You be the Judge (gun)

My folks in WTX have been carrying the 6in model for some time - mostly rattlesnake protection - but any thing else too. The Taurus makes great guns for the money IMO. Good post - the only bad thing is now I am going to want one even more
 
They've sold a ton of these at my local gunshop hangout, mostly for women and home protection. They say they can't keep them in stock. Some guys just love them.
I can't say I've never shot one. If nothing else it would be a pretty fair deterrent I'd think.
 
I had a Judge with the 6" barrel. Mine would only hold 2.5" .410 shells. It was a super snake gun, but the rifling made the shot spread out fast. I didn't think the patterns were tight enough to use for home defense. Effective range was only a few yards. But I never tried Buckshot in mine.
 
230grains said:
Or make them really angry. One or the other.

9mm is as low as i'll go with a handgun for self defense. I wouldn't carry that gun loaded with 410, .45 LC is the worst i'd go. Then again, I carry a 1911 with 30 rounds backing it up.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot41.htm
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I think it would do just fine with the right load. Looks like Federal made a special load just for the Judge.
http://www.gunsholstersandgear.com/2009/01/15/federal-premium-410-handgun-ammunition/
 
I think that with the right load with the 3" shells up very close, it would be devastating. Like loaded with #4 Buck shot at 6 ft. It's a unique and cool weapon. I had no trouble at all selling mine. The Judge is in demand.
 
I would like to see some more tests of the effectiveness of that gun. Maybe I will need one after all.
 
230grains said:
I'd like to see actual balastics testing on that, because honestly... I don't consider .410 to be a man stopper even out of a shotgun, nevermind a rifled handgun. I greatly favor a 230 grain JHP projectile flying at 985 FPS, but you could have guessed that.
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That would be good to see. I personally chose the 230 g .45 as well Sig P220.
I think that if a BG was hit with 5 rounds of those .410 loads he would be headed for boot hill.
 
H2OCutter said:
That would be good to see. I personally chose the 230 g .45 as well Sig P220.
I think that if a BG was hit with 5 rounds of those .410 loads he would be headed for boot hill.
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I wouldn't want to get hit with it, but it's going to be hard to convince me that it's a viable self defense weapon if you compare it to a traditional handgun round. That said, I could see it as a good snake gun, but even then, I'd probably opt for some shot shells. If I owned it, i'd use .45 lc, but then if I wanted a gun chambered in .45 lc, it probably wouldn't be a Taurus.
 
The Judge takes a lot of flack from the tac community as being gimmicky, and being a poor "stop them dead" defense weapon. I have the ultralight and really enjoy it, specifically as a woods sidearm with alternating .410 and.45 cowboy loads. The accuracy with the .45 loads is pretty good given the chambering, and I could think of worse rounds than a .45 colt for self defense.
It would serve quite sufficiently in a close quarters self defense situation, but mostly it's just alot of fun to shoot.
 
It is seen as Gimmicky because it does nothing great, just several things OK. It's too big to carry well when so many other revolvers in better calibers are smaller. Yea, it CAN be used for self defense, but it shouldnt be. I would never consider a 410 shell a defense round. The 45LC would be an OK round, many others would be better. And anytime someone says, "I sure wouldn't want to get hit with a 410," it just further reinforces this. They are worried about getting injured, not killed. If you are using a gun for self defense you are using it to kill, not wound. If you wound someone trying to kill you, they will either continue to come at you, or sue you for damages. And with accuracy described as "pretty good" I will stick with something else.
Yea, the 410 shells CAN kill snakes. So can a well placed round out of any gun, and so can a CCI shotshell out of any standard gun. I would prefer any S&W revolver and just add some CCI Shotshells for when I head to the woods. I even own some 45ACP shotshells for use in my 1911s. They break clays and kill snakes too, but I always have a reliable 45ACP for self defense.

Which leaves the only thing the Judge does that others can't, the buckshot from a pistol. You get 4? large pellets out of the 3" 410 shells that are traveling slow? I am just not sure what I would use this for. Can not be very accurate and I doubt very effective past 10yards or so on anything but paper, if it hits it.

Personally, ill take my 1911 for carry. I can walk around snakes in the woods. But in the gun world, everyone has opinions and they are all different. I own a SBR'd 458 SOCOM. It is kind of the same way. Would be OK at lots of things, but is great at nothing in particular, except being loud. And like many have said about the judge, its fun to shoot and I wanted it, so I have it.
 
the first one i shot was around 1990 or so and it was the semi auto 9, the pull of the trigger, resembled the pulling of a wisdom tooth, it was rough.

they have improved that greatly and really make some sweet 1911 stuff now.

the judge while not being long range accurate, would be very effective in a situation that was high pressured, i am about to crap the bed situations. most gun assaults take place in seven feet or closer and last about 7 seconds before someone is pushing up daises. with a shotgun being single handedly the best home protection, i can see where the .410 buckshot and alternating .45 would result in being highly effective in stopping/eliminating the target.

i may just have to get one and use the ballistic or extended flight shotgun shells. it would be much easier to get out of the nightstand or under the pillow.


like General McArthur said, "i saw them first"!!
 
Congrats on the gun Dave...I hear they're extremely cool and fun to shoot. Darn shame we can't have anything like that here in Cali.
 
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