Taurus Raging Hunter 44 8.37in Two-Tone Ported — Superb Hunter

Description

The Taurus Raging Hunter 44 8.37in is the longest .44 Magnum in Taurus’s hunting revolver line: six rounds, an 8.37-inch ported barrel with a full-length Picatinny rail moulded into the black anodised shroud, a matte stainless frame and a matte black oxide cylinder.

This is the scoped version of the .44. At 8.37 inches you get the most velocity the cartridge will give from a handgun and the longest sight radius in the family, and the extra weight out front does more than anything else to settle the gun. The Taurus Raging Hunter 44 8.37in is a stand-and-rest revolver rather than a walking one, and it is the one to buy if you intend to put glass on it.

How it is built

• An 8.37-inch ported barrel — the ports vent upward near the muzzle and hold the front sight down, which matters even on a barrel this heavy.
• A Picatinny rail moulded along the full length of the shroud, so a scope or a dot mounts without a separate base.
• Six rounds in a heavy cylinder with a dual lock-up, front and rear.
• A steel barrel inside a black anodised aluminium shroud, which is how the Taurus Raging Hunter 44 8.37in keeps a barrel this long from becoming a club.
• A matte stainless frame against a matte black cylinder, with a black rubber grip and an integrated red cushion insert.
• An adjustable rear sight, a fixed front, an exposed hammer and a transfer bar safety.

What the long barrel is for, and what it costs

• Velocity and sight radius. Everything else about the gun is the same as the shorter models; this is what the extra length buys.
• Weight. The Taurus Raging Hunter 44 8.37in is a lot of revolver to hold offhand for long, and it wants a rest, a bipod on a pack, or shooting sticks.
• Carry it in a chest rig or a scabbard. No belt holster is going to be comfortable with eight and a half inches hanging off it.
• Ports are loud and throw blast sideways. Everyone within thirty feet needs hearing protection on every shot.
• .44 Special drops straight into the chambers and turns the Taurus Raging Hunter 44 8.37in into a pleasant range gun for a fraction of the cost and recoil.
• In bear country choose a hard-cast flat-nose bullet; expanding hunting bullets do not always penetrate heavy bone the same way.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-440085RH
• UPC: 725327615965
• Calibre: .44 Remington Magnum / .44 Special
• Capacity: 6 rounds
• Barrel: 8.37 in, ported, with integral Picatinny rail
• Shroud: black anodised aluminium over a steel barrel
• Frame: large, matte stainless steel
• Cylinder: matte black oxide
• Sights: adjustable rear, fixed front
• Action: double action / single action, exposed hammer
• Grip: black rubber with integrated red cushion insert

.44 Remington Magnum and .44 Special are both standardised by SAAMI, and the Magnum case is the longer of the two — which is why the Special chambers here and never the reverse. Scrub the front of the chambers after a session of Specials before returning to Magnum brass, or the longer cases will stick.

The shorter .44 Raging Hunters are the 6.75-inch two-tone, the 5.12-inch two-tone and the 5.12-inch black. For more cartridge at a similar length, the .454 Casull two-tone or the .500 S&W.

Why the Taurus Raging Hunter 44 8.37in earns its place

• The Taurus Raging Hunter 44 8.37in gives the most velocity and the longest sight radius the .44 Magnum family offers here.
• A stainless frame where the weather gets in.
• A rail moulded into the shroud, ready for a scope out of the box.
• Factory porting and a cushioned grip, so a heavy load is still shootable.
• Two cartridges out of one cylinder — .44 Special to practise, Magnum to hunt.

This is a scoped handgun hunter’s revolver for deer, hogs and bear, shot from a stand or a rest. It suits someone who has decided to hunt seriously with a handgun and wants the most capable .44 in the line. The Taurus Raging Hunter 44 8.37in is not a trail gun, not a carry gun and not the one to buy if you will spend the day walking — the 5.12-inch model is that revolver.

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.