Taurus 856 Ultra Lite Hammerless 38 Special 2in — Superb Carry

Description

The Taurus 856 Ultra Lite Hammerless combines the two features that make a snub-nosed revolver genuinely carryable: an aluminium frame and a hammer sealed inside it. Six rounds of .38 Special +P, a two-inch barrel, matte black throughout.

Most small revolvers make you choose. A steel gun is pleasant to shoot and heavy to carry; a spurred hammer lets you shoot single action but catches on everything. The Taurus 856 Ultra Lite Hammerless takes the carry side of both arguments — it is light enough to forget you are wearing it and shaped so that it comes out of a pocket cleanly every time.

What the two features actually do

• The anodised aluminium frame takes several ounces off a steel gun of the same size. Over a day on a belt or in a pocket, that is the difference between carrying and not carrying.
• Nothing protrudes. With the hammer fully enclosed, the Taurus 856 Ultra Lite Hammerless does not snag on a pocket lining, a coat hem or a seat belt — and it can be fired from inside a coat pocket if it has to be.
• The Taurus 856 Ultra Lite Hammerless holds six rounds, not five. The 856 frame gives you one more chamber than most small-frame revolvers of the same size.
• Barrel and cylinder are steel; only the frame is aluminium, which is where the weight saving belongs.
• A transfer bar safety, fixed sights and a black finger-grooved rubber grip.

The honest trade-offs

• Light revolvers kick harder. That is physics, not a fault: take weight out and the recoil has less to move. Standard-pressure .38 is comfortable; a steady diet of +P is not.
• Double action only. Every press is the same long, deliberate pull, and there is no thumbing the hammer back for a careful shot. For a gun drawn fast at close range, most owners take that trade.
• The trigger takes real practice. Dry fire costs nothing and is the whole skill.
• Fixed sights, which is right for the job — nothing to adjust, nothing to knock out of zero, nothing to catch.
• Six rounds and a slow reload. Carry a speed strip and treat the Taurus 856 Ultra Lite Hammerless as a gun you shoot well rather than a gun you shoot a lot.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-856021ULCH
• UPC: 725327617501
• Calibre: .38 Special +P
• Capacity: 6 rounds
• Barrel: 2 in, matte black alloy steel
• Cylinder: matte black alloy steel
• Frame: small, matte black anodized aluminium
• Action: double action only, fully enclosed hammer
• Sights: fixed
• Safety: transfer bar
• Grip: black finger-grooved rubber

.38 Special is standardised by SAAMI, and +P is a separate, higher standard within it — which is why a revolver has to be rated for it, as this one is. From a two-inch barrel the difference between a good standard-pressure load and a +P is smaller than the pressure numbers suggest, so it is worth shooting both and choosing the one you can put where you want quickly.

MAG5 stocks the rest of the 856 range: the steel-framed concealed-hammer 856 and its stainless version, the spurred-hammer Ultra Lite in black and stainless, and the all-steel 856 in stainless. For .357 on a similar frame, the 650.

Why the Taurus 856 Ultra Lite Hammerless earns its place

• The Taurus 856 Ultra Lite Hammerless is light enough that it actually gets carried, which is the only quality that matters in a carry gun.
• A snag-free draw from a pocket or a bag.
• Six rounds where most small revolvers offer five.
• One consistent trigger press to learn, with nothing to switch off.
• No slide to rack and no magazine to seat — a real advantage for weaker hands.

This is a pocket and purse gun, a backup, and a sensible first revolver for someone who will carry it far more than they shoot it. It suits anyone who cannot work a semi-automatic slide and anyone who has found that a heavier gun ends up in a drawer. The Taurus 856 Ultra Lite Hammerless is not a range gun — a long afternoon with +P will remind you of that — and it is not the choice if you want to shoot single action at distance.

In stock now at MAG5 Firearms in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Handgun sales ship to a licensed dealer in your state, where you will complete a Form 4473 and the background check before taking delivery.