Taurus Ti Model 85
This little revolver is intended for personal concealed carry primarily. It works well in that capacity. Light and small it is never in the way. In fact Matt likes it so much he took it away from me after the test and has been carrying it ever since. For some strange reason the boy thinks it is his. He also loves to use it to shoot up my ammo when he comes over to visit. As a result I got to carry it but little but have shot it a good bit. My only complaint in regard it is that the majority of ammo Ive used in it shoots off a bit and with no adjustable sights it cant be adjusted to compensate. But the error isnt enough to be of practical importance at normal self defense ranges and it isnt a target gun nor is it intended for hunting. For what it is intended it does it well. It is compact enough and light enough to be always with you and not be obtrusive. If you are looking for a concealed carry revolver this one is one you should take a look at.
How did it shoot? Well honestly about as expected for a 2 barrel gun with primitive sights and my tired old eyes. Meaning not nearly as well as guns with longer barrels and adjustable sights. For this reason I limited my shooting on paper to 7 and 10 yards rather than the more common 25 and 50 yards. This one isnt intended for use at the longer ranges and with my eyes isnt up to that distance. Younger eyes might find it pleasantly accurate at 25 yards. I do recall once upon a time when my eyes were younger that I shot snub nose revolvers at that distance with some success.
Paper punching was limited with this gun. I shot only the Hornady factory loads and a variety of hand loads. But since it is to be carried for concealed carry self defense use primarily I found which of the Hornady loads it liked best and for the most part just stuck to that. Most of the rest of the shooting was done more in the manner of self defense situations of pull from concealed holster and fire at one or multiple targets 7 to 10 yards away in rapid succession. For this it worked fine. Making center of mass hits on human size targets at these realistic distances was easy.
Still the world likes to see some paper punching target results so here is what I got with the sample gun. These are an average of three five shot groups at 10 yards fired standing free hand. Reloads were not fired on paper for groups, just to determine POI and then on targets for most of the rest of the shooting. Functioning was 100% with no misfires or failures of any kind.
Hornady 125 XTP 3.0
Hornady 140 XTP 3.8
Hornady 140 Cowboy 3.5
Hornady 158 XTP 4.0
I saw no need to bench this gun as thats just not the intended purpose. As a result shooting was done standing and holding it free hand and much of it fired one handed as might be done in a self defense situation. This is to me a more realistic evaluation procedure. Pin point accuracy isnt what you are looking for. You want 100% reliability and to be able to place your shots center of mass of a human chest size target quickly while bringing it into play from conceal carry mode. This the gun does well. As well as any snub nose revolver Ive owned or carried and is much lighter than most so more likely to be with you when needed. A gun in the car is of no use if you are in a restaurant which is being robbed and patrons shot.
Here are the product specs from the Taurus web site.
Model: 85SH2C
Caliber: .38 SPL +P RATED
Capacity: 5
Barrel Length: 2'' Solid Rib
Porting: YES
Action: DA/SA
Finish: SHADOW GRAY
Grips: RUBBER BOOT
Weight: 15.4 oz
Construction: TITANIUM
Frame: SMALL
Front Sight: FIXED
Rear Sight: FIXED
Trigger Type: SMOOTH
Length: 6-1/2''
Width: 1.346"
Height: 4.28"
Rate of Twist: 1:16"
Grooves: 5
Safety: TRANSFER BAR .
UPC: 7-25327-34061-4
Order #: 2-850021SHC
MSRP: $547.00
Visit the Taurus USA web site at:
http://www.taurususa.comOr Call Taurus at these phone numbers:
Phone:(800)327-3776
Phone:(305)624-1115
Fax: (305) 624-1126
GB
