Judge Opinions

[MolleMan]

Been looking at the Taurus Judge for a sidearm for hunting, working, and to put in the truck. I live on a big farm, so varmints are more than common. now I do have a good hunting rifle/shotguns, carry pistols but none to really handle all the above mentioned i think. Wanted some opinions on yes or no and if the 3" is worth it over the 2 1/2" . all suggestions welcome and appreciated.

just a side note, I really try to stick with practicallity with most gun purchases, i like for them to have an intended purpose

 

[Super Sneaky Steve]

It's a great snake gun for sure, but on people that's debateable. Lots of people think they know but the truth is that not many people have been shot buy this revolver yet. Until we have real data people are just talking out their buttholes.

 

[TIMC]

If you're just talking about snakes then the Judge with bird shot is great at very close range. Varmints and other critters is iffy and there are much better guns.
I own a 3" magnum Judge and it is nice, fun to play with and I do think a good close range SD gun with 3" 000 buck or slugs. Would it be better than the 2 1/2" version well I don't know about that because I have never tried it but I can shoot either or out of mine so I would say yes.

 

[Skribs]

I'm waiting for S&W to come out with a 3" chambered Governor.

 

[MolleMan]

I just checked out that Governor on the S&W website. I must admit, really cool. but the MSRP wasn't cheaper though

 

[oldfool]

"the Taurus Judge for a sidearm for hunting, working, and to put in the truck."

not a good snake gun
not a good people (SD/HD) gun
not a good CCW gun
not a good varmint gun
not a good hunting gun
crappy poor substitute for a shotgun, including 410s
poor substitute for a good centerfire revolver
fair close range possum gun
good watermelon gun, but pretty much any gun is
and pretty much any gun fits in a truck
and pretty much any gun can ride with you on a tractor or riding lawnmower

"Wanted some opinions on yes or no"
you asked for opinions... so, no
(blame me if you want to)

 

[Princi]

I bought the Judge Ultralight. The .410 shells are hard to extract. I bought the .410 Handgun rounds that are made especially for the Judge, and work better, but still are difficult to extract.

There is/was a lot of hype about the Judge. Again I proved to have more money than brains. That wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so poor.

 

[Lawdawg45]

Sorry, I have to agree with old fool, it's a poor choice. The shot pattern with .410 produces a "bagel" pattern with nothing hitting the 10 ring, and the accuracy with the .45 colt is less than impressive. For your farm needs I'd suggest a Ruger Blackhawk or Vaquero in .45 colt, which can be loaded with hot JHP's, FMJ's for target, or shot shells for snakes.

LD

 

[MolleMan]

well lol I guess i won't be buying a judge lol.

what do ya'll think about a Ranchhand in a .357 or .44 mag?

 

[Skribs]

not a good snake gun

I've heard it is.

not a good people (SD/HD) gun

Maybe not the best...but 5 000-pellets at short range is hard to argue with if you ask me.

not a good CCW gun
not a good varmint gun
not a good hunting gun

Yeah I'll agree. It's big and it's not that accurate. But at 10 feet, it'll do its job.

crappy poor substitute for a shotgun, including 410s

Most people would say that a Glock is a crappy substitute for an AK.
You can put a judge in places that you can't fit a shotgun. No rule you can't have both.

poor substitute for a good centerfire revolver

At 10 feet, being able to make 30 holes instead of 6 holes...

and pretty much any gun fits in a truck
and pretty much any gun can ride with you on a tractor or riding lawnmower

While this is true, I think the primary reason the Judge was invented was for defense against car-jacking. That rifle might fit in the back of your truck, but a Judge can easily go in the dash. At 10 feet or less, aiming quickly to get the gun on target before he grabs it, I'd rather have something with a bit of spread than just make 1 hole.

With all that said, I'm still waiting for the one I mentioned above.

I just checked out that Governor on the S&W website. I must admit, really cool. but the MSRP wasn't cheaper though

S&W quality control is better, from what I understand. I've no experience with Taurus, just what I've read.

 

[PapaG]

A few buddies have retired and moved "south" in our strangely anti-gun state. Most have property (40-100 acres) and most tell me their "daytime" gun, the gun they carry on their property while doing fences, planting, cutting wood, etc, is a Judge..three .410s up and two 45s to follow. Each and every one has shot at least one rattler and one has two copperheads..most like the 3" gun (strange that the 3" .410 was never known as the "magnum" until the Judge came out) with 7 1/2 shot. I find that mine patterns best with that load.
I do find the gun oversized for its use and often find myself carrying my old CA Bulldog with two handloaded speer shot capsules ahead of a trio of 44 hollowpoints. Not much difference in pattern up to 10 or so feet and a lot more compact.

 

[Geezer Glide]

The Judge? Not a good shotgun, not a good handgun.

 

[Warp]

I personally will not even consider it or any of it's similars. No thanks. I'll leave them to the ignorance that is the masses. I am convinced there will almost always be a better choice.

 

[waidmann]

If you want to shoot a .410 handgun at pests I'd reccomend the Comanche single shot, its a 3" chamber and with the wad-lock istalled you have twice the effective range.

As for the "mare's leg" lever-handguns they are pure novelty, a "hollywood gun". They fall into the same niche as a semi-auto Mac-10 with a fake suppressor. Don't bring expectations to the table, and you won't be disappointed,

 

[41]

not a good snake gun

Not sure where you are getting that info from.

