Taurus Judge

SG85 · Mar 30, 2013

The novelty of it makes me want one, who's got one?? .45LC and a .410 what could be more fun?

soberups · Mar 30, 2013

Kind of expensive for a novelty, which is really all its good for. Its a horrible choice for home defense in my opinion. I'd much rather have a good old fashioned .357 or .38+P revolver in my hand if I hear something go bump in the night.

Mezzovex · Mar 31, 2013

They are fun. Not a cc gun for sure. I enjoy shooting them

letrain · Mar 31, 2013

public defender conceals nicely and is very light (compared to my 1911). and was very surprised it didnt kick more. just make sure you get the right 410 ammo.

RBid · Mar 31, 2013

The pattern opens up very fast. I'd call it a 15 feet & closer option. Within that distance, .410 buckshot (00 or 000) should be more than a novelty.

I prefer other options, but I respect what the Judge offers, in it's effective range.

soberups · Mar 31, 2013

letrain said:
public defender conceals nicely and is very light (compared to my 1911). and was very surprised it didnt kick more. just make sure you get the right 410 ammo.

There is no "right" .410 ammo for serious self defense purposes, the .410 was designed as a small game hunting load for women and children. Instead of believing the ammo advertisements, look at the ballistics and see how poorly the round performs in terms of penetration (good real-world info available at the box o' truth.com).

With the "lightweight" version of this gun tipping the scales at 23 ounces and the steel-framed pushing 30, it is by any standard a heavy, bulky gun to try and conceal. If I am going to be lugging that much metal around it will be a .44 magnum with 6 shots on tap or a full-sized semi-auto with between 8 and 18 rounds available depending on caliber. Even a full-sized .357 mag would be a better choice in terms of both ballistics and firepower.

At best, the Judge is an oversized/overweight .45 Colt with poor accuracy, only 5 shots, and no ability to use speedloaders. At its worst---it is a .410 with expensive, gimmicky ammo that yields puny ballistics, poor penetration, and a pattern that spreads out so quickly as to make it effectively worthless beyond 10 or 15 feet. Plus...its a Taurus.

19 Adam · Mar 31, 2013

SG85 said:
The novelty of it makes me want one, who's got one?? .45LC and a .410 what could be more fun?

I had to have one too after watching their commercials on YouTube.

Taurus The Judge - dirtydozensbunker.com forum - YouTube

[video=youtube_share;jl-ZIo-Wztc]http://youtu.be/jl-ZIo-Wztc[/video]

I is fun to shoot when you first get it. If you used it as advertised in one of their video's as a car gun and shot someone through your open car window it would certainly give you time to drive off and LE would have no problem identifying the guy with the severely pock-marked face from the .410 blast.

The novelty has worn off now so PM me if you really need one.

soberups · Mar 31, 2013

19 Adam said:
. If you used it as advertised in one of their video's as a car gun and shot someone through your open car window it would certainly give you time to drive off and LE would have no problem identifying the guy with the severely pock-marked face from the .410 blast.

The novelty has worn off now so PM me if you really need one.

If an amed carjacker threatened my life and tried to take my car, I dont want to pockmark his face with a .410. My preference would be that LE indentify the guy by the 2" exit wound that I put out the back of his head with a 9mm or .38+p.

I think it is irresponsible to market these guns as viable options for self defense.