Titanium?

[flyandscuba]

Anyone have any experience with titanium firearms? If so, how do you like them?

I recently came across a Taurus 445 Total Titanium revolver in .44 SPL at a great price -- so low that I couldn't walk away.

At a scant 19.5 oz., the little gun could be forgotten when worn in a holster. Even when loaded with 5 rounds of Blazer ammo with the 200gr Gold Dot bullets, the gun seems like it has no weight.

I haven't fired it yet, so I'm wondering how bad the recoil might be. The factory porting job may help in this area. I noticed that the ports are cut into the rifled part of the barrel. Curious if that will affect accuracy. My Rossi VRC 971 .357 has the ports -- but there is no rifling at that part of the barrel.

I can't help but wonder what would cause a nearly new revolver with an MSRP of $600 to go for just over $200 -- unless it is unbearably brutal to shoot.

[RJ HEDLEY]

Don't shoot it with your good hand, better yet, let somebody else shoot it, then look at their face.  

[BlueGrips]

Scuba:

Cool looking gun! I love titanium! My golf equipments, a few german pilot watches, and my BenchMade's Skirmish handle are of this material.

The Super-Light revolvers are great for convenience weight saving, a great backup for the heavy primary that one is already overburdened with. Titanium and Scandium is the answer.

Other than that purpose, however, I am afraid RJ is right: it's not going to be fun shooting it, much less shooting a large calibre round. Recoil will be vicious! This is the law of physics. Wear gloves if you will be shooting a lot! That nice rubber grip looks like it will help controlling the beast. Also, for this reason, I don't think it will be a very accurate gun.

For super-lights backup, I'd would rather have smaller rounds (.22LR {I know!}, .32M, or even the .38s.)

But the Rohrbaugh already fullfilled my backup needs with style (oh yeah, baby!)

Cheers!

[Billmack]

Flyandscuba,

No real experence with Ti firearms, but I have some in my right knee. Strong & lght weight. Folks think I've lost weight. (I wish)

I have a Ti bicycle I love. Very light, as opposed to steel or aluminum. I prefer  it over carbon fiber for it’s strength in bikes. CB is fine for pistol grips though.

Down side, it's very expensive.

This is a long way from the question you proposed I know.

Billmack

[gr8guns]

Charter Arms 44 special Bulldog Pug with 2.5" barrel, weighing 22 oz., under $300.

The recoil hurt, even with rubber grips.  Good CCW defense gun, bad to practice with.

My guesses are:
a) Titanium new price difference more than double the Charter Arms.
b) Weight difference is little.
c) Titanium gun has very uncomfortable recoil, maybe uncontrollable for quick 2nd shot.
d) Porting was an attempt to tame the recoil.
e) Porting made gun inaccurate.
f) That Porting may blast hot gas in undesirable directions.
g) You are right. There is a reason for the large drop in resale price.

[doubletapMike]

Fly & Scuba,
     I own a S&W Ti / Scandium 342 PD revolver with  inclosed hammer and  S&W Scandium 1911 .45. They are great primary carry guns in most of the year. A little big in summer. but really comfortible. Actually the 342PD will just slip in your back or even front pocket and you'll never even know it's there. But like RJ said, the second shot sight picture is going to be kind of tough to re-aquire. That being said, Your first shot really counts! ( Doesn't it always!) I've seen your targets at 25 yards, from another post.
You won't have a problem and most likely will have all day for the second shot if you need it. These two that I have point pretty naturally and the distances we're taking about are pretty much point and shoot. i.e. 12 to 21 feet. You should be good to go. And... I think you got a good deal.
I like Federal Hydra Shocks for the low recoil and the great expansion. I really prefer Golden Sabers, but they are a little much in these lightweights, and sometimes can feed a little funny in certain 1911's. good luck with your new pup.
Have a happy 4th of July and stay safe.

Mike

[flyandscuba]

Thanks.  I got bitten by the Titanium bug and picked this up with the girlfriend in mind.  It has taken some time, but the appearance has begun to grow on me.  depending upon how brutal it is to shoot with the Pow'Rball .38 SPL +P load, she may not get it.

[R9SCarry]

You can't keep that Fly - think of your image!

