'The Judge' - Taurus .410/.45LC

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Dano1125

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Dec 24, 2008
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Location
Sherman, Texas
I received a Taurus 4510 (2.5") and have not taken it out to the range yet. Will do so later this month. Any input from owners of this intimidating weapon as to what I should expect for my first 'out of the box' usage? I'm very pleased at the 'idea' behind this personal defense revolver and eager to give it a try; but want to have an idea of any 'first time' challenges I might expect. I'll be using the new Federal .410-000 buckshot (4 pellet) shotshells and Remington .45 LC ammo w/250 gr. bullets. Any 'heads-up' will be sincerely appreciated.
 
I like mine. Things that I noticed:

- Fired .410 shells may require some "love" to get them to eject.
- #4 .410 cartidges kick more than .45 LC cowboy loads. Recoil was not substantial with either load.

Can't think of anything else that caught me off-guard. Run it like a "regular" revolver.
 
My buddy has one and carries it when he's at is place on the river. So far he's killed 4 snakes with it. Last weekend I was there plinking with my .22 and saw a Cottonmouth swimming toward some trees near the pier. He went up a low branch and I shot at him and either hit him or barked him pretty good. My buddy had a .410 and a .45 loaded and fired once hitting the snake. it was, of course, still thrashing around. Intent on turning it into a good snake, he reloaded two more .410s and fired again. The report was deafening. I don't know anything about how the gun functions but it had somehow doubled. We complained about the noise and he said, "It wasn't no party on this end either." shaking his hand. The gun was no worse for wear. I guess he'll check it out as to why it did what it did. Snake was history.
 
welcome to the judge owners club
i have a 3 inch chambered model and i love it
if your used to recoil you can handle this beast its not as bad as alot of people will have you believe
ive shot the winchester 000 5 pellet 3 inch shells in mine and it was still mild in recoil for me the "ribber" grips help alot ive shot it alot since i got it last feb and its still fun to blow cans up in the back yard
 
Thanks to all of you gents for your comments. I feel more comfortable about my initial date with 'The Judge.' - Dano1125
 
1) Your grip is going to be important, or you are likely to hurt your hand. Put your hand fully into the grip so that a flat of your finger is under the trigger guard, not a knuckle.

2) Kick with 410 loads is considerable, but controllable. Just get a good grip (see above)

3) 45 Colt loads will seem mild compared to the 410 ... but thats still a serious hunk of lead heading down range.

4) I've also had good luck with Winchester 000 buckshot and #4 shot rounds. I have purchased some of the new Federals, but haven't shot them yet. Sellier & Beloit rounds would not chamber ... and I've heard that the metalic BEAR rounds you see on sale will swell when fired and not eject. Avoid them.
 
nitetrane98 said:
The report was deafening. I don't know anything about how the gun functions but it had somehow doubled.
Click to expand...

REVOLVER dude ... simply flat out not possible. If it somehow -was- possible, your bud would be shopping for a new hand, as the round going off that was not lined up with the barrel would have blown the gun apart and taken his hand with it.
 
The only guidance I'll offer, and it is from the perspective of what I would do, would be that if this gun will be used for personal protection and it were mine, I'd stick to high quality 45 Colt for sufficient penetration. Yes, .410 bird or buckshot would certainly mess up a perp's face pretty good and may well stop an attack ... so will the mere sight of the gun to begin with. But the weak penetration (see link in post #5) of .410 can be a liability up against a determined, adrenaline pumped, no-pain-feeling crackhead. The Speer Gold Dot hollowpoints in 200 and 250 grain weights, as well as the 225 grain Winchester Silvertip all have good reps. I'd save the .410 loads for pest control ... just my thoughts.
 
If I am correct there are now 3 versions of the Judge.

1. 3in Magnum frame

2. 2.5in frame

3. The new smaller judge built on the model 85 frame called the public defender, just saw that one in one of the videos about the NRA show so dont know if its out there yet.

