Taurus Thunderbolt: the levergun alternative

Guns Magazine, August, 2008 by John Taffin

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I've often written the first firearm I ever shot was a top-break .22 pistol on my uncle's farm. However, as I have been thinking about it lately I have come to realize that's probably not true. Like many young boys growing up in the '30s, '40s, and '50s my first experience was probably at a county fair or amusement park with a gallery rifle--a pump action .22. Thousands upon thousands of these were in use at shooting galleries all over the country as well as leaning against the wall in many a barn ready for use on any varmint which dared to venture too close.

In the last quarter of the 19th century s Colt introduced their pump action Lightning rifle in three sizes. The smallest version was for the .22, the largest chambered in some of the heavy rifle cartridges of the time, while the medium and most popular of the three held the levergun/sixgun cartridges of the time, the .32-20, .38-40 and .44-40. The Lightning was a relatively fragile action prone to breakage and only the .22 version survived a few years into the 20th century.

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In the 1990s various manufacturers and importers started looking seriously at a modern version of the Colt Lightning. Currently Lightning-style rifles in one version or another are available from AWA, Beretta, Cimarron, USFA and now from Taurus. Taurus managed to do two outstanding things with their Lightning, which is known as the Thunderbolt. They not only brought it to market in a reasonable time they managed to do it with a price tag less than half some of the other versions being offered.

The Taurus Thunderbolt is offered in .45 Colt, blued or stainless steel, with a 26" barrel, and a magazine capacity of 14 rounds. The walnut-finished hardwood buttstock has a curved steel buttplate reminiscent of the 19th century while the wooden forearm is checkered and shaped to provide ease of operation. One major caution here. When working the forearm to feed cartridges it is very easy to get the little finger in between the back of the forearm and the front of the receiver. Do it once and I can almost guarantee you it will not happen again. Do it a second time and I know I can guarantee you will have learned your lesson.

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The front sight is a post set in a dovetail making it adjustable for windage, while the rear sight can also be adjusted for windage by moving it in the dovetail and also for elevation by moving it on the ladder. The rear sight has an extremely wide "U" notch making precision shooting very difficult for this shooter, however on big targets up close, sight acquisition occurs very quickly. Today's version of Cowboy Action Shooting on many ranges and in many matches occurs with very large targets set at very close distances. These sights work perfectly for this type of shooting, however anyone desiring a little more precision can easily replace the rear sight with the typical Marlin levergun rear sight or even a Marble's Buckhorn.

For rapid-fire shooting of the same target or multiple targets, the Taurus Thunderbolt handles quickly and easily. On a levergun, the firing hand also operates the action. However, with the Thunderbolt the firing hand and trigger finger stay in the same position while the offhand operates the action. Theoretically at least this should make a pump action both quicker and easier to shoot.

The operation of loading the Taurus Thunderbolt, like the typical levergun, is accomplished by feeding cartridges through a loading gate on the right side of the receiver. However, unlike the typical levergun, the action of the Thunderbolt must be open for loading. Once all the cartridges are loaded, the forearm is moved forward to close the action, however, you're not ready to shoot yet as the forearm must be worked again to cock the rifle and feed a round into the chamber.

The Thunderbolt, as all Taurus firearms, has the Taurus Security System which is activated by using a special key to turn the activation switch found in the back of the hammer. This prevents the Thunderbolt from firing until the same key is used to deactivate the system. Taurus says the safest way to carry the Thunderbolt is with an empty chamber. I fully agree. They do suggest if you must carry a loaded round in the chamber for some reason, the hammer should be placed in what they call the "intercept notch" which is in between the full cocked and hammer at rest positions.

As with most Taurus products they have once again managed to bring a relatively inexpensive quality firearm to market which just about anyone can afford. It certainly would suffice as a short-range deer hunting rifle and I would much like to see it chambered in two of the original frontier cartridges, the .38-40 and .44-40.

THUNDERBOLT

MANUFACTURER: TAURUS INT., BRAZIL
     IMPORTER: TAURUS USA
  16175 NORTHWEST 49TH AVENUE
          MIAMI, FL 33014
          (305) 624-1115
        WWW.TAURUSUSA.COM

          ACTION:    Pump.
      CHAMBERING:    45 Colt (tested), .357 Mag
        CAPACITY:    14
   BARREL LENGTH:    26
  OVERALL LENGTH:    43"
          WEIGHT:    8 pounds
          FINISH:    Blue
          SIGHTS:    Adjustable rear, post front
           STOCK:    Walnut finished hardwood
           PRICE:    $639

TAURUS THUNDERBOLT .45 COLT FACTORY AMMO

             LOAD                  VELOCITY      GROUP SIZE
 (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE)       (FPS)         (INCHES)

     BLACK HILLS 250 RNFP            937           1.375
      WINCHESTER 250 LFN             830           2.375

Notes: Group size the product of five shots at 25 yards.

TAURUS THUNDERBOLT .45 COLT HANDLOADS

                                     CHARGE
        BULLET            POWDER    (WEIGHT,    VELOCITY    GROUP SIZE
(BRAND, WEIGHT, TYPE)    (BRAND)     GRAINS)      (FPS)      (INCHES)

    SIERRA 240 JHC        H4227       18.5        1,120        1.75
    SPEER 260 JHP         H4227       18.5        1,033        2.25
 OREGON TRAIL 255 SWC     H4227       20.0        1,269        2.5
     LYMAN 454309         Unique       8.0        1,112        2.5

Notes: Group size the product of five shots at 25 yards.