My experiences with a Taurus 85UL

[Brady]

I never did make it to the range. Other things just kept getting in the way. One day after another kept passing and the next thing I know there's a gun show in town! So I packed her up in the original box with the two keys & manual and headed out. Several folks were interested, both dealers and individuals, but they wanted to give me about 1/2 of what I had in it . I had started thinking about placing an add in a local "niche" paper.

I have a thing for Dan Wesson firearms. Can't really afford their 1911's but I do have one of their old revolvers and love it. I spotted another at the show which is a bit unusual because you just don't see them very often. I stopped to talk with the dealer and was checking it out. Not really what I went to look for, but...

It is a blued .357 Magnum and included 2 barrels (2" & 6"), 3 grips, a barrel tool, shim and the original Dan Wesson naugahide soft pack which had absolutely no holes or tears (very unusual for a 25+ year old pack)! I knew I was taking her home but we haggled over the price. He had it marked for $400 which was already a pretty good price for the whole package. We were down to: me-$350, him-$360 when he spotted the Taurus box in my hand and said "what'ya got there?".

So the Taurus and Dan Wesson each got new homes for an even swap.

Now I have to continue looking for a new snubby.

Oh happy day!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[AZ Desertrat]

I have had a Taurus 85UL for quite a few years....and after putting Hogue monogrips on it...I carried it daily...however I have a bunch of other snubbies I like better...and they are heavier...so I use them now. I am selling the Taurus because if I shoot too many hotter loads in it....it will sting the hand.

[bsnow]

Friends don't let friends buy Taurus. Just my .02

My 2C If you listen to your friends you will in the end crash.

[sui-juris]

There QC can suck at times, too many lemons get through. And its too bad, because they can be innovative and have some nice designs.

I had a 445 44 spl 2" that the cyl would bind up after about 20 rds. Couldn't pull the trigger, bound up. Was a great shooter, when it worked. I also had a 450 which is the snubby .45 colt, nice gun but it shot about 3" left at 5 yds. I also had a 44c which is the .44 mag snubby. Great gun when it worked but I had the cyl latch fall off, the gun would bind after about 50 rds or w/any factory ammo. Accurate as all get out but just not reliable. Don't think I'll ever buy another Taurus revo again. I've had a S&W 637, Ruger sp101, Redhawk 44 and a Security six and had Zero problems w/them. So I'll save the extra 100$ and get those. But no more Taurus' for me..

[JerryM]

I once owned two Taurus 85s. One was blue, and the other a SS CH model. Since I wanted to use the gun for CC and IWB I sold the blue one. It had a great trigger.

The CH model began to misfire with factory and reloaded rounds. I sent it back to Taurus 3 times. Finally I gave up on them and sent it to a well known smith who specialized in revolvers. He worked on it, but did not stop the misfires. He offered to try again, but I was tired of fooling with the gun.

I went through almost a year of attempting to get a replacement, and finally they sent me a new one. I did not even take it out of the box, but sold it to a friend who knew of my problems with the other gun. He has had no problem.

That pretty well soured me on Taurus guns. I have three Smith J frames, and have never looked back.
How much cheaper is a Taurus? Maybe $200? I wouldn't go through the trouble of having to send it back for that. I don't recall that Taurus ever picked up the shipping tab.

Regards,
Jerry

[boatail]

I have a stainless 85 I got in the late 90's I believe. It's shot fine although I have'nt tried enough different ammo in it yet ( as in +P ). It shoots exceptionally well, even out to 25yds. I just installed a Wollf hammer&trigger spring set and that lightened and smoothed it out nicely. I have not been to the range since, so we'll see if it's really any better. The set only costs $7.95 so why not?
As a side note, when I changed them out, I found that the forward side plate screw had loosened itself a bit. I try to check all of them frequently but this one slipped by. I read a post earlier about an 85 that dropped/broke a sideplate screw or two and proceeded to fall apart. That's why I like to check those screws.
It may be the cause of some of these problems.

[Brady]

Picked it up yesterday. I found a Ruger LCR on GunBroker.com much cheaper than I could get it around here. It's so ugly it's beautiful. Unbelievable how light weight it is. And the trigger is fabulous.
Going to the indoor range tonight with my brother and my son. We have several that need an over due exercise. Cheap cell phone pic below.
That about closes the gut wrenching saga of my experiences with a Taurus 85UL.

[TXTIGR]

My 85ul works fine.It is my Edc.It's a good value for the price.Feed it good ammo and it will do it the job.

[artz]

My very first handgun, a Taurus 669 stainless was a lemon. But my 85 multialloy has been perfect for about 15 years. You just got a lemon.

[Haywood]

My 442 Smith broke and had to be sent back for repair before I put Ammo in it. I had a Para that was so unreliable that Para could not fix it and they had to replace it. ANYTHING mechanical can break.