# I am considering buying a Taurus Judge any opinions?



## Browning01 (Feb 25, 2009)

I am considering this gun and wanted to get yalls opinion of it.  I have shot some guns and I prefer the revolver I think.  I was thinking the whole .410 thing would be cool for messing around and the .45 at other times.  How powerful is the .45?  Could you hunt deer with it?  How far will the .410 shoot out of it before losing pattern?


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## 7mm mag 06 (Feb 25, 2009)

my dad always has his in his car fun little gun perfect for snakes or whatever you want to shoot. And some serious self defence confidence!! if your alternating .45 and .410 shells! haha


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## Browning01 (Feb 25, 2009)

Whats up man its Garrett, Josh's buddy.  Im sittin in the library at HSC right now


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## 7mm mag 06 (Feb 25, 2009)

are yall at hampden-sydney?? whats up! did i see you in gables?


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## Browning01 (Feb 25, 2009)

Yea that was me in Gables.  Im in the library tryin to get some work done but as you can see Im on GON.  ha


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## 7mm mag 06 (Feb 25, 2009)

o cool how you like it up there? the judge is a coool gun!


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## redneckcamo (Feb 25, 2009)

I killed a really nice buck with a 45lc silver plated hollowpoint one year ....it was in a trapper model 94 16'' barrel but he was DRT !!!!  at close range with good accuracy you aughta be a killin machine with the rite load mann !!!


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## Browning01 (Feb 25, 2009)

We have a good time.  Deer seasons over though so I get a little bit bored plus spring breaks about to start so we are pretty loaded down with work.  Whens your spring break?  Does the .410 shot lose pattern pretty quick after its fired?  One review I read said that after like 10 feet its all over the place.


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## 7mm mag 06 (Feb 25, 2009)

my break is the first week of april going down to venice for reds and specks!! there any women on the campus during the week?? thats the one thing im reluctant about is the lack of girls haha


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## 7mm mag 06 (Feb 25, 2009)

and the pattern does not go all that far... very short barrel


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## sbrown (Feb 26, 2009)

Browning01 said:


> We have a good time.  Deer seasons over though so I get a little bit bored plus spring breaks about to start so we are pretty loaded down with work.  Whens your spring break?  Does the .410 shot lose pattern pretty quick after its fired?  One review I read said that after like 10 feet its all over the place.



I have an uncle that owns one and he tells me he was blown away at how much damage it did on water jugs out to like 20 yards with the .410 shells. For self defense I would think you wouldn't be worried about to much farther than 10 ft anyway and I think this would be more than sufficient with either load. He loves his and says it will do some damage.


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## redneckcamo (Feb 26, 2009)

i would wait till the one that shoots 3 inch shells was available !!!  and as for the shotgun patterns ....25 feet with #4s were all in a 10'' circle except with a couple fliers !!!  gonna get me one in 3 inch fer sure !!!


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## bross07 (Feb 26, 2009)

My buddy has one and it is awesome. I WILL have me one when I get some extra cash! I'd say go for it.


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## zigzag (Feb 26, 2009)

I have two of them and they great guns for both self protection and the woods.


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## hawgrider1200 (Feb 26, 2009)

*Taurus*

I say hold off on that Taurus and buy american.


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## x-mark (Feb 26, 2009)

hawgrider1200 said:


> I say hold off on that Taurus and buy american.



Buy Georgian get a Glock 20>


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## jeepinitreal (Feb 27, 2009)

great gun had two . not as acurate with the long colts as i had hoped


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## Apex Predator (Feb 27, 2009)

They are great guns from what I hear, but I've never shot one.  The rifling is shallow, so the .45 is not a long range shooter.  It was not designed to be though.  It would make a great defense gun.  I would think loaded up with 000 buck would be awesome.


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## jeepinitreal (Feb 27, 2009)

Apex Predator said:


> They are great guns from what I hear, but I've never shot one.  The rifling is shallow, so the .45 is not a long range shooter.  It was not designed to be though.  It would make a great defense gun.  I would think loaded up with 000 buck would be awesome.



thats what i keep in mine and the recoil aint bad either my wife will shoot it no problem


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## Big7 (Mar 5, 2009)

Apex Predator said:


> They are great guns from what I hear, but I've never shot one.  The rifling is shallow, so the .45 is not a long range shooter.  It was not designed to be though.  It would make a great defense gun.  I would think loaded up with 000 buck would be awesome.



Yes - and now with the three inch - WOW.
Buddy of mine (co-owner of piedmont outdoors)
has one and told me that at 12 ft. it shot about a 6 inch
pattern slam through plywood. That's 11/16 os. of #6. 

