Taurus 856 and 856 Ultra Lite 38 special

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SteadyD

SteadyD

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Has anyone had a chance to handle, dry fire, or shoot these 6 shot snub nose revolvers? Also, it appears from some pictures that they don’t have the internal lock built in. Can anyone shed any light on these?

I’m intrigued at the thought of a 6 shot revolver that weighs under 16 oz (Ultra Lite version) but haven’t seen one to handle in person.
 
I've owned both the 22oz. and UL16oz model 856. Steady D, like you, I was intrigued by a six shot in a small frame. They do not have the internal locking mechanism.
Both had some QC issues. One had cut marks across the top of the star and, the other a sliver of metal around the circumference of the inside of the barrel. One was black finish; there is nothing nice to say about it. Stick to the matte SS if you get one, no complaints there.

They both functioned flawlessly up to the 200 round mark when I sold them. The UL would likely be a good carry. I'm neither recommending or not recommending. Having just had two Taurus made Rossi revolvers make their recall list, I'm a bit sour on the brand and any confidence in them. So I shed them all.

ArchAngel mentioned the Charter Arms Police Undercover, a six shot snub w/ 2.2" barrel weighing in at at 20oz. That is on my next to buy list. Since I own two other Charters and are happy with them, I'll be buying more. Currently own a 4" Police Undercover and an Undercover 5-shot snub, which is now my EDC.

Edit: Before I tried the 856, carried a model 85. If you like the 85 you'll like the 856. My 85 was reliable performer, no reason to think the 856 would be otherwise. You may have some minor annoyances in fit and finish like I did but that should be it. I may have come off a little harsh two paragraphs above, trying to be a bit more objective here, since I've never had a Taurus revolver that didn't function reliably.

BTW: Two out of three holsters I had for the 85 fit the 856.
 
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Mark 40 said:
I've owned both the 22oz. and UL16oz model 856. Steady D, like you, I was intrigued by a six shot in a small frame. They do not have the internal locking mechanism.
Both had some QC issues. One had cut marks across the top of the star and, the other a sliver of metal around the circumference of the inside of the barrel. One was black finish; there is nothing nice to say about it. Stick to the matte SS if you get one, no complaints there.

They both functioned flawlessly up to the 200 round mark when I sold them. The UL would likely be a good carry. I'm neither recommending or not recommending. Having just had two Taurus made Rossi revolvers make their recall list, I'm a bit sour on the brand and any confidence in them. So I shed them all.

ArchAngel mentioned the Charter Arms Police Undercover, a six shot snub w/ 2.2" barrel weighing in at at 20oz. That is on my next to buy list. Since I own two other Charters and are happy with them, I'll be buying more. Currently own a 4" Police Undercover and an Undercover 5-shot snub, which is now my EDC.
Click to expand...

Do you have a link to revolver recall list? I don't see it on their page, but sometimes my phone doesn't cooperate. I have one Taurus revolver, 44 spl Titanium
 
The Taurus 856 UL is on my radar also .. Im a Charter fan .. But the 856 UL is lighter and smaller ...than the 6 shot 38 built on the Bulldog frame
A poor mans Colt Cobra ... Real poor man
 
I've been carrying a Colt Detective Special off and on for several decades and it weighs 22 ounces empty. My old Chief's Special 5 shot weighs in at 20 ounces. I also have some newer lighter "J" frame size revolvers in the 14.5 to 17 ounce range so is there a difference over a days wear time? If so, not much. I've worn all using the same holster/belt combinations andt gotta admit at the end of the day I don't notice any real differences. Looking at the extremes there is about a half pound difference and honestly, my body weight varies more than that over any day.
 
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I think those weights are most noticeable when carrying in the pocket. On the belt a few ounces is tough to tell.
 
Mark 40 said:
I've owned both the 22oz. and UL16oz model 856. Steady D, like you, I was intrigued by a six shot in a small frame. They do not have the internal locking mechanism.
Both had some QC issues. One had cut marks across the top of the star and, the other a sliver of metal around the circumference of the inside of the barrel. One was black finish; there is nothing nice to say about it. Stick to the matte SS if you get one, no complaints there.

They both functioned flawlessly up to the 200 round mark when I sold them. The UL would likely be a good carry. I'm neither recommending or not recommending. Having just had two Taurus made Rossi revolvers make their recall list, I'm a bit sour on the brand and any confidence in them. So I shed them all.

