Taurus has recently been introducing firearms that, despite their unusual appearance, prove to be surprisingly practical in the field. The Taurus Judge Home Defender brings a beefed up new version of the company’s popular Judge, chambered in .410/.45 Colt. At first glance, the Taurus Home Defender gives off series meme gun vibes.
Initial Impressions and Design
Initially it appeared to be a “hip-fire” weapon. But after picking it up, I quickly realized that it was more than light enough to shoot from a standard pistol stance. Moreover, provisions were made to safely put your hand in front of the cylinder, something you don’t see every day.
The Judge came out in 2006 and turned heads. A revolver that fires .410 rounds will get some attention, and the Judge did. The Judge Home Defender extends the barrel to 13 inches. We still have to contend with rifling, but the longer barrel will help with velocity. The Home Defender sports a massive 13-inch barrel, engineered to ensure optimal performance from both .45 Colt and .410, according to Taurus.
The top of the receiver includes a Picatinny rail for the attachment of a primary optic. The cylinder accepts .410 shells up to 3 inches in length. Up front, the Home Defender comes with a a forend accessory rail. For home defense, users can mount a white light or laser. For range sessions, a bipod would enhance a full day of shooting. The Home Defender employs a steel blast shield to protect the shooter’s support arm, enhancing safety. A rubber grip design delivers solid recoil absorption and a comfortable, positive grip under recoil. Taurus’ new Home Defender retails for $729.99.
Features and Specifications
Taurus’s Judge Home Defender is built to make you want to shoot it, plain and simple. Aside from being larger, it’s also fair to describe it as a Gen2 to the original, as there are some stark improvements-first up is longer, three-inch chambers. On the surface, it looks like Taurus was solely interested in opening the design up to heavier-hitting fodder, and it does.
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Taurus also put a tremendous amount of work into ensuring that the Home Defender can safely be fired with a hand both for and aft. This was done through the installation of a pair of blast shields that direct gases escaping from the cylinder gap away from your hands. Forward of this is an elongated forend with aggressive texturing for your support hand.
The Judge is still the Judge. It is a .410/45 Colt revolver that utilizes a 3-inch chamber. It’s a five-shot revolver and comes with standard Taurus Judge grips. The Home Defender stretches the Judge to the extreme. It’s 19.50 inches long with that 13-inch barrel. The weapon weighs 58.6 ounces, and it’s not afraid to be big and mean. The barrel is surrounded by what I would call a handguard. It certainly makes it easy to use your second hand to support the weapon, and it’s nearly 60 ounces of steel and polymer. That handguard features a rail at the end that makes adding a light easy and capable.
As a package, the Home Defender is easy to handle. No sights meant I needed some kind of optic. I mounted a Vortex Defender-CCW with a Picatinny rail adapter and a .243 side saddle, which also fits .410 rounds.
Key Features:
- Chambered in .410 and .45 Colt
- 13-inch barrel
- Picatinny rail for optics
- Accessory rail on forend
- Steel blast shield
- Rubber grip for recoil absorption
Performance and Accuracy
Then, after putting five rounds of .45 Colt on a pig target set out at 150 yards, I realized there was something quite interesting there.
The Judge Home Defender (Afterthoughts With Kentucky Ballistics)
The Judge Home Defender delivered impressive results with Remington Ultimate Defense - way better than the original Judge. A longer barrel seems to help. Most standard buckshot resulted in 7-inch patterns. We saw the best performance from the Federal Personal Defense Handgun loads through a tight 3-inch pattern. The Winchester PDX Defender load delivered a mixed bag. The stacked discs did a great job, but the BB buckshot patterned way too big to be useful.
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The old Taurus Judge threw horrendous patterns. The Judge Home Defender delivered impressive results with Remington Ultimate Defense - way better than the original Judge. A longer barrel seems to help.
I zeroed the dot with .45 Colt, and walked away impressed by a bullets that had to jump through a lot of open space to hit light rifling. The .45 Colt loads had hardly any recoil. Honestly, I’d describe it as pleasant. It’s easy to assume the .410 would pack a punch for the shooter and cause recoil issues in a gun like this, but it doesn’t. It’s very controllable, with no push/pull technique required.
