As a gun frequently touted as a defensive option where revolvers are concerned, the Taurus Judge offers up an option for those looking to work around their home. But what’s the final verdict? Is the Taurus Judge an accomplished gun? Today, we’re going to take a closer look at this wheelgun which takes both .410 shotgun and .45 Colt.
We’ll walk through its specs and features, how it handles on the range, and ultimately help you decide if this is the gun for you.
Specifications and Features
The Taurus Judge came chambered in .45 Colt and short .410 shells with a capacity for five rounds. Whether that’s enough to satisfy your liking on a daily basis is up to you. I much prefer the idea of having a semi-auto with more rounds; however, for farm use, I think five rounds is perfect.
Ergonomics and Handling
Some guns feel like two 2x4s nailed together into an ‘L’. Some of them look like it too. Not so with the Taurus Judge. While the handle does have finger grooves - something many people are not fond of - the gun feels very natural in the hand. Even if finger grooves aren’t your thing, I would still recommend giving the Taurus Judge a try. Personally, I had no problems with the handle of the gun whatsoever.
On most revolvers, I’ve found I do prefer to cock the hammer before shooting - especially if the trigger pull is ridiculously long and stiff. It’s easy to pull back with your thumb on the Taurus Judge without feeling as if you’re in a super-thumb war.
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Shooting a Public Defender - Taurus Judge, five shot, .410 / .45 long colt revolver
Range Performance
As previously mentioned, the Taurus Judge is designed to shoot both .45 Colt and short .410 shells. We showed up at range day on the first day with regular length .410 shells only to be disappointed.
I like shooting .45 Colt, but it is extremely hard to find this ammo right now in my area. Yeah, everybody’s having trouble finding ammo at the moment, but I’ve only seen one gun store in my region that has the ammo for this gun. The .410 shells were even harder to find. We checked several local gun stores for weeks to no avail.
I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to pull the trigger on this gun. Many revolvers you’ll find out there have ridiculously stiff triggers that aren’t fun to shoot.
Whether you’re shooting .410 shotgun shells or .45 Long Colt, neither option has terrible recoil within the 3-inch barrel Taurus Judge. Surprisingly, the Taurus Judge wasn’t anywhere near as loud as I was expecting. We were spending our time with the 3-inch barrel version of this pistol.
That’s all when shooting .45 Long Colt, however. The main thing I liked about the Taurus Judge was getting a sight picture. The rear sight is your standard metal sight without any markings, but the front sight is a little red tritium bar.
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It depends on what you’re shooting here. Our range days were spent at 21 feet and 29 feet. With the .45 Long Colt chambering, we were able to hit good groupings (for us) without much problem. With the .410 shells, you just point in the general direction and pull the trigger. At 21 feet, you’re still going to hit what you’re aiming for. If you’re aiming for a rattlesnake or fast-moving rat, I suppose that’s a good thing, because you’ll hit it.
It’s a revolver, so unless there’s something wrong with the cartridge, it’s going to go bang when you pull the trigger.
Accuracy and Upgrades
We didn’t find any problem with the accuracy of the pistol, actually preferring it over the semi-autos we were shooting around that same day. I suppose this is somewhat apples to oranges, but there’s simply not a lot of upgrades you can do with a revolver compared to a semi-auto.
Value and Conclusion
Coming in at right around $500, the Taurus Judge is a fairly common pistol price. We had zero complaints about this gun. Grab a nice holster for this gun as a convenient means of stowing away the gun until it’s needed around the farm.
Have you ever shot the Taurus Judge? If so, what did you think? Let us know in the comments.
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