Taurus Judge .410/.45 LC

[Cooter]

I was wondering if any of you have had experience with the Taurus Judge. I was thinking about getting one. I like the concept of .410 pistol that can also shoot a .45, it would be nice to have the first round as a non lethal round to stop a perp before I have to put him down permenantly. I have never owned a Taurus, and I hear they put out some trash, and thier service is terrible.
Who has owned one of these?

[DrDavidM]

I have a Taurus pt140pro and have never had the slightest hiccup out of it. The trigger pull is not fantastic, but otherwise I consider it a great handgun. My wife has a Taurus 38 snubnose. It also seems to be a great gun, but we haven't fired it but a couple of hundred times. I don't consider the judge the handgun for me. However, on the Outdoor channel there is a commercial advertising it. They indicate someone is breaking into someones car from the passenger window. They have a target outside the window. The 410 puts a nice little pattern on it. I do believe the driver would be left alone after that.

[PascalFleischman]

Originally Posted by Cooter

I was wondering if any of you have had experience with the Taurus Judge. I was thinking about getting one. I like the concept of .410 pistol that can also shoot a .45, it would be nice to have the first round as a non lethal round to stop a perp before I have to put him down permenantly. I have never owned a Taurus, and I hear they put out some trash, and thier service is terrible.
Who has owned one of these?

Bad idea....if you want a non-lethal option, a gun is not the answer. You shoot to stop the threat, but a sucking chest wound will all but gurantee that the guy can't sue you for injuries. A .410 to the chest would piss me off. Guys at the Box-o'-Truth did a field test of the Judge...check it out.

WARNING! THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE WILL CAUSE HOURS OF LOST TIME AND YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WILL DWINDLE TO NOTHING. DO NOT CLICK UNLESS YOU HAVE TIME TO WASTE.

www.theboxotruth.com

[Big Bubba]

After watching the video I still think that the "Judge", would have good merit, as a defensive weapon, it is still capable of firing the potent .45 Long Colt round which is a tried and true manstopper. Loading the cylinder with a couple of .410 rounds would come in handy in a situation where you came upon multiple perps in close to one another, more chances of damaging hits in that respect. Just my 2 cents worth.

[The Gunny]

If you want a good snake gun then it is not a bad option. However, if you intend to shoot a person better kill them or spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder and shelling out every penny you make on the lawsuit settlement.

[kwo51]

410 slugs are hot

[David E]

I like the concept of .410 pistol that can also shoot a .45, it would be nice to have the first round as a non lethal round to stop a perp before I have to put him down permenantly.

What if you ONLY GET ONE SHOT ????? That will be a mighty poor time to learn that the lead pellets didn't penetrate his leather jacket just before he slits your throat !

Why do you only want to shoot/kill the thug only "a little bit?"

Originally Posted by Big Bubba

Loading the cylinder with a couple of .410 rounds would come in handy in a situation where you came upon multiple perps in close to one another, more chances of damaging hits in that respect..

Where do you live? I mean, where is this place that you can plan your violent encounters in advance and be able to prepare specifically for them?

The Judge is a HULK of a gun. It's not tiny. For snake defense, as has been pointed out, it'd be great. But for people ? At any distance, you're screwed.

For the size and weight, there are many guns that are more effective.

.

[Cooter]

Thanks for the link PascalFleischman. Got that site bookmarked now.

Yeah, I wouldn't carry it as a CCW. But I think it would be good to have as just a novelty gun. Just another toy to add to the collection. After researching it a bit, and according to opinions, I don't think it would be that practical for many situations. Just intrigues me, the thought of having a shotgun-pistol.

[David E]

Originally Posted by Cooter

Just intrigues me, the thought of having a shotgun-pistol.

You are aware that CCI makes shotshells in various calibers, right? (including .22 LR, .22 Mag, 9mm, .38, .44, .40 and .45 acp)

I mean, you can already turn a handgun into a "Shotpistol" simply buy loading it with the shotshells.

They'll even cycle the action on most semi's, too !

.

[Red Hat]

I've looked at the Judge and I agree that it's a novelty gun. 410 shot shells are totally useless for defense. If you use it for defense only carry 45 long colt in it. Even the 410 slug won't penetrate deep enough for stopping power. Remember that shot shells need a long barrel to generate the velocity and energy needed to be lethal. Slow burning powder needs this distance. I still want one to play with. Too bad the ATF stopped production on the 3" version.