Should You Consider This STRANGE New Revolver?

Some things go good together. I’m thinking chocolate and peanut butter, bacon and eggs. You get the idea. Other things don’t go together at all, such as ribeye steak and chocolate syrup, for example. Or mustard on breakfast cereal.

Some would put the idea of a red dot site on a revolver into that category, too. Certainly, I can’t recall ever seeing anyone do that.

Until now, that is.

See, Taurus thought that it would be a good idea to put a red dot on a revolver, as you can see in the picture above. Adam Borisenko writes,

It was only a matter of time until someone put [revolvers and red dot sites] together, but Taurus happened to be the first with the release of the 605 & Defender 856 T.O.R.O. [Taurus Optics Ready Option].

The 605 is a 5-shot .357 Magnum and the 856 Defender is a 6-shot .38 Special +P […].

Now, Borisenko mentions that 856 Defender T.O.R.O. that he tested is the same gun that is the non-T.O.R.O. model with an optics mounting plate on it. Not really any difference in the gun itself. Having said that, though, Borisenko seemed to like the optic on the gun. He continues:

While the optic is mounted pretty high in relation to the bore, at least compared to automatic pistols, some of the revolver’s innate qualities compensate for it. Many shooters feel revolvers point more naturally than automatics, and the red dot helped highlight this phenomenon. I’ve shot most major automatic handgun styles equipped with red dots, and for me, it was easier to acquire the dot with the 856 T.O.R.O. than with any of them.

Again, from Borisenko:

Another benefit of the red dot revolver concept is the fact that there is no slide for the optic to reciprocate on. With red dot-equipped automatics, the optic moves with every shot, only adding to the challenge of reacquiring a sight picture while firing. Because revolvers have no slide, it allows the red dot to remain in place which in turn facilitates faster follow-up shots. As long as you can learn how to properly manage the recoil, it’s possible to keep the dot visible in the window throughout an entire string of shots.

You can see this revolver in action in the video below.

So, is the Taurus 856 Defender T.O.R.O. for you? That depends on you, obviously, and much of that consideration has to do with whether you want a revolver for your next firearm purchase.

If you do, though, and you want a little something different, then, this may be a gun to consider.