 

[FadingSwordsman]

"Jack of all trades, master of none."

A judge can be a decent gun if you're looking for one thing to fill a number of applications. That said, it's not going to be great at any of them. It wouldn't be a bad carry/HD/snake/what have you gun, but at the same time it's not going to be particularly good at any of them either. Not my cup of tea, but hey, to each their own.

Be aware that because of the rifling, the patterning for the .410 will be all over the place -- consistency will happen very rarely, and probably only be coincidental... If I had one, I would probably only load it with something that has a lot of pellets and makes a single large hole at about 10ft... 00 or 000 would be too random for me. Personal preference plays a role there, though. Buckshot may increase your eff. range with the .410, thanks to the extra weight, but you'd have to get lucky and hit what you're aiming at for it to matter...

Also, Taurus QC leaves much to be desired... I like the company and that they're looking to fill odd positions in the market, but they would do a lot better (And be more likable) if they made quality products consistently. As far as I know, though, my friends with Judges are happy and had few minor problems or none. YMMV

 

[weregunner]

The jury is in and the Judge is better than most people give it credit for.

Normally I'd bring many links from another gun forum here, but that's getting tedious. If you want to hear from the actual owners then I will give you that. The link will have very recent threads (if you care to look for them) about the actual penetration and spread of the various rounds. The actual .45 Colt velocities are there, too. Yeah, I'm going to make you dig for it. The research is worth it though.
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/judge/

Good hunting.

 

[oldfool]

"what do ya'll think about a Ranchhand in a .357 or .44 mag?"

cute toy, but not much else, lost somewhere in the middle of limbo land
"for hunting, working, and to put in the truck."
lots and lots of very good 38/357 or 44 sp/mag lever action carbines out there though (Rossi, Henry, Marlin, etc)
rifles, like shotguns, work a LOT better in actual practice when fired from the shoulder
very versatile, and they are good for whatever ails you around the farm, wabbit to whitetail size, even black bear size, 10 feet to 50 yards or more
if your 'pistol' happens to be a revolver, you could maybe match caliber

(unless you are subject to being attacked by herds of snakes with fast feet, you just don't need a repeater "shotgun", long or short of any type, for that.. any garden hoe or cheapo single shot smoothbore will do, no fast draw required, no watermelon bait required... for "hawgzilla rattler", just run the tractor over him)

 

[JoelSteinbach]

Got rid of my Judge after 2 trips to Taurus,could not get the gun too fire all chambers all of the time. I'll stick with my 629 with birdshot for snakes

 

[Guillermo]

as said...it is a toy.

probably fine for snakes but the rifling makes it a horrible shotgun.

It is not a good .45either

Pretty much what everyone said.

I am all for toys...but this is not a useful gun for your application

 

[weregunner]

Wrong folks. Unless you actually have experience with the various Judges you are irrelevant.

And one anecdotal case doth not make a case against the whole line. Any gun maker has it's QC slips.
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/judge/54283-410-penetration-tests.html
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/judge/54464-public-defender-ss-range-session.html

http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/judge/55456-judge-barrel-length-effect-pattern.html

In recent gun magazines penetration and spread of most of the various and new loads strictly for the Judge have been documented.

What stands out is the PDX1 rounds and newer, more potent rounds,due to newer more efficient powders are grouping very tight out to 25 yards. Penetration is 10-13 inches or more. These are tailored rounds by most of the ammo makers just for the Judge. There is even a new slug load that is heavier than the present .410 slugs and the velocity is several times faster than present .410 slugs. That's out of the shorty barrels.

.45 Colt rounds made for defense velocities, and newer .45 Colt rounds for the Judge, are higher (in the 850- over 900fps), and the accuracy at 25 yards is in the 3-4 inch range.

The newer #8 shot loads are grouping well in gelatin at 10 yards or a little past that and have deep penetration. That's shred snakes or other varmints.

If you don't like the Judge,fine. Same goes for the Governor.

The Judge has been found to be a fine car, truck, and field gun. The use is documented in the gun magazines, at various gun forums ( if I have to I can bring 23 pages of links from the actual satisfied owners),gun blogs, and various types of media.

With the newer powders and finely tailored technology for new Judge rounds, these now make the Judge more of a self defense revolver than ever before. Not just out to a few feet as was the case before this.

So,yes. Other revolvers can get the job done. So can the Judge and the Governor. It all depends on the needs and wants of the owner.

Use the .410 gauge/ .45 Colt revolvers to the best of it's limitations and within their niche.

 

[daferg2]

Weregunner, you said it much better, and with much more tact, than I was about to. The Judge works just as it was intended to. Calling it a toy is pure ignorance.

Going duck hunting? Yeah, it's not a good shotgun.
Shooting a bullseye match? Probably not going to score too high.

But as a truck/snake/close quarters SD gun, it will perform as intended. Anything within 25 feet had better be afraid if faced with any of the new self defense loads made for this gun.

I wouldn't carry it in an urban environment, but on the farm, it's a good choice.

 

[Skribs]

Hey, I'm pro-Judge, and I'd still call it a fun toy

 

[JoelSteinbach]

I think the concept is great but the reliability of the Noght Court Judgr that I had purchased and sold did not give me the warm fuzzy feelining that I need when I pick up a self defence weapon

 

[weregunner]

There are plenty of people who feel it is a fun gun and that's why they got it. I get it. I theeeenk!