ArchAngel mentioned the Charter Arms Police Undercover, a six shot snub w/ 2.2" barrel weighing in at at 20oz. That is on my next to buy list. Since I own two other Charters and are happy with them, I'll be buying more. Currently own a 4" Police Undercover and an Undercover 5-shot snub, which is now my EDC.

Edit: Before I tried the 856, carried a model 85. If you like the 85 you'll like the 856. My 85 was reliable performer, no reason to think the 856 would be otherwise. You may have some minor annoyances in fit and finish like I did but that should be it. I may have come off a little harsh two paragraphs above, trying to be a bit more objective here, since I've never had a Taurus revolver that didn't function reliably.

BTW: Two out of three holsters I had for the 85 fit the 856.
Click to expand...

Well I'm going to eat some humble pie here.......Back when I wrote the post above I was beyond annoyed. But a couple of months ago, after getting over myself, picked up another 856UL. I had a couple of other .38 revolver choices on hand to carry. But after awhile and in hindsight, determined the 856 was my preference. Many of us have regretted selling something. The M856 was one of those I'll add to my list.
 
I see that Taurus still has a $25 black/$30 stainless 856 summer rebate going on until the end of November which brings the price down under $200 in most cases (or covers the transfer fee). I was thinking of getting a revolver for concealed carry and/or to teach my wife to shoot with light wadcutters and provide her with a simple "take it out, pull the trigger" home defense gun. I would prefer a longer barrel (looked hard at the 3" Ruger LCRx) but I can't find any options with 3-4" barrels from major gunmakers anywhere near this price point. Also, what do folks think of the concealed hammer option (DAO) vs. the standard 856?
 
I’d be happy either way, but would want to do a fluff and buff action job on a DAO just to smooth it out.
 
cluttonfred said:
I see that Taurus still has a $25 black/$30 stainless 856 summer rebate going on until the end of November which brings the price down under $200 in most cases (or covers the transfer fee). I was thinking of getting a revolver for concealed carry and/or to teach my wife to shoot with light wadcutters and provide her with a simple "take it out, pull the trigger" home defense gun. I would prefer a longer barrel (looked hard at the 3" Ruger LCRx) but I can't find any options with 3-4" barrels from major gunmakers anywhere near this price point. Also, what do folks think of the concealed hammer option (DAO) vs. the standard 856?
Click to expand...

As a pure carry gun the hammerhead model would be better since it would not catch on anything while drawing it.

As a training aid you might be better off getting the regular hammer model so the new user can train with DA and SA tiggers
 
I’m also a Charter fan. However, if the Taurus 856 will fit into J frame holsters, that’s a big advantage.
 
FWIW, I have owned three Taurus Model 85 revolvers. All of them went bang every time.

One had a great trigger, but was stolen from me when my house was burglarized.

One had a very stiff trigger. I traded it towards something else.

One had a pretty decent trigger and I gave it to my FiL because he wanted a 38 snubby and didn't have one. He put lighter springs in it and now the trigger is pretty good.

Ironically, I "gave" that Model 85 (to cover the $100 I owed him, I just now remembered) to him because I'd just bought a used S&W 642.

I STILL don't have the 642 working properly. Apparently Bubba worked his magic on it. I got a complete spring and firing pin kit from Apex that I'm hoping will finish up the repairs.

Sorry to go a bit off topic.
 
Zendude said:
I’m also a Charter fan. However, if the Taurus 856 will fit into J frame holsters, that’s a big advantage.
Click to expand...
That’s the big question. 85s will fit most S&W holsters but some changes were made for the 856 so that’s the sticky point for me. Not that it really matters much for me because I am not in the market right now since I have a Taurus m327b2 that I am clinging to, and the 6shot was a huge reason for me to look at that model, 32 caliber was another good reason.
 
OK, I have decided to go for one of these as my first revolver. I am thinking that I'll stick with DA/SA version (not the bobbed hammer) and a stainless look, so it's down to the all stainless (22 oz) or alloy/stainless (16 oz) models. I was planning to help my wife get comfortable shooting with it, which argues for the heavier version, but I might also carry it, which argues for the lighter version. As long as I stick to mild loads (think 148 gr wadcutters) I am thinking the lighter version would be good for both purposes. Thoughts?
 
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