45/410 Revolvers

[railfancwb]

ShotShow(?) previews indicated that Taurus and S&W have drank the plastic revolver koolaid...but most interesting to me was the large number of new 45/410 revolvers announced. Sounds like Taurus' PR about the Judge being an exceptionally popular revolver is true.

[Steelharp]

I've never tried it... but I can't imagine desiring to set off a shotgun shell in a three inch barrel... and now PLASTIC!!??

[eapking]

Taurus was showing a new Judge about the size of a S&W 500. Forgot the name.

[Guest Linoge]

Taurus was showing a new Judge about the size of a S&W 500. Forgot the name.

Appropriately named, the Raging Judge:

http://www.gunblast.com/images/SHOT2010/Day3/DSC09528.JPG

Capable of .454 Casull, .45 Colt, and .410 shotshell.

Interestingly, both Heritage Manufacturing and Magnum Research have drunk from the .45/.410 kool-aid:

http://www.gunblast.com/images/SHOT2010/Day2/DSC09566.JPG

and

http://www.gunblast.com/images/SHOT2010/Day2/DSC09200.JPG

respectively.

And whacky or not, that Tupperware Judge sounds like it might be a blast (literally or figuratively) to me...

[Mark@Sea]

I can think of a lot of things that are a real blast.

Don't mean I want to hold on to 'em when they go boom.

[Guest SUNTZU]

If anyone buys one, I've got a like new dishwasher you might be interested in.

[Guest Linoge]

If anyone buys one, I've got a like new dishwasher you might be interested in.

Well, we will be remodelling a kitchen soon...

[Magiccarpetrides]

I have a bond arms 45/410...thats about as much 45/410 kool-aid as I can stand...she is a beauty though.

[JAB]

What I find interesting are the pics I have seen of 'The Circuit Judge' - a revolver rifle (carbine) based on the Judge, complete with a shield on one side of the cylinder to protect the offhand/arm.

[lowbud]

I've shot a judge before. Wasn't impressed. Seems totally impractical to me.

[Magiccarpetrides]

its good for the close range stuff...accuracy should be pretty awful at distance....but I have no personal experience with it, heck I havent even got to shoot my derringer yet.

[eapking]

I've shot a judge before. Wasn't impressed. Seems totally impractical to me.

I think it's a good defense gun for encounters with snakes (the kind without arms and legs).

[Guest TNReb]

I have a Judge Public Defender and other than the cost of the ammo it is my favorite gun to shoot. As far as accuracy, I wore out the center of the target using 45 long colts. Recoil was very nice and it performs flawlessly. Can be carried but not all that concealable. In short, I love mine! And as the guy at the gun store said, the 000 buck in the .410 can ruin someone's day.

[hipower]

Glad you like it. Seems like a gun that has a small place in the gun world. I would like to pick up one at some point as well. As you know, lots of negativity about the Judge in all its forms, but I'd consider it at least as useful as some of the monster caliber guns in production today.

[Will Carry]

I have heard gun experts like Chuck Hawks (who I like) rail about the Judge. Chuck's main point is that the rifling on the barrel disperses the shot pattern too quickly, so Taurus minimized the twist on the rifling, which makes the 45LC less accurate. He doesn't think much of the Judge. BUT everyone who owns one, loves the thing! Taurus is selling these 410/45s like hotcakes.

I wish our gun laws would allow them to make a smooth bore 410 pistol. THAT would be a winner in my book. Somehow a smooth bore .410 would be a weapon of mass distruction. You can own an AR-15 with a 30 round mag. but a 5 shot .410 smooth bore is a weapon of mass distruction.....go figure.

[daddyo]

Taurus is selling these 410/45s like hotcakes.

Well, that's the thing... they're going to make more of whatever people are willing to shell out their money for.

Just because a gun is popular and a good seller doesn't mean that it has any practical SD or CCW application, no matter what the firearms manufacturer says.

[gregintenn]

People are buying them simply because they are new, and everyone wants to be the first one in their circle to have something new. They are, in my opinion, a solution to a non existant problem. I predict you will be able to buy all these things you want for next to nothing once the new factor wears off.

[Guest Drewsett]

I would buy a judge as a gun to keep in my pack for protection from 2 legged and four legged critters while on the trail. The .45 long colt is big enough to give even a black bear a second thought (it wouldn't be much more than an annoyance to a grizzly I'll bet).

[Bubba0031]

If only these had been available when Clint Eastwood was filming the Dirty Harry movies!!! Can you imagine him point that thing and saying "Do you feel lucky punk"?

[nightrunner]

I wish our gun laws would allow them to make a smooth bore 410 pistol. THAT would be a winner in my book. Somehow a smooth bore .410 would be a weapon of mass distruction. You can own an AR-15 with a 30 round mag. but a 5 shot .410 smooth bore is a weapon of mass distruction.....go figure.

according to the BATFE, it would be classified as a destructive device because of it being pistol grip only and being chambered to fire shotgun rounds.

[StPatrick]

If only these had been available when Clint Eastwood was filming the Dirty Harry movies!!! Can you imagine him point that thing and saying "Do you feel lucky punk"?

The truly awful "Max Payne" movie (it started as a videogame) was a giant ad for the Judge. Mark Wahlberg uses a judge in the first action scene against a couple BGs, and the credits roll against close-ups of weapons. The Judge is featured prominently, and there are a couple tight shots of the "Taurus" engraved on the barrel so everybody knows who made it.

Ironically, Marky Mark did most of his killing in the movie with a magic shotgun - it had a neat feature where racking it filled up the tube, so you never run out of shells. The MP5 and Beretta 92 also made frequent appearances, if my memory is correct.

[Guest manofsteel]

great gun to keep in the truck but thats about it. zombies travel in packs of more than 5 so i think we need a 20 guage desert eagle with a 30 round mag.

[JeffL]

I've shot a judge before. Wasn't impressed. Seems totally impractical to me.

+1. I couldn't hit a damn thing with the .410 buckshot at 7 yards and using birdshot is just dumb for anything other than tactical skeet shooting.

[Garufa]

I've shot "The Judge"..................................

It's a gimmick. There is no awesomeness to it. Where are you going to get .45 Colt and how much do them boolits cost? 410 buckshot...what's the use?

Sorry, but there are alot better ways to spend money on a gun.

[eapking]

It's a gimmick.

Yeah, that's my take on it as well. Shotguns are shotguns and revolvers are revolvers. There's reasons why they took different paths way back when.