I found outstanding accuracy from the remaining loads. Firing the shotshells was an interesting experience, as the Hornady load exceeded its advertised speed, while the Remington shells fell below the number on the box. That’s not a function of quality, but rather of intended purpose. Remington’s load was developed and measured with a shotgun-length barrel; Hornady made its for a handgun. Nonetheless, both produced excellent results. No pellets strayed outside our 21-inch test metric, and darn near every pattern was perfectly centered.
I began my day by zeroing the optic with the Fiocchi Range Dynamics ammunition. The first time I pressed the trigger, I was reminded of how clean it was. In single action, I measured a break at 6 pounds, 2 ounces, which is fair for a defensive firearm. The double action was incredibly smooth for a production revolver but broke at 11 pounds, 10 ounces. Again, for a firearm that might be destined for a high-adrenaline environment, a heavy trigger isn’t a bad thing.
Testing both shotshells at the same 15 yards that I evaluated the .45 Colt ammo confirmed my feelings on pattern containment. Hornady’s load performed as intended, with the slug hitting damn near where the dot was, while the wingmen didn’t spread beyond the A-zone of a standard IPSC target. After covering the holes with a Target Barn Repair Center (Targetbarn.com), I experimented with Remington’s Ultimate Defense and was deeply pleased with the results.
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The shields do a pretty good job of blocking the hot gas. They don’t catch it all but block most of it. I learned throughout my shooting that day that buckshot and 45 Colt delivered less gas and burning powder to your arm than birdshot loads. I had some Fioochi birdshot that was really dirty and threw lots of gas and powder into my forearm. After 50 rounds of that particular load, I had little speckles of blood and dark carbon staining on my arm. That same cheap Fiocchi load was also a pain to load and unload. The casings must be thicker than average. When fired, a punch is required to remove them.
I zeroed the dot and gun at 25 yards. My thinking is that I want the extra precision at longer ranges, and the dot would be close enough at shotgun ranges. I also did some accuracy testing and fired a nice off-hand five-round group at 25 yards and was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy, seeing as how the round has to travel through a three-inch cylinder before it hits the rifled barrel.
It’s not terrible, but it’s not exactly the smoothest design. As a package, the Home Defender is easy to handle.
Ammunition and Ballistics
For .45 Colt, I grabbed Hornady’s 185-grain Defense, which features their FTX bullet that is designed to expand at even the lower velocities associated with this cartridge. This left defensive shotshells, which are always fun to work with. Turning to Hornady again, their .410 Triple Defense load is one of the more interesting on the market. The first pill out of the pipe is a .41-caliber FTX slug, ensuring an accurate center hit. It is followed up by a pair of 35-caliber round balls, to produce a complete, yet predictable pattern. To take advantage of the three-inch chamber, I decided to go with Remington’s Ultimate Defense 000 Buckshot.
I grabbed a ton of .410 ammo for this test. My own Judge broke, but to be fair, it came from 2011ish and Taurus has changed a lot since then. Their guns are now very well-made and much nicer. Still, I grabbed buckshot and birdshot, as well as some Hornady Triple Defense.
I had a hell of a time finding .410 buckshot. I only got to test Winchester Super X loads. They patterned a bit wide, as you expect from a rifled bore. What worked best was those Hornady Triple Defense loads that packed an expanding slug and two .35-caliber balls. They patterned in a group smaller than my hand at 15 yards. Plus, believe it or not, they were cheaper than the Winchester Super-X buckshot loads.
I used birdshot shells just for cheap shooting fodder and had a ton of fun with it. The pattern is wide and conical, making it like a net of birdshot.
Table: Ammunition Performance
| Load | Velocity | Accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| Hornady 185-grain Critical Defense FTX | 1,112 | 1.11 |
| Fiocchi 255-grain Range Dynamics CMJ | 817 | 0.54 |
| Hornady Triple Defense Shotshell | 1,091 | 4.25* |
| Remington Ultimate Defense Shotshell | 1,002 | 10.12* |
Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in feet per second, and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups from 15 yards. *Shot pattern max diameter.
Home Defense Considerations
So the big question is: “Why should I choose this for home defense?” As you and your family’s life might hinge on that answer, it’s certainly a valid one. As there are plenty of dead cowboys out there, I don’t think I need to sell anybody on the effectiveness of .45 Colt. However, there is a mystical trepidation to using .410 bore shotshells for self-defense that must be dispelled.
