There’s something about the blending of old and new firearms technology that’s always gotten my motor running. So, when I saw that Taurus had red-dot-equipped revolvers at SHOT Show 2023, I naturally had to take a closer look.
Despite never being much of a revolver guy, and only recently venturing into the world of red-dot-equipped handguns, I immediately liked the concept. I mean, why not? Virtually every other style of handgun comes optics-ready these days, so why not revolvers, too? It was only a matter of time until someone put the two together, and Taurus happened to be the first with the release of the 605 and Defender 856 T.O.R.O.
The 605 is a five-shot .357 Magnum, and the 856 Defender is a six-shot .38 Special +P; I brought in the latter for testing. Upon its arrival, I was both impressed and somewhat surprised by how simply the company converted its standard 856 Defender into a T.O.R.O. (Taurus Optic Ready Option) variant. Yet, I was left feeling more work could’ve
