I had a Taurus 856 i carried years ago. It saved me and my elderly mother from a vicious pitbull that the junky owner sicced on us. 2 x .38 spl 135 Gold Dot stopped it stone dead. The funny part of that story is the trashy woman owner started freaking out and called the cops of course. The cop got there and she's freaking out barely getting out a coherent sentence out and the cop is like "so this is YOUR dog?!?!" She's like "YEAH!!!" and the cop is back at her with "go ahead and put your hands behind your back!". You see it's a FELONY to own one of those things where I live (for good reason).

I used to clean like that but, I watched a video of a veteran/police detective who said to dry brush the gun first. Last time I cleaned my (black) Taurus 856UL(w/laser) I dry brushed the hell out of it first. Well, I didn’t think it would do much BUT, I found it removed SO MUCH, that it got SO MUCH CLEANER & WAY easier to clean with the solution and my chamber snake, afterwards. So, “DRY BRUSHING (A LOT) FIRST is the key to making this easier and getting the gun cleaner, faster. That is now my #1, go to, rule of cleaning (DRY BRUSH LIKE CRAZY, FIRST!). The second thing I wanted to share with you, is to REPLACE YOUR TRIGGER & HAMMER SPRINGS with the “Galloway - Reduced Power Springs set”, I got my double action trigger pull WAY, WAY, WAY DOWN & single action is now a borderline hair trigger! The Galloway springs set is made of silica steel and is superior to other spring sets (that only ease up your trigger pull minimally). So, don’t waste your time, go STRAIGHT FOR the “GALLOWAY” Spring Set!!! The third thing you wanna do is: Open up your 856, dismantle it & on ANY moving part you see wear, use your Dremel Tool to grind it down (just a TINY BIT so, that those parts aren’t rubbing anymore). The end result is that my Taurus 856 now performs like a MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE revolver!!! It’s easy to do these things and I HIGHLY recommend it as it will raise the performance (of your 856) LIGHT YEARS Ahead of a stock 856!!! Of course you’ll want to grease & oil ALL of your moving parts (& springs) before you put it back together & you’ll have ONE HELLOFUH fine functioning revolver!!! It doesn’t cost much to do this either (just an hour or two of work) and you’ll notice the difference of night and day in your 856’s performance, it’ll feel like a different (& more expensive) revolver!!! When I first fired the 856 out of the box, my hand would get fatigued REALLY FAST. BUT, after these Simple Mods, I can fire this revolver (LITERALLY) ALL DAY LONG & my hand doesn’t even feel like I was firing a gun!!! GOOD LUCK with the mods & thanks for posting this video!!! 😁👍🏻

I have the Taurus Defender 856. One of my favorite little revolvers.

I’m an experienced shooter, I still prefer revolvers.

Perfect timing for this video. Just bought a Taurus 856 Matte Stainless today, and I am so excited because it’s my first wheel gun. Thank you for all your info!

I enjoy your presentations and style. I've been shooting for 65 years, and one of my concealed carries is a Taurus 856.

Thanks for your post. I've had mine for years and find it to be a dependable source EDC revolver. I'm carrying it today.

I own all kinds of revolvers Smiths Rugers Colts Astra, my two Taurus 65's one made in the late 70's and a newer production one are just as accurate and reliable as any wheel gun I own.

Taurus been hated on but the revolvers been flawless. I carry a 2'' 7 rounds model 617 with .38plus+p+ ammo

I use a brass wire brush to clean my 856. Especially to scrub the carbon burn off front of the cylinder.

New sub, great review and great video on how to clean the revolver, thank you. The first revolver I had ever bought was the Taurus 605, 357 magnum. I only shoot 38 Special +p through it because the full power magnum loads are not pleasant to shoot through it. I have had this 856 on my wish list for a while, will probably be my next purchase. I'd like to have the 6 shots versus the 5. I also use those dish washing scouring pads to clean the front of the cylinder on my revolvers, it's the only thing I have found that works in getting it clean.

