Taurus Judge question

[S&W Kinda Guy]

I was looking around comparing .44 magnum revolvers, and I saw the Judge, I've known about the Judge for a while, but then I wondered if the Judge has rifling in its barrel? I didn't know since it soots 410 and .45 colt...

[dpetreikis]

Yep, it's rifled

[EdInk]

Yes it does. Otherwise it would be classified as a short barrel shotgun.

[S&W Kinda Guy]

does it not affect the 410 shot shells though?

[Jim March]

YUP! The only loads that start to make sense for personal defense are those involving a series of large round balls stacked end on end - 3 in the 2.5" chambers, 5 in the 3". They don't scatter TOO bad.

Federal and I think Winchester are now bringing back "buck and ball", using a mix of slugs and pellets, in some cases with powder charges tuned for handguns in .410cal. Color me very skeptical.

[45_Shooter]

Federal and I think Winchester are now bringing back "buck and ball", using a mix of slugs and pellets, in some cases with powder charges tuned for handguns in .410cal. Color me very skeptical.

Great! Now one load will take care of small game birds AND rabid possums......

Maybe next they can start loading broken glass or old nuts and bolts and call them 'Shrapnel Roundz'

[azredhawk44]

I was looking around comparing .44 magnum revolvers, and I saw the Judge

Keep looking at .44 magnum revolvers.

[ClemBert]

YUP! The only loads that start to make sense for personal defense are those involving a series of large round balls stacked end on end - 3 in the 2.5" chambers, 5 in the 3". They don't scatter TOO bad.

The Federal "Personal Defense" special .410 Handgun shell has 4 pellets of 000 buck. They advertise this load as having 1200 fps muzzle velocity. Its a 2 1/2" shell. I'm wondering if they are planning a 6 pellet 3" shell?

[knight0334]

Yes it does. Otherwise it would be classified as a short barrel shotgun.

It would have been an AOW. AOW's are smooth bore pistols and other oddities.

[Doodlebugger45]

A buddy of mine bought a Judge about a year ago, mainly because his wife was kind of paranoid and wanted her own handgun. One day we took it out and shot quite a bit with it. I am kind of skeptical about the value of the 410 loads. I mean, they will work OK at 10' or so. But so will a 255 gr .45 Colt bullet. We shot quite a bit of standard factory 45 Colt ammo that day. I was actually surprised at how well it did at 10 yards. Not a tack driver, but certainly capable of putting 5 rounds into a paper plate without a problem.

All things considered, I don't want one of them for myself. But if self defense is the consideration, then it will do the job. My buddy's wife feels better having it on her nightstand and that's all that counts. It works just fine.

[Qwiks draw]

Here's the scoop on the Judge. Please read the links within the links that I brought or you'll miss a lot.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=392382
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=387902

[mellow_c]

I think the Taurus Judge is a silly gun.

I have never shot one, I have only held them. And I only know what I've heard from others. But... based on what I've heard. The Taurus judge is more of a novelty gun than a great reliable practical shooter.



I think if you wanted a fine firearm, something to be proud of and shoot and own for a long time. I'd go with what the guy above said. "Keep looking .44 magnum."

However, if you are free with your money, or your looking for cool factor, or you just like the idea and fun of a 410 shotgun and colt .45 in one revolver, you might have good reason to buy a Judge.

And ya know... all the same... The Judge you buy could end up being a GReat shooter. shooting great groups and holding tight patterns. (for a shotgun handgun) It could be shot and shot and shot and never give you a problem. I hope that if you decide to get a Judge that you are very happy with it.

Me, I'm not willing to take the chance.... Honestly thats why I wont buy a Taurus. But I'd still like to own a handgunshotgun

[bigghoss]

Maybe next they can start loading broken glass or old nuts and bolts and call them 'Shrapnel Roundz'

oh man that was funny! maybe they'll load some rocksalt rounds too!

[Pahoo]

Keep looking at .44 magnum revolvers.

The only question you asked, has been about the rifling and that has been answered. Now, if you are looking for the performance of a .44, then this may not be a good pick, and would have to agree with azredhawk44.
Shot a friends blue model and we found out that;
It's not an effective shotgun and lousy .45LC pistol. However, we held some pretty good groups with slugs. So for now, have to say that it is a pretty good slug-handgun. I try hard never to tell a man what to do with his wife or money but at least you are getting some first-hand information. ...


Be Safe !!!

[Qwiks draw]

Taurus Judge ammo time.

