Thread: Taurus Raging Judge, any opinions?

I was thinking of getting a "Raging Judge" this next week. You can load 4 kinds of shells in it (2.5" 410 ga, 3" 410 ga, 45 Long Colt, and 454 Casull). To me it seems like 3 guns in 1. Not a bad deal on the price and warranty. Anybody out there own a Judge or a Taurus?

whats your purpose?

Based upon all reviews it seems completely impractical.

First of all .410 ammo doesn't pack enough of a punch to incapacitate someone.

Also Taurus guns always seem cheap to me.

To own my first revolver. I own a Glock, AR15, and a 12 gauge, now i'm looking for a deciently priced revolver. I liked the thought of being able to shoot 3 kinds of ammo. I was looking the 6" barrell because i don't see myself carrying it around as my concealed handgun.

i can really only think of one practical use for this weapon... pest control, and mostly rattlers- 'cause i'm not shooting at rats in my cellar.

as the man above said, .410 is NOT a self-defense load.. and taurus quality is always suspect. i've had two taurus revolvers, and they both had identical failures involving the cylinder catch. both went back to taurus, and both were fine once they got back, but it took a failure to point out the failure.

i'd just stick with a basic smith .38 or .357 for a just-to-have revolver, if i was you.

If you just want it for fun and novelty of it then go for it. I think defensively, you would be much better served by a 4 or 6 inch .357 magnum revolver by Ruger or S&W. The .410 loads are great against large fruit and paper targets but its lack of penetration in even gelatin would be a bad thing if you had to shoot someone. Unless you hit them in the face and blinded and maimed them for life. Can see all sorts of lawyers lining up for that suit against your insurance company or you personally. Trot out poor at risk youth who now looks like the elephant man and what jury wouldn't give him some money? Or, worse, what prosecutor wouldn't file aggravated assault charges against you for being Rambo with a gun from those cool TV commercials.

This of course is a worst case scenario and hopefully will never come to fruition. Far less likely if you shoot miscreant, dead or not, with plain jane revolver everyone has seen on NYPD Blue or TJ Hooker...

Forgive my rant but I'm bored and need to go to sleep...

I liked that rant it made sense, as did you bkb. If i bought the gun for self defense, it would be for at home or a camping gun. I use my Glock 22 as my "personal carry" gun and I'm used to it. If I had the Raging Judge for home defense it would be loaded with 45 Long Colt or 454 Casull. Using a 410 ga pistol for home defense would be pointless with a nice 12 ga next to it. I was gonna use the "expensive" ammo for practical uses (454 and 45).

Crap, get an older S&W or Ruger 357 or 44 mag

US Firearms Shotpistol

A friend of mine has taurus judge. He has had it for about a year and says he likes it. I shot it a couple of weeks ago and was a little disappointed. Shot it once and the cylinder locked up. My friend said "It does that alot" and fixed it. I own Taurus handguns and they have always been great for me but a revolver locking the cylinder up kinda turned me off the the whole judge thing.

Originally Posted by 22many

A friend of mine has taurus judge. He has had it for about a year and says he likes it. I shot it a couple of weeks ago and was a little disappointed. Shot it once and the cylinder locked up. My friend said "It does that alot" and fixed it. I own Taurus handguns and they have always been great for me but a revolver locking the cylinder up kinda turned me off the the whole judge thing.

probably the same thing i had with both my taurus revolvers. he should send it in- they've obviously got a good fix for it (and probably a LOT of practice).

Originally Posted by bkb0000

probably the same thing i had with both my taurus revolvers. he should send it in- they've obviously got a good fix for it (and probably a LOT of practice).

I would figure that he would. If it was my handgun then it would have went back after the first time of locking up. Guess some people just don't care.

I own a few taurus's and they are ok revolvers, I have shot one of the judges , it was one of the snub nose ones, and was not impressed by the lack of accuracy from anything other than the anemic 410 shot shells.

I would not trust it to hit the hypothetical bear that would be mauling me after I just blinded it with the shot shell.

Have you thought of buying an 454 Casull revolver?
You could still shoot 45 long colt thru it.

So, if the .410 is so anemic anybody want to stand say 15' from me and let me shoot at you with my Public Defender loaded with PDX1 loads?

Eight U.S. Presidents have been NRA members. They are: Ulysses S. Grant,
Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower,
John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush

80 MILLION gun owners didn't shoot anyone today, a few criminals did!

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The "Feedback Score" is low by 4, not everyone posts it I guess.

Deen
NRA Benefactor/Recruiter
Washington Arms Collector member
South West Washington Arms Collector member

Originally Posted by deen_ad

So, if the .410 is so anemic anybody want to stand say 15' from me and let me shoot at you with my Public Defender loaded with PDX1 loads?

Eight U.S. Presidents have been NRA members. They are: Ulysses S. Grant,
Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower,
John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush

80 MILLION gun owners didn't shoot anyone today, a few criminals did!

----------------------------------------------------------

The "Feedback Score" is low by 4, not everyone posts it I guess.

Deen
NRA Benefactor/Recruiter
Washington Arms Collector member
South West Washington Arms Collector member

a girly slap to the face isn't gonna do much either, but i'm still not gonna let you give me one. WTF even ask this?

I bought one of these for my dad as a Christmas gift last year. He absolutely loves it. He uses it primarily for critter control with the .410 but drops .45's in it when he goes hunting. To date, he's never had a problem with it. It's definitely not a regular carry piece but if you're looking for a versatile, entry level revolver, the Judge is a good choice in my opinion.

Originally Posted by deen_ad

So, if the .410 is so anemic anybody want to stand say 15' from me and let me shoot at you with my Public Defender loaded with PDX1 loads?

The same can be said of .22 magnum that doesn’t make it a defensive round in any way.

See if you can find a used Ruger Security Six. You can find them pretty cheap and they are built like tanks. I prefer mine to the GP100's.

Originally Posted by AK762

Based upon all reviews it seems completely impractical.

First of all .410 ammo doesn't pack enough of a punch to incapacitate someone.

Also Taurus guns always seem cheap to me.

Ahhh guys.don't tell all the deer my dad killed with a 410,it isn't a man stopper.That is just ludicrous to say a 410 isn't a good defense round.

Now to the Ts' question.I have to agree with BK on the quality of Taurus.I have had a few and sold them all shortly after.just didn't like the guns

As for the way the guns are rifled,with most only having a bit at the end,the 410 shot wings off,making the pattern huge.So it would probably be correct to say the 410 out of these type guns aren't man stoppers.
The pistol calibers have to just to the end of the barrel before they hit the riflings,that stabilize the bullet,so I would guess these guns have a short effective range.

I always have to hold back the snickers when someone wants to look at one of these.

BTW,I have tried some off the shot shells out of regular guns and they seem to pattern better.If your thinking of snakes or such.
Then you have a real bullet shooter,not one that is partially riffled.

I have to agree on the GP100 too.

I'll say this - I've got a Springfield M6 w/ a .410 barrel on it. The popularity of the Judge means ammo companies are making a bunch of new, interesting .410 loads for me to shoot out of my M6. No more basic lead slug or 000 buckshot for me!

(but, no, I wouldn't get a Judge)