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I have six other wheelguns on the desk while I type this, all of them excellent in their own ways. The one that keeps pulling my attention back, though, is the new Taurus 66 Combat. I have been impressed by Taurus before, most recently with a two-and-a-half-inch Taurus 692 that I tuned myself and still enjoy.
The Taurus 66 Combat
When the 66 Combat was announced, my hope was simple. Give me a can-do revolver that shows up ready for modern defensive use, with the features most shooters end up adding anyway, and make it run. That is exactly what Taurus tried to do here. The result is a wheelgun that arrives far closer to “mission ready” than any other.
What Taurus Made
At its core, the 66 Combat is a seven-shot, stainless-steel, double-action-only revolver. It is chambered in .357 Magnum with a three-inch barrel. The frame carries a full-length underlug and ejector-rod assembly. So, the gun balances nose-forward and clears empties with authority.
Taurus ships it optics-ready, and in the box, you get a mounting plate for RMS-C pattern micro dots. According to Taurus, K-frame holsters will fit, which opens up an ocean of carry options. The front sight dovetail is compatible with Taurus 856-series aftermarket blades if you want to tailor your sight picture.
The cylinder is dimensionally the same as a seven-shot S&W 686, which means common seven-shot 686 speedloaders work. Out back, Taurus installs a Hogue Bantam-style monogrip. It is compact and conceals well. It is also rubber, which can cling to cover garments. If you want something different, any Taurus medium-frame round-butt grip will fit.
The 66 Combat also uses a cylinder-yoke system with a secondary front detent. That extra lock point makes the gun feel tighter during quick strings, keeps the cylinder from chattering, and gives you that clean pop into the hand when you press the latch for a speed reload. Small touches like this matter when you actually run a revolver hard.
Optics on a Wheelgun
The 66 ships set up for dots, and Taurus developed plates in collaboration with C&H Precision. C&H is working on a dedicated plate for the 66 Combat. In the meantime, Judge TORO plates fit, and Taurus includes an RMS-C option in the box.
I chose to mount a Meprolight MPO DF (RMR) with a Judge Plate from. C+H. I have been high on Mepro’s pistol optics lately, and I run an MPO PRO-F on my Beretta 1301 with great results. The MPO DF sat nicely on the 66 once I sourced screws that matched the frame threads and trimmed them to length.
The bag of hardware I received from C&H did not include screws that fit this gun specifically. So, I raided the bench, shortened a set, and the RMR-adapter plate cinched down without drama. Not to worry, though, by the time this publishes, C+H will most likely have a dedicated plate ready to roll.
On the range, the MPO DF delivered a crisp, clean dot with no distracting splash. That clarity is big when you are pressing a double-action trigger. The dot stays where you left it, and you can see the exact point of impact as the shot breaks.
If you have never run a red-dot revolver, it accelerates the learning curve. You can see flinch and lift for what they are, then coach yourself back into a steady press.
Ergos and Control of the 66 Combat
Taurus gave the 66 a slightly larger trigger guard than many peers in this frame size. I read that as an intentional play to ensure broader holster compatibility and also a nod to gloved hands. It has a knock-on benefit. The larger loop gives the trigger face just a little more room to breathe, which can make the gun feel cleaner through the arc of travel.
The cylinder on the 66 Combat is unfluted. From a design perspective, that leaves more steel in the tube, which is useful when you are squeezing seven chambers into a diameter that many makers reserve for six. From a handling perspective, unfluted cylinders look mean and wipe clean easily.
My only gripe is that during rapid reloads, I like to index my fingers on flutes by feel. A smooth cylinder sometimes forces a quick glance to verify orientation. In a perfect world, my hands do that job while my eyes stay downrange. This is not a deal breaker, simply a preference that shows up chasing efficiency.
Now for my favorite feature on the gun. Taurus bobbed the hammer at the factory. If I could buy every defensive revolver this way, I would. A dehorned, snag-free tail supports the way you should run a three-inch defensive revolver in the first place, strictly double-action.
It also avoids the courtroom baggage that can come with home-brewed modifications on a carry gun. I will happily applaud any maker who sells a DAO carry wheelgun that already looks the part.
Holsters, Carry, and Setup
Because the 66 Combat is K-frame holster compatible, you can find fits easily. I went to Erik at Side Guard Holsters for a dedicated OWB Reinforced Snap that would clear the dot. He asked a few smart questions, then built what I needed.
The holster showed up, the gun seated with the Meprolight installed, and retention felt right where a carry scabbard should live. If you need leather for any configuration, Erik is a great craftsman. Tell him Mitch sent you.
Weight matters when you actually carry and train. In the configuration shown, with optic and fully loaded, the 66 Combat weighed 2 pounds 6.7 ounces on my scale. That is four ounces lighter than my S&W Performance Center Model 19 Carry Comp configured for carry, while holding a seventh round and an optic up top.
