.45 Colt in the Judge is not bad at all

I could see the case to be made that it'd be good for a DA 45, with a round of 410 for the occasional small critter.

I think 410 is abysmal for self defense. People see what it does to paper and think it's great, but from experience 410 from a handgun struggles with just one water jug which rules it out for self defense for me.

Stoked with 45Colt I don't have any issues and agree it'd be a capable, if slightly large wheel gun for the task.

I bought one long before they called them a judge or pushed them for SD. Just a 45/410 tracker with a 6 inch barrel aimed at hunting. Was on clearence for a bit over 200 dollars because nobody wanted them. Mine shoots 45 extremely well. Good enough to hunt with and at least as good as my 8 inch 460xvr when using 45 colt. It changed my mind on bullet jump from cylinder to forcing cone actually since the jump is considerable. Before I got that gun I was convinced it was a huge accuracy killer

Now 410 shot in the 6 inch is absolutely worthless. Anything but buckshot can quite easily miss at distances closer than you would think possible. Therefore I left it for my dad to kill varmints with in the barns at close distance. (He is a pretty terrible shot). That was before any SD 410 ammo was marketed so I cant speak to how well that would do in a 6 inch

I had a T/C Contender a long time ago (like when they first came out.) Spent a lot of my youth on a farm traipsing the woods with it. Figured out a few things in the process. To make a long story short your ability to shoot a little more shot with a 410 over the capsules in 45 Colt does little for your effective range and nothing you can stuff in a 410 hull is as effective on larger stuff than a 250gr JHP.

TTv2 said:

The Federal 4 pellet stuff is built specifically for .410 handguns and is reasonably accurate out to 7 yards.

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The Federal "Handgun" 410 wouldn't punch through both sides of a water filled gallon jug in my experience at about 10ft.

I'm also not counting on someone going "oh man, I've been shot! I better stop what I'm doing." I'll call that more effective than the sound of a shotgun being racked, but still wouldn't rely on that stopping a tweaked out home invader.

crestoncowboy said:

Now 410 shot in the 6 inch is absolutely worthless. Anything but buckshot can quite easily miss at distances closer than you would think possible. Therefore I left it for my dad to kill varmints with in the barns at close distance. (He is a pretty terrible shot). That was before any SD 410 ammo was marketed so I cant speak to how well that would do in a 6 inch

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I can see it being pretty handy for blasting raccoons inside a barn. That sounds about the perfect application for these 410 handguns.

I have one of the 2.75" S&W "Governor" versions, that takes 45acp (in moon clips), 45Colt, and 2.5" .410's.

Mine shoots the 45acp and 45Colt very well, and as well as most of my other revolvers. I keep hearing how that long jump in the cylinder will really screw up accuracy, but I havent found that to be the case. If anything, the shorter, 45acps are the most accurate of the bunch when I try and actually shoot groups.

As far as the 410's go, with the Federal 000 buck loads, Ive had good accuracy with them. I consistently get 3-4" vertical strings at 10 yards and they shoot to POA.At 3-5 yards, the pattern is tighter, and more like a group.

The Federal #4 shot loads, seem to consistently pattern well, and anything at 15-20' would be well-peppered with shot.

I can see the 410's working well for a small critter/snake load, especially the shot loads. The buck load would probably do OK at closer distances, but since you still have to aim them like you would the pistol calibers, you might as well just use them.

I got this gun to more or less just satisfy my curiosity. Got a real good deal on it in a trade and it was basically NIB. Up until then, I really didnt see the point to them and thought they were a waste and not really a serious gun. Ive come away with a slightly different view of them now that I have one.

I still wouldnt choose one as my first choice, and for most things, but I do see that they could be handy and work well in some circumstances.

gotboostvr said:

I can see it being pretty handy for blasting raccoons inside a barn.

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Opossum usually. He leaves a stick in the feed barrels so the squirrel can come and go. Rats dont bother him. Mink are ok......Dad has faced everything from poverty as a youth with 8 siblings in a one room shack to cancer to war......but an opossum is a creature so fearsome that even pop goes into a full panic. Lol. Its humorous actually. We have walked up on bear, skunk, bobcat, coyote.....he is a career logger and farmer and has spent his life outdoors. But for whatever reason he freaks out over an opossum. Lol.

I left him with plenty of 000 buckshot and that's what he uses.

I've sold dozens at the shop where I work and had one of my own. The big throats were mentioned and they often run .010" or more oversize. I've never had a gun lead worse. They did increase our sales of lead removal patches. I prefer one of three other revolvers when I'm down at "The Hill", my hunting property. 624 Smith 44 special, Ruger Flattop 44 special, or if I'm feeling lazy, an original Bulldog in the same wonderful caliber.
Speer shot caps and swc loaded specials give me better patterns with shot and similar power with ball. Sometimes I take the 45 convertible Balckhawk. Best thing, no leading and good accuracy way beyond ten yards.

Snakes and other small critters sure, but a Judge for self-defense?

