Taurus C45 Thunderbolt
Taurus Holdings, Inc. · Rifle · Out Of Production · 2005
Also known as: C45 Thunderbolt, Taurus Thunderbolt Pump Rifle
Overview
The Taurus C45 Thunderbolt is a pump-action centerfire rifle introduced at the 2005 SHOT Show as a modern reproduction of the Colt Lightning slide-action rifle of 1884. Chambered primarily in .45 Colt with a secondary .357 Magnum offering, it feeds from a 14-round tubular magazine beneath the 26-inch button-rifled barrel and uses a side-mounted loading gate in the case-hardened receiver. The action stroke is unusually short - only about two inches straight back and forward - making the rifle one of the fastest pump guns to cycle. A hand-fitted hardwood stock with checkered forend, crescent steel buttplate, drift-adjustable front sight, and adjustable buckhorn rear sight complete the period-correct cowboy-action aesthetic. Production was discontinued after roughly five years on the U.S. market.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3090 g (109.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1092 mm (42.99") |
| Barrel Length | 660 mm (25.98") |
| Action Type | Pump Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 14 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Tube |
| Effective Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .45 Colt · primary — also known as .45 Long Colt, 11.43x33mmR
- .357 Magnum — also known as 9x33mmR
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Tubular Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Hammer Button Safety, Taurus Security System
- Features: Tubular Magazine, Side Loading Gate, Case Hardened Receiver, Checkered Forend, Crescent Steel Buttplate, Adjustable Buckhorn Rear Sight, Drift Adjustable Front Sight, Short Pump Stroke
Variants
- Taurus Thunderbolt Stainless — Stainless Finish
Production
Production years: 2005-2010
Approximate five-year U.S. production run; total numbers not published.
Origin
Country of origin: Brazil
Designer: Taurus Holdings
Discontinued: 2010
Notes
The Thunderbolt was Taurus's entry into the cowboy-action and lever/pump rifle revival market dominated by Marlin, Henry, and Uberti repro lever guns. The .45 Colt version is the most common; .357 Magnum was offered later in the production run. Includes Taurus's key-activated Security System integrated into the receiver.
Background
The Thunderbolt is a near-direct copy of the Colt Lightning Magazine Rifle of 1884, a slide-action repeater John Pemberton's contemporaries marketed as a faster alternative to the lever-action Winchester. Taurus revived the design more than a century later with modern steel and CNC tolerances, making the Thunderbolt one of the few new-production pump-action centerfire rifles to hit the U.S. market in the 2000s.