Your not going to get a consensus. Which may indicate the “hit or miss” theory is correct....
The reason for my inquiry as I'm interested in a double action swing out cylinder .22lr. Bad customer service is the reason I no longer consider Kimbers.I would buy the Taurus over the S&W for one reason, I don't want that stupid lock on the side of the gun
I believe that the new Model 856 is based off of the old Model 85. That's a proven design. They've been selling literally shiploads of those since the 1980's. I have owned five. Their triggers varied from good to bad, but they all went bang every time
I've owned at least a dozen Taurii. One was a factory lemon that went back twice and I still wasn't satisfied with it. The other 10 or so have been fine.
The finish isn't always great. I'm not a fan of some of their semiautomatics. The triggers can be downright awful. But mine go bang every time. If you happen to get one with a good trigger, you will understand why some people like them.
Like another poster said, their knockoffs have been good for me:
Beretta knockoffs such as the 92, tip-up 22's, and I have heard good things about their version of the Model 84 (they called it a PT58).
The S&W knockoffs such as the 82 (Model 10), 85 (j-frame), and 66 (self explanatory).
My G2C was great, other than the weird long trigger pull. It seemed like a Glock 26 knockoff to me. (I had them both. They even fit the same holsters.)
I believe that the new Model 856 is based off of the old Model 85. That's a proven design. They've been selling literally shiploads of those since the 1980's. I have owned five. Their triggers varied from good to bad, but they all went bang every time.
I owned a 3" Model 856 briefly. For some reason the balance and trigger did not work for me at all. My friend at the LGS let me trade it in unfired, so that's what I did. I wasn't impressed with the trigger, but it seemed like an okay revolver and doubtless would have gone bang like all the others.
My latest used Model 85, a "gunsmith special". It was missing a $4 firing pin spring. I put a slightly lighter mainspring in it while I had it apart. Way better trigger than my S&W 642.
Yes the 856 is based off the older 85.The difference between the 85 and 856 is in the cylinder and barrel, mostly the cylinder though. The 856 is a 6 shot while the 85 is a 5 shot. Grips will interchange between all Taurus models of this size. Taurus uses the same frames for all of their small revolvers. This includes the older 85, 94 22lr, and 941 22WMR, new 856, 942 22lr or 22WMR, and 327 models.
I did have to adjust my kydex holsters that I bought for my 85 to fit the 856 due to a slightly bigger cylinder.
The trigger can be improved in the same manner that S&W triggers can be improved.
I shot a Taurus once.
They aren't for me. I'll gladly pay extra for a S&W.
I worked part time at an indoor range/retail gun shop, high volume of shooters, especially during winter months.
Taurus had by far the most failures.
I remember once trying to help a customer out with warranty work on a Taurus (I can't remember what model, revolver of some kind)
Called Taurus HQ, was on hold a while, put the call on speaker, had the pleasant on hold music playing in the showroom for a couple hours.
Promptly at 5pm eastern time the call was disconnected.
Quitting time!!! Heading home after a hard day's work. Taurus had a well deserved bad rep.
This was maybe 7 years ago, so it's possible it's gotten better, maybe someone answers the phones now.
Just saw the cover of guns & ammo with a new Taurus revolver.
Never shot one or known anyone who has owned one.
Always heard it was a brand to steer clear of because of quality problems and bad customer service.
Just curious.