A few months ago at the 2024 NRA Annual Meeting And Exhibits, Taurus showed off the latest revolver in the Executive Grade line, the Taurus 692 Executive Grade, a modern, large-framed 7-shot revolver with origins in the utilitarian Taurus Tracker product family.
The Tracker Family and The Taurus 692 Executive Grade
The Taurus Tracker family consists of larger-framed revolvers with adjustable rear sights. These guns are meant to be carried on belt holster into the backcountry or the field. The 692 revolver family is quite similar in size to the classic Smith & Wesson L-frame, which was supposed to be the happy medium between the standard K-frame and the larger N-frame. In fact, the Taurus 692 Executive has no problem fitting in the Safariland 6280 OWB duty holster for my Smith & Wesson 686. Several Tracker models like the Taurus 692s are also designed and sold around their ability to shoot different calibers through the same gun. The Taurus 692 can handle three cartridges: .357 Mag, .38 Spl and 9mm. To accomplish this task, Taurus ships the 692 with two unfluted cylinders (one for .38 Spl. / .357 Mag, and the other for 9mm) with the serial number of their parent gun and their chambering laser-engraved on the side. The ability to swap calibers is so crucial to the Tracker family that Taurus also designed a frame that has a quick-detach plunger system. Depressing the plunger is the only action needed to release a cylinder and swap it with a different one, rather than dealing with a traditional yoke screw. Ported barrels are also an important hallmark amongst Tracker revolvers, especially those with magnum chamberings.
As part of Taurus’ premium product line, The Taurus 692 Executive Grade is subject to specialized attention during the manufacturing process, which means that customers take home revolvers with more refined levels of fit and finish. This is something that’s readily apparent in both their actions and the smoothness and consistency of their trigger pulls. Unlike the everyday 692 Tracker models, the 692 Executive Grade variant has a distinctive satin stainless finish, brass front sight and includes the wide hardwood “Executive Grade” stocks. It also ships in a practical hard-sided gasket-sealed Nanuk locking case.
The Trigger and Porting—Part Of The Experience
I was impressed with the first Taurus 692 Executive I saw at NRAAM. I’m also impressed by the actual 692 Executive Grade in my possession. On my first range outing, I adjusted the rear sight to impact at 10 yards with 158-grain .357 Mag. rounds. I then proceeded to shoot some NRA B-8 targets at 10 yards, along with one of my favorite drills, the 5-yard Dot Torture drill, all in double-action. My goal was simple: I wanted to see what I could do with this new revolver out of the box. With my B-8s, I shot a “100-8x” on my first target shooting Federal American Eagle 158 grain JSP, while my second target resulted in a score of “99-4x” with the High Desert Cartridge .357 Magnum FP 158 grain load. Unfortunately, an errant flyer landed in the 9-ring which cost me a point and prevented me from securing another “hundo.” I shot my 50-round Dot Torture Drill using Fiocchi’s 125 grain JHP Defense Dynamics load for and got a very respectable 47/50. Because this Fiocchi magnum load uses a lighter 125-grain bullet, its point of impact was considerably lower, even at 5-yards which resulted in low misses.
The Takeaway
The last time I shot full-house .357 Magnum loads was when I reviewed the Rossi RP-63, a revolver with a smaller frame. Shooting such cartridges through such a revolver isn’t for the faint of heart. On the other hand, the 692 Executive Grade makes shooting magnum cartridges fun. It’s not only its larger size and heft, but also the ported barrel really helps manage recoil. As for the trigger on the 692, I think my results speak for themselves.
