Does the lever action gun still have a place for personal protection? In this Mossberg 464 SPX review, I answer that question.
Yes.
From hunting to protecting the homestead, the lever gun proved its worth in American hands time and time again. In the modern era, lever action rifles like this Mossberg do have a place.
Gun owners need to sign up immediately for a lifetime membership to the NRA.
Why? Let me tell you.
The National Rifle Association has new leadership, and they seem intent on fighting for the Second Amendment. And that fight is real.
Just because Republicans control both houses of Congress and a Republican is in the White House doesn’t mean we are safe. Consider that as I’m writing this the Supreme Court – with a supposed 6-3 membership to “our side” – allowed a Maryland anti-gun law to stand.
The anti-gunners will use every tragic crime to push for you to be disarmed using the exact tactics of division they project on others. Sadly, their lies find a home with millions of Americans – voters – who simply don’t know better.
We can’t depend on the Supreme Court, Congress or the President to do what’s right and protect our rights. We have to do that – both directly and through gun rights organizations including the NRA.
We have to fight back – hard.
I don’t mean picking up a rifle and head off to war. I mean politically. We have to block all anti-gun legislation locally and in Washington DC. To do that, we need to organize – something the NRA has been doing for decades.
For a limited time, the NRA is offering up to 50% off on its memberships. These are FULL memberships with magazine subscription, voting rights and all other privileges.
Organized, we can slow down, modify and stop any and all legislative threats to our freedoms. Disorganized – well, we will have them rammed down our throats.
I think Ben Franklin said it best:
You have several choices in how to join the NRA. Follow my recruiting link here.
The best deal is on the Lifetime Membership which is currently discounted half off in an effort to bring as many people into the fight as possible. That will be a $750 investment into the fight and gets you full voting rights at the National Rifle Association.
The $600 NRA life membership discount from years past is gone! I don’t expect to see it ever come back.
The current best deal is $750 to secure your lifetime membership to the National Rifle Association with full voting rights. Follow my recruiting link here.
Keep in mind, the current NRA membership deal is for a limited time only and can change at any time. Those who have missed prior deals know this to be true.
If you cannot afford a lifetime membership, consider a one-year or five-year membership. While these levels do not earn you voting rights within the National Rifle Association, they still help the fight and provide you with important information about new legislation, a magazine subscription of your choice and a wealth of additional benefits.
If you think gun rights are safe, you would be incorrect. Not only are states like California aggressively attacking your civil rights, but anti-freedom organizations are continuing to push for more legislation at the local and federal levels as well.
Even “safe” states like Florida have gun control laws we have to repeal.
Did you know that under Florida’s laws, a 20-year old can’t buy a hunting rifle to deal with feral pigs destroying his farm?
Like many of you, I don’t agree with the NRA on every point. Fortunately, new leadership is steering the organizatrion a better direction. And they are fighting many of these draconian laws like the one that prevents adults from owning rifles in Florida.
Plus, as a lifetime member, you get full voting rights. That means you decide who will be on the board of directors. This can help direct the organization down the path that you think it needs to go. I think there need to be some changes, and we need every voting member to make that possible.
Even if you cannot afford to sign up for the lifetime membership, the NRA still offers a discount on annual memberships.
Annual memberships are benefitting from a $10 price drop. An annual membership does not get you voting rights until you’ve been a member for five consecutive years. However, it gets you on the team with the magazine and other benefits until you are in a position to jump up to a lifetime member.
If it sounds like I’m pushing hard for everyone to join the NRA, it’s because I am. I want to improve the organization with fresh blood and encourage it to be more active in defending our rights to firearms and self-defense. We live in bad times and a strong, energetic NRA has never been more important. Please, take advantage of this NRA membership discount and sign up. Even if you can only grab a one year deal, hop on board!
Join today and help chart our course for the future!
Please note: My support of the NRA does not diminish my support of other gun rights organizations. I also recommend that everyone be a paid member of the Second Amendment Foundation and the Firearms Policy Coalition.
[Editor’s note: Taurus announced the new Defender 856 at the 2020 SHOT Show. The new guns are +P rated with a 3″ barrel and a front night sight.]
Taurus USA announced the return of the Model 856 revolver.
While the gun is interesting on its own, I find that it is an even more compelling introduction when it is put head-to-head with the Colt Cobra. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s first take a look at what the gun is.
At its most basic, the Taurus 856 is a 6-shot, compact revolver with a steel frame. It comes in at less than 1.5 pounds unloaded and is chambered for the venerable .38 Special cartridge.
The gun has sights typical to concealed carry revolvers of this size: a fixed front ramp with a trench-style rear that is integral to the frame and top strap.