Thank you for a great educational video for the everyday person We need more of these. I have a Taurus 605 poly 357 protector- I have no complaints- it is reliable and a workhorse for range and EDC usage. I had a 856 - no issues - actually had excellent performance and quality for the price.point I sold it because - I made a mistake - actually thinking of purchasing the 856 Snubby or 856 executive in 2024. Please - can you do more revolver videos-? Your videos are not like some other gun channels- commercials vs tactical wannabes vs both.

great gun! an 856 in blue steel was the first handgun I ever bought myself back in 2011. I sold it because i wanted a longer barrel and the ability to shoot 357. Ended up with a ruger speed six in 4" next and i deeply regret selling that one. I've always owned a revolver though.. currently a S&W 60-15 in 3" and its pretty much my ideal revolver. Only a five shot but on the other hand, I like the slimmer profile it allows. I'll pretty much always take a revolver as an only gun I keep my collection pretty slim these days by choice. Currently have the smith, a kimber ultra carry in .45 and a ruger mini14 for a rifle.

I have the tungsten cerekote defender version with the 3 inch barrel and the wood grips. Its a great CC and it came with that front site you installed!

Take a look on Magtech 38 SPL SHORT ammo. If you are recoil sensitive for any reason, you will like that ammo. And the better, it has the same energy of a 32 acp, keeping your 38 holster, speed loader... yet with lethal power! 👍

I never and I don't think I ever will own a pistol..my first 44 magnum second 357 magnum and is what I love..if you like pistols good luck. I like to go sure my family depends on a hand gun . And a pistol is not reliable a revolver is 357 magnum 8 rounds the 608 and a 44 magnum

Although felt recoil must be a consideration, the .357 is still going to be 200~400 fps faster than the .38 from a 2" barrel.

The caliber is stamped on the underside of the barrel

Taurus is the best affordable budget revolvers, cost half of a ruger or s&w. The best revolver caliber is 327 mag. It has close knock down power of 357 mag but less revoil, and can shoot other cheap 32 h&r , 32 long or short, and 32 acp with moon clips.

I too use dish scrubbers but I cut them in small patches that are easier to handle.

Be honest do the hammer snag?

While .357 mag loses a lot of velocity in a short barrel, it is still much faster than the .38 loads in the short barrels. They are by no means equal performers in the short barrels.

I have been debating getting an 856, 856UL or 605. I had started to settle on the 856 UL, as this would be a pocket carry gun primarily. The comment was made that he would take a regular 22oz model over an ultralite nine times out of ten. Question is how much more snappy is the 856 UL, especially when firing +P rounds? I know it will be somewhat more snappy just due to the difference in weight. Looking at a model that loses 27% of its weight is appealing. Just curious.

A Colt Detective Special

It does say 38 special on the underside of the barrel.

Haha. Love the gun range footage. For sure the LCRx is more snappy. Not a fan of lightweight frame revolvers and increased recoil is not the only reason. LEOs like the lightweight revolvers when running after a suspect but they claim that frame wear causes the revolver to fail to fire. So I will choose durability of a steel frame over lightweight every time. I shoot autoloaders well but I shoot revolvers better. If I can hide my Taurus 856 Defender three inch on my body then I will carry it. Revolvers are more reliable than autoloaders and less hassle of manual of arms. The average person will not get through a mag or cylinder let alone have time to reload in a five second gunfight so capacity is overrated unless living in gangland or high crime areas that are above average. Yes there is that less than one percent chance of multiple threats and a longer 15 to 30 second gunfight and that is why I carry reloads and train with them not staking my life on averages. Thanks for sharing.

I have always wondered what would happen to a rolled up piece of currency in the empty chamber of a .45 colt . If the gun had to be fired..

I've heard Taurus has lousy customer service

Iv owned semis pretty much for the last 10 years. Got an naa 22 mini revolver and it’s a good little fun gun but decided it needed an older brother so i got this 856. I find myself carrying it a lot cuz it makes me feel cool lol Plus i had my wife buy me some bright orange nail polish for the front factory sight. Saved me money ha

Nobody ever carried rolled up paper of any kind in a chamber in a cylinder. Dime novel fantasy. It would bind up the gun as it moved . Everyone swallowed that tall tail just like the empty chamber. Colt wasn't boring an extra charge hole for giggles. John Wayne loved to spread that one.

You do no that the Scotch pad is a abrasive that removes sharp metal edges right?