Hello all,
This weekend I got to shoot two guns I have very little experience with, the Taurus Judge and Ruger LC9. I thought I would share my thoughts on the two handguns.
LC9 - I didn't like this gun from the get go. I found the grip to too narrow and the trigger to be simply awful. I honestly can say it has one of the worst DAO triggers I've ever felt. I've dry fired one in the past but I don't remember it being that bad. However, after a few mags I was banging the metal plate with rapid fire at about 7 yards. While the ergo's and trigger didn't work for me, the LC9 was very accurate. I also like the sites and the way the gun is designed; it seems like it would make a fine carry piece for someone who it worked for. We probably fired 100 round total and didn't have a single malfunction.
Taurus Judge - I never thought I'd get the chance to fire a Judge so I was excited at the opportunity. This was a Taurus Ultra lite with what I believe was a 4 inch barrel. We fired both .410 and 45LC from the same distance as the LC9, 7 yards. Unfortunately, I had the same problems with the Judge as the LC9, grips the trigger. I found the grip on the Judge to be too wide from front to back, if that makes any sense. The odd shaped grips (or maybe my odd shaped hands?) did not allow me to get a good reach on the trigger, as a result I did a lot of single action shooting.
Speaking of triggers, just like the LC9, I did not like the trigger on the Judge. That could be in part to the gun not fitting my hand; however I did do some dry firing and could just feel the weight and grit. The SA portion of the trigger was not bad but still a little stiff.
As for accuracy, there was not much to speak of for the Judge. It was all over the place with both the .410 and the .45LC's. All five shooters, three seasoned and two occasional, had the same issues with accuracy. I was also a bit surprised with the amount of felt recoil from the .410's, it was pretty sharp. Conversely, the .45LC out of the Judge was like shooting wad cutters out of my Vaquero, fairy farts.
Extraction from the Judge was a real hassle. The .410's had to be pried out and the .45LC's would slip under the ejection star. That to me seemed like a serious problem as its not easy to get the shells out once they've slipped underneath the star. The owner of the judge plans on calling Taurus this week about the issue...
We also shot a S&W 422 (another one I've never shot) but that was boring accurate and reliable. All said, it was a fun fathers day shoot. Although the guns did not fit me well I still had a great time shooting them. Here's some pics for your viewing pleasure.
This weekend I got to shoot two guns I have very little experience with, the Taurus Judge and Ruger LC9. I thought I would share my thoughts on the two handguns.
LC9 - I didn't like this gun from the get go. I found the grip to too narrow and the trigger to be simply awful. I honestly can say it has one of the worst DAO triggers I've ever felt. I've dry fired one in the past but I don't remember it being that bad. However, after a few mags I was banging the metal plate with rapid fire at about 7 yards. While the ergo's and trigger didn't work for me, the LC9 was very accurate. I also like the sites and the way the gun is designed; it seems like it would make a fine carry piece for someone who it worked for. We probably fired 100 round total and didn't have a single malfunction.
Taurus Judge - I never thought I'd get the chance to fire a Judge so I was excited at the opportunity. This was a Taurus Ultra lite with what I believe was a 4 inch barrel. We fired both .410 and 45LC from the same distance as the LC9, 7 yards. Unfortunately, I had the same problems with the Judge as the LC9, grips the trigger. I found the grip on the Judge to be too wide from front to back, if that makes any sense. The odd shaped grips (or maybe my odd shaped hands?) did not allow me to get a good reach on the trigger, as a result I did a lot of single action shooting.
Speaking of triggers, just like the LC9, I did not like the trigger on the Judge. That could be in part to the gun not fitting my hand; however I did do some dry firing and could just feel the weight and grit. The SA portion of the trigger was not bad but still a little stiff.
As for accuracy, there was not much to speak of for the Judge. It was all over the place with both the .410 and the .45LC's. All five shooters, three seasoned and two occasional, had the same issues with accuracy. I was also a bit surprised with the amount of felt recoil from the .410's, it was pretty sharp. Conversely, the .45LC out of the Judge was like shooting wad cutters out of my Vaquero, fairy farts.
Extraction from the Judge was a real hassle. The .410's had to be pried out and the .45LC's would slip under the ejection star. That to me seemed like a serious problem as its not easy to get the shells out once they've slipped underneath the star. The owner of the judge plans on calling Taurus this week about the issue...
We also shot a S&W 422 (another one I've never shot) but that was boring accurate and reliable. All said, it was a fun fathers day shoot. Although the guns did not fit me well I still had a great time shooting them. Here's some pics for your viewing pleasure.