Taurus Raging Hunter 500 Two Tone 8.38in — Superb Hunting Revolver

Description

The Taurus Raging Hunter 500 Two Tone is the 8.38-inch, stainless-framed version of Taurus’s .500 S&W Magnum: five rounds, a ported barrel, a full-length Picatinny rail moulded into the black shroud, and a matte stainless frame against a matte black cylinder.

The two-tone treatment is a weather decision rather than a styling one. Stainless goes where the moisture gets in — the frame, the crane, the lockwork housing — while the aluminium shroud stays black. For a revolver that will spend a season in the rain and be cleaned when there is time, the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 Two Tone is the one that ages better.

How it is built

• An 8.38-inch ported barrel with a target crown. The ports vent upward near the muzzle and hold the front sight down between shots.
• A Picatinny rail moulded into the full length of the shroud, so an optic mounts without a separate base that can shoot loose.
• Five rounds in a heavy cylinder with a dual lock-up — the crane locks at the front as well as the rear, which these pressures demand.
• A steel barrel inside an aluminium shroud, which is how the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 Two Tone stays under five pounds.
• A matte stainless frame, a matte black oxide cylinder, and a black rubber grip with a cushioned insert down the backstrap.
• An adjustable rear sight and a fixed front.

Choosing a barrel length in .500

• On the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 Two Tone, 8.38 inches is the middle option, and for most hunters it is the right one — nearly all the velocity of the ten-inch gun with noticeably less to carry.
• The ten-inch model wrings out the last of the powder and is the better bench and stand gun; the 5.12-inch is the one you wear in bear country.
• Recoil on the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 Two Tone is firm but manageable: the weight, the ports and the cushioned grip do real work.
• Ports are loud and throw blast sideways. Everyone within thirty feet needs hearing protection on every shot.
• Loads run from 325 grain practice ammunition to 440 and 500 grain hard-cast bear loads, with muzzle energies more than double apart. Work up rather than starting at the top.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-500085RH
• UPC: 725327624004
• Calibre: .500 S&W Magnum
• Capacity: 5 rounds
• Barrel: 8.38 in, ported, target crown
• Barrel assembly: steel barrel in a black aluminium shroud
• Frame: large, matte stainless steel
• Cylinder: matte black oxide
• Sights: adjustable rear, fixed front; full-length Picatinny rail
• Action: double action / single action
• Grip: black rubber with cushioned insert

.500 S&W Magnum is a standardised cartridge with a maximum average pressure published by SAAMI, and the spread between factory loads is enormous. Read the box rather than the headstamp: a 325 grain practice load and a 440 grain hard-cast are different propositions in recoil, in penetration and in what they are for.

The same revolver is stocked with a black 8.38-inch barrel, a ten-inch two-tone and a 5.12-inch black. For a cheaper cartridge to practise with, the .44 Magnum two-tone or the .454 Casull, which also shoots .45 Colt.

Why the Taurus Raging Hunter 500 Two Tone earns its place

• The Taurus Raging Hunter 500 Two Tone puts stainless where the weather gets in, on a revolver built to be used outdoors.
• The barrel length that balances velocity against carrying it.
• Factory porting and a cushioned grip on the most powerful production revolver cartridge there is.
• A rail moulded into the shroud rather than bolted to it.
• Dual cylinder lock-up, front and rear, built for the pressure.

This is a handgun hunter’s revolver for elk, big hogs and bear, and a serious sidearm in country where something large might take an interest. The stainless frame is the reason to choose it over the all-black 8.38-inch gun if your hunting involves weather. The Taurus Raging Hunter 500 Two Tone is not a first revolver, not a plinker and nothing to do with concealed carry.

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.