| Taurus Titanium Tracker - Page One | |
Model 617TT .357 Magnum
aurus’
Titanium Tracker Model 617TT .357 Magnum seven-shot revolver is the first total-titanium,
target-sighted sport and field revolver ever! Coming quickly after the introduction
of Taurus’ Total Titanium personal-defense revolvers in small and medium
frame sizes and six chamberings (Models 731T, 85T, 617T, 415T, 445T, 450T in
.32
H&R Magnum, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Special, and .45 Colt),
all with barrels ranging in length from 2.0 to 2.5 inches, the new Titanium
Tracker is a medium-frame, four-inch revolver that weighs a surprisingly light
24 ounces.
“Total” titanium, in Taurus’ own words, means “every component that can and should be made of titanium, is made of titanium.” And that includes the frame, the cylinder, the yoke, the barrel, and all studs and pins. For those who don’t already know it, titanium is stronger and more elastic than steel but weighs about one-third less than steel, and it is essentially impervious to corrosion. Titanium is definitely the material of the ’90s when it comes to firearms design and construction, but titanium alloy can only be hardened to about 42 to 44 on the Rockwell hardness scale before becoming brittle. A revolver action’s operating parts need to be hardened to at least 52 to 54 on the Rockwell scale. So the hammer, sear, trigger, cylinder latch, ejector rod, and some other small parts like springs and sideplate screws on all of Taurus’ new titanium series revolvers are made from case-hardened, high-tensile-strength chrome-moly steel.
Features Of The Titanium Tracker
The distinguishing features of the Model 617TT are its full-profile, ported,
four-inch titanium barrel (more about that in a moment), its fully adjustable
white-outline rear sight and red-insert ramped front sight, and its Stealth
Gray finish (it’s available in the smoky Matte Spectrum Blue finish too).
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SPECS
Taurus Titanium Tracker Model 617TT .357 Magnum DA Revolver |
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Distributor
.......Taurus International Mfg.
16175 NW. 49 Ave. Miami, FL 33041 Model ..................................Model 617TT (Titanium Tracker) Operation ............Double-action revolver Caliber .............................. .357 Magnum Barrel length ................4 inches (ported) Overall length ....................8.625 inches Weight, empty ..................24.00 ounces Safety ...........Transfer bar ignition; Taurus Security System hammerblock Sights ........Adjustable, white-outline rear; red-ramp blade front Sight radius .........................3.25 inches Rifling ............6 grooves; 1:18.75 RH twist Stocks ........................Taurus Ribber Grip Cylinder capacity ....................7 rounds Finish .............Stealth Gray; also available in Matte Spectrum Blue Price .......................................$650-$675 |
The Tracker’s red-insert front and white-outline rear sights are quick to align and easy to see against both light- and dark-colored targets in both high and low light conditions. And I really like the matte Stealth Gray finish, which resembles the matte Target Gray finish of some of Ruger’s stainless-steel bolt-action rifles and its new .454 Super Redhawk.
The Titanium Tracker incorporates other notable Taurus design elements like the key-activated Security System hammer lock; the Yoke Detent system, which is a spring-loaded latch in the top of the yoke that ensures that the cylinder remains tightly closed within the frame at the moment of firing and eliminates any latch point at the tip of the ejector rod; and the innovative Ribber Grip, which uses small, flexible, soft elastomer “ribs” that deform and squeeze together to shape themselves to specifically fit the hand of the shooter. The ribs spring back to their normal shape after the hand lets go so that they can reconform to another shooter’s hand each and every time the gun is picked up.
The most defining characteristic of the Titanium Tracker is its four-inch barrel, which has a contoured, full-profile underlug and four compensator ports on both sides of the barrel just below the front sight base. The barrel is constructed of forged titanium with a high-tensile-strength stainless-steel bore liner. Titanium is much more elastic than steel, making it durable, but it stretches flat with the bullet’s pressure impact and will not hold rifling. The stainless-steel bore liner solves that problem. The integral ports, of course, help counteract the lightweight gun’s abrupt magnum recoil. In combination with the Ribber Grip, the .357 Magnum Model 617TT is quite pleasant to shoot even with the stoutest of magnum factory loads.
Page Two - Shooting the 614TT, Velocity & Accuracy Chart
This article was originally published in Shooting Times Handgun Buyer's Guide 2000.
