Taurus Judge.45/.410 REVOLVER!!!

[Dimis]

i own a 3x3 judge (3 inch chamber x 3 inch barrel) and i love it i take it with me to the range and i get a line of people asking if they can shoot it and its alot of fun to shoot too
ive shot paper targets and clays and all kinds of things with shotshell
and ive tried my hand at bowling pins with the colt loadings other than ammo costs this thing is a blast
if you want a gun to shoot just to get funny looks and people thinking your nuts get the judge

 

[Brian Williams]

I am still scratching my head about these, they are ugly and (words are just beyond me).
Give me a good 38 spec or 45 and a good HD Shotgun.

 

[ArmedBear]

if you want a gun to shoot just to get funny looks and people thinking your nuts get the judge

Try shooting six rapid-fire from a .44 cap and ball revolver in an indoor range. Works even better, especially since nobody can see their targets for a while, so they'll all be looking at you.

 

[Hawk]

I rather like the thing but for unconventional reasons.

First, though I have no hard numbers or proof, I believe it has generated a fair number of first time handgun owners and a lesser quantity of first time gun owners. New blood makes me happy. There has been no shortage of "Judge threads" launched both here and TFL by folks that appear to be brand spanking new to the hobby.

Second, the dealers seem to be doing a land office business with the things. More gun sales are a good thing.

My personal view that it's a compromised .45 Colt combined with an enfeebled shotgun doesn't take any of the shine off the new members being added to the fraternity. All firearms are compromises that launch pellets - the Judge is just more compromised than most.

It does rather remind me of what Michael Dell once said about Gateway: "They're geared to first time buyers. How many of them will there be 5 years from now?" ... or something like that. Doesn't matter - some day, if they stick around, they'll probably buy a proper shotgun and a more conventional revolver. Plus there's sufficient gimmick factor it probably sells rather well to folks that just like the oddball stuff. I'm generally in that crowd but can't see me buying a Judge - there's plenty already doing that.

 

[Taurus_9mm]

Fun for what?

Personally speaking, primarily for plinking. I'd not be using it for self-defense purposes being that I have other firearms to take care of those needs.

www.taurusarmed.net www.gunnerforum.com

 

[Dimis]

Hawk thank you for a post that was opinionated yet non offencive as a judge owner i find alot of people bashing ME for owning it more than bashing the gun for what ever reason they feel needed

i fit in the latter catagory i own it because its oddball i already own a 12 gauge for HD and several other handguns that i would grab before the judge but plinking is pretty much its only duty in life now that spring is here ill see if its any good at snake charming when i go to do yardwork but if not thats fine because the Saiga .410 does a great job already
dont get me wrong its not like the judge has any major issues with accuracy (at least as far as i expect from it) its not a 1 hole all day @ 25 yard gun and anyone that judges firearms this way is kind of stupid IMHO it definatly has battlefield accuracy and i can hit man sized targets from as far away as 50 yards without too much difficulty the closer i am obviously the better it gets ive shot the head of a bowling pin from around 10 yards with no issues and with the .410 we plink cans all over the place
patterns are WIDE but what do you honestly expect from a 3 inch barreled shotgun?
with 000 buck at 10 yards on a silohette (sp) target its a body shot and by that i mean it hits the whole body all over the place lol but i know i wouldnt want that to happen to me
as for new owners if this is your first firearm great but dont let it be the last i fully admit that the judge doesnt work for HD as well as any off the shelf 12 gauge pump action shotgun will or any revolver chambered for one type of load alone (sans .44Special-44Magnum and .38Special-.357Magnum)
if SHTF and it was all i had i still wouldnt feel undergunned in any sence of the word its still a firearm and its still dangerous enough to have all those warnings in its owners manual and thats enough for me not to want to have one pointed in my direction and i can only assume any burgler/mugger/etc. will not want it pointed at them either

 

[DammitBoy]

the wrist breaking power of the 454 Casull.

I've got a Ruger Alaskan in .454 and I wouldn't call it 'wrist-breaking' by any stretch of the imagination.

It's a stout round - but there is no need for drama queen-like descriptions of it's power.

I also love shooting heavy .45 long colt rounds out of it, which makes it a flexible platform.

I have no need or desire to own the Judge. It's a gimmick without a purpose to me.

 

[bedwards1]

I've got the Judge, the 45 Colt and the 454 SRH. They all have a place or they wouldn't sell. It's as simple as that. I personally like mine but I don't know if I've ever seen a more divisive gun on the forums!

 

[scottishclaymore]

Holy Mackerel. Why does this keep coming up? While I don't see the practical need for the gun myself, I think it's great for the industry that there is almost any kind of gun out there for anybody who's looking. Someday I will probably buy one because they are pretty cool. At this stage in life, though, I only have money to spend on guns that are necessities.

 

[sdwagner]

First time for Judge

Okay i have seen all the hype with this gun and its intrigued me, first off i am not a big gun person, i can't hit the broad side of a barn, we have guns, every type you could really want, with the last being a s&w p15 and at that time i had told my husband that is a Judge came available it would be mine, i like th size of it for one thing, now don't get me wrong, i live in Illinois and we do not have concealed carry at this time (thanks to chicago) i am hoping that someday down the future we will and this will be my gun to carry then.

