anyone own a taurus 85 ultralite .38 special?

I had one a couple of years ago. It was practcial in that it was lightweight, it shot straight and true and it concealed in a pocket holster well. It was an excellent gun and I did not find any flaws in it. I onyl sold it because I realized that I was not a revolver guy. It's a keeper.

I own an old steel mod. 85 It shoots pretty well for a snubbie. I have shot a few of the ultra lights they also shoot well, they do tend to sting a little in the recoil dept. Invest in a Hogue mono-grip and you'll be fine.

I had one, sold it when I moved overseas years ago. Never a single failure attributable to the gun.

Does NOT work well with cheap, heavy, weakly crimped, or unjacketed lead bullet ammo. Those bullets tend to "walk out" under recoil and bind the cylinder.

Recoil is sharp. Fifty hot rounds left my hand a bit sore the next day. All in all, a good CARRY gun, not a a good RANGE gun at all.

Recommend 125 gr standard pressure jhp to carry. The hi-vel 110s use a faster, hotter burning powder that can cause gas cutting to the top strap. 158 gr +p loads are harder to manage rapid fire (especially in a gun with a boot grip and short sight radius) and as mentioned, may cause binding.

As a purely defensive weapon, it's a good buy, ESPECIALLY at that price. Jump on it. Get it, and even if it's not "fun", carry it in good health.

I own one and still currently posses it, never thought once about selling it. Good gun for the price.

I have a Taurus 85SSUL (stainless steel UltraLite). It occasionally rides with or in place of my S&W Model 37. It has the advantage that I'm not worried about shooting +P ammo in it. I have considered trading it for a 3 inch Taurus 85SS, but it's still in the safe.

Sounds like a great price! I paid considerably more than that for mine, but that was before S&W dropped the prices on their J-frames to something more reasonable.

ECS

I have an UltraLite model 85 that I've use as a pocket gun when the pocket is big enough. After 4 years, the bluing is just barely polishing away at the sides of the muzzle from pocket holster wear.

My 85UL shoots every time and shoots as accurately as I can make it go. Since I have the hard polymer grips that come with a Crimson Trace LG-185 grip, felt recoil with +P ammo is stout indeed. Standard ammo is less so, and 148 grain wadcutter's almost feel like .22LR in comparison.

Yep, I have the stainless ultralite. I got it in 96 when I got my CHL. I carry it quite a bit rotating with a couple of autoloaders and back up my 3" Taurus 66 with it sometimes. Very accurate and the best DA trigger I've ever felt on an out of the box gun.

semi jacketed, which usually means a JHP bullet with some lead at the tip area still exposed. Revolver rounds are made this way and are also simply labeled JHP. https://www.google.com/#q=semi+jack...cc69d4870e8cd3&bpcl=38625945&biw=1366&bih=638

I recommend buying the revolver in person so you can check out the basic condition and smoothness of the mechanicals of the gun. Internet purchases increase your odds of getting a bad gun, no matter the brand, since you can't inspect it before you put your money down.

Not that I haven't bought a gun on the net before, I have and all were good except a few little things on one. Yet, in person at gun stores I have run across two in the display case that the gun store should have never put out for sale.

I have an 85 SS2. I looked at the Ultralite versions, and noticed the fit and finish were a bit rougher in general than the standard 85 SS2.

Solid gun. I think I messed mine up, I just sent it in to Taurus yesterday.The cylinder was "backspinning", when the hammer was not cocked. Seems like I recall a hard wack against a steel wall on my way into work. Don't know if that is what did it, or what.. but.. should be a quick repair.

I picked mine up for $289 NIB. Your price is a steal. Grab it.

They feel nice.

wolverine_173 said:

what is back spinning

Click to expand...

Cylinder was able to spin backwards when it should have been locked.

I have a older SS model 85 that would not be traded for a new s&w j frame. Great older revolver that I carried for 20 years. If you have the skills ease the side cover off and atleast clean it up good , soften all edges on moveing parts and use a light synthetic oil on parts. I added a wolf light hammer spring only so my girls could learn about large cartidges and ened up with a very reliable but scarry light 4 1/2lb DA trigger pull. Just a house gun nowadays.

I had one.

Even though it was the exact wrong gun for my elderly mother, it is what she insisted upon, so I bought it for her as a Mother's Day gift. After she died I used it.

Nice little gun. Too light for my taste. Recoil was prominent and second shots were slow since I couldn't get but two fingers onto the grip.

While it was not to my personal preference, it was a good little gun. Cheap, dependable and a very nice trigger.

It no longer lives at my house because I wanted something else and a buddy wanted a gun to carry on service calls.


BTW, even the most frothing at the mouth Taurus basher will usually admit that the snubbies (the 85 and variants) are good guns.

I have owned one for years. It is a UL 85 w/ gold plated hammer &trigger w/rosewood grips. It also has a comp.(?)built into it's short blr. I use Fed.Nyclad 125gr.jhp in it. I don't carry this often, more of a show piece. Great shooter & great buy. Ya done well! I think you will like it as much as I did mine. You will probably shoot it more than I do mine. Have fun &be safe.