Taurus MDL85T Ported .38 Spec Plus/P

Proverbs: 3:13-25 "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding' 14 For her profit is better than the profit in silver, and better than gold is her revenue; 15 She is more precious than corals, and none of your choice possessions can compare with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand, and in her left are riches and honor; 17 Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace; 18 She is a tree of life to those who grasp her, and he is happy who holds her fast. 19 The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, established the heavens by understanding; 20 By his knowledge the depths break open, and the clouds drop down dew. 21 My son, let not these slip out of your sight; keep advice and counsel in view; 22 So will they be life to your soul, and an adornment for your neck. 23 Then you may securely go your way; your foot will never stumble; 24 When you lie down, you need not to be afraid, when you rest, your sleep will be sweet. 25 Honor is the possession of wise men, but fools inherit shame.

The Taurus Mdl 85T (for titnaium)with ported bbl in .38 special plus P makes a lot of sense to me. This gun weighs weighs 15.4 ounces depending on exact model, carries easily in a coat pocket, or a pair of cargo pants, without a holster, and with 5 rounds of Speer 135 Grain Plus P Gold Dot HP's makes a potent package. It has an exposed bobbed hammer and is double action only, with nothing to snag on a shirt tail or coat pocket. In fact it can be fired through a coat pocket if need be, although it may set your coat on fire. The Speer load mentioned here is specifically made to be efficient in 2 inch snubs for concelaed carry. Crimson Trace laser Grips are now being made for this model at around $209 as opposed to the $3-400 tag for most semi-autos. This gives you an unobtrusive adjustable sighting platform in a 2 inch fixed sight snub. The guns has a titanium bbl shroud rib on top of the barrel that has three ports on each side to reduce recoil further. In dim or no light, firing this gun will produce some extra muzzle flash which one would want to practice with so it is not unfamilar to them in a crisis. Other models from Taurus include but are not limited to:
Police undercover mdl85 weighing in at 13.5 oz, Mdl 617T in .357 weighing 19.9 oz, mdl 415T in .41 mag weighing 20/9 oz, mdl 450T in .45 long colt weighing 19.2 oz, mdl 445T in .44 special at 19.8 oz
The .38 special versions make the most sense to me for coat pocket carry and all are rated Plus P.
Dan http://www.gunsandoptics.com/

.327 FEDERAL MAG

Job 38 KJV "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched a line upon it?6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?8 Or Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it.10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, 11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?12 Hast thou commaned the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?14It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.15 And from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken.16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? 17 Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? 18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? delcare if thou knowest it all. 19 Where is the way where light dwelleth?and as for darkness, where is the place thereof. 20 That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof/ 21 Hast thou entered into the treaures of the snow? or has thou seen the treasures of the hail. 23 Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? 24 By the way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth? 25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lighting of thunder; 26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; 27 To satisfy the desloate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?28 Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of dew? 29 Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? 30 The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? 32 Canst thou bring forh the Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? 33 Knoweth thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominon thereof in the earth? 34 Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clounds, that abundance of waters may cover thee?35 Canst thou send lightings, they they may go and say unto thee, Here We are? 36 Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts, or who hath given understanding to the heart? 37 Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven. 38 When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together? 39 Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions. 40 When they crouch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? 41, Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat.


I am impressed with what I have read concerning the new Federal .327 Mag cartridge and the first gun to chamber it which is the Ruger SP101 revolver. I have always been a wheel gun man at heart, although I have owned several semi-autos from 1911 single actions to double action only, and standard double actions which were double action for the first shot and then single action thereafter. I have enjoyed and used them all and shot IPSC for a couple of years with various versions of all the above. I own a Ruger SP101 with a 2 1/4 " bbl in .357 Mag. It of course has the ability to digest inexpensive .38 specials including the Plus P variety and full house .357 mag loads. I usually load mine with either 135 Grain Plus P .38 Speer Gold Dots or Winchester 110 grain JHP. Both are easily controllable due to the weight of the Ruger SP101 model. The gun rides well in a number of strong side belt holsters or the Fobus paddle holster. I have often though of purchasing one of the scandium or airlite versions of the .357 Mag, however all the test reports in that regard indicates they are a joy to carry and an almost impossible to shoot with any degree of controlability or accuracy after the first shot. Everything is a trade off, however although having a gun with you when you need it is primary, the ability to control it and hit your target is not very far behind that concept.

Ruger has teamed up with Federal to chamber this gun in the .327 Mag. The new gun will digest a number of .32 cal loads including the .32 H&R. The reverse is not so, as the .327 Mag case is 1/10 of an inch longer and has thicker walls than the .32 H&R so even if a handloader decides to trim the case back, it will not chamber in the .32 H&R for safety reasons. In the Ruger SP101 the case is capable of withstanding 45,000 psi of pressure.

There will be 3 factory loads to begin with:

a 85 grain Federal Hydra-shok load with a muzzle velocity of 1330 and ME of 334 ft lbs
a 100 grain Federal soft point that is rated 1400 fps and ME of 435 ft lbs
lastly a 115 grain Speer God Dot HP at 1300 fps and ME of 431 ft lbs.

If you run these numbers against the .38 special plus P loads or even the .357 mag loads, they compare very favorably and the bonus is because of case size, they managed to give you an extra round making the .327 Mag Ruger a 6 shot revolver.

I have thought of picking up a .32 H&R mag over the years and never did. It might be time to reconsider that position. If you already own holsters for the Ruger SP101, the new Federal .327 Mag in Ruger configuration should fit the same holsters. All in all, I think, a NOVEL idea.

Dan www.gunsandoptics.com