Taurus Raging Bull 45 Colt

[H110]

New member so here goes the question.

I have a Taurus Raging Bull in 45-Colt. I was wondering if any of you could shed some light on just how strong this gun is, say compared to a Ruger Red Hawk or Blackhawk.

I have researched to no avail. Cant even find out what grade of metal they use in their cylinders.

Any help would be appreciated

[Bula]

I know they make'm in the heavy hitters (ie .454 and above), must be s strong frame. I'm sure some who own them will chime in shortly. Oh, and welcome to the CB forum.

[littlejack]

H110:
Welcome to the CastBoolits.
Jack

[H110]

Thanks guys I already feel at home

[tek4260]

I "think" it will handle Ruger only loads. That is to say it won't blow, not that it won't beat itself loose.

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-410484.html

Mentioned in here:

http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=1

[H110]

Thanks for the links Tek4260

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Welcome to the forum.

I have seen and heard of a number of Taurus revolvers treated like Rugers, and they simply don’t hold up to that sort of abuse. The do seem to be pretty tough guns though and the occasional hot round for hunting purposes should be fine, but personally I would not feed it a steady diet of +P loads. In all honesty there are very few things walking this planet that won’t respect a standard 45Colt load.

[H110]

Thanks 2ndAmendmentNut for the reply. I believe you are correct as I played with a Taurus Revolver the other day that was way loose.

Thanks again everyone for the warm welcome.

[Ranch Dog]

Every Taurus firearm has a bullet weight and velocity recommendation listed in the appropriate Owner's Manual, one manual covers all the revolvers (http://www.taurususa.com/pdf/revolver-manual.pdf). In the case of the 45 Colt, they recommend a 255-grain bullet at 900 FPS. Use any recoil calculator to determine the recoil values and consider this a limitation on the handgun.

The Recoil Calculator on Handloads.com (http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp) is a very good as it calculates all three recoil considerations and allows for a comparison of two loads. These are energies that the firearm experiences, not the shooter. Use the actual weight of the loaded firearm and take a stab at the charge grain weight. Small increases in the calculated values are important for the life of the firearm. Make adjustments in the load/velocity as necessary. I've attached an example.

[onefunzr2]

I gave the 'Bulletsmiths' at Sierra a call in regards to shooting Ruger/TC handloads in my 45 Colt Raging Bull. They said since it is also chambered in 44 Magnum, they would feel safe in firing loads up to that pressure. I didn't query them on how or if the gun would shoot itself loose by a steady diet of +P loads. I shoot the 300gr Hornady XTP at 1,100 fps muzzle velocity for big game. It has not come apart in over 10 years of doing so. The cylinder/barrel gap is still a tight .0015".

I would not be foolish to try pushing 454 Casull type pressure loads as those RB cylinders are 5 shooters.

[lar45]

I have a Raging Bull in 454 and have shot it quite abit with no ill effects to the gun. I've even run some stupid loads through it, 405's at 1500. I have many 50 yd targets with 3 shots in a clover leaf and the other 2 open the group upto about 1.5".
How much of a difference is there between the RB in 45Colt and the RB in 454? Is it the same frame size? What about the cylinder diameters? Could it be the same gun as the 454 with shorter chambers? I know, if you want 454 level performance, buy a 454...

[1Shirt]

H110, I like your avaitar, Festis Hagan (Ken Curtis) was always one of my favorite T.V. actors, and Gunsmoke one of my all time favorite t.v. shows. Agree with what Ranch Dog says!
1Shirt!

[claual]

I have one raging bull, 8 3/8", 6 bullets cylinder.
Scoped with bushnell trophy 2-6 x 32.
I was testing and can tell you that is VERY strong revolver.
I can share with some charges that I reload for this revolver.
Bullet 255 gr (lee mould), sized & lubed to 454 in lyman lubrisizer, 27 gr of W296, 1400 fps
Bullet 340 gr (lee mould 458), sized & lubed to 454 in lyman lubrisizer, 23 gr of W296, 1200+ fps
Bullet hornady 300 gr 457, sized in lee sizer to 452, 24 gr of W296, 1200+ fps.
All lead bullet in Lyman N2 alloy water quenched.
255 bullet using magnum pistol prime give me 100 fps more.
My standard bullet is 255 Lee and zeroes the scope with this bullet. When I use the 340 gr bullet, impact is 12" ....UP !!!.
Monster revolver !. I love this one.