I think I would try to find some 3 inch #4  or #5
shot for the first two holes.

I have not shot the 000 buck in a pistol, but I have
in my little single shot wabbit gun. I can say: 
I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that one.

And... As one poster already noted:
The rifling is shallow - so it won't "dig" into
the shotcup in the reg. loads or foul to bad when
shooting the 000 bucks. Deep enough though to spin a .45
at the ranges it was designed for.

So - to answer your questions:

It would be one heck of a home defense gun for
more than one reason.

And... No - it is not a good choice for deer hunting.

The ONLY reason that it has a rifled barrel - is so
it can be a sawed off shotgun. And a good one at that. 

I don't have one but when Santa runs this year I may..

I do have a couple of Taurus pistols and know some folks that do too...

They are VERY GOOD GUNS!


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## EMC-GUN (Mar 6, 2009)

Check out theboxoftruth.com. The number is 41. The rifling on the Judge is shallow as to not cause pattern upset. So that means the bullet from 45 Colt will not obturate fully, which will affect accuracy.


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## Gentleman4561 (Mar 6, 2009)

Because of the rifled barrel the pattern spread very quickly check out this review  http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot41.htm


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## vtdawg09 (Mar 8, 2009)

good guns!


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## groundhawg (Mar 26, 2009)

redneckcamo said:


> i would wait till the one that shoots 3 inch shells was available !!!  and as for the shotgun patterns ....25 feet with #4s were all in a 10'' circle except with a couple fliers !!!  gonna get me one in 3 inch fer sure !!!



Folks at AR Bunker in Newnan have 4 on hand right now and 2 of them are the 3 inch models.


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## teufelhund (Apr 1, 2009)

*the judge*

i just bought the 3" mag. and enjoy shooting it. at about 9 feet with #7 shot had a 3.5 foot pattern. then shot some buck shot and at about 25 feet had a 6" pattern. mine has the 3" barrel which i would not recomend for hunting. but is great for HD.


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## Lowjack (Apr 22, 2009)

I tried one yesterday, awsome ,very light weight, thought it would be heavier, so I bought it.
I have to wait 5 days to get it ,State Law In Fla.
I'll let you know what It would do soon.


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## Model70 (May 5, 2009)

*Forget Taurus  Buy American*

I bought a PT 1911 a bout 9 months ago.   Taurus Customer service is lousy.  The piece that had to be replaced, IS BROKEN AGAIN...  I would never buy a Taurus again......


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## hawgrider1200 (May 6, 2009)

Browning01 said:


> I am considering this gun and wanted to get yalls opinion of it.  I have shot some guns and I prefer the revolver I think.  I was thinking the whole .410 thing would be cool for messing around and the .45 at other times.  How powerful is the .45?  Could you hunt deer with it?  How far will the .410 shoot out of it before losing pattern?


here are ur muzzle velocities for 45 long colt   

200 JHP  1100 fps 
200 FMJ  1000  fps
225 JHP   920  fps
Not enough gun for deer hunting in my opinion but unfortunately legal in GA.
patterns from a 410 with a short rifled barrel would not be all that great either.


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## tv_racin_fan (May 6, 2009)

The Judge is not intended to be a hunting handgun and isn't suitable as such in my opinion. What it is intended to be is a short range personal defence handgun or a snake killer and as such I believe it should fit the bill pretty well.


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## olchevy (May 6, 2009)

Just to let you know My"NEW GUN" dealer cant keep them on the shelves they are selling so quick

My "USED GUN" dealer wont take them anymore hes got a crap load of them, he said people get them put a couple rounds through it, notice it really just a marketing ploy and the wonder why they put so much money into said ploy, and Sell it.

Test it out at a range first!!!! 
You might like it,but you more than likely wont for the price

As for the .410 pattern you be luck if it patterns at 10 feet, realisticly 7-8'.......


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## Scout-N-Hunt (May 6, 2009)

Since you like revolvers, buy a S&W .45acp revolver or a S&W .44mag revolver instead. You've already read what others have to say about it .......... now give it a little rational thought. 

Just another 'widget' that doesn't do anything very well. 

Save your money and buy a 1911 .45acp if you're looking for a self defense/home defense weapon.


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## tv_racin_fan (May 6, 2009)

I have no problem with the idea but that long cylinder looks strange. I'd just as soon have a Ruger SP101 in 327 myself.


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## hawgrider1200 (May 6, 2009)

+1 on the Ruge SP101 in 327 magnum. Wish I could have found one b4 I bought the SP101 in357. Even so I like the SP101 I did buy. It's a purty little thang.


