Is my new revolver a lemon?

[0GRE]

I bought a Taurus. Case closed, right? OK, we have that joke out of the way.

​

I took my new Raging Bull Model 444 (.44 Magnum) to the range, after the eclipse, to put it through its paces. I had high hopes due to the caliber's reputation for being an accurate crowd-pleaser. The attractive aspects of the revolver were the mitigated recoil and smooth trigger.

​

The negative experiences, however, outshone the positive features. The accuracy of the gun, which was touted on several Internet reviews, was conspicuously inconsistent. My father and I tried to score hits on a 24" gong at 200 yards. We are both good shots with a pistol, were aided by a rest, and were not able to discern any pattern of grouping from the gun. Some rounds went wide by approximately 20 feet.

The first hints as to what ails my revolver were two split cases. I bought 100 rounds of Federal American Eagle. It was brand new factory ammo, and we only fired 74 rounds of it. 2.7% of rounds should not be failing in that manner. The other fire-formed cases looked unusually bulged about 1/8" up from the cartridge rim. Some of those casings would not even fit completely into the factory plastic tray.

I took everything home and broke out the calipers. Refer to the attached photos. The loaded rounds appeared to be within SAAMI-spec. The necks of the fired brass measured around 0.469". What information I was able to find on revolver cylinders states .44 Magnum chamber throats should measure around 0.432". My chamber throats were mic'ing between 0.4455" and 0.45".

Are any of these measurements close to revolvers owned by readers here? Please sound off on what you know and/or the measurements from your firearms.

I have plans to contact Taurus for their opinion and will update what comes of that conversation. Folks say Taurus customer service does right by their customers so that is a small comfort.

Read More

 

[Misteramax]

I bought a Taurus. Case closed, right? OK, we have that joke out of the way

Well just take the thunder right out of my post why don't ya.

Anyway, my Redhawk doesn't seem to different. It feels like it has 0.006 play per side. Didn't measure. Don't know. I have only shot federal fusion and Hornady, with zero issues. I have only shot 9mm from American eagle but...it is American eagle... it's not like it's premium ammo.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Silver Hand]

I would take the cylinder off, construct seven lead slugs, mark each slug to the chamber, mark each chamber to match the slug it will be removed from. Slug them, then slug the bore. If the gun is fit and correct - The best circumstances will provide numbers between .429 and .431 on the cylinder and one one thousands smaller in the bore. Or you cold use Cerrosafe a low temp casting material made for such a purpose. There is no short cut to a proper job.

 

[Joe13]

Congrats on an awesome looking gun!


Personally, I would write down your issues and send it too Taurus and let them figure out what is wrong with the gun and save the hassle. Why bother when they will go they it with a fine tooth comb for free.

That's just me though.

 

[CLT65]

something is way off with those measurements. Years ago I heard a guy griping about his new revolver at the range, and his empty .44 mag brass looked just like that. The problem was that his revolver was a .45 Colt!

I'm not saying that's your problem, but could it be possible they mismarked the gun, or installed the wrong cylinder? Just a shot in the dark, but the massively bulged brass and severely oversized cylinder throats seem to say .45 cylinder to me.

 

[Mikej]

Interested in the outcome of this. Surprised to see that brass split, even if the chambers are a couple or three thousandths over. I stretched 9mm brass to the size of .40 brass, and it didn't split.

 

[11Charlie]

I'm interested in the outcome as well.

I just want to learn something new. I don't own any revolvers.

Edit: couldn't you just email the manufacturer exactly what you posted. Pictures and all so they can see what you are dealing with? They might have a solution.

 

[teflon6string]

Never used a Taurus, but I've returned 2 Rugers and a S&W to their respective service departments to resolve quality issues (with pre-coordination and documentation including targets and photos). Both companies handled their business professionally and promptly within 2-3 weeks and I'm satisfied with the outcomes.

Hopefully Taurus can step up and do the same. Your brand new pistol should perform as advertised.

