I recently loaded some 45 colt ammunition for a young friend that had a revolver he said is chambered for 45 colt. I appreciate all of you who chimed in on that discussion. When I asked him for details on the revolver all he could tell me is that it was a Taurus. I was really afraid it was going to end up being a Judge. I can't imagine accuracy is very good with that long chamber for the 410 shotshell.
Anyway, I got to see the revolver this week and it was not a Judge! Also, the 45 Colt loads fit great in the chambers with the 0.452 bullets pressing in nicely in the throats. They should shoot great. However, I am curious about the gun. Unfortunately I couldn't take any photos, so we will have to settle for a description.
It is a large frame 5 shot revolver. The barrel is about 6.5 inches and is ported with Taurus's typical porting. There is a normal cylinder release and a second one on the crane in front of the cylinder. The barrel has an integral vented rib on top and full length under lug on bottom. It is finished dark all over and appears to be a black paint of some kind, not bluing (maybe refinished at some point, some of the markings were hard to read). The revolver has the Taurus logo on the side plate, says it was made in Brazil by Taurus, and has an import marking (I don't remember the importer). The model name appears to say Professional Hunter in a script style font just above the trigger on the right side of the frame. I can't find any cartridge markings anywhere on the gun! The chambers appear to be long for 45 colt.
That extra cylinder latch and the long chambers make me wonder if this gun is chambered in 454 Casull. It looks like the Raging Bull except it is finished dark instead of stainless and also like the current Raging Hunter except it doesn't have the picatinny rail and has a one piece barrel.
I don't have any 454 cartridges or brass to use for a chamber check. What would be the next best way to figure out what this revolver is intended to fire? The mild 45 colt loads will make excellent plinking rounds for this gun with almost no recoil I am sure. Still, it has my curiosity up and I would like to know if it is a 454. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks
