Taurus Thunderbolt in .38/.357?

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  • snorko

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    I was near Whittakers today for work so I swung in. Typical mid week crowd and plenty to look at. One item kind of interested me and I was hoping some might have input.

    They have several Taurus Thunderbolt pump action rifles on the shelf, "X" guns having been factory refurbished. One was priced less than the rest as it had some obvious white streaks or marks on the stock. It was also in .38/.357 which would be a fun caliber to plink or hunt with.

    I have read a lot of online horror stories about these, especially from several years ago, and I was hoping to get some first hand info. I have a Marlin I can hunt with but a fourteen shot 26" barrel pump carbine sounds like a lot of fun.

    Range Update: Well I got to the range this past weekend and put about 50 rounds through the Thunderbolt. Good and bad to report.

    The Good: very pleasant to shoot. The 26" barrel puts a lot of weight forward and the recoil from 158 gr .357 magnum loads was minimal. The very short pump throw was comfortable and the trigger was a little heavy but broke well. Accuracy was surprisingly good given the rough buckhorn sights. I was shooting offhand at 50 yards and a typical group was 3"-4". When I loaded some 130 gr .38 spl. it was like shooting a suppressed .22./ NO recoil and very quiet. My first couple rounds of .38 turned heads on the range, they were that moderate.

    The Bad: Loading this thing is a masochistic exercise. I am missing some flesh from my index finger now as pushing the narrow, long .357 rounds into the tube through a short gate is difficult. I would guess this is magnified by the fact that the rifle is designed around a .45 load so the receiver is wider that needed, making the loading angle awkward.

    The Suck: The most negative thing though is the cartridge stop did not operate reliably. The pump action was smooth but 75% of the time no cartridge was released from the tube. Thus there was a lot of unintentional dry firing.

    Overall I like the rifle. If I can get the action to reliably function I will likely keep this and it will make a fun rifle. Easily could be a range toy, hunting rifle or even home defense. Fourteen rounds of .357 mag is something. However, It is a little unwieldy and, again if I can get it working well and thus making it worth while, I will have the barrel shortened to 18" or so which should still leave a capacity of 8-10 rounds in a much handier rifle.
     
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    Mgderf

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    I was in near Whittakers today for work so I swung in. Typical mid week crowd and plenty to look at. One item kind of interested me and I was hoping some might have input.

    They have several Taurus Thunderbolt pump action rifles on the shelf, "X" guns having been factory refurbished. One was priced about $125 lower than the rest as it had some obvious white streaks or marks on the stock. It was also in .38/.357 which would be a fun caliber to plink or hunt with.

    I have read a lot of online horror stories about these, especially from several years ago, and I was hoping to get some first hand info. I have a Marlin I can hunt with but a fourteen shot 26" barrel pump carbine sounds like a lot of fun.

    I have one of the refurbished .357mag models up for trade in the classified ads now.
    I want to trade it for a lever action .357.

    The Thunderbolt I have seems to work great, but I haven't put but maybe 50 rounds through it since it was refurbished.

    I just think I'd rather have a lever gun.
     

    snorko

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    I have one of the refurbished .357mag models up for trade in the classified ads now.
    I want to trade it for a lever action .357.

    The Thunderbolt I have seems to work great, but I haven't put but maybe 50 rounds through it since it was refurbished.

    I just think I'd rather have a lever gun.

    I agree. It would not be my first choice but I have a JM Marlin 1894 for serious shooting. The Thunderbolt looks fun though and it is priced well. I know MSRP was like $700 and I think they sold for $450-500.
     

    Mgderf

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    I agree. It would not be my first choice but I have a JM Marlin 1894 for serious shooting. The Thunderbolt looks fun though and it is priced well. I know MSRP was like $700 and I think they sold for $450-500.

    I wanted to like it, and I really tried, but the SUPER short stroke on the pump action is something I just can't get used to.
    The stroke on this action can't be more than 2".
     

    planedriver

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    I had one sometime ago. Probably the 1st or 2nd worst new guns I ever bought. Maybe the refurb did something to fix them. I don't know because I traded mine back to the dealer whom I bought it from.

