Taurus Model 85 Quality?

[eqlzr]

I bought a used ported Taurus 85 Titanium snubby years ago, the one with the black rubber grips and the kind of dark grey finish on the gun. This has been an excellent gun in every respect. When others have tried it on range trips, everyone has commented how comfortable it is to shoot, and how accurate it is. Most recently, this was a LEO who had been shooting his S & W Model 36 snubby extensively, and was complaining about how his hand was hurting.

 

[treg]

My neighbor has carried his blued M85 constantly for a couple of years now. Always pocket carried, no holster - fishing, hunting, farming, etc., not nice gun enviro's. When it's not in his pocket it's in his glove box, tool box or night stand. It has never been cleaned and to my knowledge it has never misfired. Last I saw some rust was begining to form in the locking slots of the cylinder, other wise it still looked suprisingly nice.

My M605 has given similar service. When I damaged it, I sent it in and Taurus fixed it under warranty.

 

[badge851]

I have seven Taurus® revolvers.............
• Mdl 85B2CH 38 Special - 1994
• Mdl 669SS4CP 357 Magnum - 1996
• Mdl 85B2 38 Special - 1997
• Mdl 617SS2 357 Magnum - 2003
• Mdl 605SS3 357 Magnum - 2006
• Mdl 85SS2UL 38 Special - 2007
• Mdl 605SS2 357 Magnum - 2010

All have performed superbly and I continue to shoot them all almost every week.

I have only encountered two problems.........
• Mdl 85B2CH broke a firing pin after 11,000+ rounds. I replaced the firing pin & it's still going strong.
I have zero complaints with Taurus® customer service. The one time I had to send a gun in they fixed and returned it when they said they would. Specifically.....................
• Mdl 617 developed excessive cylinder to forcing cone gap (.011") after almost 6,000 rounds. I sent it to Taurus® and they replaced the cylinder and adjusted the crane and yoke. I've since put 2,000+ rounds through it and it's still going strong.

I will not hesitate to buy additional Taurus® revolvers. They are an outstanding value.

 

[atlctyslkr]

I have one and have never had any problems out of it. I've put plenty of +p through it with no problems. I think it may actually be my favorite snub. It just has the right weight and feel.

 

[larryf1952]

I have a Taurus Model 85 snub that I use as my house gun. I bought it in the early '90's, and it's a fine little gun. I can choose from over 30+ guns in my safe, but that's the one that I use. I keep it loaded with 125 grain JHP +P's. I know that if something goes bump in the night, I can grab it in a hurry, pull the trigger and it'll work. The wife can do the same.

I know that many say that they've had a Taurus that sucks. I've got several early to mid-1990's vintage Taurus pistols, and none of them have sucked. Here's a pic of the 85...

 

[roaddog28]

Hi,
Whether your buying used or a new Taurus do a complete revolver checkout including cycling the revolver in single and double action. Taurus either is a hit or miss type of revolver. Either you get a good one or you get a bad one. The trouble with getting a bad one is getting Taurus to fix the revolver. I know this because of my experience. I bought a new Tracker 627. I put a total of fifty rounds through the revolver and had to send the revolver back to Taurus because the shell casings were sticking so bad I had to pry them out with a screwdriver. After three trips to Taurus and over three months they still did not fix the revolver. I sold it. End of story.
All I can say is good luck.
Howard

 

[irishhardass]

Model 85

I've had this pistol for damn near 20 years. It's a great side arm, it has never, ever failed me. I bought it used, so I'm not sure of the "round count". I've put maybe 150-200 rounds down the pipe.

 

[dahermit]

The first Taurus 85 stainless I had broke the day I bought it. It had to be sent back to the factory. The gun shop I bought it from reluctantly replaced it. The next one broke after a few hundred rounds and had to be sent back to Taurus for repair. I got it back and didn't trust it. I finally got rid of it and have never looked back.

As a person who performs his own gun smithing and has had examples (some very serious), with S&W and Colts, I find posts like this frustrating in that they convey no useful information. Posters, please include a meaningful description of exactly what "broke".

 

[lee n. field]

---delete, old thread---

the original poster bought his, or didn't, four years ago.

 

[baddarryl]

My mom's 1988 85 is a fine gun.

 

[lincoln5]

I had a neighbor with a Model 85CH that occasionally misfired and my brother in law bought one in the 1990's that had the cylinder milled "out of square" so badly that the firing pin would not make contact with the rounds on one side. To the company's credit, they made good on both weapons without issue and no further problems were reported by either party. As for "professional use", I know some of the big depts. back east allow just about anything but I am near the end of a long LEO/Security career in the west and I have never worked for an agency that had Taurus, Rossi, Charter Arms, or even Ruger on the "approved" list for on or off duty carry.

 

[wsp]

I've got a model 85UL I bought 8 years ago. It's got a ported barrel. I've only fired 300 rounds through it but it has functioned perfectly and is accurate for a snub.