Range Report – Taurus 856 Talo

So I’ve had time to clean and inspect the 856 after its first range trip. This will be my thoughts and observations thus far. 

I put together a sampling of the 38 special I had stashed away in my ammo locker. I brought along Winchester White Box 130gr FMJ, Federal Personal Defense 110gr JHP and Federal 158gr +P LSWCHP.  Windage wise the gun shot perfectly straight.  As far as elevation the heavier FBI load was true to POA, while the two lighter loads both shot low. Recoil was very manageable. This small frame, three inch barrel, steel revolver shot like a bigger gun. Recoil was quite manageable even with the FBI load. I was short on time so I had no choice but to shoot the gun without breaks to allow it to cool. It got hot enough that gloves were mandatory. Despite this I experienced zero malfunctions and all rounds went off on the first drop of the hammer. I did not experience sticky extraction or difficulty seating rounds as can be a common occurrence with revolvers due to lead/powder buildup.  All told I sent 50 rounds of WWB, 40 rounds of Federal PD and 60 rounds of FBI load down range. Certainly not a definitive test but I’ve seen brand new S&W and Ruger revolvers fail in that many rounds. 

I cleaned and inspected the gun afterwards.  I found no damage or signs of excessive wear.  The powder residue wiped off of the cerakote easily. The six charge holes held no rings of crud inside indicating rough spots.  The gun was cleaned and lubricated at the basic level. 

Everything wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. The crane and cylinder release screws were tightened prior to the range.  While the crane screw stayed tight the cylinder release screw had backed out considerably. Due to this I degreased the screw and corresponding threads in the bolt. Loctite was applied to the cylinder release screw prior to reassembly. Initially I was on the fence about the VZ grips that came on this model from the factory but putting rounds down range cemented my opinion that they aren’t for me.  They don’t go to the top of the frame, leaving a gap at the top of the grip. They also don’t fill the web of the hand fully. The thick ridges and grooves were less than pleasant under recoil. Taurus should hit up Hogue about having the Tamer grip made for them. 

Overall I’m still happy with how this is going and definitely see promise should things continue to go well. Grips are easy to swap and once I get a few thousand more trigger pulls I’ll consider a spring kit.