Wonder if there are any key differences, between them besides the chamber size.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by nitetrane98
The report was deafening. I don't know anything about how the gun functions but it had somehow doubled.

REVOLVER dude ... simply flat out not possible. If it somehow -was- possible, your bud would be shopping for a new hand, as the round going off that was not lined up with the barrel would have blown the gun apart and taken his hand with it.
Click to expand...

I agree with mgkdrgn, the guy had to of pulled the trigger twice.
 
Gryffydd said:
Congrats on your new gun.
Since you referred to it as a personal defense revolver, I suggest spending some time analyzing the effectiveness of various loads before trusting your life to them.
A good place to start:
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot41.htm
Click to expand...

Oh ya, the guys that couldn't even be bothered to even buy the correct ammo for the gun (they cut down 3" shells to 2.5" by hand) and then proceeded to "evaluate" a "close in personal defense" pistol at 10 yards, rather than 10 feet. The vast vast vast (as in 95%+) of SD shootings take place at under 10 feet.

If you shoot someine in "self defense" at 10 yards, you better hope you have a "dream team" of lawyers working for you 'cause your going to need 'em.
 
I'm surprised you found one! I've got several customers that want one, but I (a dealer) can't come on to any! Maybeso they just made a run and they'll start showing up. Hope so.
 
30 feet vs 10 feet is not going to make much difference in penetration. Birdshot will still not penetrate well, and a few rounds of 00 from a handgun will be the same as being shot by a .32 auto a few times from either distance. If bird shot from a 12ga with an 18" barrel is ineffective, shooting it from a .410 in a pistol certainly will be.

Nothing against the gun, it definitely has its uses. Using bird shot or even 00 against humans probably isn't one of them.
 
I would disagree with anybody that would claim the Judge is not a good choice for personal, home or vehicle defense.

And my opinion comes from owning and shooting the 3" chamber magnum model, unlike many that like to chime in with an opinion with no personal experience.

No, the Judge is not a good shotgun when compared to other shotguns. No, the Judge is not a long range tackdriver with .45 Colt either.

But let's be honest about what it can do, and do quite well.

5 yards is a lot more realistic in self defense scenarios than is 10 yards, and consider the facial damage with 3/4 ounce of off the shelf #4 shot. That amounts to over 100 pellets covering a 12-18" circle at 5 yards. Penetration ? Not the best, agreed, especially when trying to shoot through winter clothing.

But if we upgrade to 3" loads of 000 buck, now we're talking 5-.36" or 9.14mm lead balls, that add up to over 800 foot pounds of energy. Penetration ? You betcha, and at 5 yards it stays inside of a 8" circle. And we have only shot the first round. Fire the other 4, (and it can be done in under 2 seconds with a bit of practice) and that adds up to 25-9mm/38 cal holes that will for sure do some damage.

But where I think the Judge is underappreciated is if you can hand load .410 shells with either lead BB (32 or so .18"/4.57mm pellets) or even #2 lead shot (62 +/- .148"/3.76mm pellets) that still fit inside that 12" circle at 5 yards. Devastating does not adequately describe the effect.

Regarding .45 Colt performance, how does a 6" spread at 25 yards equate to poor performance in a defensive application, let alone when we again are honest about the typical 5-10 yard range with a 2" pattern ?

Quit trying to make the Judge into something Taurus never meant it to be, and quit bashing it until you try one out.

If you take the time to visit Taurus.com you'll find they really only designed The Judge for one purpose, and it performs that purpose quite effectively.
 
Oh ya, the guys that couldn't even be bothered to even buy the correct ammo for the gun (they cut down 3" shells to 2.5" by hand) and then proceeded to "evaluate" a "close in personal defense" pistol at 10 yards, rather than 10 feet. The vast vast vast (as in 95%+) of SD shootings take place at under 10 feet.
Click to expand...
I think that was my main problem with his "test". You have to use the right ammo. I think federal makes a SD load specifically designed for the Judge.

I don't claim to support or discredit the Judge as a SD handgun yet. But the test in my opinion was not a valid one.
 
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