 

[revjen45]

1) Does a .45 Colt go into the chamber?
2) Checking the throat dia. with a ball gauge is probably easier than slugging it.
3) Is the bore egregiously out of spec?
4) in answer to the original question, yeah it looks like you have a lemon.
5) Please keep the NWFA commentariat informed.

 

[41mag]

OP: don't have my stuff here to measure, the cylinder throat diameter seems odd for .429 boolit....you might check the official specs to compare;

and I've never seen new brass in a new revolver split like that on the first firing;

good luck in finding solution rapidly;

 

[jbett98]

Tagged, because I want to know the final outcome to this issue.

 

[Misteramax]

Measured my Redhawk. Ops gun is definitely measuring looser than a two dollar whore.

 

[DeanfromOregon]

Had a Taurus once with some issues, sent it back and they fixed it right up Lifetime warranty and the experience was on par with springfield.

I wouldn't screw around, just send it back.

 

[nammac]

something is way off with those measurements. Years ago I heard a guy griping about his new revolver at the range, and his empty .44 mag brass looked just like that. The problem was that his revolver was a .45 Colt!

I'm not saying that's your problem, but could it be possible they mismarked the gun, or installed the wrong cylinder? Just a shot in the dark, but the massively bulged brass and severely oversized cylinder throats seem to say .45 cylinder to me.

This makes a lot of sense, considering they do have .45LC in the current lineup...

Wouldn't say much for their QC however...

If it were me, that revolver would be on its way back to Miami or wherever Taurus has their US HQ nowadays...

 

[BlindedByScience]

I've got a Taurus .357 wheel gun in stainless and it's been a very good shooter. No rocks to throw at the brand. Can't think of any firearm that someone hasn't had a problem with. Sucks, but it happens. As a previous poster said, don't screw around, just send it back. I'd call them up and I'd send prints of those pictures with the gun when it goes back.

I've got an original Ruger Redhawk in .44 Mag that's seen thousands of new and reloaded rounds. I've < never > seen a case split like that, even in cases that have been reloaded multiple times.

Good luck - !!

 

[tac]

Before my Ruger Redhawk was deactivated in 1998 it had fired upwards of ten thousand rounds of the real stuff over a 'career' of over seventeen years.

Never had the slightest problems with it, of any kind, nor expected any, TTTT.

My sixteen-y/o Super Redhawk in .357Mag has never let me down once, and that baby gets shot a LOT, sometimes 300 in a weekend.

tac

 

[BillM]

Wow. That thing is LOOSE. I'm in the 45 Colt cylinder camp---

 

[Silver Hand]

The measurements on the fired brass above is about one thousands larger than the fired formed brass I just measured from an unknown source. I once had a six gun that had one chamber throat of six undersized. I always wondered why the gun threw a flyer about every time it was used. Slugging the gun was worth my time. I then knew exactly what was wrong and the gun manufacture fixed the problem at no charge.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

I bought a Taurus. Case closed, right? OK, we have that joke out of the way.

Seriously, I hope the manufacturer makes it right for you! It sure looks like oversized chambers to me too! Interesting to see the outcome! So sorry you had to go through a new gun being bad, it shouldn't happen but it does!

 

[CoastRange57]

My nephew brought that very same POS...I mean gun out to shoot a month or so ago. They fired some rounds through it, handed it to me. I unloaded it, looked it over and noted the usual poor worksmanship, the cheap milling and machine work on it, the lightweight frame feel and lousy balance. Have I left anything out ??

Against my better judgement, I reloaded it, fire 3 rounds, unloaded it and handed it back to my nephew and told him he should have spent his money somewhere else. But Uncle.. look how fing big it is !!

Not a Tarus fan at all. My son bought a .40 at a gun show years ago, and the damn thing had ramp loading issues, jamming issues all kinds of trouble. He worked on it for a while, he was an armorer in the Marine Corps and gave up and traded if off at a gun show for something more dependable.