Taurus 627 Tracker 357 Magnum

kyotekiller25

kyotekiller25

Well-known member
First let me start off by saying I know close to nothing about pistols.

I wanted a pistol for finishing off animals, protection, and for the occasional coyote or deer out to 50 yards.

I've only had 1 other pistol a couple years back and it was a Ruger semi-auto 40 S & W, and it wasn't quite what I expected either. You coudln't get that gun sighted in for crap windage wise, as it had no windage, and it shot really low, even at 10 yards. It was pretty much worthless and I sold it because I didn't need something that couldn't hit a milk jug at 10 yards. I figured if I ever got a pistol again, it would be a revolver and have adjustable windage/elevation sights so I could actually hit something with the dam thing.

Since I haven't shot pistols much at all, I decided a .44 Mag would probly be to much gun for what I needed it for, and I might not shoot it as well as I would like to. So I decided on the less powerful 357 Magnum. I figure I would load up 125g XTP's for coyotes, and 180g partitions for deer and protection against bears/cougars.

I looked at a few different pistols within my price range and finally settled on the Taurus Tracker model 627 w/4" ported bbl. It has adjustable rear sights for windage and elevation. I thought this would be a good starting point for shooting out to 50 yards. I planned on putting a scope/laser/red dot on it in the future, and the guy from the store I bought it from assured me I could put an optic sight on it. However a quick phone call to Taurus today proves otherwise. They say you cant put a scope/red dot on the 4" tracker, only the 6 1/2" bbl. So I feel a little stupid for not doing a little more homework before plunking down that kinda money for something that wont work for what I want in the end.

I bought a box of 158g PMC JSP rounds to sight the gun in, get familiar with it, and have some brass to later reload. I started at about 15 yards and got it close, then stepped back to 25 yards and put my 10" steel plate to use. It was shooting about 2-3" groups at 15 yards, and about 5-6" groups at 25 yards, with a 2 handed free hand hold, with open sights. With this kinda accuracy with open sights, 50 yards is not looking very promising. I didn't even try 50 yards as I was running low on ammo and decided to save a few rounds. Hopefully I can get a lot better accuracy with handloads, but I still have the open sight problem.

Does anyone know a solution to this problem other then getting a different handgun??

Is there some kinda laser sight I can put on it or something?? Maybe some laser grips?? How do laser sights or grips work exactly?? Are they like a scope where you sight them in??

Being a bolt action rifle and LR rifle shooter, I am always expecting/looking for 1/2 MOA accuracy, but I realize pistols are a whole different story. I will probly never be fully satisfied with the way pistols shoot, but I just have to remember they are pistols, not rifles...

So what exactly is average accuracy like at 25 and 50 yards for revolvers, with handloads?? Open sights vs. scopes/red dots/lasers?? I would just like a good basis to go off of from others. What would be acceptable accuracy at 50 yards for coyotes and deer?? I figure a coyote has about 4-5" kill zone and a muley/whitetail about 10". I might be playing hel trying to get 5" with open sights at 50 yards, but might be able to manage 10", but to me, that is not acceptable. Just have to remember what I"m working with though...

Thanks for any and all advice.
 
The gun will probably shoot much better than you can hold it. Your groups are
very good for a novice shooter. Buy some snap-caps and practice at home,
sounds like you have potential. 30 yards is probably as long as the occasional
hand-gunner is ever going to shoot a 4 inch group off hand so that is his
effective hunting range. If you can hold one inch at 25 yards then move out
to 50 or 100 and see if you can duplicate the moa.
 
Bigwheeler gave you pretty good advice. Something you may have overlooked in not getting a bigger bore is a 48 ounce 44 mag with a red dot and shooting light loads actually has less recoil than a 35 ounce 357.

Something like this is easily capable of whacking coyotes at 75 to a hundred yards and with a 240 grain loaded 1000 to 1100 fps is very mild to shoot. If carried in a shoulder holster it's also pretty comfortable to shoot.