Taurus 66 Combat Factory Action
Mechanically, the 66 Combat uses a transfer-bar safety. When you press the trigger, the bar rises between the hammer and firing pin. This allows the hammer fall to light the primer. Let the trigger go forward, and the bar drops back out of the way. With this mechanism, the gun can’t bump fire.
Both transfer-bar and hammer-block systems seek the same end state: a revolver that cannot fire unless the trigger is intentionally pressed. Transfer-bar guns sometimes feel slightly “busier” through the arc than a classic hammer-block system. Taurus did good work here. The press on my sample was clean and surprisingly smooth throughout the entire stroke.
I measured the DAO pull on a Lyman digital gauge. The average across seven pulls was 7 pounds 8.2 ounces. You read that right. That number would have been considered fantasy on many production revolvers a decade ago.
The weight works on the clock, too. A lighter, consistent press lets you ride the dot more honestly, and it makes an immediate difference for newer shooters who are learning to run a revolver without staging the trigger.
If I could add one part at the factory, I would include a simple over-travel stop in the trigger. It shortens the motion after the break, cleans up the feel, and makes follow-through more deliberate. I may add one to this gun as I continue to work with it.
Range and Ammunition
I took the 66 Combat to the range with a tray of Lehigh Defense loads and put it to work from up close, firing from retention and out to fifty feet. All velocity data was captured on my Garmin Xero chronograph.
.357 Mag
LD 105g CF (Advertised 1500 fps, 4in gun) Avg: 1397.4
LD 120g XD (Advertised 1400 fps, 4in gun) Avg: 1303.0
LD 125g CF (Advertised 1250 fps, 4in gun) Avg: 1137.4
.38+P
LD 100g XD (Advertised 1050 fps, 4in gun) Avg: 905.2
My top performer was the 125g Controlled Fracturing .357. It shot an inch and a half group at 50 feet, from a bag.
Numbers aside, the gun itself was the constant. It tracked flat for a three-inch magnum, the Hogue grip soaked up the snap of the stiffer loads, and the dot let me call every shot.
The best group of the day came from a bag at fifty feet with the 125-grain CF. It printed about an inch and a half for me. The gun is absolutely more accurate than I am on demand, and that is what I want from a defensive revolver.
Transitions felt natural. The secondary detent gave that satisfying launch into the hand during reloads. If you run speedloaders designed for the seven-shot 686, they click with the Taurus. That small interoperability detail makes life easier when you are standardizing pouches and loaders across a few wheelguns.
Why a Wheelgun?
People ask me why I still carry revolvers, especially with dot-equipped compacts everywhere. The answer is not nostalgia. It is mechanics. A revolver has fewer moving parts in the firing cycle. Draw, press, and shoot. A good wheelgun will also give you multiple shots from inside a coat pocket.
I once made a friendly wager with a buddy who carried a Hellcat. I told him his pistol would likely give him one shot, maybe two, from inside a pocket before the slide ate the garment. He proved my point. We ended up cutting the gun out of the coat. My J-frame, by comparison, fired all five through the pocket without choking.
A revolver cannot be pushed out of battery by hard contact at the muzzle either. If you are in a clinch, that matters. Press an autoloader into something solid, and the slide can move rearward just enough to drive the gun out of battery.
Press a revolver into the same target and, so long as the cylinder can turn, the gun will fire again and again until it is empty. These are not hypotheticals. They are realities of how fights unfold in tight spaces.
Changes & Wishlist for the 66 Combat
The 66 Combat gets more right than wrong, especially at a street price of about $800. Out of the gate, it gives you a bobbed hammer, a seven-shot cylinder, optics-ready machining with a plate in the box (RMS-c), K-frame holster compatibility, a secondary cylinder detent, and a factory action that many shooters will not feel the need to touch. My practical change would be a fitted over-travel stop in the trigger. That is it.
If I get to dream a little, I would love a fluted cylinder for better tactile indexing during reloads, an aluminum-alloy frame to drop ounces for daily carry, and a shortened cylinder and window sized for a dedicated 9 mm or .38 +P package while keeping seven rounds.
The idea is to build a featherweight, optics-ready, seven-shot defensive revolver that carries like a J-frame yet shoots like a medium frame. That would end a lot of debates. The 66 Combat already walks that walk.
Last Cylinder
Taurus did not just stitch modern parts onto an old pattern. The 66 Combat feels like a revolver designed for how people actually carry and train today. It is DAO from the factory, it is cut for a dot, it uses a smart lockup, it holds seven, and it slots into common holsters. The weight carries well, and the trigger is light for a stock gun and smooth.
When I tallied what it did on the range with real defensive loads, then felt how naturally it lived on the belt with the Side Guard holster, it earned a place in the rotation.
If you have been waiting for a wheelgun that arrives ready to work, the Taurus 66 Combat should be on your list. It has the features, it has the capacity, and it has a can-do attitude right out of the box.
Shoot safe.
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The post Mission Ready Wheelgun: The .357 Magnum Taurus 66 Combat appeared first on Athlon Outdoors Exclusive Firearm Updates, Reviews & News.