I have a Governor but it is way more to carry than my snubby S&W 625 for the same effect; and the 625 reloads with moon clips.

I have a Mossberg home defender in 410 (16.5" barrel with the oxymoronically named "open choke"), but I only loan it to petite women who can't handle a 20 (something is better than nothing).

I'd hate to need a 410 for defense, however I have some rubber buckshot rounds for hazing black bears rooting in the trash.

The Governor uses, or can use, the same moon clips and 45acp your 625 uses.

I have a 625 too, although its a 4" gun. Both are about the same when you compare them hand in hand, side by side though. The 625 is a bit heavier being all SS, and about a half-inch longer. The Governor having the Scandium frame is a bit lighter.

One of my 625s is a snubby with an alloy frame and is much easier to carry than the Governor. Hell, its hard to even find a holster for that thing.

I have mine in one of these.

El Paso "Tanker"


Thats what I keep my 625, and a few other things in as well. Quick and easy to grab, and ammo is right there with it.

I always carry a Glock 17. Everything else comes under "supplemental". I dont lose one for the other, I just add what I feel I might need.

I have shot a Judge and liked it.
I can foresee a judge or Governor in my future because I reload .410, .45colt, and .45acp.
I think the moonclips for the Governor would be great.

Koroner said:

I'd hate to need a 410 for defense,

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I cast .390 rb for my .40 bp rifle. I've been wanting to plunk four or five .390rb down in a .410 wad and see what happens on paper.

Armored farmer said:

I have shot a Judge and liked it.
I can foresee a judge or Governor in my future because I reload .410, .45colt, and .45acp.

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Seems a dangerous admission, as much as we might sometimes feel like doing the same.
Reloading seems a poor reason for such mayhem.

Old Stumpy said:

Seems a dangerous admission, as much as we might sometimes feel like doing the same.
Reloading seems a poor reason for such mayhem.

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Oh someone will get tired of theirs and it will end up at my lgs, which is just a temporary holding tank on it's way to my house.

Armored farmer said:

Oh someone will get tired of theirs and it will end up at my lgs, which is just a temporary holding tank on it's way to my house.

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My wife says the same thing about me and the used counter at my LGS...they're just being babysat until I walk in and buy .

Stay safe.

45 LC is a great cartridge. If you can hit torso at 10 yards, that's an effective self defense revolver. Of course, there are smaller, lighter, more accurate 45 LC revolvers available. That begs the question: why the .410 chamber?

Taurus or its corporate predecessor began producing a .410 smoothbore revolver in Brazil at least as early as the 1980s. They did so because such a firearm was legal in a country with very strict gun laws. It was legal because it was considered to have limited lethality and only be suitable for extremely close self defense, and was used mainly in defense against car-jackings. It turned out that many members of the judiciary began carrying such revolvers as they were subject to an above average number of attacks. Thus, the revolver became "The Judge". The .410 revolver was developed as a result of Brazilian gun laws and, as a smoothbore, probably wasn't so bad.

As a result of U.S. gun laws, a .410 chambered revolver must have a rifled barrel. Consequently, it patterns shot poorly. To mitigate that, these revolvers are made with shallow rifling, which does not lend itself to great accuracy with the 45 LC they are also chambered in.

Thus, we have a firearm that exists because it was designed to meet strict Brazilian firearms laws and was legal there because it was deemed to have limited lethality. Its lethality with shot was further diminished by compliance with US firearms laws, which render the .410 chamber utterly unnecessary in any event. the attempt to mitigate the impact of rifling on shot diminishes the effectiveness of the 45 LC.

How fitting therefore that these silly revolvers are named after offices of the judiciary branch.

I wouldn't recommend a 410 full sized shotgun against anything dangerous, so the Judge being popular has always been weird to me.

Plus the size of some of these makes me wonder why people buy the longer barrelled ones instead of like.....a Serbu Shorty if a small shotgun is needed, and it's even a real shotgun caliber

crestoncowboy said:

But for whatever reason he freaks out over an opossum. Lol.
.

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I can understand. Opossums are enemy number one on our hobby farm as they carry diseases very deadly to horses.

Apologies for the thread diversion.

10-15 years ago, I saw a piece on one of the gun tv shows covering the Taurus Judge. The Taurus folks were shooting at clay targets on a skeet field and doing quite well. I foerget exactly where they were standing but it was not at the standard skeet stations.

TTv2 said:

The long barrel ones could be used in conjunction with something called .45 Black Powder Magnum, which is a .460 S&W case loaded with black powder/substitutes. In the long barrel, it would gain velocity fairly well with the substitues and would probably be faster than .45 Colt with a max charge of smokeless powder.

I'm not sure who would want to go thru the trouble of cleaning it afterward tho, but that is the potential the long barrel Judges have.

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First off you'd need to have chambers reamed as there is a step in the regular 45/410 cylinder that prevents 454/460 ammo from clambering.
Second the BPM even from a Walker's 9" barrel is about the same velocity as saami spec 45 Colt from a 4" let alone hotter Colt offerings that are SAA safe.