Opinions on the Taurus 856 for daily carry?

[Bluedragon]

I’m considering a Taurus 856 2” Barrel in .38 Special with a bobbed hammer as my daily carry. It’s inexpensive, 6 rounds, good quality (at least from what I hear), and makes for a great concealed carry piece. Please let me know your experiences with this revolver, or give me recommendations for other great revolvers around this price range. Thank you in advance and stay safe.

It's not a Taurus but for me a SW j frame airweight i got recently combined with a pachmayr rubber grip has quickly become a favorite gun to carry holstered iwb in a Bianchi leather holster for an easy lightweight iwb cc gun to carry around while outside or in town.

If you're worried about the capacity i would suggest a couple extra speed loaders. I personally like the HKS brand myself.

 

[Bassat]

I had the opportunity to handle Taurus 2" 856 at Range USA. yesterday. This was a new gun, in the case. I slowly pulled the trigger back until the hammer fell. The trigger did not reset by itself, and as expected the cylinder was locked up. I banged the gun on my open left palm, trying to dislodge things. Nope. I had to jiggle the cylinder and trigger to get it to release. Hard pass, thanks.

 

[92FSTech]

The trigger did not reset by itself, and as expected the cylinder was locked up. I banged the gun on my open left palm, trying to dislodge things. Nope. I had to jiggle the cylinder and trigger to get it to release.

That's no good. No good at all.

 

[steelhead]

J-Frames are perfect for pocket carry, but please still use a pocket holster.

I knew someone who didn’t, and although it didn’t end poorly for them, that always made me nervous.

The odds of an ND are minuscule, but is it worth it?

 

[DadSmith]

The more i learn about the 856 the more I want to avoid it. I've not seen much good about them. If you want a Taurus snubnose stick with the reliable M85.

 

[Bassat]

After handling the K6S, SP101, and Airweight 442, yesterday, I bought the 442. It was $100 more than the 856. Money well spent where I come from.

 

[DadSmith]

Taurus 605 more problems with modern Taurus revolvers. Their semiautomatic firearms are doing well, but the revolvers are looking horrible. At least these small frame revolvers.

 

[Bassat]

Wow. Two trips to Customer Service and no resolution. That speaks VOLUMES about Taurus, at least to me. I hope Taurus Customer Service cruises these types of pages. Then again, if they did, they'd already be well aware of their poor online reputation. Do your homework before spending your money.

 

[DadSmith]

Wow. Two trips to Customer Service and no resolution. That speaks VOLUMES about Taurus, at least to me. I hope Taurus Customer Service cruises these types of pages. Then again, if they did, they'd already be well aware of their poor online reputation. Do your homework before spending your money.

That extra $150- $200 gets you better customer service and a decent revolver.
I think save a few extra months if need be to buy a Smith or a Ruger.

 

[Bassat]

This guy shoots (well, tries to) a Taurus 856. If you are impatient, go to 2:05.

 

[Bassat]

That extra $150- $200 gets you better customer service and a decent revolver.
I think save a few extra months if need be to buy a Smith or a Ruger.

In the case at Range USA, the 856 was $359. I purchased a S&W 442 for $519, with a $50 S&W rebate: $469. The $110 net difference is less than I would have spent on 3-4 boxes of ammo to make sure the 856 works. Couple that with S&W has a much better warranty, and customer service reputation, than Taurus does, and I got off cheap buying the 442. Shame, I had a Taurus 85CH and a .44 SPL model 441 a long time ago. Both were excellent, reliable revolvers.