Taurus 454 Raging Bull

What do you all think about the Taurus Raging bull in 6" trim in 454 Casull? I like the way that it looks and I hear that they are far better than the other revolvers that Taurus makes. Bank vault strong and very accurate. I am looking for the insight of people that own them or people that that know others that have them. Good stories and bad but PLEASE no, "I heard from a guy that knows a guy that knows a guy who's gunsmith had one blow up etc." The internet is full of that stuff!!! Everyone here seems to be on the up and up and very helpful so that's why I am asking.
Thanks to all that helped me to make the decision that the heavy round that I need is indeed the 454. Thanks guys. Now I just have to be realistic about the amount of money that I have to spend. The Freedom arms is a bit too much right now.

If you get a good one your are golden, if not who knows. A friend had a Raging Hornet and it was a royal POS and he never got any satisfaction from Taurus. There are a pile of 5-1/2" Ruger Bisleys in 45 Colt out there and the 45 Colt will do about 90% of what the Casull will, with half the punishment. Just a thought.

s4s4u, What were the issues with it? I have heard that Taurus is not good as far as their dealings with customers...

i have had two, absolutely horrible. both broke twice, they are not in fact that strong and both times it took upwards of 6 months to get it back from taurus. if ya can't afford a freedom without question get a bfr or ruger SRH. i have both and they are both very very nice. my son is the best shot i know of, he routinely busts 2 liters 4-5 in a row at unmarked distances from 100-125 yards offhand with his bfr 454.

heres his bear with his bfr when he was 14.

get what ya want right the first time, i messed around with taurus, shoulda gone ruger or FA first. now i'd add bfr. i have a mess of FA guns and will have more, you will never regret buying one.

Ok. You guys are not the only ones on here telling me to run away from them. I will. Like the plague. Dammit. They are so cheap. I guess that's why you get what you pay for. no free lunch. I just never owned one so I thought what the hell. I might have to look at the BFR since so far the freedom might be out of the picture because of my double rifle purchase. Are the BFR's comfortable?

Lucien,

Do not overlook used FAs. Many 454s have had very few rounds fired through them. Plus, few of us will ever shoot enough through a FA to really matter.

wtroper..... good point. I am looking but they are all still waaay up there even online. I am willing to keep lurking and watching

Exactly! Be patient, it'll pay off and you won't regret it.

Well ya sound like me lucien so be careful with the double rifle purchases. Ive done the same thing and i didnt ever shoot mine so i sold it pnce o really got ontp these pistols

I am thinking that might be word of caution... But it was sooo pretttttyyyy.... and powerful.... and, yeah, this is why I am glad I have a fiance that loves cause if not it wouldn't be good.

I've had a 5" Raging Bull .454 for years. Love it. Shoots great, looks great, fantastic grips. 0 problems. Also have 6" .41 and 10" .500 S&W RBs. Same comments for them, too. Best money I've ever spent and I have not babied them. Killed over 100 groundhogs, 50 deer, and brown bear. So much for junk guns.

You can,t go wrong with a Ruger or a BFR. I have a BFR in 454 and love it. High quality at a reasonable price and very accurate. Good luck.

wvhitman... really? hmmmm. sounds very hit or miss. Others say that they have major issues and then you come along with nothing but praise. I am not sure what to make of that. I love the price point and the way that they look vs the SRH. I had an alaskan in 454 but I sold it because I hated the way she stared at me... all pug and ugly. I was very mean to her... but she shot very nicely.

I have a friend who has one in .44 mag w/a 6" barrel, I have shot it some and find it to be accurate, comfortable to shoot and well built he has owned it for several years and has not had a lick of trouble with it.

I don't own one, but over the years have shot quite a few Taurus revolvers and have never seen one with a problem. I have heard the horror stories about them but none of the owners I know have had any trouble. Just my experience for what it's worth.

bshaw, that is what I am looking for. People's first hand experiences. I have never owned a Taurus so I "got nothin" to go on. No one I know has one either for that matter. I appreciate the input.

I own 2 Taurus revolvers. Model 607, 4" .357mag, 10yrs old. No issues.
Model 44, 8 3/8" .44mag. 1yr old. The only issue with the .44 was a broken rear sight screw. Totally my fault, over tightened it. Called Taurus and they sent a complete new rear sight at no charge since the gun was still new. Several weeks later they sent a second complete sight with no correspondence.
Accuracy wise, both guns shoot better than I do.
Just my experience.

