I'm reading an article about it and found this:
The Home Defender differs from other Judge models in its incorporation of a 13" barrel and a fore-end assembly. The fore-end is designed to be used by the support hand. To this end, the Home Defender has a “blast shield,” a steel extension that surrounds the lower edge of the front of the cylinder to contain the gases that escape from the cylinder gap when the revolver is fired, a feature borrowed from the
Rossi Circuit Judge