Steve Gonos of 2A Tactical LLC and Jonathan DeVries (“JD”) of Koted Arms have a reputation for insane custom ballistic artistry and collabs. You may have seen their D-Day rifle tribute over on Tactical-Life.com. Well, more recently they tag-teamed a Taurus Raging Hunter revolver chambered in .357 magnum. The theme: PREDATOR. We now have an exclusive look at the finished product that you won’t find anywhere else.
A ‘Predator’ Taurus Raging Hunter
Gonos is a masterful mad scientist when it comes to laser engraving. Meanwhile, JD is a Cerakote painting savage. After discussing the rough concept and some desired elements to be included in the design, Gonos worked up a layout sheet. He meticulously mapped out the gun in 3D.
With one side of the pistol dedicated to the human mercenaries and one side focusing on the Predator, Gonos put his skills and his laser to work. The resulting work of functional firearms artwork is battle damaged, blood spattered and features alien hieroglyphics in the Predator’s native tongue (Yautja). It also includes rotating Predator faces and the classic phrase “If it bleed, we can kill it” on the cylinder. In total, Gonos dedicated around 25 hours to digitally mapping and designing the layout. Meanwhile, the laser cutting process took about 17 hours total.
After that, JD added his special touch. He splattered and carefully brushed areas of the gun to give them that special splash of color. He used a stark bone white for Arnold Schwarzenegger and other characters, as well as the trophy skull and spine. JD then used a bloody crimson for the Predator’s triangulated laser targeting display and thermonuclear countdown clock.
A prototype Raging Hunter grip produced by VZ Grips, a T20x thermal imaging optic by Sector Optics, and Black Hills Ammunition’s .357 Magnum HoneyBadger round out the package.
Final Thoughts
Talking about the custom projects that he and JD work on together, Gonos said: “Theme guns are really a way of personalizing a firearm for an individual. What I like about it, is you get to see the personality of people. You really get to express creativity in building one for them. Whether just an aesthetically cool piece with geometric designs, to making tribute pieces, themed pieces become heirlooms”.
I think we’ll call this one the “Raging Predator” for future reference. Watch the video above for a look at the entire gun. For more information on the brands involved in this build, please visit the following sites:
- taurususa.com – Raging Hunter
- 2atacticalllc.com – Laser Engraving
- kotedarms.com – Cerakote
- sectoroptics.com– Thermal Imaging
- black-hills.com – Ammo
- Vzgrips.com – Custom Grip
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