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ABOUT THE PROPER USE OF A
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AND ITS OCCUPANTS
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TAURUS M8S
Continuedfrom page 38
cal. To my knowledge, they are not now
available here. Perhaps they will be some
day. I think the square butt grip would
make the three-inch barrel model look and
handle considerably better.
On the range, I really wished for those
oversize grips. The tiny round butt just
doesn't allow for a good hold. At 25 yards,
from the bench, the gun shot more than a
foot low. This was with a tight two-hand
hold, using Nyclad 125-grain Chiefs Specic1lload.
However, at the seven-yard line,
shooting fast double-action with one hand,
it printed only a couple of inches low.
For comparison, I put a few rounds
'through a three-inch S&W Airweight M37
squaTe butt at both distances. The 37,
though lighter in weight, was easier to handle
and had less felt recoil, probably because
ofthe slightly larger, better designed
grip.
The 85 had a very respectable doubleaction
pull when it came in. During disassembly
and parts photography, I found
few spots that needed any attention. Except
for the too-small grips and shooting
low, I'll give the little gun a pretty clean bill
of health. It should serve well for those
who want a good small-frame
revolver at a reasonable price.
TAURUS M85 SPECIFICATIONS
Caliber: .38 Special
Action: DA revolver
Capacity: 5 rounds
Barrel: 3"
LOA: 71//'
Weight: 22 ounces, empty
Sight: Fixed
Stocks: Smooth wood
Finish: Satin blue or nickel
Price: About $180
Importer: International Distributors
7290 SW 42nd Street
Miami, FL 33155
INFO 'QUICKIE'
In 1849, Christian Sharps patented a
four-barrel "revolver" which wasn't a revolver
but a pepperbox with barrels that
didn't revolve!
It was fired by a striker, which revolved
on a center post to hit, in sequence, the
percussion caps positioned on nipples on
the ends of the fixed barrels.
A side hammer served both as a cocking
lever and the force behind the striker.
His four-barrel "revolver" was made at
Mill Creek, Pennsylvania. In 1851, Sharps
mOlted his manufacturing facilities to
Hartford, Connecticut.
Although more than 150,000 pistols
(plus thousands of rifles and carbines)
were made and sold under his patents,
Sharps died a poor man. The value of his
estate at his death in 1874 was $341.
NMSS sponsors
handgun matches
for civilians .
The National Marksman Sports
Society was founded in 1979 by
Charles Leslie Dees, head of the Police
Marksman Association. The founding
marked the first time a natiollal organization
has sponsored PPC mat~hes for
civilians, as well as for law enforcement
officers.
NMSS has four categories of shooters:
Police Revolver, Police Automatic,
Civilian Revolver, and Civilian Automatic.
Each occupation category an9
type of handgun competes against the
same;
The course of fire is a 60-shot PPC
course, fired twice. It differs ftom the
NRAs PPC shooting in two respects:
the 12 shots in 25 seconds stage are fired
at 15 yards instead of seven, and at 50
yards the six shots in the sitting stage
are eliminated in favor of six shots
standing, without support.
In revolver competition, the gun
must bea .38 Special or larger, with a
barrel length not to exceed 61h inches.
There is a special "stock" category for
factory-configuration, unmodified
revolvers. In the automatic class, the
gun must be a .380 Of larger.
The location of the National competition
changes from year to year. It
was held in 1981 and 1982 at the Allentown,
'Pennsylvania police academy
/range. Regional championships are
held around the nation.
In 1982, Dees resigned and appointed
gun writer and instructor Massad
Ayoob as national director of
NMSS. Ayoob expanded t4e membership
base and added two events-an
indoor course of shooting for winter
months in cold climates, and a "speed
match" to draw IPSe and other combat
shooters into the sport.
The "speed match" is a PPC course
fired with full-power ammo in half the
usual time frames: 12 shots in 13 seconds
at seven yards, for example. The
gun must be reloaded after every sixshot
string.
Observers say that NMSS shooting is
growing at about the same pace bowling
pin shooting did in the mid-1970s.
NMSS membership costs $8. a year or
$15. for two years. Me!Ubership information
is avail.able from Massad
Ayoob, National Director, National
MarkSman Sports Society (Dept. AH),
POB 1539, Concord, NH 03301.
1983 HANDGUNNER ANNUAL
Now on your newsstand'
AMERICAN HANDGUNNER . JANUARYIFEBRUARY 1983