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I keep looking at a Taurus Thunderbolt in 45 Colt. I don't know why, it is not a particulaly good looking gun, I don't have any reloading stuff for a 45 Colt (yet ). I just keep being drawn back to it. The local Accademy(sp?) store has one for $529. It would probably good for the beavers and feral hogs on my place, it just looks like a fun gun to play with.
My question is how are they, as to functioning and accuracy and over all what do you people think of them. Your opinion counts.
Gotta agree with TedH. However, last year I watched a fella run one during a match without a hitch. He wasn't really fast with it, and it seems to run ok. Whether his was the anomaly, or were all the other's I've heard about???? Taurus Thunderbolt
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession! AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
A local gunshop has a new, all-blued, Thunderbolt .45 Colt, that's gonna have a birthday there, right soon - and the shop owner told me he's willing to discount it below $500 to move it.
I had one of the early ones a couple years ago, and although it did not give me any trouble I still sold it after a few months and a few boxes of ammo. The concept of a pump rifle in 45 Colt was very appealing "on paper" and in my mind, but the actual shooting was something different. The bulk of my muscle memory is all based on leveractions and boltguns, with a little pump action from my Ithaca 37 shotguns. Switching from lever to Taurus Thunderbolt at the same range session was problematic due to ingrained levergun muscle memory (or poor "can't walk and chew gum" coordination ). After about the third or fourth range session and fewer boxes of 45 Colt ammo, and having read about all the problems owners were having with their Thunderbolts I decided to post it for sale and stick with the levers.
Noah
Might as well face it, you're addicted to guns . . .
Thanks for the reply's. I do not plan on racing the gun just a fun gun to maybe take a few beavers with or a feal hog but mostly plinking. I must say that the thought of a SAA had crossed my mind, just a little .
The 357 Thunderbolts were listed on Taurus' website as discontinued and then apparently were revived (albeit with a higher price point, perhaps to offset warranty repairs and redesign of the first models) for a Q4 release this year. At one time the site listed 38 and 357 separately, which is understandable as the design is particular to certain cartridge OAL's. Either way, the 357/38 cartridge has more rim to hold compared to .45 Colt, that should help solve problems with reliable ejection. If they are produced, I'll get one; they look like a fun gun to have.
Texican
Gentlemanly Rogue, Projectilist of Distinction, and Son of Old Republic
Texican wrote:The 357 Thunderbolts were . . . revived for a Q4 release this year . . . the 357/38 cartridge has more rim to hold compared to .45 Colt, that should help solve problems with reliable ejection. If they are produced, I'll get one; they look like a fun gun to have.
If they indeed are produced and make it to market and the comments are favorable, I'd be tempted to invest in a 357 Thunderbolt as a "fun gun" despite my conditioning towards levers. I agree that the 38/357 rim should help the double feed issues experienced with 45 Colt T-bolts. However, as Texican pointed out the intrinsic Colt Lightning design is very sensitive to cartridge OAL. It is a concern that I wouldn't be able to use some of my current heavier-weight, longer OAL 357 loads.
Noah
Might as well face it, you're addicted to guns . . .
IMHO, If I didn't have a 45 Colt rifle, I'd go with a Marlin Cowboy 45 over the Taurus.
I have a Taurus model 69 which is a copy of the Winchester pump .22 - and its a good little rifle and I really like it. I do understand the lure of these rifles...
Just that the Marlin will be more accurate, more versitile as to optics and can handle the plus P "Ruger" type loads with ease - which can not be said of the Taurus.
O.S.O.K. I am sure that you are right about a Marlin being more accurate than the Taurus but this is just a fun gun. Besides, even with aging eyes, I have a hard time putting a scope on a lever gun or a Thunderbolt, I just like the lines of the old style weapons. I am not above putting a tang sight on one .
Bis wrote:O.S.O.K. I am sure that you are right about a Marlin being more accurate than the Taurus but this is just a fun gun. Besides, even with aging eyes, I have a hard time putting a scope on a lever gun or a Thunderbolt, I just like the lines of the old style weapons. I am not above putting a tang sight on one .
Why are y'all sure that the Marlin is more accurate than the Thunderbolt? This is based upon what?
With Cor-Bon ammo and using the open sights, my Thunderbolt will cluster five shots into five-eighths of an inch at 25 yards with regularity. I can do no better with a levergun.
I have had seveal of the Thunderbolts run through the shop. Functionaly they all seemed to work fine as long as you didn't try and race them. The one problem we had was variable accuracy. This was traced to a manufacturing defect. The 45 Colt has a thin barrel and there is little room for the dovetail for the sight. If the front sight was not deburred before instalation the sight raised a bump on the inside of the barrel under the sight dovetail. This cause accuracy probllem with cast bullets as the bullet was slightly deformed by the dent. Kind of like shoooting a gun with a bulged barrel. We got tired of getting guns with the same defect and we just shortened the tubes on a lot of them to cure the problem. The hammer dropper feature was a strange add on and has no real usefull purpose.
Actually whenever I get a 45 Colt that won't group I check under the front sight. This is a problem that shows up fairly often with the thin barrels on these guns. As to older Taurus guns I can't say the first I found was about 2 years ago and the last one I fixed was about 2 months ago.
Well I went and did it,I bought a Thunderbolt. I have not shot it yet, but the fit and finish look great. I looked at three different places for 45 Colt ammo and all I could find was Win 250 grain cowboy action loads. There are a few disadvantages to living in the sticks of East Texas. Tomorrow I will place an order with Midway and get the dies and so forth. After looking at the bullet selection, I my try my luck at casting my own bullets. I use to cast my own Minnie balls and round balls but have never cast for a center fire with wheel weights.
Bis,
Dependin' on where in East Texas, you might try Rucker Bullet Co. They sell thru Mesquite Ammo Supply, they have a great little 200 grain RNFP that's just super thru my .45 Colt rifles, a Rossi '92 and a Uberti '73. I don't have any with me, so I can't tell you where the crimp groove is located, but, the nose is just a tad shorter than the 250 RN of factory ammo, has a great little crimp groove and doesn't lead in either rifle when pushed with either a full case of BP or 6.5 grains of RedDot.
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession! AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
). I just keep being drawn back to it. The local Accademy(sp?) store has one for $529. It would probably good for the beavers and feral hogs on my place, it just looks like a fun gun to play with. 
). After about the third or fourth range session and fewer boxes of 45 Colt ammo, and having read about all the problems owners were having with their Thunderbolts I decided to post it for sale and stick with the levers.
