A lot of the problem with double action revolvers for people and shooting in general, often women, is a lack of hand strength. It can be built up. Walmart sells grip exercisers in sporting goods for $10 bucks. You can also lay a dumbbell on your thigh with it hanging just past your knee and do forearm curls. A lot/most of what makes Jerry Miculek a great shooter, is his great forearm stregth. Its grip stregth.
In his unboxing video he mentioned this model is a Academy exclusive. Looked online closest Academy showed to have one in stock. Made a 20 mile trip. Nor in display case??? Asked if they had one gave him the skew number. Computer said it was there, it was in the safe had not been put on display. So could be the Academy store near you hasn’t put it out or that you are not near that regional chain.
Revolvers are not that hard to shoot and are easy for new shooters. I say stick with major manufacturers, also 357 magnum medium frame revolvers are great as well just in case you need more than a 38 special where magnum power may be required.
Brother that was an honest opinion, and I have to agree Taurus really stepped up there game, I have a bunch of Taurus handguns, and they all have been so reliable and still running smoothly and strong ❤
Helpful review! Thanks for this! I will be getting an 856 for my girlfriend for defense of her home (she has no firearms at all!). One thing I have her do when we go shooting, in addition to always practicing with double action trigger pull (that's the way I think most people will likely fire under stress), is to point and shoot. Not aim, but quickly point at center mass and fire, then carefully gauge where she hit the target. The range for this is always right around 20ft. I think this gives her a lot more confidence in being able to hit the target very quickly, and effectively, while under stress. For this drill, we always use full torso targets. Anyway, thanks again for the useful review!
I do as well. It's my third Taurus revolver and the Ultra-lite 3" is a breeze to carry and shoots almost as good as my S&W 642 with a trigger job. I'd say if the 642 I own is a 9 out of 10 then the Taurus 856 is a 7.75
The DA revolver did see a big drop for some time but are making a come back - I think because of nostalgia and also newer shooters that find their simplicity, effectiveness and cost to be attractive.
Just an FYI the Galloway spring kit and Ameraglow night sight arrived today. Use a pistol block and the sight is a piece of cake. The spring kit also was easy just put a shop towel over the spring when pulling the spring stop. The double action trigger pull that was off the scale on my Lyman trigger gauge is now about 8.5lbs. Single action now between 3&4 pounds. Will try and shoot it tomorrow. The spring kit might make it easier for your bride to shoot the little revolver.
You still have to watch out for out of time revolvers from Brazil before you buy. I passed on an out of time 856 at one dealer before settling on another 856 that I looked over for a few days before buying that had no timing problems. The US made Taurus pistols that include the G series, the GX4, and the TX22 have better quality control than the Brazilian made pistols.
I would definitely inspect any gun before buying. I’ve had little problems with certain brands because I didn’t inspect them before. Never made that mistake again.
Good video. The little 856 is about the size of a Colt Detective Special, only reason I mention that is to add that the HKS model DS speed loader fits the cylinder. The grip does get in the way a little but it is doable. Going to make a guess that the Taurus that changed your mind was the TX22, just a guess I’ve seen some good reviews on it. Right now I’m trying to find the KelTec P17 as a really inexpensive 22. As usual KelTec firearms are hard to find. Looking forward to your video on the Taurus that changed your mind on the brand. Take care
You will absolutely love the TX 22 and the P-17. I bought the TX 22 first because 22's are inexpensive. In less than 4 weeks I've put almost 2000 rounds through it right out of the box with no issues at all. Then the fellow at the range asks me if I've heard of the Kel Tek P-17 and I hadn't. Watched videos and read reviews and I bought one! Love that one too. The TX 22 eats everything I've put through it. The Kel Tek is a little finiky. I've found Aguila 40gr. Round nose copper works best. Hollow point no good. 38gr and 40 all good. I did have stove pipes the first 50 or so but that was due to me and not the gun. The Kel Tek is so light I was forgetting I was actually firing it because I'm use to heavier guns so I lightened up on my grip. That caused me to wobble the gun. The slide is so light it doesn't open and close with a lot of impact which sometimes caused a double feed. Hope I'm not loosing you here. Anyway, The light slide with a lighter grain bullet sometimes doesn't slam all the way back but it would strip the next round off and jam the gun open. Once I realized what was happening I went back to my "regular harder grip and used only 40 grain, and everything is fine. The Kel Tek is so light it almost feels like a toy. Hope this helps. The fiber optic front sight is great! I also love the ambi paddle mag release. I wish all guns had them. Both guns I highly recommend. So far with the TX 22, it just seems to run smoother and smoother with every mag. Both guns are just fun to shoot. Didn't mean to get long winded here, sorry. I just picked up the Taurus Defender 3 inch barrel too. Haven't shot it yet but it just feels so good in your hands and just looks good. Well good luck if you do get either the TX 22 or the Kel Tek. Both those gun are getting very popular so you might have some trouble finding them. Be safe 👍
@@rolfhogfeldt7645 you are absolutely correct I found one little over a week ago. Took it out over a couple hours I put 200 rounds of 40 grain MiniMags and 50 rounds of CCI Blaser 40 grain, 50 rounds of CCI Stingers and 50 rounds of CCI standard velocity. Weirdest thing not one hang up, failure to feed/eject, or failure to go bang. Little gun just went bang-bang and I fired both fast and slow. I’ve got a smaller hand so the little Kel-Tec fits in my hand better than the Taurus. A friend had the pistol he had never fired it but decided he wanted to go for one of the Sig 322 pistols, I offered him what a new one would cost me. He thought he would get more in trade in. Yeah my offer was over 2Xs what the trade in was. In the mean time I ordered a few extra magazines from Kel-Tec so can shoot a lot fairly fast. Long story but again you are correct the little KelTec P17 is a great little pistol.
I've not shot the 2" 856, but I have shot some other 2" revolvers. 3" model easier to aim, longer sight radius. I'd go 2 inch if I were carrying it, easier to carry.
Good video! I'm an old revolver guy. The key to shooting a D/A revolver is to do everything slowly as fast as you can. You pull the D/A trigger way too fast. It should be a smooth movement, but not jerking. I use the words "mama mia" for my double action tempo, Faster than that -- you jerk your shots. That tempo is about a little less than a shot per second -- but that allows you time to aim rather than just spray and pray.
Yea it’s definitely not the pistol, it’s definitely you and of course you’re having an off day, it’s the coffee and doughnuts I ate🤣🤣🤣 🤦🏾♂️all these excuses
Revolvers in fde looks ugly.What the tactical crowds use to call a FUDD GUNS are being tacticalized now,tactical bolt actions,tactical lever actions,tactical shotguns,tactical single shot shotguns,tactical ball and cap guns.Tactical muzzle loader muskets.
@Untactical Texan Respect to you, brother, for taking @jeff snider to school with his pathetic trolling about your tats. Some people just insist on being the asshat in the comment section. Nice 856 defender. I've been browsing these for a while and never noticed the FDE at Academy.
