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Thread: Unanticipated revisit of the snubby, via…Taurus

  1. #1

    Unanticipated revisit of the snubby, via…Taurus

    I’ll try to keep the background brief. So, summary:

    - Was faced with an opportunity to obtain a snubby .38 Special at a low low price.
    - I’ve not been a huge fan of Taurus
    - Discovered it was a mid ‘90s Taurus 85 with likely less than 200 rounds through it, surely under 500 rounds.
    - Remembered a couple friends having these and having fired one of them in the ‘90s and thinking, the 85 seemed decent.
    - Decided to go ahead and take the deal.

    I haven’t owned or “seriously” run a revolver/Snub nose for over a decade having opted to go with autoloaders for carry and focused my range time, competition, training to semi-autos. I’ve wanted to add a revolver back into my collection for a couple years partly for variety and retaining some level of proficiency with the revolver, but also for introducing new shooters to different handgun types.

    I’ve had limited opportunity to run the little Taurus, but after decades of my own anti-Taurus bias, my expectations were pretty low. However this little revolver has been a pleasant surprise. Fit and finish is actually pretty decent. This is a high polished stainless (would not have been my first choice, but…it isn’t soo bad). Lock-up is tight. Trigger is actually quite smooth, if a little heavy (not crazy heavy).

    I have a super limited supply of .38 Special ammo and have almost depleted my stash of small pistol primers. First outing was in the woods near my house. Take-away lessons from that outing:
    - Matte stainless sights are not great for accuracy
    - I definitely needed work on establishing and maintaining a consistent grip
    - I needed a range session in somewhat more controlled environment as wind was affecting my makeshift target.
    - I needed work on trigger control of this DA pull
    - This particular example of a Taurus 85 actually felt pretty good overall but may be able to be improved a bit.
    - Ammo I had was kind of suspect for contributing to group size. Much of it was old remanufactured HSM and another local company. All of it ignited reliably and extracted easily.

    I decided to do a deeper clean on the revolver. Found wax-like dried oil in the internals. Cleaned all of that out, polished areas that had started to show a little shine from friction. Looked around for my orange paint for the sight but didn’t find it before an actual gun range session.

    At the range I only fired at 21 and 25 feet. I bought some Norma 158gr FMJ Flat Point.

    - Ammo definitely makes a difference, the Norma seemed more consistent than the old HSM stuff.
    - had one failure to ignite a primer on the Norma though
    - Trigger did seem a touch smoother
    - The revolver looks like an even better deal after that session
    - I still have some work to do as far as my own consistency in technique.

    Still running all stock parts. Did find the orange paint. Going to add an Altamont grip.

    Comparing this mid ‘90s example to more recent examples of the 85 that I’ve seen, this seems pretty…dare I say…Nice?

    So, I’m looking forward to running this thing a bit more and it has whet my appetite to obtain more revolvers. (Like to add a full size and snub-nosed .357 back into the fold.

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    Last edited by SSGN_Doc; 10-10-2021 at 12:54 PM.

  2. #2
    Hoplophilic doc SAWBONES's Avatar
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    I bought a new stainless Model 85 back in '86, and it was timed right, shot 158gr .38 special ammo to POA, and had a good action.
    If yours is similar, it should prove to have been a good deal.
    "Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
    And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
    I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman

  3. #3
    Nice score, even if only for trading stock down the line. Handguns will not get easier to obtain in this country, especially a 2" snub.


    Okie John
    “The reliability of the 30-06 on most of the world’s non-dangerous game is so well established as to be beyond intelligent dispute.” Finn Aagaard
    "Don't fuck with it" seems to prevent the vast majority of reported issues." BehindBlueI's

  4. #4
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    Added some Altamont grips. We’ll see if it helps me get a better grip established.

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