Buckshot:
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=24314.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=26851.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=22279.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=30153.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=26722.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...p?topic=8466.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=23621.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=27804.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=17988.0

.45 Colt in the Judge:
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=23048.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=22577.0
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=17524.0

There might be some crossover as far as buckshot and .45 Colt ammo info in the links. That could not be helped.

In some of the links there is chronographed load info.

For the Judge critics there is this.
http://www.taurusarmed.net/forums/in...?topic=18530.0

There are plenty of first time gun shooters who have little or no experience with handguns or were just introduced to handguns.

The Judge fills their niche for a general mission specific gun for defense, for fun, and for general use. These people may go further into shooting handguns or they may stop right there.

The Judge fills their mission requirements. That's all that matters. To them and the mission at hand. 1 gun model does the job for them that it might take several guns to do.

While I do agree that .357/.38 and the larger caliber guns can do some of the jobs better in some ways, the Judge accomplishes the mission decently.

I won't buy a Judge because I have no need to. My handgun (mostly revolvers) get the job done and I have no need for the abilities and performance of the Judge ammo. My main guns take care of that already.

There are also those who have many firearms and handguns in particular. These people bought use the Judge for the much the same reasons that the new shooters do. If they want to carry a firearm that big they are welcome to do it. Judges weigh about the same a some N frame guns or less than those. Judges are also in the big frame category somewhat. Fine. Many a person thinks nothing about toting a 40 ounce or more piece of hardware on their hip while out in the field.

So what if someone wants to tote the Judge in a holster or use it for a car or house gun? It shoots .45 Colt rounds and the buckshot rounds if one is so inclined. Fine.

So if a gun owner gets good use out of a handgun that is limited to a degree it what it can do, but it can do the mission pretty well for what some folks care about. So what's the big deal.

Your not the ones using the Judge. No skin off your nose.

Let me give an example. For you lever action and bolt action fans are you in the dark ages. Now that the semi-auto rifles are here there is no reason for the other types of rifle other than semi-autos.

With the advances in technology there are semi-auto rifles that can shoot MOA at very long distances where that wasn't possible years ago. The semi-autos can do everything and surpass the other long gun action types in every way. So I laugh at those who have bolt guns and lever action guns.

Like I said, the above is just an example. I could put down those action types, but why. The owners of those action types enjoy them and have their uses for them. Are they morons for having them? NO!

There is something in theory and in many practical ways where the semi-auto does the mission better than the bolt guns or lever action ones. Yet it does not do everything better. Just some things. Does this make the other types of action rifles obsolete or silly? NO!

Well, the Judge is the same. It has a specific niche to fill and it does it just fine.

Many a person picks one up and learns to like it for what it does. Fine

It isn't your cup of tea? Fine. It isn't mine, either. Yet I am not going to run down the gun or the people who use it. They deserve better than that.

[Uncle Buck]

I think the Taurus Judge is a silly gun.

I have never shot one, I have only held them. And I only know what I've heard from others. But... based on what I've heard. The Taurus judge is more of a novelty gun than a great reliable practical shooter.

Another qualified opinion.

The judge is NOT a distance gun. At 10 yards it will produce decent results, with a little practice.


It makes a great gun for self-defense in a car or a bedroom. Most self defense situations in a home and a car are not going to be at distances much greater than 10 yards.

Like any gun purchase, you have to ask yourself, where and when will it be primarily used.

I usually have mine in the bedroom loaded with .410/410/.45 /.45/.45. A buddy has his loaded with .410 and keeps it in his car. He has used it twice to thwart car jacking attempts. (He needs to find a better place to work! )

I also carry it when I am working in the barn for killing snakes in the hay or in the chicken house. I HATE SNAKES!

I enjoy the gun and friends enjoy shooting mine. We are in agreement that it is not a precision, long range handgun. A novelty gun it might be, but it is also a fun gun.

I also have two .357's, three .45 LC's, a semi-auto 9mm, a semi .40 S&W, three .22lr, and semi-auto 9x18mm. Everyone loves to shoot The Judge.

[ClemBert]

In my opinion the Taurus Judge is stooopid. I actually touched one once and spun the cylinder but that's as far as my personal experience with the Judge went. I heard both good things from actual owners and bad things from people that don't own one and never shot one. I choose to ignore the good comments from actual owners. It fills a niche not filled by other firearms but is probably not a reliable and practical defensive weapon. At least, that's what I choose to believe from the stories told by people whom hate the Taurus firearms company.