Not only is .410 sufficient to stop a threat, but it also edges out 12 and 20 gauge in a few categories. First, it’s almost always subsonic. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s hearing-safe, but your hearing will recover in days as opposed to weeks after firing it in a confined space. You also have a lesser chance of permanent hearing damage. The other advantage you’ll see is my favorite, and that is pattern control.
So, if you agree with me on using .410, the question of why I chose this Judge over a shotgun still remains. There are plenty of good ones, but I think paramount is the ease of follow-up shots. When compared to a pump action, pressing the trigger a second time is undoubtedly faster than racking the action. The argument can be made that semi-autos are faster still, but factor in just one jam, and the old reliable wheelgun is still quicker.
The last point I’ll make is the availability of “slugs.” Should you want to shoot a .410-bore shotgun at paper or take it deer hunting, sourcing slugs for the sub-gauge remains problematic. Once found, you’ll likely hesitate to buy more than a box of five after glancing at the price tag. However, with the Judge Home Defender, all you need to do is grab (or make) a box of .45 Colt ammo for your single-projectile needs. In most cases, this ammo prices 50-percent less. It also shoots significantly more accurate, as this handgun features a rifled barrel.
For 2023, Taurus decided it was time to launch a new long-barrel Judge unlike any that came before. The Home Defender’s FeaturesIn essence, the Judge Home Defender is a cross between the 3" cylinder polymer-stocked Rossi Circuit Judge carbine and a Judge revolver. Depending on how you look at it, the round profile barrel has been shortened, or lengthened, to 13" for an overall length of 19.5". This version of the Judge is still legally considered a handgun, albeit a long one, that does not fall under the purview of NFA regulations.
Is a .410 bore effective for home defense? We've answered that question in this write-up which says yes, it can be a useful low-recoil option when loaded properly. This Judge sports a 13" rifled barrel sized for .452-cal. .45 Colt bullets. A given shell which produces useful shot patterns out to 25 yards or more from a smooth 18.5" barrel may only be able to do so at around 5 to 10 yards when fired from a Judge.
The little gun holds five rounds of .410 and comes optics ready with a rail for a light.
The Home Defender has controllable recoil and is easy to grab and get into action. I’ve had no problems with the gun’s reliability. It eats through .45 Colt, .410 buckshot, and birdshot without any operation problems. Just avoid the Fioochi birdshot loads. They are sticky.
Ergonomics and Handling
The front handguard is a nice touch - remember, this revolver is almost 4 pounds. It’s not terrible, but it’s not exactly the smoothest design.
Most defensive firearms are either handguns, rifles, or shotguns. If we think of it as a shotgun, we can start to see its usefulness. Shotguns launch multiple projectiles per trigger pull. That means each trigger pull is launching what’s essentially five 9mm projectiles. That’s nothing to laugh at.
This is no standard handgun, so the ergonomics aren’t judged as such. The forend is nice and tapered for a great grip, the cylinder release is easy to reach, and the hammer is easy to cock. Ergonomically, my only complaint is the small size of the grip. It seems odd for such a big gun.
I ended the day with hip shooting and firing from compromised positions to showcase the revolver’s advantages over long guns in these scenarios.
Final Thoughts
The Taurus Judge Home Defender turned out to be quite capable and enjoyable to take to the range. The Judge Home Defender has this great long forend/handguard that ends in a rail. This forend gives your support hand a spot to hold the gun and supports that 13-inch barrel. Revolver guys desperately want to know what the Home Defender does to rectify the cylinder blast from revolvers.
If I had to fault the Home Defender in one category, it’s that it doesn’t include any sights. Taurus was gracious enough to include a Picatinny rail for an optic, but other than that, there isn’t so much as a bead on the front end. If this product ever sees a revision, I’d like to see a front sight post and a narrowly notched Picatinny rail that could serve as a crude rear sight. Anyway, I took advantage of the pic rail by mounting an EOTech EFLX red dot and had everything I needed for accurate fire. I chose this optic for its brilliant 6 MOA reticle that is situated within one of the largest lenses in the industry.
Call me crazy, but that’s reason enough to add one of these to your home defense plan.