Lightweight J frame with 20% MORE

[Ringside]

I broke down and bought a taurus 856; it is a basic j frame revolver BUT it has 6 shots instead of the standard j frame 5 shots. The cylinder is a tiny bit wider; otherwise same gun; same holster ,etc , My new revolver has magnesium frame so it is super light. (Also comes in stainless.) With that extra round I have increased my firepower by 20%!!!!!!! Seems to me it may be the perfect snubby. Any thoughts?? Any one hear of a 6 shot J frame coming down the road from smith or ruger?? It would be a logical move for the big boys!!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[bmcgilvray]

Won't happen on a J-Frame. Dimensionally there's not enough cylinder there to accommodate 6 rounds of .38 Special. Same for the SP 101.

The Colt Detective Special is similar and size to your new Taurus. Pretty cool to get six .38 Special rounds in revolvers that size.

[jhh3rd]

Smith actually tried it with a new frame called the C-frame. Model 73 if i am not mistaken. Very rare, as most were destroyed.

[Devone6]

I broke down and bought a taurus 856; it is a basic j frame revolver BUT it has 6 shots instead of the standard j frame 5 shots. The cylinder is a tiny bit wider; otherwise same gun; same holster ,etc , My new revolver has magnesium frame so it is super light. (Also comes in stainless.) With that extra round I have increased my firepower by 20%!!!!!!! Seems to me it may be the perfect snubby. Any thoughts?? Any one hear of a 6 shot J frame coming down the road from smith or ruger?? It would be a logical move for the big boys!!

I've been eye'n the 856 myself. I wish Smith would make a similar model. Nothing wrong with Taurus at all, I probably give S&W another year and if they don't make a 6 shot model then a Taurus I'll own. The Taurus 817 isn't much bigger than the 856, and it's a 7 shot!

Congrats and enjoy

[retsupt99]

IMHO...if you can't do it in five, six isn't going to make much of a difference.

[BugDude]

IMHO...if you can't do it in five, six isn't going to make much of a difference.

I share your sentiments.

[razor02097]

ummm... carefull there... if its the hylite I think you can't shoot +p out of it...

[Devone6]

retsupt99 IMHO...if you can't do it in five, six isn't going to make much of a difference.

Well actually, that one extra round might make all the difference, but I do agree with you in theory.However, from a practical view alone, if you can add a round in a wheelgun with no significant size increase or weight increase what so ever, then it isn't a bad thing, wouldn't you agree?

razor02097 ummm... carefull there... if its the hylite I think you can't shoot +p out of it...

That is true, the regular weight 856 models are +p rated, the hylite's are not.

[ev239]

IMHO...if you can't do it in five, six isn't going to make much of a difference.

I understand the capacity argument, but saying that five is as good as six is like saying that none is as good as one. That "extra" one could be a lifesaver or it could just be sitting in the gun not used. In the end it's up to the user what he chooses to carry. If you like your 5 shot J-frame, GREAT, but don't dictate to others what they should be happy with.

Sorry, retsupt99, I not trying to pick on you, because I see these type of comments all the time.

To the OP, I haven't seen one of these Taurus revolvers. I'll have to check them out. Thanks!

[randytulsa2]

I think Charter makes or made a similar .38 snubby with a six-shot cylinder. It may have been on their slightly larger (than the Undercover or Off-Duty) "Bulldog" frame. It may have been 20+ years ago, too.

[frankmako]

IMHO...if you can't do it in five, six isn't going to make much of a difference.

i don't buy into this statement. can you say the same for the people that carry a full size auto?

[Pizza Bob]

Did I miss something? Has J-frame now become the generic term for all 5-shot revolvers? Sorry, but to me, when someone says "J-Frame" they are talking about a S&W.

With that bit of snobbery out of the way, S&W does make a 6-shot J-Frame, the 632 - just that it's in .327 Fed Mag rather than .38 Spl.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

[NY27]

IMHO...if you can't do it in five, six isn't going to make much of a difference.

This may have been true many years ago. Today many firearms are more compact and have higher capacities. I think it is always a good thing to have more.

When I bought my first handgun in 1995, the salesman said, "You don't need more than 5 shots kid!! You're not going to be taking on a gang of street thugs!" I was buying an off-duty weapon as I had just become a Correction Officer. So I bought a S&W model 60. It's a great little piece that I still have but never really carry.

Thugs today carry larger capacity weapons, therefore so will I. I carry my Glocks with spare ammo these days.

Congrats to the OP. That 6th round may be a lifesaver.

[BugDude]

The snubnosed revolver was the original concealed carry gun. It was designed to be a small, easy to carry, easy to conceal, stop the threat and get out of dodge weapon. Not a "meet me in the ally and have a shoot out with a gang of 9 people, all carrying guns" weapon. In reality, if you encounter multiple people with guns in a "shootout", they are not going to stand there and take turns getting shot. You have a high probability of getting shot in that situation...before you even get close to your 15th round. Does it help your odds in that situation? Yes. The purpose and design of the snubnose (today as it was back in the day) is CC, stop threat, and get away. If you are going to stand there and shoot it out with a gang of armed bad guys, I would suggest a shotgun or high capacity automatic rifle. Of course, you never know if or when something will go down. A vast majority of SD situations the small capacity of the snub will be plenty. Is the roving band of armed assasaigns situation possible? Yes, but it would be highly unlikely.

PS. If approached by 7 people in a Wally World parking lot, and I only have 5 shots, my question is which ones are willing to step up and be the 5 that take it like men so the other two can do whatever they planned to do?

[Devone6]

Whoa, when this turn into a ---- because you buy revolvers that hold an extra round you may have a "meet me in the ally and have a shoot out with a gang of 9 people, all carrying guns" attitude or you are going to stand in the middle of the street and "shoot it out with a gang of armed bad guys" thread?

I never feel under gunned with a 5 shot, but with that said it seems even those who seem to think an extra shot won't make a difference, or even somehow cause you to forget tactical awareness and have a noon showdown do admit "Does it help your odds in that situation? Yes."

I think we all do not intend on getting in a shoot out in an alley, but sadly enough, we (or at least some of us?) do not get to decide where we might need a defensive weapon nor how many assailants we may face.

So,Ringside, the Taurus 85 is a good snubbie, and your Taurus 856 is even better, as it gives you a little more without adding anything.

Like I said earlier, I'm a Smith man (my wife carries a Taurus 85 though ), but if Smith don't make a similar model I will be following in your footsteps.

Happy Shooting