RugerSRH.jpg


As for your shooting ability. I'd sure recommend you get a 22 revolver to practice handgun shooting with. Learning to shoot a set of Patridge sights is much easier when you don't have to cope with recoil of a light big bore gun. All the things you learn from shooting a 22 revolver carry over to the 357 or 44 and at 12 bucks a brick of 500 ammo costs are much more reasonable which means you can practice much more for your shooting dollar. In fact it doesn't take long to pay for a good 22 revolver with adjustable sights in ammo savings alone.

It sounds like you did pretty good for a revolver newbe. You know from your rifle experience how much fun and how easy it is to learn good techniques from shooting the rimfire a lot.

This is my carry in the woods gun. It's a Tracker like yours with a 4 inch barrel and it's ported. It's a 41 magnum though. For most use it's loaded with 210 grain cast bullets at 850 fps. Great fun and it'll kill coyotes easily out to 50 yards.

TaurusTracker41magnum.jpg


Here's what I use for the bulk of my shooting and for practice with a handgun. It's a Rossi 4 inch stainless 22 long rifle. It's very accurate and a hoot to shoot. I put a brick a month thru it and it keeps me well schooled in handgun accuracy. The fact that's it's a revolver keeps me in touch with the big bores.

Rossi1.jpg


Don't know if that will help you any, but it's my 2 cents.
 
thank you guys for the reply's, I appreciate it.

My dad actually has a colt .22 auto loader that I kinda stole from him, lol. He's only shot it a few times over the years, so I can practice with it, but its not a revolver. Still think its ok to practice with it?? I never really shoot the thing either as it has no use for protection, and it has fixed sights so where it hits is where it hits...Only time I shoot it is when were camping..

So you think if I practice enough, I should be able to become proficient with open sites to about 50 yards??

IDBob, I notice your taurus 41 mag is a tracker, its identical to mine. I notice you are using open sites and state that it will easily kill a yote out to 50 yards. So hopefully I can get to 50 yards on coyotes with my 357 open sighted. I think I just need a couple thousand practice rounds, lol.

One reason I picked the 357 is that it is flatter shooting then the rest. I know its kinda a non issue since were only talking 50 yards, but.

In all hindsight, I probly shoulda got a 44 mag that I could put a scope on. I think I woulda been happier in the long run. Oh well, I guess I can always start saving up..

Still is there any sites that you know of that are available to put on the 4" trackers??
 
Wow, these guys (bigwheeler, idbob) have really given you some good advice. Nice to know there are some knowledgeable people on this site.

I had the same pistol you have and loved it. My only problem was my sensitive ears. The first coyote I shot was about 45-50 yards. I was driving down a county line dirt road, rolled down the passenger window and let him have it. I could not hear for a week. The report from a 4" ported barrel inside the cab of a truck is LOUD.

A couple of weeks later I was doing some pre-season deer scouting and saw a coyote standing in the edge of the woods at about 35-40 yards. When I raised the pistol to shoot I remembered the pain in my ears from the previous yote I had shot, flinched, and missed badly. I sold the gun to a deaf friend and now own a 6" NON-PORTED Taurus 357.

I was able to shoot 25 yard groups with both the Tracker and the 6" barrel Taurus at around 2" from the bench with sand bag. This is with Federal and my handloads. Never had much luck with PMC. I also shoot a LOT of ammo through my Ruger Mark II 22LR.

You might check with Crimson Trace to see if they make a laser for the Tracker. My wife has one for her 38 snub nose Taurus, it works great, and is a good training tool for trigger control. The only problem IMO is you will be replacing the Ribber grips with the laser grips. I sure like the Ribber grips on the Tracker.

Good Luck
 
I really dislike ported barrels... If actually using the gun as a calling weapon, I'd invest in some electronic hearing protection. I'm going to use my .357 some this year and that is my plan. Even though none of my guns have ports, a magnum gun, especially the .357 has that certain CRACK that just pierces my eardrums! The e-hearing protection amplifies the sound of an oncoming coyote, but clips off the muzzle blast of the gun when it fires to protect your hearing. We'll see how it goes soon!

