I think I have found my "survival gun". I recently picked up a Taurus Public Defender, which is the 2" barreled model of the Judge line up. This five shot revolver shoots .45Long Colt and .410 shotshells. Mine takes 2.5" shells, but some models take 3" shells.
I've done enough shooting with this little handgun to be confident that it can hit small targets at reasonable ranges with birdshot, buckshot, and .45LC loadings. It's not a long distance shooter, but it can be with you, unobtrusively, anywhere you care to go.
This handgun is also available in 6" and 3" barrel lengths. Those handguns have larger grips and are a bit more user friendly, but also heavier and bulkier.
I did a bit of aerial shooting with #6 shot and handthrown clays.
Hitting was easy, clays broke with great regularity. It would be very easy to hit most any target such as a squirrel, snake or bird out to 30-40 feet.
Then a bit of shooting with .45LC.
.45LC is a pussycat out of this all steel revolver. Recoil was very manageable. I didn't get a chance to shoot for groups, but I shot enough to satisfy myself that I can put a full cylinder at speed into a sheet of typing paper from 12 paces without working at it.
When I have more time I'll shoot some groups off a rest and see what kind of accuracy this little fellow is truly capable of. When I bore down and paid attention to the front sight, however, I was able to put three or four shots within an inch or two of a piece of tape in the center of the paper. This tells me that with more familiarity and perhaps some handloads, small game at reasonable distances could be in danger of ending up in the stewpot.
I then put some of the Winchester PDX specialty ammo downrange.
This is the load that is made up of three copper clad disks backed up by a load of shot.
This stuff was pretty hot. I haven't had a chance to put anything over a chronograph, but the Winchester PDX load was an attention getter. It was pretty accurate, though, able to put the three disks into a 2-4" group at 10-12 paces.
I don't really know why the shot was added to the load, but I guess it adds a little bit of spread to ensure a hit. Personally I think I could do without it.
Reliability was perfect. I haven't yet experienced any problems with this gun, though of course round count is still low. Now some random pics showing the features of the weapon.
This revolver is a bit chunky compared to a J frame Smith or a Taurus 85. That's because the cylinder of course is longer, but the top strap is also thicker and heavier. The grip is quite small. I have small hands, and I find my trigger finger finds its way quite far through the trigger guard. It's easy to get very high on the backstrap shooting one handed, which is good when shooting one-handed.
The grip on this handgun is one piece and held on the frame by an allen screw. It is nicely checkered, but I'm not a big fan of checkering on a revolver grip.
The sights are pretty good. I don't expect the fiber optic rod to stay in place as the one on my other Judge fell out after a time, but it isn't really necessary anyway. The rear sight is well done and deep enough for real use.
The front sight is very visible and the eye picks it up easily.
The ejection rod pushes the empties about 1" out of the cylinder. Upending the gun and giving the rod a rap won't clear all the empties at the same time. The cylinder needs to be turned a bit to allow all of them to clear the grips.
One thing I really like about the machining on this revolver is that the mouths of the chambers have been nicely smoothed and just the tiniest bit chamfered. This aids smooth loading of both metallic cartridges and shotshells.
The thumblatch is well contoured and free of sharp edges. The hammer is bobbed, but with enough spur for single action shooting if desired.
The PD comes with an integral lock, if you like that kind of thing. :slap:
All in all I'm quite impressed. I know that many people who consider themselves "serious" handgunners in the shooting community poo poo this line of firearms, but being a serious handgunner myself, I find it hard to do so. Whether in .45LC or pushing out buckshot (.36 caliber), this little powerhouse is certainly more effective than a .38, which many consider adequate for self defense.
I am very impressed with the versatility of this handgun, and I think it will make a very good backpacking/hiking/survival companion.
Now I need to pick up the 3" model......
Andy
). I bought it as a brush-hunting/survival gun and just cause i love double barrel shotguns. The 20" barrel seems too short to some people but i like it. The only thing i think it needs is a sling. Anyway, i think its going to perform pretty well in the woods and hopefully ill take it out soon to put it to the test.
