New Taurus 6-Shot Model 856 is now in the market

The Taurus 856 (a 6 shot revolver only the smallest bit bigger than a Taurus 85) is now coming available in the market. My LGS got 2 and I bought one. Both seemed excellent on inspection. Nice fit and finish. The trigger is very nice and the lock up is tight. The price for the matt blue version was $289 plus tax in my LGS. It shot very well at the range.

Last year I paid $799 of a Kimber K6S because it gave me 6 shots in a gun that fits into a J-frame holster. The Taurus 856 fits the same holsters and while it's not as fancy as the Kimber, it sure seems to be a great carry gun and well worth looking at if you see one.

Hopefully they'll make a 606 (or whatever they want to call a 6-shot 605) in .357 Magnum as well.

My brother and I got a Taurus 605 for our mother as a birthday gift last year, and we've both taken a shine to it since, so a 6-shot variant would be all the more attractive. The Taurus 85/605 are great little snubbies for a low price, and a slightly bigger/heavier 6-shot model would be excellent for those who want just a bit more firepower.

Now you gone and done it.
You said the T-word.
The T-haters will be coming out of the woodwork.
'Specially the ones who think that keeping someone from buying Taurus is the definition of being a good friend.
FWIW, I own a few and they have all been fine value-priced firearms.

Ashlander said:

The Taurus 856 (a 6 shot revolver only the smallest bit bigger than a Taurus 85) is now coming available in the market. My LGS got 2 and I bought one. Both seemed excellent on inspection. Nice fit and finish. The trigger is very nice and the lock up is tight. The price for the matt blue version was $289 plus tax in my LGS. It shot very well at the range.

Last year I paid $799 of a Kimber K6S because it gave me 6 shots in a gun that fits into a J-frame holster. The Taurus 856 fits the same holsters and while it's not as fancy as the Kimber, it sure seems to be a great carry gun and well worth looking at if you see one.

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check out the charter arms police 38 revolver also....6 shots and 20 ounces...Dandy revolver...I have one...less than $300 if i remember

Dirty Harry Callahan said:

Hopefully they'll make a 606 (or whatever they want to call a 6-shot 605) in .357 Magnum as well.

My brother and I got a Taurus 605 for our mother as a birthday gift last year, and we've both taken a shine to it since, so a 6-shot variant would be all the more attractive. The Taurus 85/605 are great little snubbies for a low price, and a slightly bigger/heavier 6-shot model would be excellent for those who want just a bit more firepower.

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I don't know if a 6 shot J frame 357 will be possible just due to metallurgy. The cylinder on these guns is a just a hair bigger than a 5 shot .38 J frame, and I bet the thin cylinder walls can't handle the pressure of a 357.

They do make one of the coolest revolvers ever, the 617, which is a L frame sized cylinder in a frame slightly smaller than a K frame with a J frame grip. It's a pocketable 7 shot 357. Mine has been perfect so far, but I wish like heck S&W would steal the idea and make a higher quality version.

I'd like to see Smith reintroduce the model 12 or 612. The K frame is about the greatest combat revolver ever made. An alloy 2" version no fancier than the 642 J-frame would be an excellent carry gun.

Hope you enjoy your new Taurus! I carry a M85 that groups 1.25” at 7 yards with Winchester white box 125gr+p or Ranger 130gr+p ammo which is better than the S&W 642 and a LOT easier on the hand.

Looked at a S&W model 60ss today while at the range. At $675 they need to make a lighter gun. It was like holding a brick. I long for the model 60 Lady Smith with 3” bbl I had in the 80’s that got pinched when my son was in Virginia. It was light,accurate and a pleasure to shoot. S&W if you’re reading this post,TAKE A HINT!

A WARNING to all Taurus owners NEW and OLD. There is a YouTube video put out by a person who got a new M85 in 38 special+p that took his new gun to the range and the EXPOSED screw that holds the crane and cylinder in the gun fell out and he lost it making the revolver unsafe to shoot until it was replaced by Taurus. Apparently Taurus told him they did not have the screw(it’s 3 pieces) in stock.

I ALWAYS check my revolvers (S&W ect.) over and make sure all the side plate screws are TIGHT when new out of the box! My m85 Taurus exposed screw was LOSE from the factory. I check it after each range and cleaning session to make sure it stays that way. After 180 rounds it never loosened but I always check.


Good luck, Stay Safe and shoot often.

malph said:

I'd like to see Smith reintroduce the model 12 or 612. The K frame is about the greatest combat revolver ever made. An alloy 2" version no fancier than the 642 J-frame would be an excellent carry gun.

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That is one of my favorites too.

BC38 what model is the Taurus and do they make a smaller grip for it?

I've been pretty vocal about my dislike for Taurus products, but that is based on problems I've had with them and their very poor customer service (in my experience.) If I'm not mistaken, Taurus recently stopped offering the lifetime warranty...is that correct?

I don't wish any bad luck on any man with any gun. I am only relating my experience. It's a shame, really, since Taurus does offer some interesting products....like the recently released G2C and G2S. If I was going to buy one, I'd certainly do so through Gun Genie, which provides its own lifetime warranty. Even that's not a firm guarantee, since what they do if there is a problem is simply replace the gun...if an exact replacement isn't available, then they send it to the manufacturer for repair. With Taurus' history of very slow service, that wouldn't be an acceptable option to me. Of course, at less than $300, it would be worth a gamble for a car carry gun...one that it wouldn't hurt so much if it was confiscated or stolen. It would have to work, though, and therein lies the concern.

Regardless of my opinion, I do hope you have great results and get a lot of enjoyment from your gun!

bronco45 said:

BC38 what model is the Taurus and do they make a smaller grip for it?

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It's a 617Ti (Ti = titanium)
It is a 7 shot 357 with an L-frame sized cylinder, a K-frame sized frame, and a J-frame sized grip. It weighs approximately 19-1/2 ounces unloaded.
The grip frame is the same as on the Tracker and Judge series. I have a 3-finger rubber grip on mine, that is just a tiny bit bigger than a Hogue J-frame monogrip. Where it is bigger is that it has a covered backstrap - which is a good thing for recoil in such a light gun. This gives it a little longer trigger reach and fills in some of the area behind the trigger guard.

Does this model still have the lock? I read that the new G2C/G2S models had eliminated the lock, so I wondered if the revolvers were following suit. The last Taurus revolver I owned had the lock on the hammer, which didn't have the inadvertent engagement issues that (reportedly) some S&W revolvers have experienced.

GKC said:

Does this model still have the lock? I read that the new G2C/G2S models had eliminated the lock, so I wondered if the revolvers were following suit. The last Taurus revolver I owned had the lock on the hammer, which didn't have the inadvertent engagement issues that (reportedly) some S&W revolvers have experienced.

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Yes, it has the hammer-mounted lock. I'm pretty sure all Taurus revolvers do and have for quite some time.

Here are 3 pictures to give a little perspective
The first one shows the original grips compared to the ones I have on it.
The second one is the Hogue Monogrips compared to the ones I have on it.
The third one is a set of Uncle Mike's 3-finger boot grips compared to the ones I have on it.

BTW, I guess these don't really have a longer trigger reach than the Hogues - for some reason I was thinking the Hogues were open backstrap, but when I pulled them out to take these photos I discovered they aren't. So the ones I put on it are actually about the exact same size as the Hogues.

GKC said:

I've been pretty vocal about my dislike for Taurus products, but that is based on problems I've had with them and their very poor customer service (in my experience.) If I'm not mistaken, Taurus recently stopped offering the lifetime warranty...is that correct?

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Sort of, apparently all new products released as of 2017 aren't covered by the Lifetime Warranty, (just a 1 year warranty) but any models which were produced prior to 2017 are still covered and will continue to be so indefinitely.

Case in point, I own a Taurus Judge Magnum which was manufactured in 2017, but it's covered by the Lifetime Warranty because the model dates back to 2010. It's a little confusing, I know, but that's the way they're doing it according to their Customer Service Representatives.

That being said, I don't know if any/all new Taurus firearms designed in 2017 and beyond aren't covered by their Lifetime Warranty or if only select low-cost models like the Spectrum 380 aren't covered. It's not exactly clear.
I have a hunch that they only suspended the Lifetime Warranty coverage on newer models because they're currently moving from Florida to Georgia and don't want to get too backed up in the meantime, but once they've settled in they'll reinstate it completely, likely even covering models which at present aren't covered.

