Taurus Judge: What's the Verdict?

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m2steven

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I got a chance to shoot one of these Monday. I found it very entertaining and the gun itself had a nice trigger and was beautifully rendered physically.
Recoil was big but was made "fun" by the incredible grip on the revolver. Neither 45 nor 410 shells were painfull to shoot.

After shooting this thing, I found myself thinking that this could be a formidable multi-purpose gun. I really enjoyed shooting it. It was....uh....fun and entertaining. Plus, it seemed to work very well.

Feel free to give me your opinions on this weird, but wonderful, piece of gear.
 
"Taurus Judge: What's the Verdict?"

Guilty.



Kind of a novelty I think, yes I have one, the only reason I'd get rid of it is to get the new "Public Defender" model, which is smaller. Then again to me it isn't a concealable weapon in either form so I may as well stay with the big one....
If I didn't have some property that has snakes I'd probably find little need for it, beats toting around a shotgun.
It is one of those love it or hate it guns...lots of posts/threads/opinions about it.
 
In the end, even though it is quite versatile, I would only find myself using it to blast at gophers. And no, I dont own one.

As a snake gun: Well, I hate snakes but as long as they are only one color I can keep my cool. I dont know why anyone wants to go out and blast away at them unless they are going to do some harm anyway. BUT it would make an excellent gun for this purpose loaded with birdshot.
 
I don't have a thing against snakes either. I like the Box 'o truth's idea of throwing clay pigeons in the air and blasting those. But it's really fun to shoot and that may be the deciding factor for me. I admit i was really surprised by the trigger pull and the hard hitting yet comfortable recoil. You feel like a kid with a box of cherry bombs you're not supposed to have.
 
I've had one since Feb. and have really enjoyed mine. I live on the river so it does double duty home protection and snake gun as we have lots of no-shoulders around. I'm sure someone will come along and rain on our sunshine soon as it seems to be a very devisive topic.

be
 
There is no Verdict ...

... just a lot of opinions. Most of the negative opinions come from people that have never seen or held, much less fired a Judge.

A lot of these folks point you to "The Box of Truth" ... where the "testers" couldn't even be bothered to buy ammo that fit the gun for their "testing". They cut 3" 410 shells down to 2.5" by hand.

Are you going to win any marksman trophies with it, shooting 45 colt?

No.

But, the first 5 45 colts I put through mine took out 5 X 8" steel plates at 10 yards ... close enough for government work.

Are you going to "take out" bad guys at 50 yards firing shot (of any kind)

No.

But you likely are not going to do that with any other handgun either, no matter what it is loaded with. This is why the make rifles.

Can you conceal carry one in the front pocket of your Bermuda shorts?

No.

That is why they make NAA Black Widows.

Is a face full of #4 shot at 10 feet going to make a BG consider that perhaps he picked the wrong target today?

I think so, yes.

Is that same BG going to fall dead on the spot from that load of #4 shot to the face?

Perhaps not ... but that isn't why I shot him in the first place. I shot him to stop the attack. Removing most of his nose and blinding him will probably do that I think.

Are you more likely to score a "hit" firing a pattern of 000 buckshot (3 - 5 balls, depending on the load) or with a single bullet.

Hmmm, 1 chance -vs- 3 to 5, simple math seems to come to the rescue here.

When you miss (and you WILL miss), does 000 buckshot out of a Judge have anywhere the lethal range of a 9mm or .45 bullet sailing off through the neighborhood?

Not even close.

To me The Judge is a gun that several niches very well.

I think it is an excellent car/anti carjack gun. Close range, spray of lead, limited effective range, revolver so you are not dodging empty hot casings in an enclosed space. I carry mine in a holster mounted between my legs on the front of my drivers seat.

Nightstand gun. Indoor shotgun with a very short barrel. Longest shot 10 - 15 feet max. (95%+ of SD shootings are at less than 10 feet). Wake me up at night, before I get my glasses on, I'd much rather be firing multiple projectiles rather than one.

Trail gun. Shot and and single projectile, all in one gun you can carry in a holster.

For me, it does what I expected it to do, and it does those things very well. I'll keep mine, thank you.
 
mgkdrgn, you conveyed your point well. I've shot one and neither love it or hate it.

I think it certainly could do it's vaguely outlined job well. A jack of all trades, master of none.

I didn't like the fact that the shallow rifling would not stabilize a lead bullet. It may work better on a jacketed round, which I did not get to try.

I also agree that a .410 round to the face would be rather debilitating and may bring forth some reconsideration in an intruder's mind. Even if it just made him mad, he'd likely be blind.

Certainly an ugly gun, but an ugly gun is better than a pretty stick.
 
Unless your in snake country, the .410 is useless compared to the .45 colt. Its a cute idea, and very gimmicky. The factory says its the most amazing thing, yet fails to tell you that the .410 buckshot has trouble penetrating anything big enough to be shooting at. Its hard to beat as a snake gun though and loaded with a half cylinder of .45's, it makes a great snake/defensive handgun.
 
They cut 3" 410 shells down to 2.5" by hand.
Click to expand...

