Taurus 44 Tracker Revolver
The Taurus Tracker 44 provides a self-defense firearm for urban and wooded environments in the ever-popular .44 Magnum cartridge. As the name implies, the Tracker is more geared towards a woods gun role. The ability to defend yourself from a large animal or predator requires a more powerful round than defending yourself from someone else.
This created a balancing act of making a gun that could handle .44 Magnum, was relatively easy to carry, and was controllable enough to make effective hits. This produced a heavy revolver with a 4 inch ported barrel.
This placed it in the medium frame size of Taurus, making it not too large and not too small for the cartridge while still being a plausible option for concealed carry.
Let’s look at some of its features.
Taurus 44 Tracker Standard Features:
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The Taurus Tracker is a Double Action/Single Action (DA/SA) revolver. A left side, swing out cylinder allows you to put 5 rounds in the gun and the central ejection rod allows for faster reloading.
The cylinder is released by a catch on the left hand side, putting it within easy reach of your thumb if you are shooting right-handed. The rear sights can be adjusted to help sight in your gun to the ammunition you plan on using with it. This is an improvement over completely fixed sights which limit your ammunition options.
The porting on the barrel takes up 1 inch of the total barrel length and works more like an expansion chamber than an additional inch of barrel. This helps counter the recoil of the gun, improving your control.
The heavily rubberized grips also help you maintain a good grip on the gun in a multitude of conditions. Since the gun is DA/SA it allows for you to fire it quickly in Double Action while providing more precision in Single Action.
Since you only have 5 shots, the precision of the gun is crucial, especially when it is combined with the force of a .44 Magnum round. However the recoil it produces can take a toll on the shooter, but since .44 Magnum chambers are compatible with .44 Special, you can use lighter .44 Special rounds in the gun.
This has two major benefits. The first benefit is less wear on the gun itself. The second benefit is better control of the gun with a better shooting experience.
Taurus 44 Tracker Revolver Variants:
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Price:$450-$600
Tracker 44 Specifications
The Tracker 44 is a relatively affordable .44 Magnum revolver without a ludicrously long barrel. It blends a powerful cartridge in a more convenient package. However the gun is still heavier than most semi-automatic polymer handguns.
That being said, there are some jobs that modern semi-automatics cannot do. Modern semi-automatic pistol loads are not optimized for things like hunting, predator/bear defense, or shooting in dense vegetation.
The .44 Magnum comes in a variety of loads for every occasion and the versatility of the load itself is beyond question. Combine this with the ability to use .44 Special and you have a great variety of ammunition options.
The .44 Magnum is also a good handload round. Since it was originally a specialty handload of .44 Special there are numerous handloading resources for this cartridge. This makes the Tracker a good pistol if you are looking to expand your handloading hobby or need a more animal focused self-defense gun.
Tracker 44 Specs:
| Attribute | Spec |
|---|---|
| Action: | Double Action/Single Action |
| Caliber: | .44 Magnum/.44 Special |
| Capacity: | 5 rounds |
| Barrel length: | 4 inches (2.5 inches on some models) |
| Weight Unloaded: | 35 ounces |
| Overall Length: | 9 inches |
| Overall Width: | 1.6 inches |
| Frame Size: | Medium |
| Sights: | Fixed Front Post, Adjustable Rear |
Popular variations:
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