Handgun Data Information

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

THe Taurus Judge


Taurus has introduced a handgun that may just be the ideal trail gun/home defense weapon/car gun – its very versatile for short distance targets. This new Taurus is chambered for the .45 colt cartridge and .410 shotgun rounds. It can also fire very flare pistol rounds, in case you prefer to “light up” your target. A number four shot load followed by four hollow points might be just about ideal for social work.

There is a huge market among city dwellers who are not firearms enthusiasts yet want a self-defense handgun for the apartment or to keep in the car. The Judge should fare well in this market as it is reasonably priced, simple and safe to use, and provides the quick option of shot loads or potent projectiles.

The barrel is rifled and lacks of choke, which spreads the shotgun pellets very fast in a very short range. This pistol will blow a hole in a man the size of a bowling ball from across a room. This makes it the perfect anti-personnel weapon for close quarters. It's light (36 ounces), comes in zero maintenance stainless steel and has a soft rubber grip to lessen the shock of such large ammo.

The Judge is not meant to be a paper-punching target revolver, but rather a practical and multipurpose fighting weapon. At seven yards, the five shot cylinder would place the bullets right at point of aim, and grouped tightly together.

The target below illustrates how quickly the .410 loads scatter when fired from the Judge. The load used here is Winchester number 4's and the pattern on the head of the silhouette target was fired at five feet and the pattern to the body was fired at ten feet.
Taurus is not the first gunmaker to create this type of gun. A small-scale manufacturer in Tennessee has been making a similar firearm, the Thunder Five (with a 2" barrel and weighing 48 ounces), for years. Its an all steel design, so the weight does help with the recoil more so than the Judge.

The Judge is a formidable close quarter weapon, one that could cause devastating results just by pointing it in the general direction of your target.


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