Uh, you don't know anything about handloading shotshells, I guess. There's nothing wrong with doing that, and it indicates nothing other than the guys at Box o Truth are experienced with a variety of shotguns. Shotgun tinkerers do that all the time, when they want to take a commonly-available hull and use it for a less-common chamber length, e.g. an old Model 12 with 2 9/16" chambers.

I think it is an excellent car/anti carjack gun. Close range, spray of lead, limited effective range, revolver so you are not dodging empty hot casings in an enclosed space. I carry mine in a holster mounted between my legs on the front of my drivers seat.
Click to expand...

Have you ever tried firing it sideways, with the cylinder/forcing cone gap in front of your face?

Beyond that, though, my real concern with a multi-projectile weapon with a large spread like the Judge has, would be a greater possibility of hitting innocent bystanders.

Is that same BG going to fall dead on the spot from that load of #4 shot to the face?

Perhaps not ... but that isn't why I shot him in the first place. I shot him to stop the attack. Removing most of his nose and blinding him will probably do that I think.
Click to expand...

True. And place you at the risk of losing everything you own in court, especially when it also hits people in the eye 50 yards away. Yes, it will still blind someone 50 yards away. A friend was hit with #6 birdshot at 80 yards, and it had to be surgically removed from his face. Only luck saved his eye - one pellet was in his eyelid.

Spray and pray is best suited for pepper spray, not lead shot in a populated area.

I'd much rather have a snubbie with a laser to discourage a carjacker. Lasers are great for hip-shooting, and a bullet to the sternum is a pretty good deterrent, too.
 
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I want to clarify my "snake" comment, I don't indiscriminantly shoot snakes.:eek:
I shoot poisonous snakes that can harm #1 my 3 yr old grandson, #2 my dogs, and #3 ME!:uhoh:
Now I will admit to shooting a couple of really large fat watersnakes feasting on frogs in my pond. I like my frogs;)
 
Verdict??

I have access to one and for one I'm pretty impressed with the thing. :what: Do it all? Nope but what it does it does well.

Blast a bad guy back in time with #7 birdshot? Nope. ;)

But 4 #000 buck at 1200FPS is pretty impressive. (Federal .410 handgun) Round balls aren't the best for SD but buckshot seems to be the preferred HD round, for a darn good reason.

I chrono'd the stuff out of a 3" Judge and it did an honest 1200fps. Federal Buckshot out of a shotgun (20" barrel) chrono's at 1350 ish.

I've read a lot of posts about how the 410 is completely useless as HD and I bought into it. Seems logical after all , a 410 is best for small boys to hunt rabbits with. Lots of (very) knowledgeable people here disagree so I tested it myself.

12ga 000 at 1350fps or so
410ga at 1200fps or so

Doesn't seem that much different to me.. But I'm not an expert. So I guess the judges verdict is that 8 pellets of 000 buck out of a 12ga is the greatest manstopper in the universe and 4 pellets of 000 buck out of a pistol will just make them mad, even though there is only 150fps difference. :rolleyes:

The biggest selling point for me is that the darn thing is a blast to shoot and it is accurate out to the 15yds that I tested it with .45LC. Consistent 3" groups. (Great sights, no chrono on the .45's)

The biggest selling point with my GF (the owner) is that she can shoot it well and is comfortable with it whereas a 12ga shotgun is far beyond her personal comfort level.

That's my take on it. For what it's worth. :p It seems to be a fairly well made pistol with some of the same growing pains that most new designs have when they first come to market. I think with the right loads and acknowledgment of it's limitations that it would make a fine HD pistol. Could even pull duty as a hiking around sidearm. I pity the feral dog that runs up against one of these.:eek:

I wouldn't use it for hunting bear or moose/elk but as a nightstand gun I think it will hold its own with most of what we use to fill that role now. Strictly as a HD gun I'll take it over any .38 snubby. Even my own slicked up S&W 60.
 
You get 1200 fps from a .410 buckshot shell in a Judge?

I'll take it over any .38 snubby. Even my own slicked up S&W 60.
Click to expand...

My 60 is a .357, which I'd take over that. AND I can stuff it in my pocket if I want to be armed, but not spook a neighbor knocking on my door by waving around a revolver.
 
Yep... 1200

Armed bear:
My chrono printed it at 1200+/- 25fps.

I don't wave revolvers around as a habit. I draw them and aim at targets. :D

My 60 is a .357 as well.. I will note here that I said nightstand gun. I didn't say anything about concealed carry. Obviously the judge isn't a pocket gun. I made no reference to concealed carry and I made no statements that could be construed as concealed carry.

The OP asked what the verdict on the judge is, I took that to be an invitation to share hands on experiences and opinions formed from real world, hands on testing. You do have a Judge, don't you? What experience with this pistol do you have? By "this pistol" I mean mine in particular. That's the only Judge I can comment on or form an opinion of as it's the only one I have shot and tested. That particular pistol is the one I was referring to in my post.

But then I notice you tend to dissect quite a few things that you disagree with and argue points that no one else intends. You seem to make leaps of logic and read far more into peoples statements than is warranted. I've searched your posts and by far most of them lean towards the argumentative side. :barf:

I'll discuss this no further with you. :banghead:

Back on topic. I stand by what I said in my original post. It's MY opinion of the judge based on MY criteria. I have supported that with MY own testing.

