The Taurus Judge revolver

I recently had a chance to evaluate the "Judge" revolver, made by Taurus. This is a five-shot revolver with a short barrel, chambered for both .45 Long Colt and .410 shotgun ammunition. At first glance, I was sceptical. With its three-inch barrel, it is a rather large snubnose revolver to carry only five rounds of .45 ammo. I'm sure the sub-compact .45 caliber semi-auto pistols are slimmer, with a slightly higher capacity. So what's the big deal with the Judge?

The big deal is that you have the firepower of a .410 pump action shotgun in something the size of a pistol. When we loaded it up with .410 buckshot rounds, we found that it put a pattern of buckshout about 3-4 inches wide on paper at about twelve yards. I shot it on eight-inch diameter falling steel plate targets at about the same distance, and had one of the fastest runs on steel I can remember! The large red fiber optic front sight was very quick to pick up and place over the target.

This gun is touted by Taurus as being a good choice for close quarters self-defense, particularly in a bedroom in case of home invasion, or in a car, in case of a car jacking. I'd also add that I think it would very good for people who sail small boats where piracy is a threat.

Al I can say is, I want one!