On another note, you might want to check on the legality of using a laser sight on game. That is illegal in many states. I don't have much use for lasers either.
 
I'll give you a training technic that has worked well for me. Load up 100
rounds from 38 special to extremely hot 357. 25 a piece. Take a friend to
the range with you. Have him randomly load the gun, turned so you can't see,
leaving a chamber or two empty each time. It will let you see your flinches on
the empty chambers and you will never no what's coming as far as kick and
noise.
The other thing that is most important of all in pistol shooting is your sight
picture. Your focus has to be on the front sight, with the rear sight and the
target secondary in focus. After the shot you should be able to recall exactly
what the sights looked like when you squeezed the trigger. If you can't you
probably missed.
 
I think I got the sight picture part down pretty good. I spent a lot of years shooting birds with an open sighted gamo .177 pellet gun and was pretty deadly with it out to about 40 yards.

I dont have a problem with open sights. I just know that with a scope, you can be a little more accurate at longer distances.

I was thinking of buying some 38 special cases for practice. Will 357 dies work for 38 special, or will I have to buy 38 special dies as well??

The 357 is mainly going to be used for the coyotes that are standing close off the road, and I"ll more then likely be shooting them out the window which is legal on private property. I dont think I"ll be packing it to much when I'm calling.

I haven't yet fired it without earmuffs, but I"m sure I will when I see a coyote standing off the road. Ear protection is about the last thing I'm thinking of.
 
The dies should come with the spacer washer to do both.... but just load the
357 cases with 38 loads. There are many listed in the various powder makers
load guides. I'll dig my pet python reduced load if you have trouble finding
one. Much easier than readjusting dies.
 
All good advice.. I have the same flamethower in 44mag. Its pretty darn accurate, also the muzzle blast will knock a coyote unconcious if I miss.lol

Practice is all you need, revolvers are love or hate type of firearm... At first I hated them now I sleep with one. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

DSCF4790.jpg
 
Yep...practice, practice, then more practice. Has anyone mentioned practice ? You'll be surprised how tight you can get your groups. I also use a 357 for close shots. All I used to shoot were autos or hand cannons but I have a S&W 686 now also, love it. Has a sweet trigger too.

DSC01330-1.jpg
 
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Quote:
...Ear protection is about the last thing I'm thinking of.



My guess is it will become high on the priority list real quick after the first shot.
 
I had the 627 Tracker for a while, then a buddy managed to pry it out of my hands. I had no problem shooting cottontails with it out to 50 yards after some range time with it. I kinda miss the lil girl. I also shot a few coyotes with it as well, all the same results, BANG...FLOP.
 
Rammer

Did you have the 357?? What bullet were you using??

Cottontails at 50 yards is pretty dang good with open sights. Coyotes and deer should not be a problem then. At least I know that 50 yards is do able with practice. Good thing I love to shoot!! LOL.
 
kyotekiller25 - I had the 357, and I was shooting the Remington/UMC 38 special 125gr JHPs. I bought a case of those rounds when I got the gun, and thats all I ever shot out of it. I had planned on loading for it, but the gun slipped away before I could get that far....

I have a Kimber 1911 that I bought this winter that I am not shooting well, and I'm thinking about trading it for a Smith an Wesson 327 Performance Center right now....
 
Quote:
Quote:
...Ear protection is about the last thing I'm thinking of.



My guess is it will become high on the priority list real quick after the first shot.



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Coyotekiller25 The 357 does not really need to be ported as the recoil is not bad just barrel flip. I have the Tauras 8 shot in 357 and the increased noise of the porting was a royal pain in the ears so I tapped the ports with a #8x24 tap and put set screws in with a drop of lock tite. It shoots just as good just a lot quieter.
 
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