taurus judge 410/ 45 long revolver.... thoughts?

[glockguy]

iv been looking at these but have not heard much about them.... i thought it would be great for home defense, have any of you fooled around with one of these?

Read More

 

[cyclesurvival]

very loud , heavy, great on snakes, fun as ****.

 

[xjjeeper223]

The Box O' Truth #41 - The Taurus Judge Vs. The Box O' Truth - Page 1

That's worth reading before you buy a judge. The page wouldn't open on my phone but I think that's the page where he tests the judge and various loads for penetration and effectiveness. General consensus is that the judge is decent for snakes and the range. Tests show that the .410 loads aren't ideal for use against an attacker. The .45 LC is good against a threat, but there are much better handgun options if for some reason you decide that .45 Long Colt is you caliber of choice.

But they are fun to shoot....

 

[glockguy]

.40 is my cal of choice... i just thought that maybe it would be a good gun to own

 

[slingshot1943]

I had one and didn't like the front heavy feeling.

 

[DERGLOCKINMEISTER]

They are a gas ! Intimidating looking , big bang , 000 buckshot makes holes for days , everyone says not the best caliber for self defense , but I don't see anybody lining up to be shot by one . Wide dispersal of shot at short distances increases your chances of hitting target regardless of adrenaline or stress . Everybody that sees mine HAS to shoot it , great as an atv or jeep gun . If you can afford a limited purpose , fun gun , I would absolutely tell you to get one ! There are better calibers , better carry weapons , etc , but this thing is a 10 on the coolometer .

 

[soberups]

For the money, I would rather have a good old .357 Magnum or even a .38+P for home defense. If snakes are an issue you can always buy the CCI .357 shotshell loads. The 410 shotgun round is a horrible choice for home defense, you would be far better off loading it with .45 Colts for that purpose, but even then you wind up with an extremely heavy and bulky revolver that only holds 5 rounds. There are much better choices out there for home protection.

 

[tkdguy]

Before you buy go to youtube and look at the field tests on this one. The "00" buck shot is kinda terriable with respect to patterning.

 

[deen_ad]

Before you buy go to youtube and look at the field tests on this one. The "00" buck shot is kinda terriable with respect to patterning.

the equation changes when you use the new Winchester self defense rounds with the "flying disks" and shot. Who wants to get hit by three (or four if 3" shell) .30" "flying disks"?

Looks like it would be a great weapon in the confines of a house or motorhome. In fact I'm waiting for the new polymer one to get here, then I'll buy one for in our motorhome and replace the Win 1300 there now. I don't plan on having to shoot someone at long distance since it's just for close in self defense. Longer distances I have other weapons for!

Deen
NRA Benefactor/Recruiter
WAC member
ACSWW member

 

[BlackRidge]

Aside from the fact it shoots a limited array of shotguns shells, its just a revolver

I'd take a 357 anyday

 

[soberups]

the equation changes when you use the new Winchester self defense rounds with the "flying disks" and shot. Who wants to get hit by three (or four if 3" shell) .30" "flying disks"?

The equation doesnt really change at all.

Those .30" "flying discs" weigh about 60 grains each and are moving at about 1200 fps. In other words...they are the ballistic equivalent of a hot .32ACP load.

Would I want to get hit by one? Of course not...but if I had to choose between taking a .410 buckshot load to the chest vs. taking a 158 gr. 357 Mag load to the chest, I would pick the .410 every time.

the Winchester PDX .410 load is a gimmick, being marketed to people who bought a Judge for home defense. Its nothing more than a standard .410 buckshot load, only the pellets are flattened into "defense discs" and a few BB's are stuffed into the remaining space. Thre isnt anything new or special about it and it doesnt change the fact that the .410 round is a horrible choice for home defense.

