Meet the Biggest, Baddest Raging Hunter
The 10-inch barrel is part of the name of Taurus’ latest .460 S&W-chambered wheel gun wonder, though interestingly, the box is marked as a 10.25-inch barrel. Regardless, it all culminates at the business end with the company’s proprietary “compensator” muzzle device that catches all the attention. Its goal is to tame the snappy recoil of the .460 S&W.
The revolver’s frame is stainless steel, though both the unfluted cylinder and fluted barrel are fashioned of alloy steel. The two-tone finish refers to the combination of matte stainless frame appearance against the matte black anodizing of the shroud and black oxide cylinder.
The gun operates in DA/SA and holds five rounds in the smooth-sided cylinder. There’s a bottom rail for attaching accessories or stabilizing with bipods and the like. Of course, there’s also a top Picatinny rail for easy optics mounting. The front sight is fixed while the rear is fully adjustable, both with fiber optics.
Like other Taurus Raging Hunters in higher-pressure chamberings, the cylinder uses dual lockups. The gun has a basic transfer bar safety and is dressed with rubberized grips. The piece measures 16.2 inches in overall length with an empty weight of 4.45 pounds. Retail price is set at $1,269.99.
Related: Guns to Buy if you Want a .460 S&W Magnum
Field Notes
There’s no mistaking the attention-grabbing aesthetics, but that’s all for naught if the firearm doesn’t function well, so that’s what we set out to test. Like other .460 S&W-chambered weapons, this Raging Hunter will also safely fire .454 Casull and .45 Colt, though a thorough clean and polish is required when moving from one round to the next.
Though the iron sights are plenty practical, this gun really begs for an optic with its integral rail and longer barrel. We appreciate the red fiber-optic beads, but our preference would be for contrasting front and rear colors.
With this being a fairly hefty and long-barreled piece, the addition of what Taurus calls “a first in its class bottom rail” for mounting bipods or sticks is certainly practical. To be fair, though, Smith & Wesson has offered a similar lower rail on select models of its Performance Center big bore revolvers for years. Though not a true first, it’s nonetheless a feature we appreciate.
Accuracy Testing
We’re not new to the world of beasty big-bore handguns. In fact, we’ve tested several Taurus wheel guns in the past, along with the other major brands, including Magnum Research and S&W.
Thus, we had a small stash of .460 S&W ammo for the range, including Federal Premium 275-grain Barnes Expander, Hornady Handgun Hunter 200-grain Monoflex, Hornady Custom 200-grain FTX, and Buffalo Bore 300-grain Mono-Metal.
The gun cycled them all with ease. With a Burris handgun optic mounted, we felt confident that the Raging Hunter would put out decent groups, and it did indeed. With some trigger work, our groupings would tighten up even more.
Hits & Misses
The gun is surprisingly controllable for what can be a thumper of a round. Both the upper and lower rails are welcome and practical additions. An area that could use definite improvement – and perhaps it’s only our test piece – is the trigger.
We expect the double-action trigger pull to be heavy and off the charts of our Lyman digital pull gauge, as is most every comparable wheel gun. The single-action pull, though, proved stiff with a bit of creep, breaking on our gauge between 9 and 9.5 pounds. Shooting it accurately hinges on becoming familiar with the trigger pull, as we learned on the bench.
The other complaints are fairly minor and easily reparable. The lower rail worked loose after only a couple shots. Though tightened on the range, it worked free once again. A thread-locker product would solve that issue. In addition, the factory grips showed a bit of wiggle, though the screw was snug. The finger groove, rubberized grips were comfortable, filled the hand, and worked as well for the author’s smaller hands as they did for male shooters on the range with big paws.
It’s certainly not all doom and gloom, as the young Taurus put out practical hunting accuracy groups. That compensator indeed seems to negate both felt recoil and muzzle rise, which helps hunters – the gun’s ideal market – remain on target.
Pros:
- Compensator is effective against recoil
- Good accuracy groups
- Comfortable and controllable
- Big bore is ideal for hunting
Cons:
- Trigger stiff in single action
- Lower rail loosens easily
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Grips also wiggled slightly
The Other Enraged Revolvers
Taurus’ family of Raging revolvers includes more than 30 model variants of Hunters, but that’s not all. Over the last decade, they’ve also offered a Raging Bull, Raging Hornet, Raging Thirty, Raging Bee, Raging Judge, etc. Almost every one of them is long discontinued, but you get the idea that Taurus is not new to the business of slick hunting revolvers.
The rebranded line of Taurus “Hunt” Raging Hunters catalogs numerous barrel lengths, finish options, and of course chamberings. In addition to our go-to .460 S&W, there are .454 Casull, .500 S&W, .44 Magnum, and .357 Magnum options, allowing hunters a healthy selection.
Conclusion
Handguns, by their very nature, are not generally considered distance shooters – with a few exceptions, of course. However, when a production gun like the Taurus Raging Hunter adds features like a recoil-taming compensator, lengthier barrel, and lower rail, hunters can build confidence in longer and more precise shots.
After all, the .460 S&W is one of the most capable handgun-specific rounds out there, having taken everything from whitetail to Cape buffalo.