 

[41022collector]

The Judge is a decent piece. I have two of them. I also have a Mil-Tec Thunder 5. I personally like the T5 because it is more robust. They both kick like a mule when using .410 anything. BUT.... in a HD and SD situation, it is a pure asset. You can mix up the loads with buck, slugs, shot, flares, flechettes (not recommended). As a carry piece, it is a bit heavy for most applications and best on a sturdy leather belt in a slanted cross draw for me. in a shoulder holster it tends to honestly make you walk lop sided LOL

One kind of ammo it, either of them does not like are the aluminum and steel (brass plated or not) cases from Bear and Russia, they truly tend to stick in the cylinder of both the Judge and T5.

Either piece you get, get the T5 Holster, great as it has back up rounds right on the holster, no need for an ammo pouch.

The judge's one advantage is in the stainless version.

I have both, shoot both, have had ZERO trouble with both no matter the ammo except the Russian crap. There are even speed loaders and speed loader strips avail. The biggest disadvantage is extra ammo carry unless you get the T5 Holster. LOL I even shot Sporting Clays with mine, although missed a lot, it was fun. You will pay from $410 to like $550 depending on what model you get and The Judge are all over the place on Gun Broker, T5's once in a while. You can even match it up with a sadly now discontinued Winchester 94 in .410 if you wanted matched guns for ammo sakes.

I also have an American Derringer, Cobra and Bond Arms in .410, by far the Bond is better made especially the Snake model, easier to handle, but are 3 times what they are worth cost wise. The Cobra is a piece of Junk and the American derringer is very hard to handle due to it's ergonomics and sharp edges.

I am in the process of making home made brass shells out of 444 Marlin cases for the T5 and Judge.

Regards,
Mike

 

[rhinoh]

You do know you can buy brass .410 shells by MagTech right?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Using brass shells in a gun not designed for them can cause problems. For one thing, the walls of brass shells are too thin, so you need a larger wad which can be difficult to find.

 

[rhinoh]

Who says the Judge is or isn't designed for brass shotgun shells? Don't see anything in the manual advising against them.
They have worked fine in my Judge.
Yes a larger diameter wad is needed, I punch my own out of card stock.
They can be bought at circlefly.com

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Have you found shot cups for brass shells? And how much do they cost?

 

[suemarkp]

Why fret over the wad diameter? Once it hits that .440 rifling, that is way larger than the inside diameter of any case, brass or plastic. You still want the wad to seal in the barrel don't you? 410 wads have always worked in 45 colt/ACP/AR shotshells. A brass 410 cartridge isn't much different (but is smaller in diameter than any of those).

444 Marlin brass works fairly well in the Judge. It is better once it has been fire formed and you leave some of that bottle shape to the brass. If you resize too much, the brass sets back on firing and can tie up the gun or at least make it difficult to turn the cylinder with just trigger pressure.

I may try some of the all brass 410 shells, but I'd have to change to the shotshell press and I have no hand priming tool for 209 primers. Frankly, I can fit enough payload into the 444 Marlin shells if I want the velocity to be high (need less than a half ounce of shot to stay in the 1000 fps range). More length would help for a 4 ball 000 buck load if you want wads between each pellet.

 

[mgkdrgn]

Either piece you get, get the T5 Holster, great as it has back up rounds right on the holster, no need for an ammo pouch.

Where can one find a T5 Holster now days? Personally, I keep 5 x 45 Colt CCI hollowpoints (really deep nasty ones) in a speedloader. Works just fine.

 

[nulfisin]

Makes an unpopular round harder to get

Here's my rant. All the geniuses discovering the joy of handguns have devoured the 45 colt ammo. You can't hand load it either because that requires primers, which are rarer than hen's teeth these days.

Sure, there's been a run on all kinds of other ammo. But, if I'm willing to look a bit, I have no real trouble finding 9 mm, 38, 357, or 45 acp. The 45 colt, though, remains a problem. So, a tip of the cap to Taurus for spotting a demand in waiting. But curses on the Judge.

 

[rhinoh]

Have you found shot cups for brass shells? And how much do they cost?

Haven't looked or seen the need. With the proper wad under the shotcup I figure it works the same as coming from a plastic 410 shell....

 

[mgkdrgn]

Here's my rant. All the geniuses discovering the joy of handguns have devoured the 45 colt ammo. You can't hand load it either because that requires primers, which are rarer than hen's teeth these days.

Sure, there's been a run on all kinds of other ammo. But, if I'm willing to look a bit, I have no real trouble finding 9 mm, 38, 357, or 45 acp. The 45 colt, though, remains a problem. So, a tip of the cap to Taurus for spotting a demand in waiting. But curses on the Judge.

Well, I'll grant you that point. It turned me on to 45 Colt, and I liked it so much that I got a lever rifle to fire it too!

Was able to score 1700 large pistol primers the other day, so I'm set for a while.

 

[Elm Creek Smith]

My brother has a 3 inch barreled 2 1/2 inch chambered Ultra-Lite Judge. He likes it a lot. He keeps three 4 ball 0000 buck .410 loads (got 'em from a custom loader at a gun show) and two .45 Colt Silvertips in it when he's at home. In the woods he's got 6's, 4's, and God knows what all in it.

ECS