Taurus Judges / Defenders

[S&W645]

Please, if you're even THINKING about one of these silly short barreled shotshell revolvers, go visit The Box O' Truth - Ammo Penetration Testing and check out their test of the Judge The Box O' Truth #41 - The Taurus Judge Vs. The Box O' Truth - Page 1 before wasting any more time.

As one who was ambushing starlings 35 years ago, with homebrewed shot loads in a 3" Charter Arms .44 Special, I can tell you that shot from a little short barrel does not have the velocity to penetrate. Never mind that the pattern totally sucks.

If forced to use a Judge to defend myself, I can only hope it is loaded with .45 LC rounds.

How old is that article? Can't find 2.5" ammo. He didn't look or it is an old column.

Able's has:

Federal Premium Personal Defense Handgun Ammunition PD412JGE000, 410 Gauge, 2 1/2 in, 4 pellets, 1200 fps, #000 Buckshot, 20 Rd/bx $12.05

[Grognard Gunny]

They "look" cool. But, then, I went through my qualfiers as to usefulness versus prettyness and it came out lacking.

As for "flying off the shelves". They must be. One can always tell a good selling concept, once the initial offering sells well, the variations will appear from the original manufactorer and then the clones from other makers appear.

Well, to each his/her own.

GG

[luvmyRugers]

Actually, the Thunder Five was the original. The Taurus is the copy-cat. I have a Thunder Five and don't shoot anything except 00 or 000 buckshot in it.
As mentioned earlier, it isn't a range gun, wasn't intended to be. It is a great home defense weapon and that was it's original purpose.
Every weapon has a "intended" purpose. Just be sure to choose wisely.

[Hamilton Felix]

How old is that article? Can't find 2.5" ammo. He didn't look or it is an old column.

I'd guess the article wasn't done much before the Oct. 2007 post I found here:
The Box O' Truth tests the Taurus Judge.

That discussion is interesting, too. I think the bottom line is still: VERY low penetration with a short handgun firing shotshells.

[lil shooter]

just get get a ruger super redhawk alaskan 44mag learn not to jerk it and get back to me or waste your money on the new S&W defender, just dont get a revolver from tarus...they have plenty good guns but the revolvers seem to have some trouble every now and again

[missoak]

I have a Judge-3" barrel. I've shot everything through it they make. 45 LC is pretty expensive, the shot loads are ok. Not a target pistol by any stretch, but fairly accurate at 7 yds. Keep mine at arms length in the living room. The PDX loads are awesome! Shot some watermelons at close range and I can tell you, if it was someone's head-------it would be gone ! ! ! No prob's with it as far as it goes bang when you pull the trigger. Lot of kick--better hold on.
I like mine for HD, will be looking to buy the lever action rifle some day soon.

My bad ! It's not a lever action. Duh ! !

[Lowjiber]

Here in the Mojave Desert we have a nasty, aggressive rattlesnake called "The Mojave Green Rattlesnake". It's 7% more venomous than a diamondback and very territorial.

When I'm gold prospecting, I carry a .357 with "snake rounds" on my hip to deal with the creatures. However, I'm considering one of these because I've shot several rounds at the range.

The Judge is very popular here in the desert southwest, but most good dealers have an adequate inventory.

I like the new S&W version over the Judge because it's six shots, fires .45LC, .410 shotshells, and .45ACP (using clip). Catalog price is about the same as the Judge.

I went to my favorite gun store in Vegas to purchase the S&W version, but they claim that they're not even available yet.

[shermr]

The Judge is not a "bad gun". It is a fun gun to shoot, and fairly inexpensive to own. Being both large and heavy it is no carry gun, it's also not a target gun or a hunting gun. I'd classify it as a coffee table or nightstand gun, as long as you live alone and don't get a lot of company. I've shot about 15 rounds through a couple different Judges - enough to know that I don't need my own.

[.38 girl]

I agree that it's a great HD or vehicle gun (mine was always close by in the house), plus it's reliable and it really is fun to shoot! It's not easily concealable for me, which was not an issue, as I got it for the house anyway. I'm not familiar with the newest Judges/Defenders.

Mine never had any problems whatsoever. I have/have had several Taurus guns, both pistols and revolvers. One of my absolute favorites is a .38 snubby that I've had for years and will never sell. Though I've only had one issue with one of mine a few years ago, Taurus has an excellent reputation for service if you need it.

The only reason I don't have the Judge anymore is the ex got it.

Needless to say, everyone has their own opinions on any given gun. Good luck in your search!