Range Report: EAA Windicator & Taurus M85 Poly

[TabascoKid]

I'd always wanted a revolver bigger than .22 since forever, so when Kentucky Gun Company had a sale on blemished Taurus handguns, I jumped.

The Taurus M85 .38Spl +P revolvers in white poly with either zombie green or hot pink grips were available for $224 delivered. My local Academy has them for $330 unblemished. I ordered the green and the blemishes were a bit of blue on the frame and an orangeish patina on the grips. That was enough for a $100 discount? Sold!

I liked the the way it felt in my hands so much (my kids called the white/green combo my "Buzz Lightyear gun"), I went back for a second one before hitting the range with the first. I found only the pink grip version was left but, since both come with a black replacement grip, who cares? This time, the blemish this time was a Taurus medallion missing on the side of the pink grip and a very faint tan stain on the shroud near the muzzle. Again, this is worth a $100 discount? Gimme!

While looking at Slickguns, I found a 4" EAA Windicator in .357 Mag for about $270 delivered, IIRC. Online reviews were decent and I had been kicking myself for missing out on a blemished Taurus .357 Mag, so I let revolver fever take me away and got the EAA as well.

For the range test, I took both revolvers and a box each of Monarch .357 Mag (158 gr. SJHP), Remington Ultimate Defense .38Spl +P (125 gr BJHP), and Winchester Train .38 Spl (130 gr FMJ). Set the target at 3 yards and started with the M85 and the Winchester rounds.

The first 5 shots (SA) came in at 11 o'clock but in the 10 ring, a 1.5" group. Funny thing is that they all seemed to have been tumbling when they hit since the holes were all keyholes. Recoil was manageable but not taxing. I could finish off the rest of the 50 round box of Winchesters with this if I wanted.

Next 5 was the Remington in SA. This series had snappier recoil, expected from the +P load. A bit more muzzle flip but recoil was still manageable. I couldn't see 50 rounds in a session with this load but I could easily to the rest of the 20 box. Remington came in just above the Winchesters with a 2.5" x 1" group. A big difference between this and the Winchesters was a lot more flash coming out of the cylinder gap with the Remingtons.

I loaded the EAA with Winchesters and let fly SA at 3 yards. The bigger weight of the .357 Mag really made the recoil easy on the hands. This group came in at 6 o'clock with a 1.5" group, all in the 9 ring. Loading Remingtons and shooting SA put them all in the same space at the Winchesters. I was seriously impressed because this is my first trip with .38 and .357 wheelguns and I'm far from the world's best handgunner.

Moving the target out to 7 yards, I loaded .357 and fired SA. The rounds came in between 5 and 6 o'clock with a 4"x1" group. 12 rounds DA resulted in 7"x2" groups at 5:30 and 6:30. Here is where the criticisms of the Windicator come true. The trigger is grooved and it does rasp your finger when shooting magnum rounds. Also, the grip is hard plastic and I started to hurt a bit after 12 rounds of magnum. Problem is there are no aftermarket grips available for this model. I'll have to think about this some more. Maybe a neoprene sleeve? But there was little muzzle flip with the magnum rounds and none with the .38. The zinc alloy shroud probably had something to do with it. Recoil felt like it was almost straight back into my hands.

The EAA with the Winchester shot SA at 7 yards put them all into a 1" circle at 6 o'clock. Stunned the hell out of me. The M85 put its 5 Winchesters into a 5"x3" group that meandered from 7 o'clock to 11 o'clock. I obviously need work on engaging at 7 yards with this snubbie.

Now some observations on fit, finish, and materials.

The M85 is pleasant to carry. I spent some time with it in an Uncle Mike's IWB holster and it did not feel like it was weighing me down. Best carry position to avoid printing was in the small of the back. The poly frame has metal reinforcement throughout as well as around the cylinder gap to prevent the flash from burning away the poly. No slop or rattle with the cylinder and no issues with timing. SA is a nice and light pull and DA doesn't feel especially heavy or at least not enough for me to watch the gun wobble as I pull through the DA.

The short ejector rod means the spent brass is not ejected clear of the cylinder unless accompanied with a very forceful rap. The rounds closest to the frame tend to catch on the edge of the grip and must be rotated clear to eject fully. A speedloader is made for this revolver but you cannot get it to line up 100" with the cylinder. The edge of the speedloader hits the frame before the bullets are totally in line with the chambers, so you have to get as close as your can, release the rounds, and kind of shake the cylinder a bit to get the rounds nearest the frame to drop in.

All in all, the M85 is a fun gun to shoot, is really good with light weight bullets at 3 yards and probably can do better than it did at 7 yards after I get some more practice, and is easy to carry.

