taurus raging judge

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justINvirginia

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What happened to it?

When it was announced i knew i needed one. :) There was a lot of hype about it and then everyone just forgot about it. I was just reminded about it when i saw a raging bull and a judge sitting next to each other.

So did they ever make it to the gun shops?
 
They have one at Pineo's True Value in E. Machias, ME (207-255-8387), I saw it there day before yesterday. It's huge, looks like a Public Defender on steroids. It is a trade in but they said it's only been fired a few times, probably too much gun for whoever had it. They're asking $699.99 but I'm sure they'd dicker.

Also, there's about 40 of them on gunbroker right now.
 
If you're talking about the "Raging Judge Magnum" that shoots .45 LC, .454 Casull, and .410, they're around.

If you're talking about the Raging Judge 28 Ga. -- they didn't go into production and Taurus says they won't be sold.

(The supposition seems to be that the ATF told them it would be declared a large bore Destructive Device, so they didn't continue the program, but so far no one seems to know for sure, and Taurus isn't saying why.)
 
I meant the 28 gauge. Sorry for not clarifying.

The last i heard was that the atf was going back and forth but approved it for a short time and then dissaproved it.

So i was wondering if any were made in that short time.

I could be wrong and the atf never officially approved it but just thought id ask.

Thanks for all the replies.
 
The last i heard was that the atf was going back and forth but approved it for a short time and then dissaproved it.
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If you actually know anything about the ATF's official thoughts and/or comments on the matter, you're doing better than anyone here, so far. The press and the errornet were filled with rumors and conjecture. All we've been able to uncover for sure is that Taurus public relations just says that they aren't persuing the project.

So i was wondering if any were made in that short time.
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Well, we know that at least ONE was, because they brought it to SHOT: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=567812

But none, nada, zip have been sold.
 
Its too bad i dont know a guy that works for the atf. But i just heard the press say they are doing it then they are not doing it.
I wonder just how functional the one at shot show was. I didnt see anything about them firing it. Have you all seen videos of it being fired or a video of somebody opening the cylinder or a dry fire or anything. Was it an actual functional firearm or was it a cast without moving parts.

Like i said i first saw it thought itd be fun and then forgot all about it until recently. So i dont know what happened at shot show regarding it.
 
The 28ga raging judge was one of those things, that if the ATF was going to raise the slightest bit of stink about, it would no longer be worth the hassle.

Sure, Taurus probably could have convinced them that it didn't fall under the NFA (again)... but that would take a lot of effort, some greased palms, and other hassle. All for a weapon that's even more of a novelty than the current Judge series (although I will admit I want one of the .410/.454/.45LC ones).

Really, exactly what kind of 28ga shell are you going to be using through one of those things? To my knowledge, 28ga buckshot is nonexistent, and so are 28ga slugs. And you don't even have a revolver cartridge you could run in it anymore...
 
I've only seen one video of it, and that was of a couple of guys in suits looking it over and handling it at the show. I don't remember them really doing any manipulations, but I'm certain Taurus has made a functional one at some point. After all, Rossi is doing the longer revolving shotgun version for the and it's almost identical.

It could be perfectly workable, but it certainly could fall afoul of US law in a couple of places ... and aside from "da biggest" (not the most powerful by a LONG ways) ... there doesn't seem to be much substance to the idea. The Judge (and R. Judge Magnum) usually get a bit of a legitimacy boost in that folks usually fall back on the idea that you could fire .45 LC (or .454) if you needed it for "serious" purposes. With the 28 ga. being so limited, it really becomes just more of a kind of goofy oddity.
 
I bet the slugs and buckshot would be made shortly after the gun hit the market but even if they didnt itd be one helluva snake gun. :)
 
itd be one helluva snake gun.
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Ahhh, yes. If you find yourself in a situation where you're forced to kill a snake ... and you just can't find a garden hoe or shovel or maybe a stick ... then fortunately, of course, you have your trusty 28 ga. revolver on your hip...

Considering how many barns I've been in that had shot patterns in the timbers and little constellations of holes through the siding and roofing from where the farmers tried valiantly to keep the darned things from eating all their precious rats and mice ... there would always be a market! :rolleyes:
 
Im just not a big fan of rattle snakes and copperheads especially around my house. If you can think of a more fun way to kill snakes than a 28 gauge revolver please let me know.
 
My bro was waiting for this gun. Last he heard (havent researched this myself), the reason it never came out was: There was no bullet thats equal to 28g shotshells, Taurus would have to invent one. If the gun can't shoot bullets, its a really short shotgun. Under 18.5" is class 3.
I dont know how much truth there is to this. I have a .410/.45lc Judge, it seems more like a 'fun' gun than a 'useful' gun. A larger version of it might have been fun to shoot. Who knows? :)
 
If the gun can't shoot bullets, its a really short shotgun. Under 18.5" is class 3.
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That has been said a lot, but it isn't technically so. To be a Title II "Short Barreled Shotgun" the firearm must meet the definitions of that section which include the phrase "designed or redesigned to be fired from the shoulder." If it doesn't have any kind of butt-stock, it CAN'T be a shotgun -- short or otherwise.

It could be a Title II "Any Other Weapon." If they produced it with a smooth bore, it would fall into the list of AOW definitions as "a pistol or revolver having a barrel with a smooth bore designed or redesigned to fire a fixed shotgun shell."

They can get around that by rifling the barrel -- but there's a mild absurdity in that there is not, nor has there ever been, a solid-projectile cartridge made that would work with a 28 ga. rifled firearm, so the rifling would be merely a legal side-step. And rifling totally screws up a shot pattern. They'd have to have a section of straight rifling at the end of the tube to STOP the spin or the patterns look like huge donuts.

The issue they maybe can't get around is the Title II large-bore Destructive Device classification. Because the bore of the weapon is over .50" in diameter, it can be classed as a DD. Shotgun shells, and guns chambered for them, are usually exempted from the DD classification because they are considered appropriate for sporting purposes, but they don't HAVE to be exempted, and the BATFE has declared several revolving-shotgun designs as Destructive Devices in the past. (And those were full-sized guns, not revolving-shotgun-handguns, which is presumably even scarier.)

I'm guessing that the BATFE contacted Taurus during or around the time of the SHOT show and informed them that they would consider that gun a DD, period, and the idea was dead in the water, at that point.

(Oh, and I am obliged by longstanding tradition to repeat: there are NO "CLASS 3" guns. Class 3 is a description of the tax paid by dealers of Title II weapons. You can be a "Class 3" dealer, but you'll be selling "NFA Title II" guns.)
 
Thanks for all the help and also destroying my dreams.
:(
Its a shame because of whats been said before about the shotpattern. Almost any other handgun would be more dangerous. But this is considered a DD.
 
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