WTB Taurus Judge

[s2tbolt]

Preferably a good used 4" SS (2.5" cylinder)

or perhaps a 6" TrackerSS like this one...

Reviews or experience with this piece?

Advice on best prices for new?

Thanks,

 

[Richard in LA]

No personal experience with it, but check out this site
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot41.htm

 

[s2tbolt]

Very informative.

Thanks Richard

 

[jayd]

Welcome aboard s2tbolt
Glad you.made it over

 

[Vermiform]

My dad owns one with a 3 inch bbl and it is a fine pistol. Contrary to what the guy on box of truth says, I find it to have very little recoil with 410 shells or standard load 45 LC. I think because of the weight, the recoil doesn't feel harsh at all.

However, I don't believe it makes a very good sef defense piece. In a pinch it can be loaded with 45 LC and be used as such, but at that point you are looking at a 5 shot revolver. Ballistically speaking, if you want a revolver for home defense, I think you would be much better served with a 357. Loading it with 410 buckshot or bird shot and using it on an intruder IMHO would not be very dependable. Same goes for an anti-carjacking pistol. You're better off with 6 rounds of 357 or 38 +p.

Another negative is it doesn't like cheap 410 shells. It functions just fine with Winchester and Remmington but Estate shells jam it up, usually locks the cylinder in place and requires 5 minutes of fiddling to get it open and cleared.

Now for the good part. It is the absolute cat's ass for killing snakes. I've killed 8 snakes with his Judge so far, once shooting from the hip. Because of the short barrel, velocity is lower and chance of riccochet is greatly reduced. 1 shot of 410 makes the snakes head dissapear like magic.

It is an excellent pistol to carry tromping through the woods or clearing the chicken house. It is heavier than some but the weight feels good. They even make a 45lc speed loader for it. Frankly, I love the pistol. I expected dad to get bored with it and give it to me but that hasn't happened. I was going to buy one last month but heard they were comming out with a "magnum" version very soon that will accept 3 inch 410 shells. I have decided to wait on this one because I plan to start stocking 3 inch 410 shells in my SHTF inventory (to feed a Saiga 410).

Bottom line, don't buy it for self defense. If you want something to defend your home that shoots shotgun shells, get a cheap pump shotgun. If you want something to defend your car, get 357 revolver or your favorite caliber semi-auto. If you want an excellent field gun that is versatile, good for defense against medium sized predators, great for felling birds at close range and fun to shoot, the Judge is for you. If you want something to defend against a bear, I have a great Marlin 45/70 to sell you.


Edited to add: Beware of any 3 inch cylinder version that doesn't have "judge" written on it. When they first came out they offered a model with a 3 inch cylinder and there were problems with it so they pulled it. After they started to get popular, they "officially" named it the judge and began putting the name on the barrel. The new 3" cylinder version supposedly has the kinks worked out of it and has the "judge" name on the barrel just like the 2 1/2" chambered pistols.

 

[jmcrawf1]

Erm, .45 LC is high as a giraffe's ass. ie. <$30 per box of 50.

 

[s2tbolt]

Welcome aboard s2tbolt
Glad you.made it over

Thanks bro!

My dad owns one...

Thank you Vermiform;
I appreciate your explanation of your personal experiences.

If your dad wants to "upgrade" to the new 3” magnum cylinder
and get rid of the 2.5”; keep me in mind

Erm, .45 LC is high as a giraffe's ass. ie. <$30 per box of 50.

Ouch, that is something to consider too.

 

[s2tbolt]

Still can't find a used Judge for sale locally. (Found 1 in NC)

Talked with two more Judge owners.

First guy loves his. Says he thinks the .45 is the most fun load to shoot
and even his wife likes to shoot it.

Second guy has never fired his but keeps it handy while he's sleeping.

Neither wants to sell them.

Jim's in BR has some

Hebert's in Gonzales was out

Bowie Outfitters in BR had 4 in stock

Cabela's in Gonzales has $50 off package deal from 9/18/08 thru 9/28/08
3" barrel / polished SS / case and holster
was $549.99
now $499.99

Guess what comes out of Lay-Away in time for Christmas

 

[jayd]

Let's go shooting when you get that thing D

 

[cap1520]

Taurus Judge

I think that "theboxotruth" may need to be renamed "theboxobull". I have a Taurus Judge 3" chambered and it's a hoot. More controllable than I ever thought it would be (no more recoil than my S&W 40) and accurate well beyond what I was told it would be. Infact we were shooting clay targets, from a ground thrower, using the judge with a shotgun as a second shooter cleaning up. We were hitting close to 50% at ranges from 20 to 30 yards with the judge. As far as self defense, there must be a lot more "bad guys" out there who are willing to indure .410 shots than I'm aware of (plus I don't put a round through several bedroom walls in my house). I would be willing to bet that a very high percentage of "bad guys" would like to move along after getting hit with a .410 at close range and if my "bad guy" keeps coming after 2 shots of .410, the third shot (a 45 LC) is gonna be a real suprise.

 

[Quas]

I saw one for sale at Precision. Not SS though. Black.

 

[s2tbolt]

Let's go shooting when you get that thing D

Man, I'm chompin' at the bits...

Saw some "Combo Kits" at the gun show and one nice used SS that somebody traded in.

Picked up a couple HKS Revolver Speed Loader CA44 (for the Charter Arms Bulldog 44) on eBay for $8.95/ea.

and received a carbide 45 Colt reloading die for my birthday;

and I still don't have the gun or a reloader yet

Just made my 2nd payment on layaway; only 2 more to go...

 

[s2tbolt]

Worth waiting for...

OK, I think I have a new favorite,
and I havn't even shot it yet!

Thanks for all the info everyone. Bayou Shooter really is
Louisiana's Premier Shooting Community

 

[jmcrawf1]

s2bolt,

Where did you wind up getting up from? My dad wants one.

 

[s2tbolt]

Cabela's had the combo kit (incl bag & holster) for $499.00 and I put it on Lay-away back in September.
I applied for the Cabela's Visa and got $15 off the first payment and $10 off the second (not to mention the free cap).
Then Cabela's kept sending me coupons like $20 off of $100 purchase that I used on subsequent Lay-away payments.
Then I racked up "points" by using the Visa card to buy gas, etc, and got even more $$ off every time I went to make a payment.

I saw the Combo kit for $460 at the Gun Show but didn't have the cash all at one time.
I'm very happy with the way it worked out with Cabela's Lay-away

 

[jimdana1942]

I read some reviews on the ballistics of it. The .45 LC does good in it, the .410 is basically just good for snakes or small birds up close. I had a Dan Wesson .357 30 years ago and shot alot of snakes using .38 shotsshells in it. That would be my preference.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I bought my wife a 3" bbl. blued-steel lightweight Judge w/ 3" chamber & bobbed hammer for Christmas.

I beg to differ with some of the others' opinions as to the effectiveness of the weapon. I'm sure that most of us would agree that proper shot placement greatly overwhelms the particular cartridge used under most circumstances. Example: The CIA's use of suppressed .22 LR pistols and close-range head shots.

I bought it for her for a home defense weapon for when I'm away from home.

In my estimation, the likelihood of a scared woman (or anyone) being able to put shots on target is significantly greater with a shotgun shell than a cartridge. The load that we chose for her was # 4 shot in a 2 1/2 shell, to give her less recoil and a higher hit probability than buckshot.

I've seen the round's effects and I am certain that the average intruder would not want to endure a second shot at close range.

As to the reliability of the weapon, we have fired it with .45 LC lead ammunition, as well as the aforementioned shotgun shells, with no malfunctions, excessive recoil, or poor accuracy.