Thunderbolt vs. Lightning

[cad4340]

I'm looking for a long gun in .45LC to compliment my Taurus Gaucho. I was drawn toward the 1892 Winchester replica lever guns to start with, but am now leaning toward the pump guns instead. Both the Taurus Thunderbolt or the Uberti Lightning fit the bill, but the Uberti is considerably more expensive (and holds less ammo). Can anyone lend some advice or personal expertise? I also have an Uberti 1858 BP .44 which I like a lot so I'm not questioning the quality of either manufacturer. I just want some other opinions. Thanks

[dubber123]

The Taurus Thunderbolt was the last Taurus I bought. Last Taurus for me ever in fact. Junk from the factory, and worse after their "lifetime repair policy" got done with it.

[Marvin S]

Where are those USFA lighting's at? Wern't they supposed to make some?

[Baron von Trollwhack]

I can't tell you about the Thunderbolt, as I have a 20" octagon Lightning in 45 Colt. It works perfectly, my loads shoots a little over 3" @ 100. The gun is very well done and fit & finish is perfect. I put a Marbles' tang sight on it.

BvT

[scrapcan]

I concur with dubber123 on the customer service and warranty from taurus. stay far away in my book. still waiting for springs for a m94 22lr revolver. Started the quest in April 2008.

[Dan Cash]

Boo on the pump guns. They are pure trouble. The originals did not amount to much either. Fetch a Uberti 1982 clone and have a real rifle.

[Gee_Wizz01]

My Taurus Thunderbolt shoots pretty good and is extremely fast. The action is slick, but you need to practice pumping it, as the action is quite short, especially compared to a shotgun. I had a problem with mine, but I caused it, I took the pin holding the firing pin lever out, and did not lock tite it back into place, and it fell out along with the firing pin lever, and I lost both. I sent it back to Taurus the week before Christmas and it came back all fixed up on the 17th of January. My only complaint was they lost my tang sight screws. The only other problems I have with the rifle are the screws loosen with shooting, and they need to be lock tited in place. Now that I have lok-tited all of the screws, the gun shoots like greased lightning. I normally shoot lever actions, but I can shoot the Thunderbolt almost twice as fast. I have not regrets about purchasing the the Thunderbolt, and its a lot of fun to shoot.

G

[freedom475]

I shot a friends (Taurus I think??) a little and it was fun to shoot but a total ***.. But I would still like to have one just cause the idea is so cool..

It had some funny things like some phoney hammer release/safety on the top of the hammer itself and if I remember correctly it required the slide/bolt to be open in order to load it through the loading gate. We shot it for a couple hours and then returned it to the store..:redneck:

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have only seen one cowboy shooter do good with a pump gun and that was an original Colt Lightening. It would seem that the Pedersoli and Ubertis feed well in 38 with the Big Lube Snakebite boolit. But you want a 45.

I'd be getting a Rossi, they're pretty much foolproof.

[Lloyd Smale]

buddy has one it in his gunshop for $450 I ran about 20 rounds through it. It was stiff but funtioned fine with a 250 rf bullet that is loaded in that John Wayne box 45 colt ammo.

[Four Fingers of Death]

buddy has one it in his gunshop for $450 I ran about 20 rounds through it. It was stiff but funtioned fine with a 250 rf bullet that is loaded in that John Wayne box 45 colt ammo.

I think the trick is to crank em' quick, but it is only a short travel, unlike an 870 or 7600. My friend has a Pedersoli in 44/40 which has fired 10 shots. Very nice, but serious dollars. I don't think I'd be tempted by a Taurus unless it was realllllllllllllllllll cheap and then maybe I'd take a gamble on it. I don't like the 45Colt Chambering in them though, it is a nice revolver cartridge with a heavy boolit and a case full of Black.

My walkabout pump gun is a 7600 Police 308 with a 1.5-5 Leupold VariX111. Two 10 shot mags loaded with 180Gn Remington Core-Lokts, it is serious medicine and one helluva handy rifle. I have a pistol grip stock as well, but haven't bothered with it yet. Take ya earplugs with this one though! :D

[lbaize3]

I own two of the Taurus Thunderbolts in 45 Colt. I enjoy shooting them in my persona of Jalapeno Slim at the cowboy matches. These rifles are accurate, fast and fun to shoot. There is a proviso or two you should be aware of. If you are handloading, I suggest you load to the upper end of the suggested loads and that you shoot 250 grain RNFP bullets. Doing so will help slow down the blowback and burnt powder residue being deposited in the rifle's innards. I use the max listed by Hogdon for Universal Clays.

Colt brass is straight and fairly thick. This allows a bit of blowback to come around the case and into both your face and the action. It leaves powder and residue on the inside of the action. This will soon cause your gun to start jamming. I take the rear stock off and use a can of gun scrubber to blast out the junk in the action. After it drys I then hit it with a few blasts of Kroil oil. I then stand the gun in the garbage can to drain out.

If you oil the inside of the action after the Kroil oil drains, the action will only gum up quicker after firing and then start jamming. I would use dry graphite lube on the inside of the Thunderbolt. It works well for me.

The Lightning reproductions that work best use bottle necked cases; 38-40, 44-40 and 32-20. I have no experience with the 38/357 Thunderbolt, but believe that the thinner cases and higher pressures of the near max loads will keep the rifle clean longer...

Oh, and the Thunderbolt will keep firing as long as you hold the trigger down and pump the action. It has cased a few accidental discharges for friends who do not know to keep their finger off the trigger. However, knowing this can make you an even faster shot if you practice using the rifle in this manner.

[Gee_Wizz01]

The "blow by" is definitely a problem, but with my reloads I also use heavier loads and I only size the first 1/2" or less of the case. They still fall right into the chamber, but this eliminates most if not all of the blow by. The same holds true in the Rossi 92's also, they spit with lighter loads, even worse than my Thunderbolt, but partial resizing cures most of the problem.

G