Directory / Taurus / .38 Special / 856
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Taurus 856

Taurus lists the 856 as a six-shot .38 Special +P double/single-action revolver with a 2 in carbon steel barrel, a matte black carbon steel frame and alloy steel cylinder, a removable serrated front sight with a fixed rear, and a transfer bar safety.

Scope note: Item 2-85621, the 2 in matte black carbon steel 856, and THE LISTING THAT CARRIES THE BASE ITEM NUMBER IS HEADED "CERTIFIED FOR SALE IN CALIFORNIA".
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Taurus's product sitemap holds 26 URLs under taurus-856 and none is a plain, unqualified 2 in matte black steel listing: the unsuffixed item 2-85621 is served at a URL and under a heading that read "Certified for Sale in California", while the Massachusetts listing carries its own suffixed item, 2-85621-MA. The SIG P226 rule was applied before treating it as the base: the two were diffed field by field and differ in exactly two rows, item number and UPC — caliber, capacity, sights, action, all four dimensions, barrel, weight, twist, materials, finishes and safety are identical. So the certification is a sale-eligibility label on the base configuration rather than a restricted variant, and unlike the P226 it touches nothing on the record: a revolver's cylinder capacity is not what state rosters restrict. Separate listings under the base-model rule: the matte stainless 2-85629 (and its -MA twin), the aluminium-framed 856 Ultra-Lite in eleven colourways, the 856 Concealed Hammer (2-856021CH), the 3 in Defender 856 and Defender 856 T.O.R.O. models, and the 856 Executive Grade. Family is unset: Taurus files these under a "Taurus 856" product category, but "856" is not a value in the directory's Family union and adding one is a user decision. TRIGGER ACTION IS RECORDED, AND THE RUGER LCR'S PROBLEM DOES NOT ARISE. The page publishes "Action Type: DA/SA", which picks out one of the directory's values, and Taurus's own contrast set confirms the word discriminates: the Concealed Hammer and Executive Grade listings on the same site publish "DAO", and the owner's manual states that "the 856CH models can only be fired in double action" while this model fires "by single action (by cocking the hammer...) or by double action". So `system` is "DA/SA" verbatim and triggerAction is da/sa. Ignition and operating system are unset: the manual names a hammer and a transfer bar as components and describes cocking the hammer, but classifies neither axis, the Colt Python call; and a revolver's cycling is not among the operating-system union's values. FRAME CLASS IS UNSET BECAUSE THE MAKER'S LABEL HAS NOWHERE TO GO. Taurus publishes "Frame Size: Small", which is kept verbatim in manufacturerSizeLabel; no directory class is reached from it, and the revolver records already name the missing axis (see the directive's frame-class edge case). THE OWNER'S MANUAL DISAGREES WITH THE PAGE ON TWO VALUES AND THE PAGE GOVERNS. The 856 manual's specification table (printed pp. 12–13) gives a 1.34 in overall width against the page's 1.41 in, and 22.1 oz against 22.00 oz; it agrees on the 2 in barrel, 6.55 in overall length, 4.8 in height and six-round capacity. It also gives a Serrated Ramp front sight where the page publishes a Removable Serrated Blade — which the page's own prose explains, saying the 2 in barrel "now comes with a removable serrated front sight". Current page governs, the manual is disclosed, as on the G29 Gen5. TWO DEFECTS ON NEIGHBOURING TAURUS DATA, NEITHER TOUCHING A RECORDED VALUE. First, this page's embedded Product structured data carries a description belonging to a different gun — "CHECKERED GRIP, ADJUSTABLE SIGHTS, STAINLESS STEEL, 357 MAG, 6”, 6-RDS" — while its visible prose and specification rows describe this revolver; the rows are what is recorded (the Walther PPK rule: separate a page's prose from its specification rows). Second, the aluminium-framed Ultra-Lite listings 2-85621UL and 2-85629UL publish the same 22.00 oz as this steel gun, where Ultra-Lite listing 2-856029UL publishes 16.00 oz and the manual gives the Ultra-Lite 15.7 oz — so Taurus's weight row has been copied across at least two listings. This record's 22.00 oz is the steel gun's own figure, repeated identically on its Massachusetts and Concealed Hammer siblings and within 0.1 oz of the manual, but it is the kind of row worth re-checking. Weight sits in weightUnloaded: Taurus publishes "22.00 Oz. (Unloaded)" and a revolver has no magazine, so the question that field usually settles does not arise (the LCR treatment); overall height carries a basis note. Slide finish is unset because a revolver has no slide; Taurus publishes matte black barrel, frame and cylinder finishes, which are recorded in `controls` and summary rather than in a slide field (the LCR and Python call). Year introduced is unrecorded: Taurus's live post sitemap holds no 856 launch announcement (its only 856 post adds colours to the Ultra-Lite line), and the Web Archive was not reachable during this session to look for an older one. Warranty: the 856 is named in the Limited Lifetime Warranty page's list of models migrated from a one-year warranty, and the operative text scopes by class in any case ("the enclosed Taurus firearm"), so it is recorded with the same conditions as the GX4 and G3c. A tooling note, because it nearly produced a false corroboration: `execution/extract_taurus_specs.py` keys its cache on the first 80 characters of the URL slug, and the California, Massachusetts and Concealed Hammer URLs all truncate to the same file, so the first run printed 2-85621's rows for all three. The listings were re-fetched to unique files before any diff was believed. Taurus publishes imperial only, so every metric value is converted by this directory and flagged. Also published and unrecorded for want of a schema field: a 1:16.5 right-hand twist with six grooves, a carbon steel barrel and frame, an alloy steel cylinder, one cylinder included, and the $430.99 MSRP.

