Taurus Expedition Rifle: Review and Ultimate Discovery

Taurus embarks on a new journey with its first bolt-action rifle, the Expedition.

December 26, 2024 By Frank Melloni

Nothing generates a buzz like a manufacturer working outside its realm and creating a product that not only shows it’s capable at something new but is pretty darn good, too. When Taurus introduced its Expedition hunting rifle at SHOT Show, I walked briskly to the booth to check it out. Not sure what to expect, I was not only delighted but impressed with what the company had put together. The design was fresh, smooth and, above all, handy.

Taurus’s new bolt-action rifle marks a few key shifts in the company’s direction, starting with one that began in 2019 with the Raging Hunter revolver line. Taurus is making strides to reach beyond the self-defense market and accommodate outdoors folk.

Second, we see the higher-end flavor that was introduced with the Executive Grade series. Shouldering the rifle and dry firing at the ceiling, I immediately knew that I wanted some more time with it.

The best place to start with a new bolt-action rifle is logically the bolt itself. Two-lug designs are beginning to show their age, as the bolt lift is typically long and the cost savings are becoming negligible thanks to modern CNC processes. Therefore, Taurus added that third lug, dropping the lift to just 60 degrees and further securing the lock-up.

The Action Behind The Action

rifle bolt on top of ammo box — The three-lug bolt is fluted and incorporates an AR-15-style extractor, along with twin plunger ejectors. (Photo courtesy of Frank Melloni)

The configuration of these lugs also creates a self-centering effect that aids in chamber alignment, accurizing the entire package. It operates on a simple push-feed system, which does deeply cut manufacturing costs while increasing reliability.

As for removing brass, the Expedition’s bolt is built with an external AR-15-style extractor backed up by dual plunger ejectors. The duo ensures that the fired case is forcefully ripped from the chamber before being aggressively kicked out of the action. When the chips are down, and you need a rapid follow-up shot, this makes all the difference.

The bolt head connects to a spiral fluted body, which cuts down weight while adding a touch of flair to the package, particularly since it matches the barrel, which I’ll discuss later. The same holds true for the skeletonized handle. This is threaded to accept its minimalist knob, which can be swapped with a number of aftermarket options if you prefer something girthier.

Moving on to the receiver, Taurus made this its own in a way that didn’t reinvent the wheel. Yes, it’s Remington 700-ish, but because today’s rifle owners like to customize their guns, show me another action that can even come to close in aftermarket support.

Trigger and Controls

The Expedition is built along the lines of a Remington 700 action, and it feeds from AICS-type detachable magazines. (Photo courtesy of Frank Melloni)

Aside from that, its tubular nature means it can be cut from a single piece of bar stock, bringing us back to that intersection of simplicity and durability. The Expedition uses a typical 700-style enclosed trigger built with a two-position rocker-type safety.

It is non-adjustable, and my sample had a measured pull weight of 5.2 pounds. Although the trigger’s a little stiff for a target rifle, I thought this was consistent with the hunting theme, since buck fever has a way of ruining trigger-finger discipline. During dry-fire, I checked it for slack, creep and overtravel, which it was impressively devoid of. The trigger is more of a switch than a dial, which I absolutely adore on any firearm.

As for the rest of the controls, there is a bolt release on the left-hand side and a push-button magazine catch on the stock that I’ll get to in a bit.

Taurus settled on an 18-inch barrel, making this one compact rifle. The barrel is hammer forged with 1:10 rifling and secured to the action with a barrel nut. While this is indeed short for the .308 Win. it is chambered to, when you consider that most hunting shots are going to take place inside of 300 yards, it starts to make more sense. Moreover, many of those shots may be taken from a tight ground blind, so being able to swing the rifle inside those confines is more advantageous than slightly better long-range accuracy and energy.

Shorter barrels are becoming more prevalent because we’re finding out that their reduced length also reduces their harmonics, making them less finicky with respect to ammo. They also respond better to suppressors, as they reduce the can’s leverage and mitigate their point-of-impact shift when installed.

The medium-contour barrel has what I would describe as a linear taper, following the same angle from the bolt face to the muzzle. At the tip, there is a half inch of 5/8x24 threading, making it easy to mount a suppressor or muzzle brake.

The inletting and action screw pattern of the Expedition follows the typical 700 footprint. Taurus could have grabbed any of the many capable aftermarket stocks out there and called it a day, but it didn’t. Instead, the company started from scratch and built precisely what it thought the gun needed to optimize its use, adding plenty of modern features along the way.

It’s an injection-molded polymer stock with a unique contour. The most obvious is the relief found halfway up the fore-end. This attribute is intended to make the rifle more conducive to use with a tripod, which is becoming more popular in hunting circles. The pistol grip is straighter than those on most hunting rifles, allowing for a better trigger finger position—encouraging a rearward press as opposed to one that sweeps upward. It’s also enlarged to fill the hand and accommodate the newer thumb-forward style of firing-hand placement.

