I'm a noob when it comes to revolvers. Thinking of getting the wife one. Its going to be a gag gift so I don't want to spend the money on a S&W. What do you guys think of the Taurus 85 snubbie? Buddy of mine says that the recoil on the steel version is better than the UL.  

Thanks.

A gag gift?


They are good little guns, and yes the steel has less recoil.

Quoted: A gag gift? They are good little guns, and yes the steel has less recoil.

Let me clarify that. The wife unit does not care for guns. Not antigun but she has that "meh, I'd rather have a nice purse/shoes" attitude towards guns. She doesn't like and has trouble using the XD9 that I gave her. I think a revolver would be better for her. Anyway, I want to suprise her with a Taurus as her birthday gift. I just want to see her face when she finds out that I got her a gun for a birthday gift. Although, I do have her real gift stashed close by just in case she really gets angry.

I've got an Ultralite, and it's great.  It's my summer carry gun, and I just love it.  It's not bad at all with regular 38 loads.  My wife, and several female friends have no trouble with it at all.  I've probably put about 1000 rounds through it over the past 5 years.

My wife carries an 85.  They are good little guns.

Get her the one you like the most. One of two things will happen. 1:She will actually like it. 2:She will hate it and you get to keep it. WIN-WIN!

Thanks guys. Ordered the Taurus 85 at Budsgunshop for $297 shipped!! I will let her keep it even if she doesn't like it. I will feel better knowing that she will have access to an easy to use gun just in case there is a BRINKS moment at the house when I'm not home.

I picked one up for my wife and it started collecting dust so I put a hammer shroud on it and some hoge grips and its a great little carry piece especially in the summer. It's blued ultra light model.

You could give me a Taurus but I wouldn't pay for it, and I would trade it in as soon as possible! I've had three of them and they all have had problems with the cylinder pin unscrewing and locking up the revolver. I've owned a M-85S a 44spl snubby and a 6' .357mag. the 44spl also had a cylinder alignment problem and it spit lead.  The cylinder retaining screw on the M-85 works its way loose and falls out, so that when you open the cylinder you wind up with the cylinder in one hand and the rest of the gun in the other. I've replaced the screw it solve the problem. Aside from the fact that the cylinder pin would loosen up and lock up the action I had no other problem with the .357 but I was not happy with its accuracy. Give me a Ruger any day or even a Smith but if you care about someone don't buy them a Taurus! I have a couple of Gun Shop owner friends that I have discussed this with in the past and they totally agree with me, and in fact won't even carry or order New Taurus's. I'm told by one that the auto loaders are even worse than the revolvers. I've wasted too much money on taurus's already to bother checking out their autos.      

Quoted: You could give me a Taurus but I wouldn't pay for it, and I would trade it in as soon as possible! I've had three of them and they all have had problems with the cylinder pin unscrewing and locking up the revolver. I've owned a M-85S a 44spl snubby and a 6' .357mag. the 44spl also had a cylinder alignment problem and it spit lead.  The cylinder retaining screw on the M-85 works its way loose and falls out, so that when you open the cylinder you wind up with the cylinder in one hand and the rest of the gun in the other. I've replaced the screw it solve the problem. Aside from the fact that the cylinder pin would loosen up and lock up the action I had no other problem with the .357 but I was not happy with its accuracy. Give me a Ruger any day or even a Smith but if you care about someone don't buy them a Taurus! I have a couple of Gun Shop owner friends that I have discussed this with in the past and they totally agree with me, and in fact won't even carry or order New Taurus's. I'm told by one that the auto loaders are even worse than the revolvers. I've wasted too much money on taurus's already to bother checking out their autos.

Several of the problems you listed are easily corrected with degreaser and loctite. I guess it makes more sense to blame the gun than to fix the problem though.

The two M66 Taurus revolvers that dad has owned were extremely accurate. With the 6" he currently has, I hit a 3" diameter target at 100 yards on shot #6. The other five were used for kentucky windage and elevation, but weren't far off the mark at all. The 4" he had was just as accurate, and after properly tightening the ejector rod, it never gave any trouble.

The M85 I had made hitting silhouette targets at 100 yards easy. Never had a problem with it.

My neighbor hasn't had a problem with his PT92 in 9mm, but his glock has jammed.

Smiths have the same problem. I've had to loc-tite one Taurus and 2 Smiths.  I've seen a Colt lock up that way too.

I owned two taurus 85ch's one stainless the other blue. The blued revolver gave me trouble when the spring that powers the cylinder lock broke. The stainless worked perfectly for as long as I had it. I've also had trouble with a ruger sevice six that wouldn't shoot well, and had a smith 19 ejector rod back out locking the cylinder in place. I won't buy foriegn products any more, but I won't bash Taurus.

I"m not a Taurus fan, but the Model 85 I had was just fine. I never shot it much, but I never had one single problem with it in the 3 or 4 years I owned it.

I say go for it.  My Taurus has been great to me.

Just know that if she has "trouble" (whatever that means...) with your XD, she's gonna have "trouble" with the little revolver.  Contrary to popular belief, small, 2 inch wheelguns take alot of training and practice to get very good with;  good to the point that it's real useful for defense, anyway.....

For her, go steel, not UL.  Easier in recoil.

I've also owned 5 Ruger revolvers and plan to buy a couple more but unlike the Taurus's I've owned I've never had one problem with my Ruger's and I can state that the accuracy of all my Ruger's is better than I am capable of using and I hunt woodchucks with my Super Black Hawk when I get bored, and I hit more often than i miss. Bottom line- Taurus's make a good door stop, Ruger's are quality shooting irons that will last you a lifetime.  

Quoted: I"m not a Taurus fan, but the Model 85 I had was just fine. I never shot it much, but I never had one single problem with it in the 3 or 4 years I owned it.

You never shot it much. Then you don't have any idea what you're talking about. I don't carry anything or consider myself proficient if I haven't fired a thousand or more rounds though it. If its a firearm type that has known design flaw I get rid of it. In contrast to the Taurus's I've owned 5 Ruger's and a Smith, a Lamma, a Colt and a Beretta an H&R a DanWesson and one or two others that all told had less than half the problems of the Taurus's. Taurus's are therefore nothing I'd bet my life on.