Taurus uses a set of its own rubber stocks on the gun. I’ve not had a chance to shoot a gun with these grips yet, but they look to be an improvement over some of the grips the company used in the past. The profile looks similar to Pachmayr Compac grips I’ve used occasionally on my Smith & Wesson J-frames.
(Update: Taurus will introduce new frame colors for the 856 at the 2019 SHOT Show.)
When Dirty Harry asked that question, he was talking about the rounds in his 6-shot .44 Magnum. But a lot of cops were asking themselves the same question when that movie was released. Should their backup gun hold six shots, or only five?
While many compact wheel guns use a 5-shot cylinder to decrease the gun’s width, there are a lot of people who are hesitant to give up that extra round of ammunition in their defensive handgun.
Guns like the Colt Cobra battled the 5-shot J-frames from Smith & Wesson for position in the ankle holsters of cops in the 60s and 70s. That single extra round of ammo made the decision easy for a lot of lawmen. A little extra width and weight were a cheap price for 20% more firepower.
With the renewed interest in the compact revolver, companies have expanded their wheelgun offerings in recent years. This includes Colt, that rolled out its updated Cobra in 2017.
The new Taurus 856 is a direct competitor to the new Cobra. Both are compact, steel-frame revolvers with 6-shot cylinders.
There are differences, of course. Here’s a look at some of their specs:
| Taurus 856 | Colt Cobra | |
|---|---|---|
| Caliber | .38 Special | .38 Special |
| Capacity | 6 | 6 |
| Action | DA/SA | DA/SA |
| Barrel Length | 2″ | 2″ |
| Overall Length | 6.55″ | 7.2″ |
| Unloaded Weight | 22.1 oz | 25.0 oz |
| Frame Material | carbon steel or stainless steel | stainless steel |
| Height | 4.8″ | 4.9″ |
| Width | 1.41″ | 1.40″ |
| Sights | serrated front ramp, fixed trench rear | fiber optic front, fixed trench rear |
| Grip | Taurus branded rubber | Hogue Overmolded |
| Finish | matte blue or matte stainless | matte finish |
| MSRP | $329 | $699 |
While I would prefer the Colt’s fiber optic sight to the Taurus’s serrated ramp, the specs seem to heavily favor the Model 856 when you factor in the final comparison: the price.
The Colt Cobra is more than twice the price of the Taurus 856.
I would never buy a self-defense handgun on price alone. However, the huge price difference is likely to sway many people standing at a gun counter.
For me, the key differences are the ones not listed in the spec chart above. What kind of reliability can I expect out of each gun? How smooth is the trigger? Does the gun feel good in my hand?
Those are things that I can only determine through testing of the guns.
Taurus USA and its parent company have been through some rough years. I don’t know if the bad times are truly behind them, but I do like the guns I’ve seen announced at the SHOT Show this year. The guns expand on the company’s best lines and are interesting enough to bring in new buyers.
The Model 856 seems to be introduced with the same reasoning. It is a known winner and is competing in a popular niche with relatively little direct competition: compact, 6-shot revolvers. With such an inexpensive MSRP, I suspect these guns will be good sellers.
If Taurus quality control can keep these guns in the hands of its customers and out of the repair center, I think this gun can go a long way in restoring trust to the Taurus brand.
Last Update: October 17, 2022
Rumors of a multi-caliber revolver being introduced at the SHOT Show are true. Say hello to the Taurus 692.
The Model 692 is a revolver that is chambered in .357 Magnum. As most shooters know, you can shoot .38 Special loads from a .357 Magnum wheelgun. The twist, however, is that you can also shoot common 9mm rounds through this gun with the use of a conversion cylinder.
Taurus already offers a 9mm revolver, though it cannot shoot other cartridges from the gun. (Read more on the Taurus 905.) The 692 is designed to give your greater cartridge flexibility with a single gun purchase.
Swapping a revolver’s cylinder is easy and takes just a minute with a screwdriver. One of the things I like about the cylinders on this gun is that they are unfluted. Generally, I like a fluted cylinder, but the unfluted version looks good on this gun.
Taurus offers the 692 in two different barrel lengths: a 3″ model for concealed carry and a longer 6.5″ model for target shooting and fun at the range. Interestingly, Taurus elected to port the barrels on this model. The porting should help reduce muzzle rise and felt recoil, though it is possible this could increase the visible flash in low light.
Both versions of the revolver are available in either a matte black or matte stainless finish.
