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You are here: Home / Revolvers / Taurus Raging Hunter: .44 Magnum Hunting Revolver

Taurus Raging Hunter: .44 Magnum Hunting Revolver

by: Richard Johnson 21 Comments

Taurus Raging Hunter

Taurus announced its latest addition to its hunting revolver line: the Raging Hunter. It will be officially unveiled at the 2018 SHOT Show.

This massive .44 Magnum is a 6-shot wheelgun with a traditional double action/single action trigger. However, the gun has a distinctly non-traditional look about it.

To start with, the 8.375″ barrel is a two piece design with a steel sleeve inside of an aluminum housing. The housing has an octagonal shape with a large slab sides. “TAURUS” is spelled out along the side. The barrel housing also has a deep black finish that contrasts the matte stainless frame. An all blued version of the gun is also available.

barrel of the Taurus Raging Hunter

Lest you think the barrel assembly is purely for show, it does have some features that may appeal to you. For example, the aluminum housing helps to lighten the load to provide a better balance to the gun. Also, the top of the barrel housing has a Picatinny rail for the addition of a scope or red dot optic.

Taurus also elected to port the barrel of the Raging Hunter. This should help tame the power of the .44 Magnum so that us older shooters who have begun to develop arthritis don’t feel quite as much of the recoil impulse. The porting should help keep muzzle rise down and improve the ability to get on target.

Also helping to tame recoil is the “red stripe” grip that Taurus uses on its heavy recoiling guns. This grip is made of a soft rubber with a red cushioned insert along the back. I’ve found these grips to be fairly good at lessening the impact into the hand when shooting.

grips on the Raging Hunter

Using an aluminum barrel housing may help reduce weight as compared to an all steel system, but this gun is not a featherweight. Unloaded it weighs 55 ounces. That’s about 3.5 pounds.

Taurus set the suggested retail price at $919 for the handgun. Your dealer may be willing to sell it for less.

caliber.44 Magnum
capacity6 rounds
actiondouble action/single action
barrel length8.375"
overall length15.75"
weight55 ounces
height7.1"
width1.8"
sightspinned front, adjustable rear, Picatinny rail for optic
griprubber with cushioned insert
finishblued and matte stainless or all blued
MSRP$919

The “Raging” moniker is not new for Taurus. Several of the company’s more powerful revolvers have had Raging as part of the name. For example, the Raging Judge Magnum was a wheelgun that expanded the .45 Colt/.410 bore Judge revolver line to include the .454 Casull cartridge.

Probably my favorite Raging revolver was the ill-fated Raging Judge XXVIII. It was a revolver chambered for the 28 gauge shotshell. Alas, it appeared Taurus could not make the design work under the legal constraints of the US government and had to shelf the project. At least I got to see one before it was pulled from public view. I imagine it is stored in the same warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant is kept after Indian Jones rescued it from Nazi Germany.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Terry Moore says

    January 22, 2018 at 10:52 am

    I love it. Not everyone can wrap their heads around a two-piece barrel design but screw them. I like this a lot.

    Reply
  2. Tom Woods says

    January 27, 2018 at 5:57 am

    I thought this is a seven shot revolver

    Reply
    • Richard says

      January 27, 2018 at 7:19 am

      Hi Tom,

      Nope – the Raging Hunter is a 6-shot revolver. That’s pretty typical for a larger .44 Magnum. Taurus’ new Model 692 in .357 Magnum/9mm is a 7-shot revolver. I don’t know if maybe you were thinking of it? https://www.gunsholstersandgear.com/2018/01/17/taurus-692-multi-caliber-revolver/

      Best,

      Richard

      Reply
      • Jeffrey Locke says

        August 30, 2018 at 11:27 pm

        That longer barrel and lighter weight for that length is a plus. I have a Smith and Wesson 460V 5 inch muzzle brake equipped revolver that weighs 60 ounces unloaded. And just five shots, although I can shoot 454 Casull and heavy 45 Colt in it too.
        Six shots with that 44 magnum using 330 grain Garrett hammer head hardcast, gascheck bullets will handle anything that walks anywhere in the world.

        Reply
        • Richard says

          August 31, 2018 at 5:50 am

          Excellent points. Thanks for reading.

          -Richard

          Reply
          • Jeffrey Locke says

            September 1, 2018 at 5:06 pm

            Your welcome sir. Just pointing out advantages to that design protocol.