    There is some kind of old saying that may fit these guns.... Something about you can't polish a turd.
     

    actaeon277

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    I like mine.
    But it started firing as it was racked. The trigger is staying back half the time.
    Gonna sent it to Taurus (warranty)
     

    indy1919a4

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    I was near Whittakers today for work so I swung in. Typical mid week crowd and plenty to look at. One item kind of interested me and I was hoping some might have input.

    They have several Taurus Thunderbolt pump action rifles on the shelf, "X" guns having been factory refurbished. .


    Aaahhhh Whittakers the true land of Enchantment... So What does this Refurbished mean with these rifles...??? Was it a gun that was broken originally then factory fixed, Or was it a gun that has fired 10,000 rounds and then was sent back to the factory to be made factory Fresh again??????
     

    planedriver

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    Aaahhhh Whittakers the true land of Enchantment... So What does this Refurbished mean with these rifles...??? Was it a gun that was broken originally then factory fixed, Or was it a gun that has fired 10,000 rounds and then was sent back to the factory to be made factory Fresh again??????

    I don't think they made one capable of firing 10,000 rounds!
     

    snorko

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    Either get a Timber Wolf or a Marlin 1894c.

    As I said in the OP, I have a Marlin and was just looking for first hand experiences from those who actually have owned these. I had to run back to the Owensboro area this morning so I went ahead and picked it up. I will try to put some rounds through it this weekend and report. If I like it it will definitely get a Skinner peep sight, big buckhorns suck.
     

    kalboy

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    Hey snorko congrats on the new shooter! Hope it runs good for ya. Keep us posted . You still ought to consider a Marlin tho'.
     

    snorko

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    Range Update: Well I got to the range this past weekend and put about 50 rounds through the Thunderbolt. Good and bad to report.

    The Good: very pleasant to shoot. The 26" barrel puts a lot of weight forward and the recoil from 158 gr .357 magnum loads was minimal. The very short pump throw was comfortable and the trigger was a little heavy but broke well. Accuracy was surprisingly good given the rough buckhorn sights. I was shooting offhand at 50 yards and a typical group was 3"-4". When I loaded some 130 gr .38 spy it was like shooting a suppressed .22./ NO recoil and very quiet. My first couple rounds of .38 turned heads on the range, they were that moderate.

    The Bad: Loading this thing is a masochistic exercise. I am missing some flesh from my index finger now as pushing the narrow, long .357 rounds into the tube through a short gate is difficult. I would guess this is magnified by the fact that the rifle is designed around a .45 load so the receiver is wider that needed, making the loading angle awkward.

    The Suck: The most negative thing though is the cartridge stop did not operate reliably. The pump action was smooth but 75% of the time no cartridge was released from the tube. Thus there was a lot of unintentional dry firing.

    Overall I like the rifle. If I can get the action to reliably function I will likely keep this and it will make a fun rifle. Easily could be a range toy, hunting rifle or even home defense. Fourteen rounds of .357 mag is something. However, It is a little unwieldy and, again if I can get it working well and thus making it worth while, I will have the barrel shortened to 18" or so which should still leave a capacity of 8-10 rounds in a much handier rifle.
     

    kalboy

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    Hate to hear of your feed troubles. I hope you can get this fixed. FWIW I know a guy that's pretty good at getting sick guns working, and shortening tube magazine guns.
     

    actaeon277

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    Figured I'd use this thread, since it's already here.

    I broke my rear sight on my Thunderbolt quite a while ago. 5 months ago, I called and asked for a rear sight to be sent to me.
    They didn't have any on hand, so they placed the order, said it would ship when they get one.

    I just remembered about it, and that they never sent one.
    Just called them up, they still don't have one.

    So I asked if they could send me a drawing, and I could just make it. It's just a piece of bent metal.

    So they guy asked someone else, and they found out the rear sight is the same as the Rossi R92.
    So, they are shipping it to me free of charge because of my wait.
    :yesway:

    Anyway, remember, if you need a Taurus Thunderbolt rear sight, look up Rossi R92.


    Of course, now I have to wait for it to get here, just to make sure what they said is true. :)
     
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