Reference fields

ManufacturerTaurus[1]
Manufacturer series856
Firearm categoryHandgun[1]
Manufacturer chambering38 SPECIAL +P[1]
GenerationNot yet verified
Manufacturer size classSmall[1]
Manufacturer listingListed on Taurus USA as item 2-85621, UPC 7-25327-62083-9, under the heading "Taurus 856 38 Spl +P Matte Black 2 in. Certified for Sale in California"[1]
Trigger actionDouble-action / single-action[1]
Slide finishNot yet verified
ControlsRemovable serrated blade front sight with a fixed rear; transfer bar safety; soft rubber grips on a matte black carbon steel frame with an alloy steel cylinder[1]
WarrantyLimited Lifetime Warranty to the original purchaser, activated by registering within 30 days of purchase; finish, grips, magazines, sights and accessories are covered for the first year only, and the warranty terminates on transfer[3]
MSRPNot recorded
Verification boundary: Published technical data are rounded, may not reflect manufacturing tolerances, and may change without notice. MSRP is not recorded: most cited product pages do publish a price, but it changes without notice and independently of the specification, so this directory has no field for it and the row stays blank rather than carrying a figure that would silently go stale. Values marked ≈ were converted by this directory from the unit system the source published; the unmarked figure in the same row is the published one.
Evidence tiers backing this record: Manufacturer. Unmarked values come from manufacturer documentation; any value drawn from a lower tier is labeled inline with that tier. Where two sources disagreed, the higher tier was recorded and the disagreement noted.

Sources

  1. [1]
    Taurus 856 — specifications (item 2-85621)Manufacturer Manufacturer product page
    Accessed 2026-09-30
  2. [2]Accessed 2026-09-30
  3. [3]Accessed 2026-09-30

Common questions

Answered from this record's cited fields only. Where a manufacturer publishes nothing on a subject, the question is not asked rather than answered with a blank.

01What caliber is the Taurus 856?

The Taurus 856 is chambered in .38 Special. Taurus writes it as 38 SPECIAL +P. Ammunition should match the exact chambering marked on the firearm.

02How many rounds does the Taurus 856 hold?

Taurus lists a 6-round standard magazine for the 856. Taurus lists no optional capacities for this record. These are magazine capacities; a round carried in the chamber is not counted here.

03What is the barrel length of the Taurus 856?

Taurus lists a barrel length of ≈50.8 mm / 2 in.

04What are the dimensions of the Taurus 856?

Taurus publishes ≈166.4 × 35.8 × 121.9 mm / 6.55 × 1.41 × 4.8 in (height: measurement basis not stated by Taurus). Any measurement basis shown is the manufacturer's own qualifier; where none is shown, the manufacturer states none.

05How much does the Taurus 856 weigh?

Taurus publishes ≈624 g / 22 oz (published as "(Unloaded)"; a revolver has no magazine, so the magazine question this field usually settles does not arise).

06What size class is the Taurus 856?

Taurus lists the 856 as Small. This directory has not assigned it a normalized frame class, so it is grouped only under the manufacturer's own wording.

07Is the Taurus 856 striker-fired?

Taurus publishes "DA/SA" as its own name for the action and does not classify an ignition type for the 856. This directory records the manufacturer's wording and leaves the ignition field empty rather than inferring a classification the source does not state.

08Does the Taurus 856 have a warranty?

Taurus states: Limited Lifetime Warranty to the original purchaser, activated by registering within 30 days of purchase; finish, grips, magazines, sights and accessories are covered for the first year only, and the warranty terminates on transfer. Terms are as published at the date this record was checked and may vary by region.