The Taurus 856 is a solid budget defense option that we took a look at a few weeks ago. Today, we're going to be looking at some of the upgrades that are available for it, and whether or not they are actually worth it. Incidentally, these parts can all be found at Brownells.
First though, a quick recap of the 865. It is a six-shot snub nosed revolver that is made by Taurus. It has a 2-inch barrel and is chambered in .38 special. Additionally, the 856 is rated to shoot .38 special +P ammunition. It has a double action/single action trigger, giving the shooter options regarding how they want their trigger to feel or how they want to carry or shoot the firearm. In double-action mode, the Taurus has a predictably heavy but smooth trigger pull. There is very little staging or jerking during the trigger press, which is somewhat surprising in a budget revolver. Pull weight in double action mode is about 11 or 12 pounds. In single-action mode with the hammer pulled back, the trigger is very crisp and easy to work, leading to a trigger pull that feels lighter than it actually is. Pull weight in single action mode was measured at 6 pounds. The 856 has basic sights and a short rubber grip with texturing on the backstrap and side panels.
The first upgrade we are going to take a look at today is a grip replacement, which is a popular upgrade for many people. The grip we are going to be using is the Hogue wraparound one-piece grip, which Hogue calls the Monogrip. I got the Monogrip on eBay for $30, but it can be found in many places, possibly for less. Installation of the Monogrip is pretty simple: first, a roll pin is driven out of the factory Taurus grip. Then the factory grip is removed from the gun. (It's worth it to note that this is a great time to install the second mod that we are looking at today...more on that in a minute). The Monogrip comes with a small adapter bracket that gets placed into the slot where the factory grip is held with a roll pin. The Monogrip itself is then rotated into place, and is held to that adapter bracket using a slotted screw that threads into the bottom of the grip.
The Monogrip is typical Hogue quality, with soft grippy rubber all around. Most importantly for me, it offers some extra space for a pinky finger to rest to get more control over such a small weapon. It does sit closer to the frame than the factory grip, which causes some issues that I'll discuss later.
The second and arguably more significant modification that we're taking a look at today is the Shooter's spring pack from Wolff Gunsprings. This kit includes a reduced power 9-pound hammer spring and a pair of trigger return springs, one rated at 6.5 pounds and one rated at 9 pounds. For this installation, I chose the lighter 6.5-pound spring in search of the lightest trigger pull possible. This kit can be had for about $15-$20 shipped; I got mine at Brownells.
Installation of the springs can be a bit finicky; essentially there are two struts that need to be removed and have their springs replaced and then reinstalled in the gun. Having never worked on a revolver before, I found that it wasn't necessarily challenging but somewhat fiddly. This is especially true of the trigger spring, which has a certain way that it needs to be reassembled and reinserted into the frame. It's easy to figure out for those that are paying attention, but for those with no experience working on their own weapons or those that are not confident in their abilities, professional installation would be the best way to go. With the springs in place, pull weight in double action was notably decreased to about 9 pounds, and the single-action pull was similarly reduced to what felt like 3 or 3.5 pounds. Remembering that the single action was heavier than what it felt like, I went ahead and measured it and it came out to between 4 and 4.5 pounds consistently. Now after all of this...was it worth it? I'll address the grip first. While the grip is priced reasonably and is well-made (as are all Hogue products I've had), the reduction in length of pull made it slightly more uncomfortable to shoot the gun compared to the factory Taurus piece. While it was very nice to have the extra area to put my pinky on, for me it was not worth the tradeoff of a shorter length of pull. As for the spring kit, I think that it is worth it with a bit of a qualifying condition. If the springs are being installed for free, either by the owner of the weapon or someone that is comfortable performing the work, then the springs are worth it. The reduction in pull weight for both the single and double action pulls is very pleasant and makes the weapon more comfortable to shoot and more approachable as well. However, if the owner is paying someone to do the installation, I think that this erodes the value proposition of the kit when it is set against the overall cost of the weapon. a $20 dollar spring kit is less than 10 percent of the cost of the weapon, but even a (very reasonable) installation charge of $20 makes the total cost almost 20 percent of the overall cost of the gun. It's worth it to note that this installation could easily run between $60 to $100 depending on the rates of the installer. In my opinion that much money could better be spent on ammunition or training versus the springs. So that's my take on modifying the Taurus 856. If you're going to do the work yourself, the springs are worth it but the grip might be something you would want to pass on, especially if you're already comfortable with the factory grip. Don't
forget to check out the PT Youtube page if you haven't done that yet. That's all I have for you this time, so until next time: stay safe!