Which model of Taurus 85 to buy

[Jeff Davis]

I have bought some beautiful ivory polymer grips for a Taurus 85 frame (thanks Ben, the check is in the mail!:mrgreen:) and realized I don't even own one!
I KNOW this has never happened to anyone on this site:roll:.

So I apparently need to go out and get one. The problem is, there are a lot more models to choose from since I last had one. What one do you all recommend and why?

The only stipulations I have is it needs to be stainless and a caliber I can load for without buying new dies or components. Those would be 9mm, 38 Special, 357 Magnum, 22lr and 22 magnum.

Hit me with your best shot!
Thanks
Jeff

[jawjaboy]

That would be entirely your call Jeff.

We have owned 3 of the model 85's. I bought the wife a new one back in the late 80's/early 90's there on the right. I bought the daughter one just like it on her 21st birthday a few years ago. I bought the stainless one on the left from a friend a couple of years ago because of the price and easier pocket carry.

What type of grips did you buy? Full size? Boot?

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g194/jawjaboy/IM000183.jpg

[Jeff Davis]

Ajax ivory polymer

[exile]

I don't know much about these guns, and would normally not recommend a caliber that you could not reload, that is expensive to boot, but I recently had a chance to shoot a friends Taurus snubbie in .22 magnum. What fun! Great muzzle blast, exceeded in a small frame only by my SP-101 in 327 Federal. It had some quality control issues, but I am sure those could be worked out.

exile

[scrapcan]

If it were upto me based on recent experience with a m94 22lr, I would pass the grips to somone who has already made the mistake of owning a taurus and not go down that road myself. I have been waiting for parts (new springs that came broken in a NIB blue 94, sent back by delaer and was told all was in spec same broken springs returned double action trigger pull was 18lbs) for 8 months. I finally put a set of wolf springs in it for a different model even though not recommended and will be testing for function and reliability in the coming days. Their customer service sucks and the quality control has went down, buy an older gun if you must.

[thenaaks]

i own a bunch of tauri
model 85 38+p 2" blued
model 94 22lr 2" polished stainless
model 44 44 mag 4" ported blued
pt92 9mm blued

the only one that has given me any issues was the 94...i was getting light firing pin strikes. yes their customer service stinks, but when i got my snubbie back 6 weeks later, with a detailed repair sheet (no bill), it shot (and still shoots) great!

a buddy of mine has a taurus in 357 mag, and another has a 24/7 in 9mm. we have shot tens of thousands of rounds over the years with no major issues. i really like my taurus pistols...i believe they represent a great value in today's firearms market.

[Archer]

I have a Taurus M85 in 38 Special +P with a 2" barrel. It's ported made in 91,
and it has a very smooth, and light double action trigger
pull. It shoots very well, and accurate. Have had no problems
with it. I perfer a longer barrel, but then it wouldn't be as handy to carry
as a ccw.

[Jeff Davis]

I ended up putting an M85 UltraLite with hammer and a matte stainless finish on layaway. I tried the CIA models, but the shrouded model was near impossible to cock the hammer. The triggers on the concealed hammer models were too rough.

The model I bought has a smoother trigger than all the rest, you can cock the hammer with no effort, and it was NIB at the least expensive price $329.99+tax.

So now the Guide gun has someone to talk to while it waits to be picked up!

Thanks for ya'lls input.
Jeff

[scrapcan]

I am glad that someof you have had good luck with taurus, I trust you will keep them in business as i will not. After eight months and a trip back to the TaurusUSA on my dime for a *** that is their fault, I will not be the one helping to keep them in business.

I have been around a lot of older taurus handguns being a firearms instructor and can say that I have seen and shot some wellmade and servicable arms. I would not however buy anything new with their name on it. Especially one with the internal hammer mounted lock but htat is another story as I have helped send 4 back for repair in the last year that came through the firearm class.