I got a "Judge"

[Jim]

A guy at the club had this one, a blued 4", said he didn't like it. Said he paid $399 before tax and would take $350 for it. I bought it. It shoots .45 Colt loads very nicely. The .410s open up VERY quickly, like a 12" pattern at about 5 ft. Single action and double action are good. Rubber grip is comfortable and easy on recoil.

[Ghugly]

In California, I might as well try buying a bazooka as a Judge. Neat guns tho. I'm not convinced that they are the best urban defense gun but, they should be "hell on wheels," for walking around in the woods.

[rbstern]

A guy at the club had this one, a blued 4", said he didn't like it. Said he paid $399 before tax and would take $350 for it. I bought it. It shoots .45 Colt loads very nicely. The .410s open up VERY quickly, like a 12" pattern at about 5 ft. Single action and double action are good. Rubber grip is comfortable and easy on recoil.

Jim, was this just a "nice/want to have," or do you envision a particular use for it?

[bisleyfan41]

I'd say you got a pretty good deal. I've been considering one myself, as Ghugly said, for a good woods-bummin' pistol for snakes, foxes, wild dogs, etc. Only problem is, I've shot a few different Taurus' in the past and didn't really care for the trigger a whole lot. Coulda changed by now, though. Good luck with yours.

[7BRU]

they sure are a hard to find pistol around here in n.c. handy little enforcer out the window of your vehicle.

BRU

[Jim]

Rb,
I got it for a variety of reasons.

[waksupi]

Rb,
I got it for a variety of reasons.


Social purposes. :Fire::Fire::Fire:

[Adam10mm]

This thread is completely worthless without pics. NEED PICS.

[freedom475]

The rifleing will cause the shot pattern to "don-nut" hole. I have a 72cal. kodiak that I like to shoot shot out of. Using 12ga, plastic wads. This really shows up well, a 30in. gallaxy shaped pattern with a 12in hole in the center with no shot in it at all.

[Jim]

You want pics? Go to WWW.TAURUSUSA.COM.
My Judge does not shoot a "doughnut" pattern. It shoots an evenly distributed pattern that would be perfect for snakes at the range you normally encounter them.

[Bret4207]

Dat's one UGLY gun!

[KCSO]

They do make a good canoe gun though. Once you have a rattler poke his head over the side of your canoe you get to like shot loads more and more. I keep the first two in the cylinder shot when i am out in the canoe.

[Adam10mm]

I'd get one just for rabbit hunting. Would be fun as hell with a .410 handgun.

[Bret4207]

They do make a good canoe gun though. Once you have a rattler poke his head over the side of your canoe you get to like shot loads more and more. I keep the first two in the cylinder shot when i am out in the canoe.

If a rattler pokes his head up I'm all for beating it to death with the paddle!:drinks:

[bisleyfan41]

I'd get one just for rabbit hunting. Would be fun as hell with a .410 handgun.


I'd never thought of that! That would be fun for the close shots usually involved. The Judge just may move up the want-list a spot or two.

[7BRU]

I'd get one just for rabbit hunting. Would be fun as hell with a .410 handgun.

hey man we tried rabbit hunting with a contender 410 pistol. what a hoot. we actually got one. shot the woods down.

BRU

[freedom475]

Knew of a man that dug into a den a rattlers while digging a foundation......grabbed a 12ga from his truck and started shooting snakes.....felt something hot on his arm, looked down there was a damn snake head with 6inches of neck chewing on his arm!:mad: :twisted:

OOuch!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jim]

Ugly gun? Maybe. But then I ain't no Tom Sellick, either. Maybe we're matched! As fer rabbit huntin', if you get close enough to a rabbit to put a decent pattern in him with a Judge, You don't need to shoot it. You'll be close enough to the rabbit to just kick him!

[azcoyhunter]

*** Question

Can you shoot .410 Shotgun shells in any 45 LC pistol?

How about one that can shoot 45LC and .454 Casull?

Clint

[bisleyfan41]

*** Question

Can you shoot .410 Shotgun shells in any 45 LC pistol?

How about one that can shoot 45LC and .454 Casull?

Clint

The chambers of other revolvers (45 or 454) aren't long enough to chamber a 410 shell. That is the limiting factor.

[azcoyhunter]

Thanks,

I thought it was a good idea (Very neat) , but I guess just keep shooting my 45 LCs and .454 Casulls

Clint

[Jim]

Also, the Judge has a very light throat in the cylinder. It will accept .45 Colts, but not .454s or .460s. When you chamber a .410 shell, it drops in 'till it engages the throat and then it's an ever so slight interference fit.

[wolfspotter]

I already have too many handguns but thought the Judge would be great for camping. Looks like a handy piece! Here's a couple reviews I checked out a while back.

http://www.americanhandgunner.com/CTT1107.html

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot41.htm

[rbstern]

Thanks,

I thought it was a good idea (Very neat) , but I guess just keep shooting my 45 LCs and .454 Casulls

Clint

If you hand load, you can get creative and trim some 410 shells to fit.