[glazier]

Yep, I'm experienced..... .  Three Wives, etc., etc..  So does that make me an expert?, hardly!  Just a fool for lust!  As far as Ti Firearms, well, the two Smith PD's I have work like dreams come true.  Granted they bite when they bark, but such is the nature of the beast.  Accurate?. Yes.  Controllable?  Definitely!  Perfect, well maybe.... :-/

[doubletapMike]

Fly,
   Now, that is a pretty cool looking gun. Where in the heck do you find these things? I'd keep it, ( Heck, I'd keep everything!) get the girlfrind a nice .380 or a S&W model 66 snubby.
At least you'll have her out gunned. RJ could make you a cool holster for that baby.
Seriously, a nice reliable carry gun that shoots every time and with the long pull and no hammer, no chance of an A.D. Pretty defensible in court also. Plus, you get to look like Doc Holiday. Maybe that was Jerry Garcia's gun! LOL! I'm glad you found it before me, or I would have bought it for sure. Great minds think alike.

Enjoy, stay safe,
Mike

[outlawyr]

I had a Taurus 617SH2C (Titanium 7-shot .357 Rem. magnum, ported).  I was always amazed at how accrate it was when fired single-action.  At 10 yards it could print little 1/2 inch to 1 inch groups with .38 spcl ammo.  And it was so light, it was carryable, even with 7 rounds (though still a little big for most carry situations for me).

However, double action trigger pull was long and stacky and the .357 recoil was significant enough to affect my aim (too much anticipation).

The porting never bothered me much and along with the "ribber" grips made the thing shootable (though not comfortable) with .357s.  Much better to shoot than the tiny Scandium S&W revolvers.

Bigger problem: after shooting 20 or 30 rounds or so, the cylinder/chambers would swell and spent cases would get stuck in the chambers and could only be removed with tools or by waiting a while for the gun to cool.  Especially true with hot rounds like CorBons, where I assume there was more expansion of the case, but it could happen with almost any ammo.

I assume, but don't know for sure, that this was from the Titanium expanding due to the heat.  This wasn't acceptable for me for a carry gun so I passed it on.  I don't expect to have to shoot more than teh gun's capacity in an emergency but you never know and the stickiness made me concerned about re-loading (especially since the extractor would typically not move if even one case were stuck).

Nifty little gun, very reasonably priced, not 100% workable.

[Erich]

I had a Taurus Total Titanium 2.5" .41 magnum 415Ti (total weight just under 21 ounces). That was a feisty little gun, but not nearly as bad as I had expected. The porting (which I don't like in general) and Taurus' superb "ribber" stocks made shooting it somewhat better than getting a root canal. Nevertheless, I would have a crowd gather behind me every time I shot it, and only rarely could I convince anyone else to take a try with it.

I got the gun because it was $299, brand new! I've always loved the .41 magnum (I reload for it routinely), and I thought, "Gee, that would be a dandy hiking gun. Plus, I could actually use it for concealed carry down in the city."

Well, I got rid of it when I realized that my .41 mag follow-up shot would come about a week after the initial shot (gross exaggeration, but you know what I mean) - and I know that criminals rarely work alone on muggings - so I thought that probably wasn't as optimal a solution as a similarly sized 9mm like my G26.

The quality of the 415Ti was overall pretty good. I was a little disturbed by the roughness of the cylinder star (which is a not untypical Taurus issue), but it worked fine.

In any event, I sold it (after putting 150-200 rounds through it) for $300, so it was a good experience for me.

Now, I've fired the all-steel Taurus .44 special. I have to say it was a very pleasant gun to shoot. I would imagine that the Ti version would shoot just fine, because there's such a profound difference in power between the .44 special and the .41 mag. Also, the Total Ti gun is certainly heavier than Charter Arms Bulldog .44 spl (which, originally at least, had an aluminum frame), and that was totally shootable (until you got into the warm-ish handloads). It's probably still going to be somewhat slow for follow-up shots, though.

[R9SCarry]

[size=13] I was a little disturbed by the roughness of the cylinder star (which is a not untypical Taurus issue), but it worked fine.  [/size]

Seems rather common doesn't it.  Mind you the star on my old faithful M85 is pretty clean looking - but the one on my M66 is decidely  ''Taurus'' in appearance - function tho so far has been fine.

Glad you like the de-squished pic - you look much fitter

[chameleon]

I had an American Derringer DA .357.
 That was not bad at all to shoot.

I love the looks of your Ti revolver there Fly! It is a real nice looking piece.

[TW]

I had an American Derringer DA .357.
 That was not bad at all to shoot.

I love the looks of your Ti revolver there Fly! It is a real nice looking piece.

>>I have a Bond DA Derringer in .410/ Colt .45.  Not bad at all to shoot - course it is built out of a brick of steel.  Wouldn't want one in Titanium.  I would enjoy one of those Titanium .38 Special Snubbies...does not have to be as pretty a blue as Flies...TW<<