Taurus 608 357 Magnum 6.5 in. Matte Stainless 8-Shot Ported Revolver – Superb Range and Hunting Power

Description

The Taurus 608 is an eight-shot .357 Magnum on a large frame, and the 6.5-inch matte stainless version is the one built for shooting rather than carrying. A heavy barrel with a full-length underlug, a vented rib along the top, and a row of ports at the muzzle: every one of those features exists to keep the sights where you put them.

Eight rounds instead of six changes how the Taurus 608 is used. It is a serious silhouette and range revolver, a capable handgun-hunting tool inside sensible distances, and the sort of .357 that makes a magnum load feel reasonable rather than punishing.

What the Taurus 608 is built around

• The Taurus 608 holds eight rounds of .357 Magnum in one cylinder, two more than the standard six-shooter
• 6.5-inch heavy barrel with a full-length underlug, which puts serious weight forward and settles the muzzle
• Vented rib along the top of the barrel, adding sight height without adding the weight a solid rib would
• Ports at the muzzle that vent gas upward, cutting the rise between shots on full-power loads
• Adjustable rear sight, so you can zero properly for a chosen bullet weight rather than working around fixed sights
• Matte stainless throughout, barrel, cylinder and frame, with a finish that does not glare in sunlight
• Black finger-grooved rubber grip that fills the hand and absorbs a good deal of what the cartridge produces

What eight shots and a heavy barrel actually buy you

• Weight is the point. A heavy 6.5-inch barrel turns a .357 Magnum from a handful into something you can shoot all afternoon
• The Taurus 608 is a large-frame gun and it feels like one. This is not a concealment revolver and it was never meant to be
• Porting is loud. Fired indoors or beside another shooter the ports are genuinely unpleasant, and that is the trade for less muzzle rise
• Eight rounds matters in steel and silhouette competition, where the extra two shots can mean one less reload
• .38 Special drops straight in, which makes practice cheap and keeps a heavy revolver in regular use
• With a 158-grain load and a proper zero, a 6.5-inch .357 is a legitimate deer and hog gun inside about seventy-five yards

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-608069
• Caliber: .357 Magnum, also fires .38 Special and .38 Special +P
• Capacity: 8 rounds
• Barrel: 6.5 in., matte stainless, heavy profile, full underlug, vented rib, ported
• Cylinder and frame: matte stainless steel, large frame
• Grip: black finger-grooved rubber
• Action: single and double action, exposed hammer
• Safety: transfer bar
• Sights: adjustable rear
• UPC: 725327320166

.357 Magnum and .38 Special are both standardised cartridges, with chamber dimensions and pressure ceilings published by SAAMI. The .357 case is a tenth of an inch longer than the .38 Special for exactly one reason: so a magnum round cannot be chambered in a revolver built only for the shorter cartridge.

One practical warning about the ports. Shoot the Taurus 608 with .38 Special wadcutters and you will find unburnt powder and lead fouling collecting in the port holes. Run a bronze brush through them when you clean the barrel, because clogged ports stop working and start affecting point of impact. It takes thirty seconds and most people never think to do it.

Why this revolver earns its place

• Eight rounds of .357 Magnum, which very few revolvers on the market offer
• A barrel heavy enough to make magnum loads genuinely comfortable to shoot
• Adjustable sights and a long sight radius, the two things that actually produce accuracy
• The Taurus 608 is stainless throughout, so range dirt and sweat are not a problem
• A single gun that covers silhouette competition, handgun hunting and cheap .38 practice
• Ports and grip together take most of the sting out of a cartridge with a hard reputation

Competition shooters, handgun hunters and anyone who simply likes shooting a revolver well will get the most out of this gun. The Taurus 608 is also a sensible choice for someone who owns a .357 snub and cannot shoot it, because the same cartridge out of this barrel is a completely different experience.

If you want the competition build with a fibre-optic front sight and a 6-inch barrel, look at the Taurus 608 Competition. For something lighter and more portable in the same calibre, the seven-shot Tracker 627 is the middleweight answer.

If you want two cartridges from one gun, the 692 with .357 and 9mm cylinders shares this barrel length. At the other end of the scale, the 650 snub and the single-action Deputy cover the same cartridge in very different packages.

Every Taurus 608 ships with the factory case, the manual and a lock. Transfers go to your FFL and we handle our end of the paperwork the same day.