Titanium so good?

Posted: 8/30/2001 10:26:25 AM EDT

ok, question. im lookin at gettin a Taurus Tracker in 357 or 41 mag...

do i spring the extra for titanium?
i like the fact that it weighs WAY less, (im gonna use it for backpackin)
some fella told me (and this makes NO sense to me) but he said that the titanium alloy is softer than stainless and will scratch easier
true?
ive heard the kick is not at all bad even though the revolver is lighter, the ports help greatly from what i understand

anyone have one/used one?

thanks

Posted: 8/30/2001 10:34:35 AM EDT

[#1]

That gut sounds like a complete moron to mee. Titanium is tough and light. I say go for it.
[sniper]

Posted: 8/30/2001 10:42:02 AM EDT

[#2]

Scratch easy? They don't surround the cockpit of the A-10 with a titanium "bathtub" for its soft metal properties. It'll stop a 12.7mm(.50 cal) AP round.

Posted: 8/30/2001 10:45:10 AM EDT

[#3]

thats what i thought
anyone have any problems at all with these revolvers?
ALSO. 357 mag or 41 mag...(i have no experience whatsoever w/41 mag)

thanks again

Posted: 8/30/2001 10:56:12 AM EDT

[#4]

Try one out at a range if you can. I have a .38sp Taurus Ti. It kinda hurts shooting just one box of ammo. It's really, really light. But if you need a light backup or CCW, it'll fill that purpose very well.

Titanium has a very hard surface, almost brittle. Being that it can't be rifled and requires a steel sleeve in the barrel, I would think that it would be more scratch resistant than Stainless.

Posted: 8/30/2001 10:57:23 AM EDT

[#5]

I would go for the titanium. If you are going to be lugging it around for a long time the weight reduction will be worth the extra cost.

Posted: 8/30/2001 10:59:46 AM EDT

[#6]

I have a toris model 85t in .38. It shoots good. It is light.

Posted: 8/30/2001 11:22:04 AM EDT

[#7]

The guy was right, in a way... titanium galls easily, and is rather gummy. It cannot be machined the same way as steel, and makes horrible barrels. (they tried this on the abrams tank, the first shot ripped all the rifleing out with the round) You'll never see a lathe bit made from titanium. However, titanium's strength to weight ratio is much better than steel, and the stuff does make a great handgun frame. As far as your needs are concerned, the ti framed Taurus is a good way to go.

-RyanG
[flag]

Posted: 8/30/2001 12:45:42 PM EDT

[#8]

I've got a Titanium (beta alloy) dive knife. It is light, strong and won't rust from salt water.

I'm not sure it'll hold an edge as well as stainless steel, so there may be something to that "hardness" thing. (Which matters little in a dive knife, so it's not a problem for me)

[0j]

Posted: 8/30/2001 2:32:36 PM EDT

[#9]

Titanium is not a super hard metal. It is kind of elastic. Under heat and pressure it will bend, bulge etc.. It will return to the original shape after streatching. Titanium is verry strong/tough material. This is different than being hard. Titanium has very high tensile strength. It can take a lot of abuse without having a dent put in it. Having a steel lining in the barrel with the rest of the barrel and fram made out of Titanium is the perfect combination of the two.

Posted: 8/30/2001 5:00:36 PM EDT

[#10]

I have a S&W 38 in Ti. It IS very uncomfortable to shoot with +P 38 loads. The 357 will be worse. Great to carry cuz of its light weight, but need to practice with very light loads.

I refuse to carry any gun that is ported because if you have to use it at dusk or night, you will loose your night vision because of the flames shooting upward. Flames still come forward without the port, but it is not as bad as with a port. The only Ti without a port is made by S&W

Posted: 8/30/2001 6:53:45 PM EDT

[#11]

heard about the loss of night vision at dusk
also heard that that was crap
dont know from personal experience though

Posted: 8/30/2001 11:02:51 PM EDT

[#12]

It won't make a difference with revolvers if the barrel is ported or not when it comes to muzzle flash as the cylinder gap alone allows for lots of escaping gases. Take a look at the pic on cover of "Stressfire" by Massad Ayoob.

[img]wsphotofews.excite.com/033/ON/VN/FL/Oa75889.jpg[/img]

That is a NON PORTED S&W 4" Model 13 firing a round of 125gr Federal .357 mag.

Posted: 8/30/2001 11:19:36 PM EDT

[#13]

If you are going to use it for backpacking I would suggest the .41 mag. Might as well have the biggest caliber available in that model.

Posted: 8/31/2001 8:22:55 AM EDT

[#14]

ive just found out, much to my dismay
that the tracker ONLY comes with adjustable sights. now, i have very little experience with them, only have them on my ruger 22lr target pistol. how durable are they? all metal condtruction? i prefer solid fixed sights, are there aftermarket ones i can get?

