someguy2800
Member
I am a fan of 5 shot 4” revolvers. My favorite being my 4.2” SP101 357 mag. So when Smith and Wesson announced the model 69 44 mag built on the L frame I knew instantly I needed to have one. You ever see a gun that you just know you are going to love the first time you see it? Well I knew I was going to love the 69. I was planning to save up my Cabelas points and get one that way and just around the time I had enough points, the summer of 2020 hit and there were none to be found for many months. I finally gave up on cabelas after about a year and a half and drove 3 hours to get one from Reeds and was very excited after literally years of waiting. And well, I was wrong. I didn’t like the 69 at all. Mine had a couple issues out of the box that needed to be fixed at the mothership. Even when it was sorted though I just never warmed up to it. The original grips were sadistic to shoot with full house magnums, and even my mid velocity loads were not pleasant. A set of oversize hogue grips solved that but then it was so large with those that I felt I might as well have a 629. I just didn’t enjoy shooting it and I felt I had a lot of money tied up in it. I wanted a beat around woods gun, but even if I did find the right grips for it I just wasn't into it and so I sold it and used the money to buy a 5” 629.
Fast forward to this morning and I drove down to a local place and spotted this Taurus Tracker 44 on the used rack with a $530 price tag. I inspected it and could tell it was still unfired. I still felt like I had a need for a 5 shot 44 mag so on impulse bought it. After shooting it a bit I have to say this is everything I wanted the smith to be but wasn’t. The grips are the perfect size and width and just soft enough that it’s pleasant too shoot but not too big as to feel like a club on my hip. I’m sure a big part of that is the ported barrel, but this is just so much nicer to shoot than the 69. Of course it’s a Taurus so the finish and fit is not Smith and Wesson and it has some cylinder rattle but it’s plenty nice enough for what I want and shoots great. Every bit as accurate as my 69 was and I don’t even think I’m going to mess with the trigger. Overall I’m very happy with it so far. I’m going to have to give Taurus’s other revolvers another look because I’ve always dismissed them out of hand but this is a nice little utilitarian piece for the money.
Fast forward to this morning and I drove down to a local place and spotted this Taurus Tracker 44 on the used rack with a $530 price tag. I inspected it and could tell it was still unfired. I still felt like I had a need for a 5 shot 44 mag so on impulse bought it. After shooting it a bit I have to say this is everything I wanted the smith to be but wasn’t. The grips are the perfect size and width and just soft enough that it’s pleasant too shoot but not too big as to feel like a club on my hip. I’m sure a big part of that is the ported barrel, but this is just so much nicer to shoot than the 69. Of course it’s a Taurus so the finish and fit is not Smith and Wesson and it has some cylinder rattle but it’s plenty nice enough for what I want and shoots great. Every bit as accurate as my 69 was and I don’t even think I’m going to mess with the trigger. Overall I’m very happy with it so far. I’m going to have to give Taurus’s other revolvers another look because I’ve always dismissed them out of hand but this is a nice little utilitarian piece for the money.
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