I couple of weeks back I was cruising the used-consignment counter of my favorite LGS/Range and saw what looked at first glance to be a J-frame at a very very good price. Close look determined it was actually a blue-steel snub nose Taurus 85, still at a very decent price. It fit my hand well and had a really decent trigger so I plunked down the $250 +.

When I got it out of the CA gun jail and fired it I had some failure to fire issues. I put an extended firing pin in it (TKCustom makes them) and problem solved. Feels good. Shoots good. I am a happy camper.

(I have seen somewhere they Heritage/Taurus is making these again but I confess I don't like the massive logo they are placing on the new guns. Kind of like the QR thing they are putting on new Colt revolvers. Ugly as far as I am concerned.)

At any rate I just put 75 rounds thru it, some WC, some plinking loads and some 158 grn service loads. Shot them all well and did not beat up my hand. The gun has a slightly wide smooth trigger that I like better than the triggers on my J-frame. I am a happy camper with a good shooter at a very decent price.

Taurus does make a fairly decent wheelgun, but their quality control and customer service has been hit or miss over the years. Their newest stuff since 2019+ seems to be pretty good as far as value priced revolvers go and I wouldn't have any qualms with picking one up now.

Taurus re-released the 85 as the Heritage Arms Roscoe. I'm contemplating purchasing a 3" model because I like the classic looks of shiny, blued steel finishes.

__________________
AKA SixToEight

I had a Taurus 85 given to me a number of years ago . It's in excellent condition and had obviously been fired very little . The fit and finish is actually quite good considering it's price point with a very deep gloss blue finish .
I put a pair of walnut Pachmayr presentation grips on it and it looks great .
It shoots quite well.... for a 2 inch snubby .

Many years ago I went to my LGS to buy a SS Chief's Special. The dealer showed me one and then brought out an 85 and said it was a better alternative. Cheaper, transfer bar safety, yada, yada. So I bought it.

Nothing bad about it. It just won't hit the broad sides. I spent a couple of years developing a load that I felt had reasonable accuracy.

Fast forward to retirement and now being a S&W collector in earnest, and I finally bought the Chief that I wanted in the first place. She shoots point of aim every time. No comparison. I don't think it's "me".

Again, the Taurus shoots OK, good trigger pull, etc. It's just that it ain't a Smith.

I have one, and no zero complaints or problems. I've owned it for years. I own a couple of S&W J-frame and a Ruger LCR, but I carry the Taurus 85 the most. It has simple milled in sights and a standard torqued in treaded barrel. No reciprocating slide, barrel movement, etc. Basic, if you can hit the brand side of a barn with it, the issue is with the shooter and not the revolver unless there's some anecdotal issue with the barrel rifling.

The first "carry gun" I ever bought was a Taurus 85 with a factory bobbed hammer. I think it was called the 85 CL? CH? Something like that. Nice rubber grips, really nice blue finish. I got it used for a good price I don't really remember now, but it was a LOT less than a new Smith and Wesson, and that was even more important to me then than it would be now.

It was a good little gun. I didn't shoot it particularly well, but I didn't shoot much of anything particularly well in those days (still don't when I'm honest) but I could have hit that barn from inside I suppose.

I traded it off for something else, as I do so often, but I really wish I hadn't. I've got a Taurus 327, with a 3" barrel now. Not as pretty, but it shoots just fine. At least no worse than I do any other J-frame size revolver.

__________________
John 3:16 .

I have a Taurus 85SS I bought in the early '90's but do not remember when . I pocket carried it at work for a year or two but never cared for pocket carry so after a while it was back in the gun safe mostly stayed home but was fired a lot over the years as one of several handguns my wife carried on our land over the years and for our girls and some friends to learn with for CC purposes .

I finally got around to checking the pull weight after a couple guy's that live about us on the hill side came by to shoot on our handgun range and one had pro series 640 while the other had a older model 36 he carried off duty as a LE . After firing mine I was asked who did the trigger job on it as it was better than both of there j frames . Turns out after checking mine the all stock parts pull weight was 2.2oz SA pull and a 7lb 10oz double action average weight with all stock parts still in it . Its never failed to function reliably . Both of those J frame guys now carry pistols over there revolvers but like me they do not move as smoothly and quickly as they were when younger men !!

Last year my wife brought home a s&w EDC kit our general store had on sale a very reduced price of 540 dollars with a s&w 360J 357mag . It was part of a purchase deal from there primary wholesale supplier . That J frame looked great nicely fit but it had an awful trigger pull over the max on my digital gauge and manual trigger gauge . I ended up buying a APEX J frame kit for it to get real close to the same pull weight as my old taurus has now .