LOLOLOLOL! Yup, that's a typical pre-judged (pun intended) opinion made over and over in this forum and others. Sadly, there are those who would automatically inject their biased negative opinion of the Taurus Judge because the firearm isn't made by S&W or Colt. I've seen similar style remarks regarding Ruger products because of bias against a relatively new comer. Then you have your Glock and Sig or even HK camps that trash S&W and the likes.

I own sidearms that use a number of cartridges that include 22 LR, 22 Magnum, 9mm Luger, 9mm Makarov, 38 Special, 357 Magnum, 40 S&W, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 50 AE, and on and on....

I think that QwiksDraw and UncleBuck have addressed the Taurus Judge debate in a very sensible way. Those who would carry on an emotional and intangible opinion base on what they heard from their friend's uncle's sister-in-law's cousin's pet poodle may want to consider refraining from their pre-biased opinion since it isn't objective nor helpful when someone asks a legitimate question about the Judge.

For some it is just too much fun to trash one cartridge versus another or one firearm versus another without giving thoughtful consideration to the specifics of the question. For example, I could easily round up a bunch of people who don't consider the 44 Magnum "the best" defensive cartridge but I won't. Just because the Taurus Judge doesn't fit your personal needs or style there is no need to be condescending to others. Chances are that many of you own a firearm that others find useless and not worthy of owning.

BTW, I didn't realize that we have so many folks here living in mansions where a typical defensive shot in your home is beyond 30 feet.

[Oilburner350]

I worry more about coyotes than zombies at my residence. My 44 mag does wonderful at 50 yards. There are not many snakes in Michigan, so I don't have to worry about them. If I do go someplace where there are snakes I will load up birdshot in the 44 if I feel it is required.

As a side note I have shot one of these shotgun revolvers. I do not care for them, but someone may. To each their own. I will stick with the 629 myself.

[Pyzon]

ClemBert and Uncle Buck-

My feelings precisely. I don't recall any handgun forum subject that has ever spawned more opinions from those that admittedly have absolutely no first hand experience than has The Judge.

Maybe I should visit some sites for Astronauts, or Submarine sailors, or Medical Doctors so I can give the members some advice about some things I have yet to do..........

You "experts" have surprised me though. Almost 20 posts without a mention of the frequent barrels blowing off stories.

Still amazing, none the less.......

[dakota1911]

If I had more money I would probably buy one to play with. Right now I load up speer shot capsules for use against snakes in my Ruger Blackhawk in .45 LC. I don't go after all snakes but I live in the SW and when a rattle snake is near my house I take it out.

[breed]

it's nice to see some one put in to words. what I've been thinking lately. it seems that every other post is full of negativism toward some one's choice in a firearm.

[Pahoo]

it's nice to see some one put in to words. what I've been thinking lately. it seems that every other post is full of negativism toward some one's choice in a firearm.

Perhaps but mostly based on objectivity and personal experience in an effort to save OP's any future greif. For the most part, it was addressed in a positive manner and with positive intentions.
S&W Kinda Guy is certainly free to buy whatever he wants and certainly hope he sees that we are looking out for him. If not, he has my opologies.



Be Safe !!!

[S&W Kinda Guy]

Thanks Pahoo, I probably should have mentioned this but I was never interested in buying the Judge I just saw it on Taurus's home page, and I started reading about the new Polymer version and it made me wonder if It had rifling. But I'm only interested in .44 mags right now, perhaps down the road if I want an interesting toy, I will pick up a Judge.

[Qwiks draw]

Doesn't matter if you get one or not. We can all at least act civilized.

As for me if you get one fine. If not, fine.

I just present the evidence for others to go through.

There are plenty of people who like the Taurus and those who don't.

If a person does not need one or finds another product to fit the needs that's all that counts.

I'm not going to rain on any one's pick. No one else should either.

If a person has actual experience with a certain make or model, no problem.

It's the people who do not have experience. That or just had 1 example and call all of one brand garbage because they had some troubles.

I could have done that with Ruger,SIG, or the Springfield I have. Those were minor issues that the factory needed to fix and did.

The Ruger however was a safety issue and not minor.

It was inconvenient, but the guns all shot like champs after the fixes were made. Yes, it would have been nice if the guns all came out of the box and worked.

[To3T@g]

i have a 6" blued judge and i LOVE it!!!! Great multipurpos gun! at 25yds i can group 5 45lc rounds inside an orange. with 00buck or slugs it turns watermellons into fruit punch in 1 shot others can say what they want,but untill uve shot one urself ur oppinion doesnt matter much in my book!