around the house. When fired single action, the trigger had a little bit of creep but broke at a hard wall. Fired double action, the trigger is comparable to any other double-action pistols.
The dual latch cylinder lock system was different than I am used to, but it became natural after working it a few times. The cylinder on the Raging Hunter swings out with no play in the yoke and the extractor is both firm to operate against the spring pressure as well as easy to work. The classic cushioned insert that the Raging series handguns have, definitely feels nice in the hand and I have no doubt that it makes shooting the hard-hitting pistol more pleasant.
Range Results
Buffalo Bore Ammunition was kind enough to supply me with a variety pack of different 44 Mag ammunition that I planned on testing the Raging Hunter with. This ammunition is notoriously accurate and some of the most powerful that you can find for loaded factory ammo. In the past, I have run it through many of my handguns/rifles with great results.
Once I got the Raging Hunter loaded up, I was using a leather bag to rest the barrel of this monster on while I shot at a target I set out 50 yards away with the help of a Leupold Optics FX-II 4×28 handgun scope. I started with the lightest loaded bullets; the “Low Recoil 44 Mag.” and worked my way up to the “Deer Grenade +P”. I will admit that I pulled a few shots here and there with the anticipation of the gun going off because… well, it hits hard on both ends. However, I could tell when I had done this and would re-shoot the groups with more concentration. The following groups below are representations of my most confident volleys and average to be about 2″ at 50 yards. This is definitely good enough for me to be comfortable hunting with, as the pistol is designed to do.
The trigger on the Raging Hunter is a bit stout in single action, but it broke very crisp. I would guess that mine is in the 5-pound range. If I were to keep this handgun, I would most likely install a reduced power spring kit in it in order to bring the trigger down to the 3-pound range in single action. This is an upgrade that can be bought for $10 and Wolff makes them for the Raging series, so this is more than likely going to be a popular thing to do.
One ammunition that Buffalo Bore supplied me with was some 340-grain +P+ ammo that I did not shoot through the Raging Hunter. Quite frankly, I was worried about the gun holding up with it because the box of ammo came with a warning and a list of guns that it COULD be used in, and this was not one of them. This gun handled some very stout loads like a champ, but I would not recommend using any of your uncle’s buddy’s son’s cylinder cracking handloads in this firearm. Your hands are worth more than a couple more FPS.
Specifications:
- Fully Adjustable rear iron sight
- large frame
- 5-7 round capacity based on caliber
- transfer bar safety
- comes in 357, 44 Mag and 454 Casull
- available with 8 3/8″, 6 3/4 and 5 1/8″ barrel lengths
- weighs in at ~ 55, 52 and 48 ounces respectively
- double-action / single action
- 1.8″ wide
- 6.4″ high
- stainless steel frame, alloy steel frame, and an aluminum barrel shroud
- MSRP $919.55 for two-tone and $910.27
In Review
The Taurus Raging Hunter series of pistols have proven themselves to me to be exactly what I had hoped: large, hard-hitting, accurate pistols that are capable of having magnified optics mounted on them for the purpose of hunting large game. The Raging Hunter proved itself to be more manageable under recoil because of the aggressive top porting near the muzzle, despite it’s lighter weight than most similarly sized handguns. The accuracy that I was able to milk out of the gun that I was sent is more than enough to take down large game within the effective range of the cartridges that these guns come chambered in. Overall, at the MSRP of $910.27 and a street price near $650, this is no doubt the best hunting revolver within this price range.
