Shooting Da Judge and my 38 Special Taurus

[jh45gun]

My friend bought a 3 inch Judge with a 3 inch barrel. So today we went out and shot our pistols today. Put up some targets and 21 paces and we shot. First the judge I was impressed. Now shooting buck shot with the steel case russian buck shot rounds was really impressive but not good self defense ammo due to the cases. They swell to fit the chamber and are hard to extract and they come out a bit on recoil and hang up the cylinder not the guns fault it is the ammo. But the buck shot shoots to POI. Birdshot I found shot low I had to shoot high but it patterned well. That was me evidently because my friend put the pattern right on target. The real EYE OPENER was the 45 colt it went right to POI every time. Every one says yea the 45 cold does not shoot good in the Judge or the Encore/Contenders ect. BS. I have had no issues in my Encore and it sure shot well in the Judge. Overall impression of the Judge with the 3 inch chamber and 3 inch barrel I would not feel handicapped at all the 45 colt shot to POI and so did the buck shot. That steel cased russian ammo did not work worth a hoot in my Encore either but a buckshot load with a plastic case would work just fine.

Now for my 38. All I can say is this gun is better than I am. I shot one group with three touching for a nickle sized group and two shots I pulled. Not the gun it was me. But even with the flyers the group was acceptable. Some more practice and this little snub nose will produce some bragging targets. My friend and I were impressed. These were with me resting but even off hand 5 rounds were tennis ball size. I was very satisfied.

Now for the clinker of the night. I decided to shoot my truck gun a shortened Savage 12 gauge Single Shot. Only loads I had in my truck were some heavy turkey loads I made up. Two shots almost brought tears to my eyes so the third round I put the gun down by my waist and pulled the trigger. Darn recoil put the hammer right into my thumb down by the web of my hand. Did not need stitches it quit bleeding but it got my attention darn that smarted It looked really screwy when it happened it dented in my flesh and it filled up with blood but then it swelled up a bit and filled back out again. :) I definitely got to put a recoil pad on this gun.

Over all the Taurus guns were impressive. Very Satisfying.

[Keyston44]

I like my Taurus revolvers. I've had them for years and they get used alot. Nothing heavy but they shoot as well as any revolver I've owned.

Key

[wilit]

What Taurus .38 do you have? I've got a 605 and it's amazingly pretty accurate for only a 2" barrel.

[canyon-ghost]

The real EYE OPENER was the 45 colt it went right to POI every time. Every one says yea the 45 colt does not shoot good in the Judge or the Encore/Contenders ect. BS.

The only thing that hinders it is the lengthened chamber that accomodates a .410. Usually, it shoots good to 50 meters but not real good beyond that. That only applies to the .45/.410 barrels with a choke though.

[bcp477]

My Taurus 851 (2" snubby) is very accurate with the right loads, at least out to 15 yards (as far out as I go with that gun). I can easily keep them all in a 6" circle....and individual groups of 1.5" are common.... when I am shooting well. I have over 1500 rounds through the gun now, with nary a problem.

[jh45gun]

What Taurus .38 do you have? I've got a 605 and it's amazingly pretty accurate for only a 2" barrel.

Model 85 Ultra Lite a friend sold it to me gave me a good deal because he knew I was looking for a carry gun. It was like new when I got it. Used lightly.

[jh45gun]

The only thing that hinders it is the lengthened chamber that accomodates a .410. Usually, it shoots good to 50 meters but not real good beyond that. That only applies to the .45/.410 barrels with a choke though.

I shoot an Encore 45 colt /410 barrel and I have killed about ten grouse with it so far using 3 inch 7.5 shot 11/16th 410 ammo.It shoots 45 Colt into 2 inch groups easily when I do my part at 25 yards benched. I would not hesitate to use it as a close range deer pistol out to 50 yards. Of course with a Encore/Contender you take out the choke for shooting 45 colt.

[NickSS]

Your shooting of the judge at 21 feet or 7 yards is just what I got when shooting them at that range they shoot just fine and in my opinion make a good home defense weapon or a snake gun when hiking. However, I have also shot judges at 25 yards and at that range the buckshot is ineffective, bird shot too dispersed and the 45 colt will not do better than around six inch groups. Therefore the judge is a special purpose defense gun and has little utility beyond that in my opinion. I own a Taurus 85 in 38 spl and it is a dandy little gun. Mine with a load it likes will shoot all its shots into the 10 ring on a 25 yard pistol target from a rest. Shooting dA at 7 yards I put five out of five into the x ring of a 25 yard pistol target with it. I think it is a good bang for the buck.

[jh45gun]

Interesting observations Nick I think he pretty much will use the gun at short ranges but I will be interested to see how it shoots 45 at longer ranges.