[spurrit]

If you want .45 Colt shot shells, either buy some speer shot capsules or do like I did:

Put either a 1/4" copper pipe cap or a .44 or .45 half jacket over a LIGHT load (I used 4 gr. of Clay's), tamp it down, fill with shot, tamp the shot down, add more shot, then apply a really heavy crimp over a gas check.

I call it my "Chickenhouse" load. You can readily kill a coon or a snake. I'd sure as hell hate to get hit with shot, a gas check, AND a half jacket!

[Jim]

Spurrit,
Where do you get the half jackets?

[spurrit]

I bought 'em from a guy that had some layin' around. I sold them a while back. The pipe caps worked just as well for me, though.

[beemer]

Has the Judge been patterned at any longer ranges and how is the recoil? My Father is has been thinking about one. It will be used for mostly for pest but he was wondering about the effective range with shotshells.

beemer

[spurrit]

Effective range for snakes and such would be under 10 yards, based on what I've seen. Recoil is a bit hotter than .45 Colt "Cowboy" loads, but still manageable. You won't be doing any speed shooting with them, that's for sure.

[Jim]

Effective range for snakes is WAY under 10 yds. More like 5 ft. A friend at the gun club bought a 6" model and he says his patterns to 12" at about 8 ft. Mine(a 4") patterns to 12" at about 5 to 6 ft.

[beemer]

Thanks,I will relay the info.
beemer

[S.B.]

Taurus quality has been spottyand questionable for some time now. Don't think I'd trust one?

[xtimberman]

I saw this thread and thought you were talking about an old Pontiac GTO! I'm pretty much behind the times on new guns, but I just examined one of them myself.

It looks to me like a great idea. A .410 shotshell is much more effective on vermin than one of the CCI .45 Colt shot cartridges, and .45 Colt is a grand, powerful cartridge.

When just wandering around in snake country, I'd load every cylinder with #9. If I was hog hunting in snake country, I'd load the first cyl. with shot and the others with .45 Colt.

You've got yourself a very versatile weapon.

xtm

[matrics631]

I'd get one just for rabbit hunting. Would be fun as hell with a .410 handgun.

That would be fun. I've seen a really old single shot 410 pistol before but never got to shoot it.

[MT Gianni]

My contender spoke for a few Jacks with 2 1/2" loads. It was effective out to about 25 yards with the choke.

[Lonegun1894]

Gents,
I am not telling any of you to or not to buy these, after all, it isnt my money you're buying them with, but here's my opinion of these. Like has been said, bue to the legally required rifled barrel, the shot patterns are useless past a few feet. I have been told everything from 3ft to 15 ft, but have not personally seen any patterns I'd trust past about 7-8ft. This leads me to consider the gun useless with shot. On to .45 Colt. I love the round, and have several guns chambered for it, both rifles and handguns. After having fired multiple examples of this revolver, I have yet to shoot one that is half as accurate as my least accurate .45 Colt specific gun. I have no way to prove the reason, but have a theory. Many of us seat rifle bullets out to almost touch the rifling to increase accuracy, and it seems to work--and has for me. So what we do when firing .45 Colt out of a Taurus Judge is fire the round through a gun that has a HUGE jump the bullet has to make out of the case before it gets to the rifling--over an inch, vs. the tenths or thousands of an inch that makes a difference in a rifle. I do not have the equipment or knowledge to measure this scientifically and present it properly, but the above is my theory anyway. Yes, the "judge" has a following, and apparently a niche that it fills, but I have to question the reasons and thoughts of anyone using one for more than a novelty. The close range use on snakes is the only valid reason I can think of (well, maybe as something to stick into the face of a turd who is attempting to carjack you at the time and adjusting his attitude for him at less than 2-3 ft), as I dont believe rabbits or anything else further than 5 ft away should be shot with one as I dont trust it to not cause undue suffering to the animal.

What do y'all think?

[tek4260]

If a snake is close enough to kill with a Judge loaded with shotshells, it is close enough to kill with a stick. Plus the stick doesn't leave that nasty ringing in your ears :)

[subsonic]

You're not helping Taurus sell revolvers tek!

I've shot squirrels from 20yds with a .410 from a full choked 24" barrel and had them run up a tree. No .410 from less than a 6" barrel is going to be kept for self defense by me.

The 28ga prototype is kind of neat looking though, just because the holes in the cylinder are huge.

[shotman]

any 3in barrel is not a target gun. Just like a riot shotgun is not intended for goose hunting
It may not hold a pattern but I dont want to be on the receiving end to see if it does or dont

[bedwards]

I don't know what your trying to do with the gun, but I have no problem putting 3 000 pellets in a silhouette target at more than 25yards with mine. Steel plates are no problem with the 45 either. It is a large frame gun, but that just makes it easier to handle.

Why do a lot of people, WHO DON'T OWN ONE, spend a lot of time downing the Judge?

be