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## dadsbuckshot (May 8, 2009)

Scout-N-Hunt said:


> Since you like revolvers, buy a S&W .45acp revolver or a S&W .44mag revolver instead. You've already read what others have to say about it .......... now give it a little rational thought.
> 
> Just another 'widget' that doesn't do anything very well.
> 
> Save your money and buy a 1911 .45acp if you're looking for a self defense/home defense weapon.




I agree. First off you can buy the CCI "rat shot" for alot of revolver calibers as well as a few semi-auto cals. You would be much better off with a .44 mag, .45 colt actual revolver or .357. IF you bought a .357 you could also shoot .38. Put some rat shot in it and alternate with lead...

A FACE FULL OF RAT SHOT  WELL LETS SAY IT'S NOT COOL ON THE RECEIVING END 

I actually saw first hand a guy shot in the face with a NAA mini revolver .22 mag with rat shot - it literally "popped" both of his eye balls. He had broken into a home where the owner was inside sleeping - shot at a distance of 10 feet. That will stop any threat - especially if you have a larger caliber...  I would hate to be on the wrong end of that deal... 

Take a look at the following website. For ideas...

http://www.ammosupply.com/category/1707-Snake_Shot_Ammunition.aspx


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## tv_racin_fan (May 9, 2009)

Browning if money is the driver then buy yourself a 357 or 38 revolver from Taurus , Charter Arms or even Rossi. If money isn't the driver then a Smith and Wesson or a Ruger is a better option. Heck you can probably find a decent used Ruger for almost the same as a new Rossi or Taurus.

First off understand that I have no experience with a Judge. My opinion is based on reading of others test results. (box o truth and other websites)

The Judge may well fill the task it was designed for very well. The trouble is a decent 38 or larger revolver pretty much fills that same task and then some. 

The Judge has shallow rifling so it can shoot the 410 half decent but it still has rifling and that cuts the effective range of any 410 shell used drastically. Seems like I have seen that the pattern is at 8"s or more at 10 feet, anything beyond that it is pretty much useless. 10 feet makes it a decent snake killer and it seems like it would be very effective on carjackers inside of 10 feet. The 45colt rounds should be as effective from the Judge as they would from any other 45colt handgun.


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## Old Coach (May 17, 2009)

The Judge is a good snake gun but a little big for that job.
The 45 is not accurate at all.
The gun is kinda big to carry.
Get a RBH in 45LC or 44 Mag with a 4 5/8" bbl use rat shot for snakes and some hardcast lead for hunting.


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## sbrown (May 17, 2009)

I have since talked to someone else that I trust and has far more handgun knowledge than I do. He says he has shot two different Judge pistols that have jammed. Now I don't know how a revolver can supposedly jam but that is what he told me. He said in both cases he had to simply open the cylinder and reclose it and then it was fine. Sounded odd to me.


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## Lowjack (Jun 12, 2009)

Mine is shooting real sweet, the .410 loads do a lot of damage and silvertip winchester also do quite a bit of damage.


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## Captain Backstrap (Jun 13, 2009)

nice guns


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## Mad dog308 (Jul 11, 2009)

I bought one last year and sold it the same month. THis is a great snake gun loaded with 410 but I was very idsappointed with the 45lc. I knew that the rifling was shallow but when you cannot hit a human sized silhoutte at 15 yards on every shot there is a problem. I guess i expected too much from the gun.


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## MYCAR47562 (Jul 16, 2009)

Nothing but good things to say here, not sure it's a hunting gun but they did just release a few versions that would get the job done.

And as far a taurus customer service... Didn't have any trouble the time i lost a screw. Got to me in 3 days


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## stevetarget (Jul 19, 2009)

The Judge has got to be the worst looking modern handgun in the world. I think that when the novelty wears off you won't be able to give one away.


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## Stu (Jul 24, 2009)

I have "The Judge" and it is a great self defense weapon. I keep my first two cylinders loaded with .410 shotgun shells and the last three with .45 Long Colts. I would not consider it for deer hunting. I shot it the other day at a pizza box at 15 feet and the shot pattern covered the entire box. You have to remember the barrel is rifled and the shot is in a plastic sleeve. When you shoot is starting to spin as it travels down the barrel and when it leaves the muzzle the shot is opening wide. Great gun for home defense in a hallway. When you shoot shotshells the wad/plastic sleeve falls off just a few feet away from the muzzle of the gun. Recoil is not bad at all with the shotshell or the .45 Long Colts. Very comfortable gun to shoot.


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## one_shot (Jul 24, 2009)

I have my judge side the bed loaded with buckshot!
Good gun to surprise someone with!


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