Taurus Judge: What's the Verdict?

[Pancho]

Shot gun in a lock box

I own a 3" chamber Judge for HD and for fun shooting.
The gun does have it's limitations but all guns do.
Based on the popular notion that a shotgun is a good HD firearm the Judge does one thing that shotguns don't do and that is it will fit in a secured lock box in my night stand, something no shotgun can do.
Longgun shotguns are superior in power and pattern but how does one keep a longgun loaded,near,readily available,and safely secured?

 

[kidcoltoutlaw]

Who makes night sights for the Judge ?

Thanks,Keith

 

[Manco]

Based on the popular notion that a shotgun is a good HD firearm the Judge does one thing that shotguns don't do and that is it will fit in a secured lock box in my night stand, something no shotgun can do.
Longgun shotguns are superior in power and pattern but how does one keep a longgun loaded,near,readily available,and safely secured?

But the whole reason that shotguns are considered ideal for home defense is their power and pattern. Additionally, the assumption is usually at least a 20-gauge shotgun, as .410 shotguns are more like powerful handguns than a whole other class of firearm, even with long barrels. When you take away the power and pattern of long barrels and use only .410 shotshells on top of that, all you'll have left is a handgun that would most likely be better off shooting .45 LC JHP bullets instead of shot. Then you'll want a revolver that can shoot .45 LC or some other suitable handgun caliber more effectively than The Judge could.

 

[Budz]

I'm curious as to how the .45 colts perform out of it. Do hollow points expand as intended? I know the accuracy isn't the utmost supreme, but who would buy the judge for long range accuracy? Seems like a fun gun to take rabbit hunting, and it could double as protection while in the woods.

 

[Manco]

I'm curious as to how the .45 colts perform out of it. Do hollow points expand as intended? I know the accuracy isn't the utmost supreme, but who would buy the judge for long range accuracy? Seems like a fun gun to take rabbit hunting, and it could double as protection while in the woods.

The Judge should work fine for close-range home defense, although I've heard about instances of keyholing at medium ranges and when the barrel is moderately dirty, and would personally feel much more confident trusting my life to a regular revolver of equal or better quality.

 

[shockwave]

A while back at a gun show, I picked up a box of CCI Shotshell 357 Magnum 109 Grains. Wanted to see what they'd do to a target. Just for fun.

At 7 yards these pattern to about 12" with a nice spread. Sure, they're just for snakes or whatnot, but if you dumped one of these at point-blank range into somebody's face, they might blink. So the .410 out of a Judge probably is effective in CQC range and as a truck gun probably works just fine. I think of this as a very specialized weapon that's probably just right for certain applications. Not all guns have to do everything equally well.