  3. disqus_ZE3VhQZ7M6 says

    August 16, 2018 at 6:09 pm

    Why do they have to do a double release for the cylinder?! Who wants that?

    Reply
    • Jeffrey Locke says

      September 1, 2018 at 5:02 pm

      The two-point release is a simple but rugged way to lock-up both the front and rear of the cylinder. That will keep the cylinder aligned as it was built to be. Dan Wesson arms used such a system too. It is effective without adding complicated linkage systems. Try it and it will become second nature after awhile.

      Reply
      • disqus_ZE3VhQZ7M6 says

        September 2, 2018 at 12:44 am

        Appreciate the reply, but such a system is not for me. Maybe others can appreciate it, but I prefer a straight forward single release.

        Reply
  4. Jeffrey Locke says

    September 2, 2018 at 3:49 pm

    Well in a personal defense in an urban scene I would agree. But in a hunting handgun it matters not so much. So I agree partially but also disagree to an extent.

    Reply
  5. jasen says

    October 14, 2018 at 1:58 am

    Will it ever be for sale anywhere?

    Reply
  6. Wendy Plemmons says

    December 6, 2018 at 10:05 pm

    From what I see, it looks like they took many of the features of the old Dan Wesson revolver, namely the barrel shroud and the forward crane latch and updated them. Did they also use the mortice and tenon grip system or go with a traditional perimeter grip frame?

    Reply
  7. Grey says

    January 31, 2019 at 6:06 pm

    I cannot seem to find one to buy. Everywhere is sold out??

    Reply
    • Richard Johnson says

      February 1, 2019 at 10:12 am

      I would talk to your local gun shop about ordering you one. Not every dealer will carry this in stock, but all of them should be able to order one from a distributor. This is assuming sales haven’t stripped the distributors dry -and- Taurus is actually shipping the guns. In some instances, Taurus announced a gun but then delayed shipping them for months. If distributors say Taurus is not shipping the guns, you might want to contact them directly at 800-327-3776.

      -Richard

      Reply
    • Richard Johnson says

      February 4, 2019 at 10:45 am

      Hi Grey,

      As a follow up, I talked to a Taurus rep this morning. She advised that demand on the Raging Hunter has been very high. In response, the company has ramped up production on this gun and is starting to ship in larger quantities. I’d recommend talking to your dealer. They can put in a request with the sales rep they work with at their distributor to hold one as soon as they come in.

      I hope this helps.

      -Richard

      Reply
  8. Omnivore says

    June 8, 2019 at 8:06 pm

    Any ideas on how to find the Taurus soft case that comes with this gun? I cannot find one anywhere, and I just purchased the gun from my FFL who ordered it for me, but I asked for the one with the case and when I came to DROS it they tell me the one with the case was not available to them. I should have purchased it online, I would have even saved money on it. Oh, well…lesson learned. Now I want the actual Taurus soft case. Can you give me any ideas where to find one? The Taurus website did not have any in their accessories page.

    Reply
    • Richard Johnson says

      June 11, 2019 at 3:51 pm

      I’d suggest checking GunBroker or eBay to see if someone is selling a soft case. Otherwise, I’d suggest calling Taurus direct and seeing what they can do for you. Good luck!

      Richard

      Reply
  9. Terry Ayers says

    September 11, 2019 at 12:37 am

    This particular Beast comes with a nylon carrying case. Inside is Two, speed loader pouches, 2, speed strips with loops for 5, .44 cartridges on the bottom half of the case, along with a shroud for the muzzle and a hook and loop strap for the rear of the barrel to hold it in place. In the upper part of the case, is a plastic holder for the owners manual.
    A very attractive presentation for ANY Pistol.
    Overall, a very attractive presentation for a beautiful piece of workmanship at this price point!
    I absolutely LOVE mine!!!

    Reply
  10. Buzz says

    May 13, 2020 at 11:05 pm

    Does anyone known if someone makes any kind of Holster for the Raging Hunter 8.4 inch , I need one for Hunting ??

    Reply
  11. Kerry says

    August 6, 2020 at 12:23 pm

    I see now they come with all black hand grips. Are these available for sale?

    Reply
    • Richard Johnson says

      August 8, 2020 at 9:24 am

      Hi Kerry,

      It looks like Taurus is the only source for the all-black grips. Unfortunately, the company does not sell them through its online store. You might want to give them a call at 800-327-3776 and see if they can do anything for you.

      I hope this helps.

      -Richard

      Reply

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