Taurus Raging Bull
Encyclopedia
The Raging Bull is a revolver
manufactured by the Brazil
ian Taurus International
firearm company.
In its larger calibers it is marketed as a hunter's sidearm because it is a potent weapon with plenty of stopping power. The .454 Casull
cartridge has been used to hunt animals as large as Cape Buffalo
and African elephants.
The Raging Bull has a thumb ported barrel and a red rubber strip along the back of its grip, which cushions the shooter's hand and lowers perceived recoil. Functionally, the Raging Bull has a manually operated front cylinder latch, whose release can be seen on the crane. Front cylinder latches are required for such high powered double action revolvers, and are found on the Ruger Super Redhawk and the S&W Model 500
revolver, but they are actuated by the rear cylinder latch. The manually operated latch on the Raging Bull is simpler (and thus less expensive to produce) yet equally strong, but requires two hands to open the cylinder.
Model 218 (Raging Bee) : .218 Bee
caliber, 10" barrel. Stainless steel only.
Model 22H (Raging Hornet) : .22 Hornet
caliber, 10" barrel. Stainless steel only.
Model 223 (Raging 223) : .223 Remington
caliber, 10" barrel. Stainless steel only.
Model 30C (Raging Thirty) (Discontinued) : .30 Carbine
caliber, 10" barrel. Stainless steel only.
Model 416 : .41 Magnum
caliber.
Model 444 : .44 Magnum
caliber, can also fire the shorter .44 Special
.
Model 444 Ultralite : compact .44
with a 4" barrel. Blued and titanium only.
Model 454 : .454 Casull
caliber, can also fire the less powerful .45 Colt
.
Model 480 (Discontinued) : .480 Ruger
caliber.
Model 500 (Discontinued) : .500 S&W Magnum
caliber, can also fire the shorter .500 S&W Special
.
Optional finishes include stainless steel
, matte stainless steel, nickel plated and blued
. Barrel options include 5", 6", 8", 10". Not all finishes or barrels are available for every model. All models have ported barrels, except for the 22H, 30C and Ultralite. All models have fixed front sights and adjustable rear sights.
The Raging Hornet and the Raging Thirty have yellow rubber insert strips, as opposed to the typical red strip.
Most Raging Bull variants can mount commercial optical sights or laser
s with the aid of an optional screw-on Picatinny rail
.
According to Taurus' website, the Raging Bull in 500 S&W is discontinued as of December 2007.
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
manufactured by the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian Taurus International
Taurus (manufacturer)
Forjas Taurus is a manufacturing conglomerate based in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Beginning as a tool and die manufacturer, the company now consists of divisions focusing on firearms, metals manufacturing, plastics, body armor, helmets, and civil construction.-History:Taurus produced its first...
firearm company.
In its larger calibers it is marketed as a hunter's sidearm because it is a potent weapon with plenty of stopping power. The .454 Casull
.454 Casull
The .454 Casull is a firearm cartridge, developed in 1957 by Dick Casull and Jack Fulmer. It was first announced in November 1959 by Guns & Ammo magazine. The basic design was a lengthened and structurally improved .45 Colt case...
cartridge has been used to hunt animals as large as Cape Buffalo
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
and African elephants.
The Raging Bull has a thumb ported barrel and a red rubber strip along the back of its grip, which cushions the shooter's hand and lowers perceived recoil. Functionally, the Raging Bull has a manually operated front cylinder latch, whose release can be seen on the crane. Front cylinder latches are required for such high powered double action revolvers, and are found on the Ruger Super Redhawk and the S&W Model 500
S&W Model 500
The Smith & Wesson Model 500 is a five-shot, double-action revolver produced by Smith & Wesson, firing the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge.It is built on S&W's largest frame, the X-Frame, which was developed because none of S&W's existing double-action frame designs could handle the muzzle energy and...
revolver, but they are actuated by the rear cylinder latch. The manually operated latch on the Raging Bull is simpler (and thus less expensive to produce) yet equally strong, but requires two hands to open the cylinder.
Variants
The Raging Bull comes in several models, classified by caliber. Additionally, each model has its own barrel length and metal finish options.Model 218 (Raging Bee) : .218 Bee
.218 Bee
The .218 Bee is a .22 caliber centerfire rifle cartridge designed for varmint hunting by Winchester in 1938. The cartridge was originally chambered in lever-action rifles, which may have ultimately led to its lack of popularity...
caliber, 10" barrel. Stainless steel only.