Jeff

I had a RB in 44 w/ 8 3/8" and it loved the 265 Hornadys. It was very accurate and I never had any trouble with it.

And yet someone else that is happy with Taurus. This is like a seesaw. Four hours ago I was sworn off of them and now I am thinking that for the price it might be the way to go. Either a 5" or 2.5" 454 is what I am looking for. Thank you all for the responses. Maybe others will come forward with their experiences? I appreciate everyone's input, positive or negative. I value it all. Thanks everyone.

The thing about Taurus was not so much about the guns, but rather the lack of service if you got a lemon. It may be a gem, who knows, but the rep for piss poor CS still haunts them.

Have they gotten any better over the years? Or are they still terrible? I just ordered one. I couldn't pass up the deal. Oh, pray that I got a good one. Its used and comes with 40 empty brass.

If its used, you'll know shortly if ya got a good one, or if he sold it cause it was a bad one! Sorry... maybe ya didn't want to hear that...

I have a buddy that shoots one, and he loves it. Yeah, he bought his used as well. So there is hope!

raptor... I'm glad that there is hope even after I had a minor coronary with the thought that it was one that was dumped. Why is it that whenever something is reasonably priced you have to worry? Grrr. That sucks.

I have sold plenty of guns that have shot well. This doesn't mean the guy is trying to dump it because it doesn't shoot well. Keep in mind that our economy is in the crapper, and he might just need the money.

Whitworth, You are absolutely correct. And, I hope that you are right. I was told that the guy that had bought it brand new had very small hands and was afraid of the recoil and lack of control that he said that he had when he fired it. That is worth what I paid for it as far as a story goes. Also, do I understand that you have written a book on big bore revolvers? If you have, is there a link to it? People say that it is really very good and well worth buying it. I am interested.

Sean, here is the Gun Digest link:

http://www.gundigeststore.com/big-bore-revolvers

Here is the link in the announcement section of this website:

http://www.handgunhunt.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/116116/page/1#Post116116

Thank you!

Whitworth, I hope your book is a good one! Everyone says it is great and I am very much looking forward to ordering it ASAP. I am an author myself and it feels great to get input from your readers and better when that input is positive.
I am thinking that since I am going to take delivery of this Taurus 454 and I am (provided that it is a good one) going to use it exclusively on small, medium, big game, and dangerous game hunts and report on its performance, issues if any, and reliability. I hope that the readers and posters here would be interested in that. If it proves reliable I will take it to Alaska next year along with my double rifle and in the interim I will work it hard and see what, if anything, breaks or lets go and report on it in depth. I wonder if there is enough interest in the Taurus to bother with such an undertaking other than it would be fun!

FWIW, I found Max's book in stock at my local Barnes and Noble after I had already ordered mine. It might save you some wait time.

Also, be sure to update us with pics and a range report when you get the bull!

2.5" .454 is totally worthless unless you're sticking in a bear's mouth or rectum. Too short a barrel ruins accuracy and your ability to control is. My 5" is like a beauty queen you married: nice to look at, nice to touch, dependable because it likes you (unless you get a wild one), and you never want to get rid of her. Nuff said.

Never thought of it that way! I was not that fond of the 2.5" so yeah, it went away. It was nice but it was a bit rude to me. Not a beauty queen. More like an ugly bulldog that sits in the corner licking its ass all night and farting.

Lucien,I had a raging bull like you describe. Really liked it and had no problems with it. Traded with a friend of mine,who still has it, he's taken about 4 bear & 6 deer with it. He reloads and as he says he "runs 'em hot and heavy"! No problems that I've heard of. If I was looking for a DA revolver I wouldn't hesitate. JMHO! By the way I like SA revovers that'why I traded.

Thanks lagbolt... Makes me feel better about my experiment buying my fist Taurus. I hope that it is a good one. I hear when they are good they are quite good. When they are bad they are really bad.

I will be adding the .44 mag 6 1/2" version of the RB to my collection soon. I have owned two previous Taurus revolvers (still have one of them) and they never had an issue.

I think you made a fine choice Lucien.

Scott

saw one today and liked it. but a little nervous about the mixed reviews