Taurus Raging Hunter 500 S&W Magnum 10in Ported — Superb Hunter

Description

The Taurus Raging Hunter 500 is a five-shot hunting revolver chambered for .500 S&W Magnum, with a ten-inch ported barrel, a full-length Picatinny rail moulded into the top of the barrel shroud, and the red cushioned backstrap insert that has become the signature of the Raging line. It is a two-tone gun: matte stainless frame, matte black cylinder and barrel assembly.

There is no subtlety here and none is intended. The .500 S&W Magnum is the largest production revolver cartridge in general circulation, and the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 is built to make it usable — weight where it helps, porting where it counts, and a grip designed to spread recoil across the whole palm instead of concentrating it in the web of the hand.

How it handles the cartridge

• A ten-inch barrel gives the slowest-burning .500 loads room to finish, which is where the cartridge’s real velocity comes from. In a short barrel most of that powder is wasted.
• Ports cut into the top of the barrel near the muzzle vent gas upward and hold the muzzle down. On the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 this is the difference between a shootable gun and a novelty.
• The barrel is a steel tube inside an aluminium shroud. That is how a ten-inch .500 stays under five pounds instead of becoming a club.
• A cushioned insert runs down the backstrap of the rubber grip and soaks up the sharp edge of the recoil impulse.
• Five rounds in a heavy-walled cylinder, with a dual lock-up — the crane locks at the front as well as the rear, which matters at these pressures.

What you should know before you buy one

• Ported barrels are loud. The blast goes sideways and upward, so anyone standing beside you at a bench gets the worst of it. Everyone within thirty feet needs hearing protection, every shot.
• Recoil on the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 is manageable, not mild. Expect to shoot a cylinder or two per range session rather than a box, and expect your hand to tell you about it the next morning.
• Ammunition is expensive and not everywhere. Buy it when you see it.
• The Taurus Raging Hunter 500 is a holstered hunting gun, not a carry gun. At ten inches it needs a chest rig or a purpose-made shoulder holster.
• The rail is the point. Mount a low-power scope or a red dot — iron sights on a gun capable of clean kills at a hundred yards are leaving most of it on the table.
• Practise with the lighter 325 grain loads before working up to 440 and 500 grain hunting ammunition.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-500105RH
• UPC: 725327624042
• Calibre: .500 S&W Magnum
• Capacity: 5 rounds
• Barrel: 10 in, ported, target crown
• Barrel assembly: steel barrel in an aluminium shroud, matte black
• Frame: large, matte stainless steel
• Cylinder: matte black
• Sights: adjustable rear, fixed front; full-length Picatinny rail
• Action: double action / single action
• Grip: black rubber with red cushioned insert

The .500 S&W Magnum is a standardised cartridge with published dimensions and a maximum average pressure set by SAAMI, which is worth knowing because factory loads for it vary enormously — from 325 grain practice ammunition to 440 and 500 grain hard-cast bear loads, with muzzle energies that differ by more than a factor of two. Match the load to the job rather than buying whatever is on the shelf.

If this is more gun than the hunt calls for, MAG5 also stocks the shorter 5.12-inch Raging Hunter in .500 S&W and the Raging Hunter in .44 Magnum, which is a far cheaper cartridge to practise with and adequate for anything in the lower forty-eight. For a smaller field revolver, look at the Tracker 627 or the seven-shot Taurus 66.

Why the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 earns its place

• The Taurus Raging Hunter 500 has a ten-inch barrel that actually lets the .500 S&W Magnum do what it was designed to do.
• Factory porting and a cushioned grip, so the recoil is a problem you manage rather than one you endure.
• A full-length rail moulded in, not bolted on — no separate base to shoot loose.
• Dual cylinder lock-up, built for the pressure.
• Two-tone finish that looks like a serious tool and resists the weather it will be used in.

This is a handgun hunter’s revolver: elk, big hogs, bear over bait, and anywhere a rifle is awkward or a handgun season applies. It is also, honestly, a gun a lot of people buy because they want to own the biggest thing on the shelf — and if that is the reason, the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 is at least one of the more comfortable ways to do it. What it is not is a first revolver, a plinker or a defensive handgun.

In stock now at MAG5 Firearms in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Handgun sales ship to a licensed dealer in your state, where you will complete a Form 4473 and the background check before taking delivery.