The Windicator is part steel and part zinc alloy. Everything is steel except the shroud and the trigger guard. The shroud is zinc cast around the barrel and is stamped ".38 Special" in deep lettering with a lighter strike of ".357 Mag." added underneath. The Windicator comes in a 4" .38 Spl variant but that one has an all-alloy construction, so I'm guessing they stockpiled .38 stamped shrouds and slap on the .357 label as needed. Some Windicator owners complained of machining and other visual defects with their revolvers but I found none. No rattle or slop here either. SA is pleasant and DA is nothing I could really complain about.

Ejection is good but a good tap is needed to eject clear without stopping to pluck them the rest of the way individually. I noticed that both brass and nickel plated cases did not drop clear without a little help. Speedloaders are available and work just fine with no frame conflicts.

The EAA is very solid and I suspect heavier than other revolvers of its type and size. It has fans and haters but count me as a fan. The price was nice and, once I solve the crappy grip issue, I have no complaints.

[Denis]

Very interesting. Thanks!

[skb12172]

Kentucky Gun Company is a great choice. So is the M85. Wear well.

[Yogimus]

I own an EAA Windicator, and that thing is like a hammer. BE CAREFUL with the screw under the grips, (base of the handle) as it WILL strip the grips out very easily

[Lokidude]

Biggest upgrade for that M85 is a Hogue Monogrip. I have one on my 605, and can't fathom how I ever shot the gun without it.

[TabascoKid]

I own an EAA Windicator, and that thing is like a hammer. BE CAREFUL with the screw under the grips, (base of the handle) as it WILL strip the grips out very easily

The frame tested as ferrous with my magnet, as opposed to the trigger guard and shroud, so I'm surprised it can be stripped out like that. Forewarned is forearmed, so thanks for the info!

Biggest upgrade for that M85 is a Hogue Monogrip. I have one on my 605, and can't fathom how I ever shot the gun without it.

I'll order one up and see how it goes.

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Took them out again tonight. This time was an all .38 show with Monarch 158gr and Blazer +P 125gr in SA only. Also used up the box of Winchesters from last time.

One question for all the wheelgunners out there: Am I supposed to be able to fit the entire bullet up to the case mouth if stuck in the muzzle? I was surprised when I was able to do that.

Back to the show. I shot up the Winchesters first in the M85 and found that this was the load that was keyholing at 3 yards. Didn't do it in the EAA. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing at this range. Same groupings as last time.

The interesting bit came up when I shot the Monarchs in the M85. The heavier bullet really did make itself known in the recoil. I was doing 15 round sets at about a shot every 3 seconds. After the first 5 Monarch rounds in the 85, the second cylinder went bang on three rounds and then the cylinder froze up. I could not advance it with the hammer nor would the cylinder release let it loose. After a few seconds of futzing with it, it freed up and I took two more shots, whereupon it did it again. More fiddling and I was able to open and eject the brass. Tried a third cylinder full and the same thing happened after 2 shots. After getting that brass ejected, I thought maybe the cylinder got too hot and something expanded enough to lock things up and then released when it cooled. That theory was disproven when I got to the Blazers. Summary: average 5" groups at 3 yards with the M85 using Winchester, Blazer, and Monarch. The Monarch recoil was heavier than the Blazer but I could control it. I've written off using this Monarch round in this weapon since there is something about the 158gr round that either heats things up too much if fired somewhat quickly or maybe the case is pushed out from the back of cylinder enough to hang up on something.

The EAA ate everything without complaint. The Monarch load had groups similar to that of the .357 loads from the original report and recoil was more noticeable than the other .38 rounds tested, but still fun to shoot. No cylinder lock up here. I'm really starting to see why many people use only .38 in their .357, especially when I was able to put the Blazers and the Winchesters in similar 3"-4" group at 3 yards.

I need to find a different 158gr round to test but, for now, I'm leaning towards carrying the Blazers based on cost. I shot groups similar to the Remingtons from before but can get 50 rounds of Blazer for the cost of 20 rounds of Rem. Gundata's ballistic calculator has the Blazer coming in about 7% lower than the Remington in energy at 7 yards. Unless the wiser and more experienced folks here make the case for better expansion performance for the Remingtons, that is.

For the EAA, .357 is the winner. My groups were at least 50% bigger than the other groups, but it was at least all in paper plate sized area and, with the .357, a goblin will know he's been kissed.

[Yogimus]

I own an EAA Windicator, and that thing is like a hammer. BE CAREFUL with the screw under the grips, (base of the handle) as it WILL strip the grips out very easily

The frame tested as ferrous with my magnet, as opposed to the trigger guard and shroud, so I'm surprised it can be stripped out like that. Forewarned is forearmed, so thanks for the info!

Not the frame, the rubber grips. The frame is fine.

[skb12172]

Necro...

A couple of months ago I bought my own M85 Polymer. I love it. Lightweight and easily carries in a Fobus paddle holster. Your review and the great price ($279 out the door) helped me make up my mind. Thanks!

[TabascoKid]

More than glad I could help!