If I am going to rely upon a revolver that is as big and heavy and bulky as the Judge, it will be a 6-shooter chambered in .357 or .44 magnum with a 6" barrel and capable of using speedloaders. Or, if I'm going to be limited to only 5 shots, it will be from a .38+P snubbie that can be easily concealed.

The Judge is the worst of both worlds; a big heavy 5-shooter with puny ballistics. If I did have one, I would load it with the hottest .45 Colt JHP rounds I could find, and not waste any time with .410 loads that were made for hunting rabbits and grouse, not people.

 

[pioneer461]

The Judge was developed as an anti-carjacking handgun. Designed for very close range, according to the CEO of Taurus on an interview a few years ago. Here's a video by Dick Metcaff.

YouTube - Taurus The Judge - dirtydozensbunker.com forum

I mentioned to my former partner / gunsmith that I was thinking about getting one and he advised not to. Because they have become very popular, Taurus has been cranking them out in high volume, but he says the workmanship is suffering. About 1/2 of them need to go back to Taurus to get fixed. He advised to wait.

View attachment 203211​

 

[soberups]

The Judge was developed as an anti-carjacking handgun. Designed for very close range, according to the CEO of Taurus on an interview a few years ago. Here's a video by Dick Metcaff.

YouTube - Taurus The Judge - dirtydozensbunker.com forum

.

View attachment 203207​

My personal "anti-carjacking" handgun...consists of whatever particular handgun I happen to be using for concealed carry on a given day.

My Glock 26, KeltecP-11 or Ruger LCR are all quite capable of quickly eliminating the threat posed by a would-be carjacker....and they are all far superior to the Judge in terms of ballistics, capacity, concealability and overall reliability.

What happens if you are stuck in traffic and are confronted by an armed carjacker who tries to get into your car while the window is closed? The already pathetic ballistics of the .410 round are degraded even further when you have to try and shoot through a shatterproof automotive window. I would much rather have my Glock 26 with 11 rounds of 9mm +P 124 gr JHP's.... or even my LCR with 5 rounds of .38+P 158 gr JHPs....than a Judge with five .410 shells on tap if I have to penetrate a window in order to take out an assailant on the other side.

One other thing-to my knowledge, there are no speedloaders available for the Judge, so once your 5 rounds are gone you are unarmed until you can manually eject the husks and reload the gun one round at a time. I can shove a fresh mag into my G26 in under 3 seconds, and even my LCR can get back into the fight pretty quickly by using a speedloader or speed strips.

I feel very strongly that Taurus is doing a disservice to new and uninformed shooters by marketing the Judge as a good choice for personal defense. It isnt. I can see its value as a "trail gun" that can be loaded with a mix of .410 and .45 Colt rounds for protection from predators of the 4, 2, or 0-legged variety....but for home or car defense it is inferior to any quality semi-auto or revolver in 9mm/38+P/.357/.40/.45 chambering.

 

[sprice37]

It is a Taurus DON'T buy it!!!

 

[deen_ad]

Because they have become very popular, Taurus has been cranking them out in high volume, but he says the workmanship is suffering. About 1/2 of them need to go back to Taurus to get fixed. He advised to wait.

none of the shops I go to have ever mentioned that Taurus has any more problems than other manufacturers, nor have the magazines reported it.

But there are those that still insist on posting that they are "junk"

Deen
NRA Benefactor/Recruiter
WAC Member
ACSWW Member

 

[eriknemily]

I want someone to show me a perfect firearm manufacturer that has a firearm that has never had a problem or malfunction. I don't think there is one.

 

[longcolt]

Interesting that the Judge has been so successful. It must be the Name, "The Judge" that is attracting attention.

The gun is a novelty item in my opinion, people will buy it, shoot it a few times and it goes into the safe only to see the light of day when you drag it out to show to friends.

I have a few of those and they are fun to own. But its not a bread and butter gun that you will Carry, Target Shoot with, or use for backup when hunting/hiking.

If you are flush buy one, but if not spend your money wisely on a weapon you can use daily.