thoughts on the taurus judge

[country_boy]

Im strongly considering this revolver in the 3" magnum for a snake gun/farm sidearm. Any ideas on The Judge?? Im not worried about the brand, all of my handguns are taurus.

 

[M. Sage]

Shotshells for snake, .45 Colt for bigger stuff. The buck and slugs are apparently pretty worthless. Not surprising, since the burn rate of the powder is too slow for a handgun.

I've been looking at the 2 1/2" version as a hiking gun because I like the idea of loading a round of birdshot for snakes and some .45 Colt hard cast for bigger creatures. My opinion, I wouldn't bother with the 3" version.

 

[country_boy]

I got tons of 3" 410 shells thats my reason for a 3" judge.

 

[eriadoc]

It's a ton of fun. You can easily find better weapons for any and every application you might think of, but the Judge is fun.

 

[baboon]

That long cylinder & frame makes me thinks a .357 or .44 with rat shot makes as much if not more sense. Can you find a holster for one?

 

[country_boy]

That is something to consider is snake shot in my 357 magnum, yes they do make holsters for the judge, even black hawk makes them.

 

[navyguy]

I used to carry my Ruger .357 snubby with shot shells for snakes when walking into some remote areas to fish creeks, and did shoot one snake. After I shot it, I figured out it was not poisonous and probably didn't need to be shoot. But I was walking along a skinny path though fairly thick woods, and in an instance, there it was hanging from a tree about four feet from my head and looked like it had bad intentions. About 7 foot long. It dropped with one head shoot at about 6 feet

 

[jfrey]

The "Judge" is a blast to shoot and mine is very accurate with the .45LC loads. The #4 shot load is generally considered to be the best combination for personal protection, from what I have heard. I can completely cover a 4X8 sheet of plywood with a load of #9's at 15 yards. The grips are comfortable and absorb recoil. Get one, you'll enjoy it.

 

[Texas42]

. . . . I can completely cover a 4X8 sheet of plywood with a load of #9's at 15 yards. . . . . .quote]

IMHO, this wouldn't be a great thing in a defense gun.

The judge looks like a blast to me, but I want something a bit more precise.

 

[country_boy]

to me the judge is a ranch/snake pistol. Of course snake shot works too, but thats if your lucky enough to find any. I guess im not lucky...

If there was a bad guy in my house, I'd probably reach either for my 12 gauge, my 357 magnum, or my 1911. Than a Judge.

 

[Texas1911]

Judge in .45 LC has self-defense usage, but the shot capability is worthless. Alot of shot is great, but if you can't place it, or get penetration ... you are taking a big risk.

However, shot works great on snakes and other small critters, but as others have said, you can always load snake shot into other revolvers / semi-autos. Probably not too good for the crown or throat of either, but it's better than a rattler trying to eat your leg.

 

[M. Sage]

The Box O' Truth website has pics of the author shooting hand-thrown clays with a Judge.

IMO, it'd be a great snake gun thanks to the increased shot load .410 gives over traditional shotshells for handguns. But that's about the limit of the usefulness of the .410 capability.

 

[texas_teacher]

I used to carry my Ruger .357 snubby with shot shells for snakes when walking into some remote areas to fish creeks, and did shoot one snake. After I shot it, I figured out it was not poisonous and probably didn't need to be shoot. But I was walking along a skinny path though fairly thick woods, and in an instance, there it was hanging from a tree about four feet from my head and looked like it had bad intentions. About 7 foot long. It dropped with one head shoot at about 6 feet

Just cause it wasn't poisinous doesn't mean that it didn't have bad intentions... Some snakes even if they aren't going to bite you to kill ya will bite you to mark their territory... I love Ruger 357's