ALSO, heard from a friend that in Virginia you need at least a 6in barrel to hunt with. now, i really wasnt planning on hunting deer with a 357 w/4 in barrel, but thats means i cant even carry it during hunting season

any thoughts?

Posted: 8/31/2001 8:44:38 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
That gut sounds like a complete moron to mee. Titanium is tough and light. I say go for it.
[sniper]

View Quote

I have to take it back. I talked to my brother lastnight. He said although titanium is very strong for its wieght, it can be relativly soft, kind of like aluminum. The barrels and firing pins are still made our of metal.
[sniper]

Posted: 8/31/2001 8:49:23 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
If you are going to use it for backpacking I would suggest the .41 mag. Might as well have the biggest caliber available in that model.

View Quote

I agree with that statement. I've reloaded and
shot the .41mag for better than 18 years, and
although it's not "popular" like it's bigger
brother (.44) it has a lot to offer to the
hunter & reloader. I've taken a LOT of deer
with mine, including a couple of bucks that
went well over 250 on the hoof. I never had a
situation where I wished I was carrying a .44.

Having said all that, with hunting/defense class
loads I bet the recoil would be brutal. Porting
will help reduce the muzzle flip substantially.

For a while I had a Ruger Blackhawk w/ 4 5/8" barrel in .41mag. Recoil was much worse from this than my 8 3/8" ported model 57. I can only imagine what a titanium .41 would be like.

OTOH, you're going to carry it alot more than
shoot it, and if you're shooting it 'cause you
[b]NEED[/b] it, you probably won't notice the
recoil as much.

Go ahead and buy it, take it to the range and
shoot 5 boxes of factory 210gr JHP's through it.
When your wrists and hands are flexible enough
to type again - tell us what you think!!

Posted: 8/31/2001 9:18:54 PM EDT

[#17]

ok, found out that in Va all you need is 350 ft/lbs of energy coming out...no barrel restriction.

thanks to all who have answered,
any more opinions would be great!

Posted: 8/31/2001 10:43:56 PM EDT

[#18]

If you plan to shoot it often, get stainless. If you plan to carry it often/far and shoot it rarely, get the Ti. I have no problem with the .357 Tracker, but I'm a big guy, and I don't find .454 Casull to be all that bad. :)

-Troy

Posted: 9/1/2001 7:07:14 AM EDT

[#19]

troy - do you have the Ti version?
recoil isnt normally a prob. for me either, cant say ive ever shot a 454 but 44 and 357 maximum dont bother me.

i think im gonna stick to 357 mag on this gun, more options

thanks again

Posted: 9/1/2001 7:46:57 AM EDT

[#20]

Troy is right.

If you plan on shooting the gun alot, steel is the better way to go.

Titanium has just slightly more than half the stiffness of steel, but does have a better strenght to weight ratio.

I believe they chose titanium for armor on the A-10 because of the decreased stiffness, as the armor plate is hit, it will deflect a little with the impact of the round, this takes energy away from the bullet by aborbing it into the displacement of the armor.

However, if you shoot the gun alot, especially if it has a titanium cylinder, with constant abuse, the titanium may begin to deform permanently quicker than steel because of the lesser stiffness. Great carry guns, probably not the best, I'm going to shoot it alot for the rest of my life guns.

BTW, my fiancee' carries a Taurus model 85 in Ti. and loves it.

Posted: 9/1/2001 9:38:24 AM EDT

[#21]

Titanium, as a single element metallic is not so hot for most uses. It's advantage is that it is readily alloyed.
The alloy used as armor, is NOT the alloy used for a weapon frame, nor is it the alloy used for a firing pin..

The one important advantage Ti has in a firearms application in my opinion over steel is it's high resistance to most forms of corrosion..

For a part, don't fool yourself.. Steel alloys will, in hard use outlast most Titaniums. This is the reason those fancy Titanium firing pins have that gold color. This is "Titanium Nitride", a hard coating intended to improve lubricity, and resist galling..It's used in lockworks supposedly to reduce lock time..

If anyone is interested, look for a copy of "Machinery's Handbook". It has a large section on "Nonferrous Alloys", and will answer a lot of questions about "What the hell is 7075T6 Alloy?" or " What's the diffrence between Steel, and Titanium alloys"?

Besides, that book is a hell of a lot cheaper than a college course..

Have fun-
Meplat

Posted: 9/1/2001 6:32:29 PM EDT

[#22]

so are you saying that those titanium guns wont hold up to a steel alloy one? i want something that is light, but i also want one that will be extremely durable. i take great, (read meticulous) care of my firearms but accidents do indeed happen...i understand that taurus has a lifetime unlimited warrenty, but i dont want to have to use it

now im tempted to go with the stainless one...or a GP100 ruger...but that one is almost 2x's as heavy as the Ti tracker

thanks again

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