Thoughtful Touch

underside of rifle — There are plenty of options on the fore-end, including M-Lok slots, a Spartan Precision QD mount and a standard sling-swivel stud. (Photo courtesy of Frank Melloni)

As hunting scopes grow in size, cheek placements need to be higher, and Taurus is paying attention here with a raised cheekpiece that helps align your optic to your eye. The bottom of the stock is extended to meet the support hand, which will either be balled up or squeezing a rear bag. When you’re firing from a benchrest or in the prone position, closing this gap connects the rifle to the ground, providing exponentially greater stability.

The injection molding process is friendly to additions, so Taurus went crazy with it. Rather than choosing one connectivity solution for slings and bipods, the Expedition has three. Up front, you’ll find a classic sling stud, and slightly behind it you’ll find a Spartan Precision adapter. You can quickly add a QD bipod built to these socket dimensions or even a sling wearing the appropriate hardware.

There are two metallic M-Lok slots that are essentially catch-alls for anything else you might wish to add. All these are paired with a single sling stud in the back, keeping things streamlined.

As for bottom metal, it’s more like bottom plastic, which I know will elicit a few groans. I’ll admit I used to be part of that camp, too, until I realized that neither my students using my loaner rifles nor I has ever broken one made of this material. Regardless where you sit on the topic, everybody should be glad to hear that it consists of an oversize trigger guard and an ambidextrous magazine catch. Metal is prevalent where it is most important, though, namely in the bedding blocks found on each end of the receiver.

Scope Mounting and Weight Considerations

Since the scope-mount geometry is Remington 700, adding a scope is relatively easy. I went with a Warne Vapor zero m.o.a. rail and mounted a Sightmark Core 2.0 TX 4-16x44mm optic. This scope’s relatively small objective allows it to sit tight to the rifle, and it features an illuminated mil-dot reticle set in the second focal plane.

Considering that most hunting shots take place during the early morning or evening hours, being able to light up the crosshairs makes a big difference. Furthermore, since it remains fine throughout the power range, it won’t widen with magnification and eclipse important target details, like shoulders.

The complete package weighed 8.9 pounds but was exceptionally well balanced. This is undoubtedly a product of the shorter barrel paired with the widened buttstock.

With the rifle ready to fire, I took a trip to the range to see if it met its sub-m.o.a. guarantee. Results are shown in the accompanying table. The Expedition feeds off an AICS-pattern magazine, so fitting the long-ogive ammunition wasn’t a problem, nor was sliding the rounds off into the action. However, I noticed it was a little tough to close the bolt on the Remington fodder, but that’s likely just a case of Remington using the high side of the SAAMI specs and Taurus using the low side.

Accuracy Results

The Remington ammo did shoot well, though, with its smallest group measuring just 0.96 inch. Hornady bested it by a few tenths, with its best group coming in at 0.67. The Federal Berger load showed me that stability with heavier bullets isn’t a problem, as it also shot several sub-m.o.a. groups with the tightest measuring a scant 0.781 inch. Altogether, it was impressive to see how well the Expedition liked the first three loads I grabbed off the shelf, which is seldom the case.

Shooting a light .308 off a bench without a muzzle device isn’t exactly fun for the shoulder, so I decided to stretch things out with a tripod (see sidebar). Running the gun left-handed, I found it advantageous to keep my firing hand in position while using my right hand to work the bolt.

Once I figured DOPE, I had no trouble putting five consecutive rounds on a 12-inch gong at 500 yards. In this configuration, much of the recoil was transferred throughout the tripod, making the experience much more pleasurable and allowing me to watch my bullets arrive through the scope.

I fired a total of nine boxes of ammunition without a single failure. Aside from the fact that it ran well, I enjoyed the compact nature of the Expedition, the cleverly designed stock and the unbelievably crisp trigger. I believe the gun would be better served with a muzzle brake, but that is trivial.

Field Positions and Tripods

The funny thing about shooting from a bench is that you rarely find one in the field. As rifles become more capable, portable means to stabilize them have become prevalent. Going prone or kneeling isn’t always an option when tall vegetation is involved, so tripods have recently come into their own.

Composed mainly of carbon fiber, at just 3.85 pounds the Kopfjäger K800 with Reaper grip ($600, KJrests.com) is light enough to tote, yet strong enough to handle load weights up to 20 pounds. Dimensions are 19 inches folded to 64 inches fully extended. The Reaper Grip provides 360-degree pan and a tilt range of 109 degrees.

It can hold nearly any firearm on the market, regardless of whether it offers any sort of underside connectivity. I used this setup extensively throughout the Taurus Expedition test and found it to be quickly deployable, sturdy and reliable. Consider taking one on your next hunt to up your odds without dropping to your knees.

My only other gripe is the rifle being limited to the .308 Win. and 6.5 Creedmoor, as the action is perfectly suitable for many of the short-action magnums out there. Additionally, it would make one handy rifle in some of the brush busters, like .450 Bushmaster.

Final Impressions

Overall, I think Taurus has made an excellent entry into the bolt-action space with a firearm that is unique and purely its own, and it wouldn’t shock me one bit if I’m reviewing additional chamberings next year.