Although many people still refer to revolvers as six shooters, the Taurus 692 is not. It is a seven shooter. In both the 9mm and the .38/.357 cylinders, you have seven rounds. For the 9mm shooter, Taurus includes its stellar clips so the rounds are easily loaded and the empty cases can be extracted without any problems.
Up front, Taurus uses a pinned ramp sight. An adjustable rear sight is standard.
The Taurus 692 is a double-action gun that can be cocked for single-action shooting. The spurred hammer is fully exposed.
The suggested retail price on this gun is $659. Your dealer sets the final price, so I imagine you could get out the door with a Model 692 for less than $600.
| Caliber | .38 Special, .357 Magnum, 9mm |
| Capacity | 7 rounds |
| Action | DA/SA |
| Barrel Length | 3″, 6.5″ |
| Weight | 35 oz (3″), 46 oz (6.5″) |
| Sights | pinned ramp front, adjustable rear |
| Grip | Taurus rubber grip |
| Finish | matte black or matte stainless |
| MSRP (at launch) | $659 |
The 692 was on display at the 2018 SHOT Show. The gun was pretty much as described, porting and all. The one thing I didn’t like was the huger “TRACKER” logo down the left side of the barrel assembly. Otherwise, the gun looked good. Early indications show a lot of interest in this revolver, so I am expecting to see Taurus sell a good number of them.
Yes, the Model 692 made it into production and can be purchased now. I know that the company has failed to deliver some announced guns in the past (28 gauge Judge cough, cough,) but this one is real.
Last Update: October 17, 2022
If rumors are to be believed, Taurus has a number of new revolvers coming out in 2018. These have not yet been announced by the company, but I have had a number of sources provide details that make them appear credible. So, with a sizable grain of salt, here is what I am hearing:
(Update: This rumor has been confirmed, though with a few detail changes.)
Taurus has never been afraid to build a large framed revolver. The Raging Hunter appears to be designed in the same spirit as the Raging Judge Magnum (in .454 Casull, .45 Colt and .410 bore) and the ill-fated Raging Judge XXVIII (a 28-gauge revolver.) Only the Taurus Raging Hunter is a milder cartridge: the .44 Magnum.
From what I am hearing, the new revolver will have a Picatinny rail on the top of the barrel for adding a scope.The barrel is 6.5″ long with an octagonal shape. It is ported. The gun will ship with sights including an adjustable rear.
I am also hearing that the Raging Hunter will be available in both two-tone and black finishes. It will have the company’s recoil reducing grips with the red stripe down the back.
The Taurus Raging Hunter sounds like a revamped version of the older Model 444 Raging Bull. This was a .44 Magnum revolver that was offered about seven years ago. With the exception of the barrel, the gun was nearly identical to what has been described to me as the Raging Hunter. The older revolver’s barrel did not have a Picatinny rail but was vented instead.
(Update: This rumor has been confirmed, though with a few detail changes. See the details on the Taurus 856 revolver here.)
The new 856 revolver is a six-shot, .38 Special handgun with a steel frame. It has a 2″ barrel and a weight of about 22 ounces. This makes it a direct competitor to the recently reintroduced Colt Cobra – another 2″ wheelgun that holds 6 rounds in the cylinder.
This gun appears to be a reintroduction of the prior steel framed model 856 revolvers. Those were also 2″ steel framed guns that held 6 rounds and weighed 22.2 ounces. The original 856 revolvers appear to have been discontinued in later 2012. The guns appeared in the Taurus 2012 catalog, but not in the 2013.
The above photo is of the original Taurus 856 from 2012.
Older 856 revolvers also had an option for a magnesium frame that dropped the weight to less than a pound. The new guns do not appear to have this option.
(Update: This rumor has been confirmed, though with a few detail changes. See the details on the Taurus 692 here.)
While the two rumored revolvers previously mentioned have older versions of them, this is one that may be a new entity entirely.
The Taurus 692 is supposed to be a .357 Magnum revolver that comes with a 9mm conversion cylinder. This means that you could shoot .38 Special, 9mm and .357 Magnum from the same gun. I know that Taurus offers a 9mm revolver and convertible rimfire revolvers, but I don’t recall ever seeing a centerfire convertible revolver from them previously. (Feel free to comment below and let me know what I’m forgetting.)
The gun is said to be available with a 3″ or 6″ barrel and have a steel frame.
While these new guns are just rumors at this point, all of them make sense to me. Taurus has not had a lot of new product introductions in the recent years and could do with an injection of some fresh models. As some of these seem to be reboots of older guns that were popular in their time, I see them as quick wins. With a new CEO dealing with legacy quality control issues and a class action lawsuit, grabbing some of the low hanging fruit is a smart – and safe – move.
Last Update: October 17, 2022