BC38 said:

Yes, it has the hammer-mounted lock. I'm pretty sure all Taurus revolvers do and have for quite some time.

Here are 3 pictures to give a little perspective
The first one shows the original grips compared to the ones I have on it.
The second one is the Hogue Monogrips compared to the ones I have on it.
The third one is a set of Uncle Mike's 3-finger boot grips compared to the ones I have on it.

BTW, I guess these don't really have a longer trigger reach than the Hogues - for some reason I was thinking the Hogues were open backstrap, but when I pulled them out to take these photos I discovered they aren't. So the ones I put on it are actually about the exact same size as the Hogues.

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Here's one more picture to show it in scale to a J frame. Mine is not the titanium frame version, but is dimensionally the same. My one serious complaint about the 617 is grip choice. It's a unique grip and there's only two or three options, none of which are all that great IMO. The stock grip would be ok but it's actually not very rubber-y but is kind of slick. I may end up making my own grips for it out of desperation.

GKC said:

Does this model still have the lock? I read that the new G2C/G2S models had eliminated the lock, so I wondered if the revolvers were following suit. The last Taurus revolver I owned had the lock on the hammer, which didn't have the inadvertent engagement issues that (reportedly) some S&W revolvers have experienced.

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My new 856 does not have the lock on the hammer (or any where else). Nor does it have the writing on the barrel. The new one is more plain and the grips (one piece) are held in place with a roll pin (rather than a screw). It it good quality, but one can tell that Taurus tried to knock every superfluous expense out of its manufacture.

dr. mordo said:

...My one serious complaint about the 617 is grip choice. It's a unique grip and there's only two or three options, none of which are all that great IMO. The stock grip would be ok but it's actually not very rubber-y but is kind of slick. I may end up making my own grips for it out of desperation.

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Actually the grip selection may be better than you realize. Any grips that will fit a Judge will fit your 617.
Do a search for Taurus Judge Grips on eBay.
You should be able to find something that suits you.
Personally I like the ones that are on mine.

I would recommend Altamont Grips, here's a pair of their "Super Rosewood" grips on my Taurus Judge Magnum...



Taurus | Altamont Company

I hate you guys. Darn you all to heck. I read about this gun a while back, but dismissed it as being a.) a Taurus and b.) unavailable. So I forgot about it until now.

Went to the LGS this morning and they had one. It locked up tighter than any revolver I've ever owned (more than I can count), and it was as small as I expected it to be. Paid $325 plus tax and took it home.

The grips feel very good. The DA trigger stages somewhat like a Ruger. It's gritty, but I haven't cleaned the packing oil off yet.

It's not +P from what I understand, so with such a short barrel most standard pressure JHP ammo can't be expected to expand. I don't know yet if this will be a SD gun or a fun gun, so that may not matter. For this price, it's just a nice 6-round snubbie.

Taurus 856 next to a S&W 640:

It is to my understanding that all .38 Special Revolvers produced by Taurus as of 1995 are rated for +P, this includes even lightweight revolvers like yours.

That's what it says in their manual, anyway.

As far as Taurus quality goes, reports of them having rampant issues seem to be dated, based largely on an old reputation that they just can't seem to live down, and will likely remain forever, regardless of how good their QA becomes, because everytime a bad egg slips through the cracks and ends up in the hands of your average homeowner who doesn't bother to function test/examine the firearm prior to purchase nor clean out all the packing grease before taking it to the range and subsequently experiences a malfunction will propagate Taurus' negative reputation by taking to the internet in search of help, finding mostly tales of how cheap/shoddy Taurus firearms are, instantly accepts it as fact, then goes on to recount their negative experience while adding that had they only known of Taurus' reputation beforehand, then they would have never bought one in the first place.

Furthermore, I often wonder if the malfunction of Taurus firearms is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy among those who purchase their firearms, aware of their reputation. My basis for this belief lies in how often I've seen folks subjecting their Taurus to levels of neglect/abuse which clearly exceed their usual handling of other more expensive brands like Smith & Wesson. Obviously firearms which aren't thoroughly cleaned/cared for are far more likely to malfunction than those which are treated with great care. Just saying, there are a lot of folks who are more likely to do things like neglect to clean/lube a Taurus after a trip to the range than there are those who would do so with a more expensive firearm with a pedigree to its name.