Ammo problem in my Judge ...

[anelon]

I recently took my Taurus 4510 Judge to the local range to demo it's suitability as a home defense weapon ... using 2 sheets of the cheapest drywall I could buy and firing from a distance of maybe 18-20 feet, the lightest .410 load I used still penetrated the second sheet (#6 birdshot, 2 1/2"). Had I used 1/2" drywall, I think the result might have been different. Patterning was good and tight and didn't cause many collateral hits outside the silhouette target.

The ammo problem came to fore when I used some Russian .410 in 3" magnum loads. The manufacturer uses the trademark "Golden Bear". Cartridges are thin wall steel, brass plated and expand to fill the 45 Colt chamber to such an extent that it took some taps with a nylon hammer on the extractor to coax the empties out. I was shooting 97 grain sabot slugs and #4 buck. The ammo box plainly states that the ammo is designed for use in cylindrical weapons chambered for 3" .410, but I won't use it again.

Maybe the Golden Bear works fine in a .410 shotgun, but think twice before you use it in your Judge.

 

[nonseven]

Don't use foreign 410 shotgun shells in the judge. They use different tolerances than the US manufacturers, which the judge is designed for.

 

[gbran]

Dad has an early Judge, which was very ammo sensitive...... no problem once he found what it would shoot, but had lots of shells frozen in the cyl.

 

[Onmilo]

Live and learn,,,

 

[147 Grain]

Using foreign ammo in your Judge = a stiffer (cartridge) sentence!

 

[suemarkp]

Those Golden Bear rounds are weird. I was hoping they would work in the 2.5" Judge because they are just a bit over 2.5" long. But their shape is too fat and they wouldn't chamber. Any solid brass or steel round that is full length can give problems in the Judge. I use 444 Marlin brass to make my own shot loads, and some of those can cause problems.

If a round won't penetrate 2 sheets of drywall, it isn't going to penetrate a person either. The smallest I'd use for SD in a Judge is the Federal #4 shot loads. Even those are marginal and I'd rather use them on grouse. May work on a face shot though.

 

[rcmodel]

to such an extent that it took some taps with a nylon hammer on the extractor to coax the empties out.

If you ever have further problems like that with any revolver:

Instead of pounding on the extractor rod and risk bending it.

Use a dowel rod or a pencil and push each shell out one by one from the front of the cylinder.

One will come out fairly easy compared to all of them at once.

rc

 

[anelon]

That's good advice, rcmodel ... no more foreign ammo for me. I didn't mention that the primers were hard, too. I think a lot of Russian stuff comes with primers that were really intended for slam-fire, automatic weapons ... I ran into this with some 7.62x25 in my CZ-52 and quit using it. Also in the process of coaxing these spent brass from my Judge I managed to disengage the critical pin that locks the yoke in place in the frame and keeps some other things working, like the cylinder stop and the thumb cylinder release. Sent it back to Taurus yesterday after filling out the online service work order and providing a description. One great thing about Taurus is their warranty - unconditional for the life of the firearm (excluding really stupid abuse).

 

[Sam1911]

One great thing about Taurus is their warranty - unconditional for the life of the firearm (excluding really stupid abuse).

Please keep everyone posted about your experience with Taurus' customer service. They are legendary ... but not in a good way. It would be nice to hear of a positive experience with them.

 

[Guns and more]

Maybe the Golden Bear works fine in a .410 shotgun, but think twice before you use it in your Judge.

In addition, I have a Bond Snakeslayer IV.
Bond says to only use U.S. made .410 ammo.
The tolerances are such that you will have trouble ejecting foreign made shells.
I don't need to be told twice.