Taurus Raging Judge- 28 Gauge Pistol

[Dolomite_supafly]

http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/the-taurus-raging-judge-28-gauge-revolver/

When the Taurus Judge originally came out most observers in the firearms industry laughed. Taurus is a very serious company, and because of their quality, prices and a lifetime guarantee, they are a mainstay of most gun shops. But the idea of a giant revolver that was made for both .45 Colt and .410 shot shells just seemed a little over the top. It had been made before as a novelty product, but nobody thought that it could be a commercial success. Several years later we now know that this was not the truth. The Judge is a runaway success and has become the primary home defense weapon for tens of thousands of households all over the country. The comfort of .410 buckshot apparently outweighs the gun by several pounds.

Up another notch we go to the Raging Judge. It is 28 gauge, which you may never have heard of. Historically the 28 gauge shotgun has been an alternative to the .410 for hunting doves and quail. You will find it as a “hard to get†in the Browning line and most European high grades, generally commanding higher values than their .410, 20, 16 and 12 gauge counterparts. There is currently no such thing as 28 gauge buckshot, but Federal and at least one other manufacturer have it in the design and testing stages and it should be available this year.

Gauge is a measurement unlike anything else in the firearm world. It is an old style of measurement based on how many lead balls make up a pound. In this case, 28 solid lead balls of this size make up a pound of lead. For 28 guage, that equals a bore size of approximately .550, which would be 55 caliber. The standard Judge is .45 caliber.

The gun is a beast, what else can you say about it. But a beast isn’t a bad thing to have on your side in a gunfight if you can wield it comfortably and shoot it accurately. I suspect that the Raging Judge will be a commercial success and that we will see 28 gauge buckshot as a staple on the shelf in the local gun shops by this time next year. Taurus seems to be producing winner after winner after winner, and the Raging Judge may just be the next big thing.

Not sure how they are going to get past the NFA but you never know.

Dolomite

[shaftbass]

This is the equivalent of Schick and Gilette going to 10 blades.

[mav]

Looks pretty cool.

[dralarms]

http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/the-taurus-raging-judge-28-gauge-revolver/

Not sure how they are going to get past the NFA but you never know.

Dolomite

Yea, at least with the judge you can shoot 45Lc out of it. Not sure what you could/would shoot out of a 28 gauge pistol. BUT, if they make it and not have to be a NFA, I will probally have to have one.

[KahrMan]

Why would it have to be NFA? Is it because the bore is over 1/2"?

[Kelemvor]

Come on now...

[I_Like_Pie]

If the .410 judge wasn't the dumbest thing I have seen...I suppose the extreme version of the same gun must take the cake.

These guns are the firearm equivalent of the Pontiac Aztec.

Yeah I said it...

Taurus Judge is to the firearm industry

What the Pontiac Aztec was to the Auto world.

The people who owned them love them, but the joke of fat chicks and bicycles sure applies.

Edited January 20, 2011 by I_Like_Pie

[DaveTN]

Someone must be buying these things. Though for the life of me I can’t figure out why, other than maybe for a novelty item. I’m really surprised S&W got involved in this.

[dralarms]

Why would it have to be NFA? Is it because the bore is over 1/2"?

Maybe it's a handheld shotgun? I'm not sure but the judge got away from the nfa cause it's a rifled barrel and shoots 45Lc, not sure about this one.

[Guest 73challenger]

I'm just guessing it has rifling to pass the NFA. The bore is smaller than .50 and it has a rifled barrel so it shouldn't be a AOW?

[Dolomite_supafly]

I'm just guessing it has rifling to pass the NFA. The bore is smaller than .50 and it has a rifled barrel so it shouldn't be a AOW?

28 gauge is larger than .5" so the bore can't be rifled and be non NFA. In order for it to be legal with a smooth bore it must meet the 26" OAL requirement if it is a pistol grip or have 18" barrels if it wears a stock.

ATF just made a ruling that pistol gripped shotguns only need to meet the 26" OAL requirement. They ruled barrel length does not matter so long as the OAL is 26+". It is because a pistol gripped shotgun by definition is neither a shotgun, pistol or rifle so none of the rules that applies to those firearms do not apply to a pistol grip shotgun.

When I get home I'll post the letters from the FTB stating this. A sample was submitted with a 17" barrel and they ruled it was in fact legal because it met the 26" OAL requirement.

It must have come from the factory as a pistol gripped shotgun for the ruling to apply. There is even a manufacturer that is going to start producing pistol gripped Saigas under the new ruling. This would allow a shotgun with a shorter than 18" barrel.

Dolomite

[I_Like_Pie]

It must have come from the factory as a pistol gripped shotgun for the ruling to apply. There is even a manufacturer that is going to start producing pistol gripped Saigas under the new ruling. This would allow a shotgun with a shorter than 18" barrel.

Dolomite

Whew! that may be true, but I sure wouldn't want to try and explain that to an unknowing authority figure....

