John1911 is all about “Shooting Guns and Having Fun” and I’ve got to say this project falls entirely in the “Having Fun” category. I started with a factory Taurus 856 – basically a budget version of a S&W J-frame. While I’m a big revolver fan, I have no desire to do anything serious with any Taurus guns, so this wheel-gun quickly became a joke idea.
First I bobbed the hammer, which I think is perfect on these little J-frame sized guns. I also polished the factory matte finish to 320 grit and dropped everything in the bluing tanks. I replaced the plain black blade sight with an XS Big Dot . I also installed inexpensive wood grips with a Tyler T style grip adapter. There are plenty of oversized aftermarket grips available, but I think these Tyler T grips are just neat.
Lastly, and my absolute favorite modification, is the “NOTACOLT” on the side-plate. A coworker drew this up on a sticky note, so I couldn’t resist getting a hilarious laser engraving done. After re-bluing the parts, I used the Bonanza Gold inlaying kit to add fake gold inlay into the engraving to really go over the top and make it pop.
Hopefully everyone laughs as much as we did with this custom Taurus. Sometimes you’ve got to go through with stupid ideas just because you can!
Chris W.
www.John1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
- M1A Adjustable Spindle Valve - November 8, 2025
- Custom Taurus – “Not a Colt” - June 12, 2025
- 1911 Cutaway Project - May 14, 2025
