Very nice range report MrtuffPaws. I have the same gun in stainless and I too like mine very much. If you don`t mind let me ask about the CLP into the side plate thing. My trigger is nice and smooth but I would love to have it get better. I have never taken the side plate off my M85. If I just remove the plate will all kinds of parts just come flying out for me to lose or never get back in the right way? And when you take the plate off, you say you just doused it good with the CLP right, and let dry? I guess I need to do this also as I have only fired maybe 40 rounds through it. Is there anything else you or anyone can tell me about this before I get the screw driver out. I know not to try and pry the plate up, have heard that you can kinda turn gun over to let plate fall off, is that right, and will anything else come falling out? Thank you and I did not mean to run off with your post here but I fill I can trust your advise from reading some of your post. Thanks Karl
Taurus M85 Ultra-Lite range review
Well, I finally got to take my M85 Ultra-Lite to the range.
Gratuitous Picture
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After bringing it home, I did the standard Taurus revolver welcome home. I popped the slide plate and doused it in CLP to get all of the metal bits and grit out of it, then let it drip dry with the slide plate off. After putting it back together, the action was 10 times smother. This is personally considered a must for all new Taurus revolvers.
I used snap caps to get used to it, then loaded up some plinker ammo, CCI Blazer 158gr LRN, and a box of my planned carry ammo Speer Gold Dot 135gr GDHP Short Barrel, and headed off to the range. I couldn't really be there for a long range session, so I only took 120 rounds total.
After getting there, I bought 3 large bullseye targets, they were out of silhouettes, and set the first target up at 5 yards and loaded up 5 of the Blazer 158gr LRNs to give it a go. Keep in mind, the Blazers out of my 357 have the recoil of a .22, so I wasn't expecting much of anything even though the UL only weighs 17oz. I brought it up in a double hand grip, cocked it, and fired off one single action shot.
Holy cow! The recoil was harsher than my 357 with stock magnum loads. It was impressive to say the least. Not to mention the flash was huge.
I fired off 3 more and checked the crimp on the last round. It slipped, but not enough to lock up the cylinder, so I fired it off and loaded up another 5. Again, the last round slipped crimp, but not enough to be an issue. One the third load full, the last round slipped enough to lock up the cylinder. After a bit of playing with it, I was able to open it up and eject the round. So much for cheap 38s for plinking.
Next I moved on to the Speer Short Barrel. I was expecting something like a hammer hitting my palm, but after firing off one, it was just a bit less than the Blazers. None of the 4 last rounds of the 4 full loads jumped crimp. It was almost pleasant to shoot. The muzzle flash wasn't noticeable, but I wasn't really paying attention to it. I only had 20 rounds with me, but it shot point of aim for me, and the recoil was such that with a few more rounds, doing a 5-5-5-5 drill shouldn't be that difficult to do. Thumbs up for Speer Short Barrel!
All in all, I put around 90 total rounds though it. My hand hurt afterwards, but nothing to extreme, and for a first time out, I was decently proficient with it at 5 yards.
Pros: The grip is really comfy and the guns points naturally for me. The looks, to me, are more pleasing than the Smith J frame. The trigger, though a bit heavy is very consistent and smooth as silk. The weight of the gun makes it like it's not there.
Cons: Blued guns show wear and scratches like the all get outs, and it is not helped by the Al frame in contact with stainless steel parts. The black on black sights disappear on a black target. The weight of the gun make for some heavy recoil. My cheap 38s jump crimp, so I'll have to find some substitute for general plinking ammo.
For the future, I have a wolf spring set on the way in hopes of lightening up the DA trigger some while maintaining reliability. I'm also trying my and at making a leather pocket holster for it as well. I'll post a how to when I get done with it, assuming that it is not a total mess.
All in all, I am very please with it.
Gratuitous Picture
After bringing it home, I did the standard Taurus revolver welcome home. I popped the slide plate and doused it in CLP to get all of the metal bits and grit out of it, then let it drip dry with the slide plate off. After putting it back together, the action was 10 times smother. This is personally considered a must for all new Taurus revolvers.
I used snap caps to get used to it, then loaded up some plinker ammo, CCI Blazer 158gr LRN, and a box of my planned carry ammo Speer Gold Dot 135gr GDHP Short Barrel, and headed off to the range. I couldn't really be there for a long range session, so I only took 120 rounds total.
After getting there, I bought 3 large bullseye targets, they were out of silhouettes, and set the first target up at 5 yards and loaded up 5 of the Blazer 158gr LRNs to give it a go. Keep in mind, the Blazers out of my 357 have the recoil of a .22, so I wasn't expecting much of anything even though the UL only weighs 17oz. I brought it up in a double hand grip, cocked it, and fired off one single action shot.
Holy cow! The recoil was harsher than my 357 with stock magnum loads. It was impressive to say the least. Not to mention the flash was huge.
I fired off 3 more and checked the crimp on the last round. It slipped, but not enough to lock up the cylinder, so I fired it off and loaded up another 5. Again, the last round slipped crimp, but not enough to be an issue. One the third load full, the last round slipped enough to lock up the cylinder. After a bit of playing with it, I was able to open it up and eject the round. So much for cheap 38s for plinking.
Next I moved on to the Speer Short Barrel. I was expecting something like a hammer hitting my palm, but after firing off one, it was just a bit less than the Blazers. None of the 4 last rounds of the 4 full loads jumped crimp. It was almost pleasant to shoot. The muzzle flash wasn't noticeable, but I wasn't really paying attention to it. I only had 20 rounds with me, but it shot point of aim for me, and the recoil was such that with a few more rounds, doing a 5-5-5-5 drill shouldn't be that difficult to do. Thumbs up for Speer Short Barrel!
All in all, I put around 90 total rounds though it. My hand hurt afterwards, but nothing to extreme, and for a first time out, I was decently proficient with it at 5 yards.
Pros: The grip is really comfy and the guns points naturally for me. The looks, to me, are more pleasing than the Smith J frame. The trigger, though a bit heavy is very consistent and smooth as silk. The weight of the gun makes it like it's not there.
Cons: Blued guns show wear and scratches like the all get outs, and it is not helped by the Al frame in contact with stainless steel parts. The black on black sights disappear on a black target. The weight of the gun make for some heavy recoil. My cheap 38s jump crimp, so I'll have to find some substitute for general plinking ammo.
For the future, I have a wolf spring set on the way in hopes of lightening up the DA trigger some while maintaining reliability. I'm also trying my and at making a leather pocket holster for it as well. I'll post a how to when I get done with it, assuming that it is not a total mess.
All in all, I am very please with it.
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great post Mr TP. I've always wondered how these little beasties would compare with a steel .357 snubbie. But clean your guns......what a novel idea! 
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