Model 22H (Raging Hornet) : .22 Hornet
.22 Hornet
The .22 Hornet is a low-end vermin, small-game and predator centerfire rifle cartridge. It is considerably more powerful than the .22 WMR and the .17 HMR, achieving higher velocity with a bullet twice the weight. The Hornet also differs very significantly from these in that it is not a rimfire...
caliber, 10" barrel. Stainless steel only.
Model 223 (Raging 223) : .223 Remington
.223 Remington
The .223 Remington is a sporting cartridge with almost the same external dimensions as the 5.56×45mm NATO military cartridge. The name is commonly pronounced either two-two-three or two-twenty-three. It is loaded with a diameter, jacketed bullet, with weights ranging from , though the most common...
caliber, 10" barrel. Stainless steel only.
Model 30C (Raging Thirty) (Discontinued) : .30 Carbine
.30 Carbine
The .30 Carbine is the cartridge used in the M1 Carbine introduced in the 1940s. It is an intermediate round designed to be fired from the M1 carbine's 18-inch barrel.-History:...
caliber, 10" barrel. Stainless steel only.
Model 416 : .41 Magnum
.41 Remington Magnum
Introduced in 1964 by the Remington Arms Company, the .41 Remington Magnum is a center fire firearms cartridge primarily developed for use in large-frame revolvers intended for hunting and law enforcement purposes.- Development :...
caliber.
Model 444 : .44 Magnum
.44 Magnum
The .44 Remington Magnum, or simply .44 Magnum, is a large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers. After introduction, it was quickly adopted for carbines and rifles...
caliber, can also fire the shorter .44 Special
.44 Special
The .44 Special or .44 S&W Special is a smokeless powder center fire metallic cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson in 1907 as the standard chambering for their New Century revolver, introduced in 1908.-Development history:...
.
Model 444 Ultralite : compact .44
.44 Magnum
The .44 Remington Magnum, or simply .44 Magnum, is a large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers. After introduction, it was quickly adopted for carbines and rifles...
with a 4" barrel. Blued and titanium only.
Model 454 : .454 Casull
.454 Casull
The .454 Casull is a firearm cartridge, developed in 1957 by Dick Casull and Jack Fulmer. It was first announced in November 1959 by Guns & Ammo magazine. The basic design was a lengthened and structurally improved .45 Colt case...
caliber, can also fire the less powerful .45 Colt
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is offered as a magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as the...
.
Model 480 (Discontinued) : .480 Ruger
.480 Ruger
The .480 Ruger is a revolver cartridge, introduced in 2003 by Sturm, Ruger and Hornady. This was the first new cartridge introduced by Ruger, and was at time of introduction the largest diameter production revolver cartridge, at .-Design:...
caliber.
Model 500 (Discontinued) : .500 S&W Magnum
.500 S&W Magnum
The .500 S&W Magnum is a fifty-caliber semi-rimmed handgun cartridge developed by Cor-Bon in partnership with the Smith & Wesson "X-Gun" engineering team for use in the Smith & Wesson Model 500 X-frame revolver and introduced in February 2003 at the SHOT trade show...
caliber, can also fire the shorter .500 S&W Special
.500 S&W Special
The .500 S&W Special is a cartridge made by Smith & Wesson for use in handguns. It was designed by Cor-Bon/Glaser in 2004. It is a shorter version of the .500 S&W Magnum with a drastically reduced load, much as the .38 Special is to the .357 Magnum...
.
Optional finishes include stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, matte stainless steel, nickel plated and blued
Bluing (steel)
Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface...
. Barrel options include 5", 6", 8", 10". Not all finishes or barrels are available for every model. All models have ported barrels, except for the 22H, 30C and Ultralite. All models have fixed front sights and adjustable rear sights.
The Raging Hornet and the Raging Thirty have yellow rubber insert strips, as opposed to the typical red strip.
Most Raging Bull variants can mount commercial optical sights or laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s with the aid of an optional screw-on Picatinny rail
Picatinny rail
The Picatinny rail or MIL-STD-1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail or a "Tactical Rail" is a bracket used on some firearms in order to provide a standardized mounting platform. A similar system is the Weaver rail mount.-Description:...
.
According to Taurus' website, the Raging Bull in 500 S&W is discontinued as of December 2007.