I was merely offering MY opinion of the weapon. Nothing more. Here endeth my participation on this thread unless someone has specific questions or wants to hear more of my opinions of the judge based on this surprisingly capable revolver.
 
My take is for a "nightstand" gun, use a real shotgun. For daily carry, you need something less bulky and more concealable. For carry in the woods or around the place, I have a safe full of revolvers better suited than the Judge.

Yes, I've shot them. I was not impressed, especially with the accuracy with .45 Colt. If I carry something that big and bulky, I expect to be able to hit with it.
 
I actually found the Box 'o Truth to read as being generally favorable to the gun. They personally didn't like some of the penetration results, but
I expected nothing more.

Since they just report the facts as they see them, I came away with the impression that the revolver works as advertised. They had no real problems with the gun whatsoever. I think people read too much into
opinion rather than the simple facts Box 'o Truth uncovered. The facts
pretty much support the basic functioning of the pistol.

I appreciate all the opinions here given. I still like the gun. I found it
a really fun shoot and frankly, at 25 yards, the shot pattern on the burm at the end of the range was not that wide and it appeared to be hitting
pretty hard at that distance. Loved the gun and the grip (which many simply hate for some reason). But I will probably get one of these interesting guns simply for the fun factor alone. As for Taurus, they made this gun as pleasurable to shoot as anyone could. I expected nothing but pain when I shot it and lo-and-behold = it was smile inducing.
 
Re: the boxotruth article. If you load a shot shells to a particular lead load and then lighten the lead, you will NOT get good performance because you cannot lighten the powder load.
I posted an article from the American Rifleman website that seemed to be a good read favorable to the gun with shot shells intended for it.
I own one and can speak from experience, that it does what I want. I pray that I never need one in self defense and truthfully, when I'm out, I carry a 38 snubbie for that as I am partial to wheel guns. But, for home defense, loaded alternately 000 buck and gold dot 45colt, I won't feel I'm underarmed.

be
 
I asked you whether you got 1200 fps from your Judge. You are the one who read something into that, not me. Reports of 850 fps are common; I was curious to know if you actually got 1200.

There's nothing like a Taurus owner to get upset and use stupid emoticons when someone doesn't agree with them, or asks a question that they believe is some sort of an attack on them. You know, it's really not all about you.

As a fairly experienced revolver and shotgun shooter, I agree with Vern Humphrey, and wouldn't buy a Judge. But I'm still curious about whether the velocity is as-advertised from the little barrel.

I also fully understand what a nightstand gun is. One of mine is a Model 60, for the reason I specified. If I get a knock on the door past bedtime, I will be packing. But I don't need to be waving the gun around if it's just a friendly neighbor telling me that my garage door is open, so I prefer something that can be pocketed easily.

But YOU should buy whatever you want. Just don't expect everyone else to advise others to do as you do.
 
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Ah! I see! Miss Comuni Katin..

Armed bear;

Yep. I got 1200fps. But in all fairness it could have been the shot cup the chrono caught (15 in a row?). I did however do a wet pack test at 20 feet. with the judge (with Federal Handgun 410) and a 20" 12ga (with standard shotgun shells). The penetration was almost identical. (judge was about 1/2" shallower)

Not upset.. My typing doesn't always convey my meaning. BTW I have Kimber, Colt, Way too many S&W's, KelTec, Naa, Rossi, Bersa, Walther,A few Rugers, and a Luger, Glocks galore and a Springfield or two. Heck, I even had a Davis Derringer once. :what: I've owned more than I care to try and recall. Safe bet that I've owned almost everything from an Astra to a Zatava at one time or other. I don't happen to personally own a Taurus at the moment but that could change rapidly if I come across a good deal. The full auto's I've owned were fun but I'd never own another. Can't afford to feed it as a semi-retired feller.

BTW: I just happen to like the emoticons to try and convey the unspoken mood of my message. :D :eek: :) :confused: :confused: ;) ;) ;) :scrutiny:

And :neener:

I've read many of your posts in my years of lurking around in here. You are one of the ones I'm referring to when I state "Knowledgeable Members" You come across as a little abrasive (as do I :eek: ) but you seem to know your stuff.

Plus I'd like to point out that this is my GF pistol. She cant get comfortable with the 12ga. In that light the judge shines for her. She CCW's a S&W 649 bodyguard. Recoil doesn't seem to rattle her much. She touched off a few rounds of Buffalo Bore 10mm out of my Glock and I wasn't sure if she was gonna give it back. :cool:

"But YOU should buy whatever you want. Just don't expect everyone else to advise others to do as you do." I could not agree with you more.

I find myself in the Boise area from time to time. Wanna shoot it? I'll bring the chrony and ammo if'n you'll pony up on some Sprite.....:)
__________________
 
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The Box O'Truth was fair to the Judge, they seem to me at least to be as unbiased as possible in their tests. As I recall, they liked it for a snake gun and just for sport shooting, but thought it was being mismarketed as a self defense gun.
 
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