Taurus Judge

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daryl711

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I want a gun that can carry easy and shoot snakes. Read good and bad about the Judge. Found one with ported 3 in barrel I can afford. I don't want to carry a shotgun. Please any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
Why don't you use a revolver you (presumably) already have and just buy snake loads in .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum? Those will be better guns than the Taurus. Here's an example of what's available.

Remember, the Judge is not a mini shotgun. It's rifled too. So you don't really get any advantage from it over just using a revolver you already have in a more practical caliber.
 
The only .357 I have has a 1 in barrel . Will it still work with shot shell. Really don't want to get to close. Or would I be better off getting another one with maybe 4 in barrel?
 
What about any of the other calibers listed on there? If you have anything in, say, .45 ACP you can make a go of it. So long as you're willing to accept that you're probably turning your semi-auto into a single shot, because I don't think the snake loads would have enough momentum to cycle the action. But how many shots of .45 ACP do you really need against one snake, anyway?
 
Have a couple .380's is all besides .22's. I tried .22 shot shell was useless for me. Eyes are not what they used to be so need something that spreads . That is why I was thinking of .410. Have a little saved up so can buy something. Just want what will work.
 
Ah, well if you really don't have anything else available I guess you could get the Judge. It's pretty cheap at least, right? But if it were me I'd upgrade to something that would have a little bit more practical utility for other applications as well, like a .357 Mag revolver.

I wonder if the .38 Spl snake loads would be good enough. Maybe someone can come along and answer that.
 
Oh, and I just came across this article. It's a good read on snake loads in .357 Magnum. The spread seems more than sufficient there, and if you look at what happened to those cans he shot, you know a snake in that situation would be dead.
 
Would like to know that also. I have found the Judge with 3 in barrel. It has the ported barrel. It is same as new not been shot for $4oo. Or I can buy a .357 Tarus 4 in barrel. I know lots don't like Tarus, for about same price. I want it most to carry and shoot snakes.
Thanks
 
How about a 4" barrel Ruger GP-100 in .357 mag for $410 on gunbroker?

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=190765878

Believe me, I was a huge fan of Taurus when they first came on the market. I thought they were a great value for the money. I have had two out of three go back for mechanical failure. You are much better off with a Ruger or Smith. Otherwise if you really want a .410 you could go with a Thompson Contender that has a .410/.45 LC barrel on it. I have one with a .44 magnum barrel and I purchased the shot shells for it.
 
While the performance of the .410 shotshells out of the Judge is pretty unimpressive, having used both a Judge and CCI shotshells out of my .357, I can confidently say that the Judge will provide much better standoff distance in the instance you meet with a big buzzworm. The pattern out of my 3" barreled .357 was amazingly inconsistent and wide-spread even from 8-10 feet. The .410 shells will at least provide a bigger payload of shot.
 
I want to be able to kill one at 15 ft at least. Especially without my glasses. LOL. Seems like the Judge would do that better then shot shell in .357.
 
daryl - for that money I'd give that 3" judge a try. I haven't heard or read many complaints about them. I have a 3" SP101 that works great with Snake Shot. So, don't be afraid of the barrel length.
 
Daryl-

Here is my 2 cents worth of personal advice after owning and shooting a 3" barreled 3" magnum Judge for a couple of years and maybe 400 total of all kinds of shells.

Take a look at the pellet load of a 2.5" or 3" .410 shotshell (you don't mention the cylinder length of what you are looking at) and you will find either 1/2 oz or what, 11/16 of an ounce of shot, say #6, perfect for normal rattlers or copperheads at your range of 5 yards. That load will contain somewhere around 120-150 or so pellets at .109".

Compare that with what you get with the factory loaded shot in .357,.45 or what have you, and you will find a huge difference in both weight of shot load and shot size.

I can assure you that The Judge is not easy to carry due to it's weight and size, but at reasonable range it is real serious Mojo for poisonous snakes. Only thing I can think of what would be more lethal would be a long barreled shotgun, which is even harder to carry, so go with The Judge if snake medicine is your main interest. It works fine.
 
The one I am looking at is 3 in barrel and 2.5 shells. I read where it spreads so fast that at 10 or 15 ft maybe 2 or 3 shot would hit snake. I hate to wear glasses and anymore my choice is long barreled shot gun. I have no trouble with it. I want something that can carry easy and just point and it will hit it. Maybe I am wanting something that is not out there.
 
I bought a Bond Arms Derringer Century 2000, 3 1/2" barrel. Shoots 3" 410 or 45 Long Colt. I also bought a 22LR barrel. I carry it in a shoulder holster on my right side when on my motorcycle. I LOVE IT.
 
I always carry a 357/38 snake shot in my pocket. In the past I have killed probably 100 snakes with my S&W MD36 Chief Special using snake shot. Now I carry a Ruger SP 101 and keep a snake shot in my pocket. The Derringer does best on snakes with 2 1/2" #6 shot. I kill 6-8 snakes every year. The rifled barrel spreads shot pretty quickly.
 
I have a Judge (UltraLite 3"bbl, 2-3/4" chambering) that I wear on my hip in a leather Hunter thumb-break Holster made for that particular Judge. It is often my sidearm of choice when doing farm chores where my most likely threat-encounter is copperheads. It's typically loaded with two Federal #4 "personal defense" shotshells and three Winchester 225gr Silvertip hollowpoints. I carry two speedstrips with six-each more Silvertips in my pocket. I always have a S&W 442 in my pocket during those times too. The Judge is far from my favorite handgun, but it's the right tool for that scenario, IMO, and also happens to be the most comfortable sidearm I own for sitting in a tractor-seat.

My Judge takes a lot of abuse, and I've had no malfunctions with it. The #4 shot will chew-up a copperhead, and the Silvertips fire accurately enough to easily hit a rabid skunk or feral dog at 50 feet.

Les
 
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Let's get down to brass tacks.

These two links have to do with the Judge and actual snake shootings.

http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/index.php?topic=37806.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/index.php?topic=40569.0

It seems in one of the lastest issues of American Handgunner the author of the article proved that while .38 Special shoot loads worked well it was the .45 ACP shot shells shredded the snake opposition. Same for rats and other vermin.

Other authors in recent periodicals for this year also echoed the same sentiments. Some of them lived in the West, one in Florida, and one in Missouri.

Now, for the scoop on the Taurus Judge and right from the actual owners.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=6347713&postcount=18

There are links within the link that need to be gone through.

http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/index.php?topic=36284.msg421351#msg421351

This link has the capabilites and limitations of what the Judge ammo can do.
 
Found a guy that I know that has a Judge. He is bring it down in the next few days for me to shoot. This should make up my mind. Thanks for all the help.
 
My wife has the first style judge before the magnum came out. She carries hers and in the right holster its not that bad. buck shot at about 20 feet will stay in a 3 inch circle on a paper plate cow boy loads 45 aint bad ether. Bird shot well that will fill that same paper plate at 20 feet. I like the gun and so does my wife its hers. she calls it her pocket book shot gun, keeps 3- buck shot and 2- 45s in the cylinder.
 
Judge owner here,
If you can find a deal on one, go for it.
Never had to use it on snakes, but would definatly trust it with a nice buckshot in there. Local FFL & I know each other and he gave me $50 off the sticker price, so I walked away with a good deal.


Don't have any expirence with other shotshells in the .357 variety, so I'm not going to speak for them.
 
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