[Jasongar8]

I have thought about this since I saw the press release on Monday and I still can't figure out how they are getting around the NFA. Anything bigger than .50 that has a rifled barrel is a DD. And as Dolomite said, pistol grip shotguns have to have a OAL of at least 26". Before they go into production they will have to submit it to FTB to be approved. I'm sure they will figure it out.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Whew! that may be true, but I sure wouldn't want to try and explain that to an unknowing authority figure....

Here are the ATF letters "legalizing" pistol gripped shotguns with a barrel of less than 18".

http://www.nfaoa.org/documents/testttt20001.pdf

http://www.nfaoa.org/documents/PistolGrippedShotgunLike.pdf

The reason why this is possible is that a pistol gripped shotgun fall under its own category and is not considered a shotgun, rifle or pistol. A shotgun needs to have a shoulder stock to be considered a shotgun. If it left the factory without a shoulder stock it is not considered a shotgun and as such doesn't need to meet the 18" barrel requirements of a shotgun. It is considered a firearm under GCA but does not fit into any preexisting category.

The pistol gripped shotgun is still regulated under the GCA but not the NFA and as such only needs to abide by the 26" OAL ruling because there are no other rules governing it because it is not considered a shotgun, rifle or pistol for which there are rules.

In order for the ATF to NFA them they would have to create a new distimct category which would effectively outlaw thousands, if not millions, of pistol gripped shotguns with the swipe of a pen. As it stands right now, legally, as long as a pistol gripped shotgun left that way from the factory the barrel length can be any length so long as the OAL meets the 26" "easily concealed" length.

Dolomite

[gregintenn]

Great! First, a useless POS revolver, now a useless POS revolver you can't find shells for! I'm waiting on the 10 guage, 3 1/2" model.

[K191145]

Someone must be buying these things. Though for the life of me I can’t figure out why, other than maybe for a novelty item. I’m really surprised S&W got involved in this.

I can't see any real practical reason for having one, it's a novelty item as you said but if someone has the money to spend on it then go for it. I can think of a hundred other guns I would rather buy.

[K191145]

Great! First, a useless POS revolver, now a useless POS revolver you can't find shells for! I'm waiting on the 10 guage, 3 1/2" model.

Be sure to get the ported model to reduce felt recoil.

[Gun Smith]

Great! First, a useless POS revolver, now a useless POS revolver you can't find shells for!

I was in wally world in Murfreesboro about two weeks ago to purchase some shotgun shells for my son. Right there, sat boxes of 28 ga. I had never even heard of 28 ga. and had no clue that there was a handgun coming out for such.

[shaftbass]

I think it would be a fun gun to shoot. Especially with a group of friends. Skeet/trap shooting with a revolver would be a challenge and a good way to spend an afternoon. There are plenty of guns I'd buy before this one, but I'd give one a try before I completely dismissed it.

[AMSting]

Someone must be buying these things. Though for the life of me I can’t figure out why, other than maybe for a novelty item. I’m really surprised S&W got involved in this.

S&W got into it because Taurus is selling a ton of them. It's all about the money.

[JPS]

I was in wally world in Murfreesboro about two weeks ago to purchase some shotgun shells for my son. Right there, sat boxes of 28 ga. I had never even heard of 28 ga. and had no clue that there was a handgun coming out for such.

I saw 28 ga ammo at Wal Mart in Smyrna this morning..

[BryanP]

"What's it for?"

"To sell, of course."

[wjh2657]

Watch out for the "I can smart carry or pocket carry this thing in shorts and T-shirt" post that will inevitably come.

I can see it as a toy, something to play with, but I don't see the practicality of it. For a truck gun or yard gun, pick up an H&R (NEF) break-top shotgun with an 18 1/2 inch barrel for a whole lot less money. I have three of them in .410 bore and 20 gauge (pest guns out here on the ridge).

If I need a shotgun, I carry a shotgun. If I need a revolver, I carry a revolver.

I see this thing as a neither/nor. It is neither a revolver nor a shotgun. It falls short of both.

[knoxrocks222]

28ga is a .54cal if im not mistaken, but i will have one for the night stand

[Dolomite_supafly]

28ga is a .54cal if im not mistaken, but i will have one for the night stand

It is not legal in its current configuration. It might get a sporting exemption from the ATF, I seariously doubt it though. It can not legally be a pistol if it is a smooth bore and if the bore is rifled the bore can not be larger than .5" which it is. It is not a shotgun, by definition, because it does not have a fixed shoulder stock. This leaves it with the requirement to be 26" OAL to be legal under the GCA, which it is not in its current configuraion so it would need to be sold under the NFA as a AOW with a $5 tax and 4-6 month wait.

Pistol gripped shotguns are not classified as a shotgun. Pistol gripped shotguns are only classified as a firearm, not rifle, not pistol and not shotgun, and are only regulated under the GCA and as such they only need to be 26" OAL. Add a shoulder stock to a pistol gripped shotgun and it legally becomes a shotgun, no shoulder stock and it is not a shotgun.

Dolomite