Type Revolver Barrel length | Place of origin Brazil | |
 | ||
Weight 0.80–2.20 kg (1.8–4.9 lb) Length 254–419 mm (10–16.5 in) Cartridge .218 Bee (discontinued)
.22 Hornet (discontinued)
.223 Remington (unreleased)
.30 Carbine (discontinued)
.41 Magnum (discontinued)
.44 Magnum
.45 Colt (discontinued)
.454 Casull
.45 Colt/.410 shot shell (discontinued)
.45 Colt/.454 Casull/.410 shot shell
.480 Ruger (discontinued)
.500 S&W Magnum (discontinued)
28 gauge shot shell (unreleased) | ||
The Raging Bull is a revolver manufactured by the Brazilian 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.
The Raging Bull has a ported barrel and a red rubber strip along the back of its grip (in some variants such as the Raging Hornet, this strip is yellow), 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.
Variants
The Raging Bull comes in several models, classified by caliber. Additionally, each model has its own barrel length and metal finish options.
Optional finishes include stainless steel, matte stainless steel, nickel-plated and blued. Barrel options include 2", 4", 6", 8", 10". Not all finishes or barrels are available for every model. All models have ported barrels, except for the 22H, 30C, 513, 528 and Ultralite. All models have fixed front sights and adjustable rear sights.
The Raging Hornet, the Raging Bee 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 and lasers 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.