Anyone out there carry a judge?

[mrnyman]

When i'm doing yard work i strap on my judge, its a regular judge loaded with three #8 shotshells and 2 .45 colts

Just in case i run into mr. Snake or some other nasties like a rabid coon or Fox, but no i wouldnt carry it as a daily carry gun, too large and Bulky.

As a daily carry for summer = FNP .40, Kahr cw9, Rossi 462 or Glock 26


Winter , Sig 229, 220 carry, Para LTC, Tac s .

The Judge is way too big with too few rounds loaded., Its a nice yard /Bush gun though

[B2Luv2Hunt]

We have a regular Judge. We use the federal 000 buck at home. We have shot it alot. It does not have the penetration of a 9mm. But it breaks up the wood we had behind the target. My wife uses it for home defense only and shooting at the range. It is fun to shoot. We live in a trailer. The 000 buck will only go through one wall maybe two. The 9mm, Shotgun with 00 buck or the 45 will go through all our walls. The wife has the judge and her M&Pc in bed with her when I work 11-7. Would not recommend it as a carry gun.

Our tacticle training instructor is a Leo. He said he trains his men to be worried about the Judge. He worries about the birdshot. It does put out a big pattern. It will probably not kill you but could blind you if hit in the face. You do not have to be a very good shot with birdshot.

[Lycanthrope]

I chrono'd buckshot out of a 2.5" Judge last week at 800fps.

Not great, but not bad either.

LycanFYIthrope

[Asmodeus6]

I chrono'd buckshot out of a 2.5" Judge last week at 800fps.

Not great, but not bad either.

LycanFYIthrope

Thats the same velocity as .32 s&w. Not acp, s&w. With some variance for grain weight. And of course you get a few of them hitting the target at once.

I wouldn't want shot with it, despite there being far worse things to be shot with.

So that would put it down to girth as my primary reason for saying "no" to the judge. I'd rather do .357 in a lighter package.

[Former_Marine99]

I chrono'd buckshot out of a 2.5" Judge last week at 800fps.

Not great, but not bad either.

LycanFYIthrope

At how far from the muzzle?

[Alchymist]

Doesn't seem right for carry, however the Rossi Circuit Judge does have some appeal as a survival rifle....

[rwb1500]

I think it's all pretty much been spelled out, but I'll throw my two cents in and recap a little.

Buckshot velocities are on the low side, perhaps not too low to be ineffictive, but too low to take a chance on (IMHO).

Why carry .45 colt rounds? You can get a smaller gun and shoot .357. Hell you can get a smaller gun and shoot .44 magnum if you want. It seems like the only draw for the Judge is the fact that it will fire shot shells.

I see practical uses for the Judge. Varmits, snakes (Technically Illegal to shoot in PA), shooting skeet.... I just don't see any reason to carry one when there are many, many better options. If you must have something akin to birdshot for whatever reason you can buy shotshells in .38/.357. If I carry a revolver I'll carry one on a speed strip with the rest of my reload ammo (normal SD ammo). I figure there may be a time when I need it. Doubtful, but better to have it and not need it...

When it comes down to it I like the Judge. I wouldn't buy one, but would happily accept one as a gift. Taurus is selling them like hotcakes, so people are definately out there carrying them. You just won't catch me with one. Hell, maybe at the range shooting birdshot at glass bottles, but not in public.

[Philbert]

The box'o'truth did an article on the Judge:

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot41.htm

[orionz06]

i would want to see some gel tests for that ammo out of the judge before concluding it is an adequate self-defense round.

logically, .410 out of that short of a barrel is not going to be a good self-defense round. however, maybe federal came up with some way to make it work. but without gel tests showing adequate penetration, i don't believe it personally.

further, imho, even if it does offer adequate penetration, i think there are better choices than a 5 shot revolver for self-defense...but that is just my opinion--others disagree, obviously.

.410 out of a rifle is not the best for a lot of things, why people think it gets better when you cut the barrel off is beyond me. I can see the appeal of it though.

My dad got a Judge (not the public defender). I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet. But the thing is monsterous in size. I just can't imagine carrying one. I think there are much better options. The judge doesn't offer anything a .357mag doesn't. Unless you're using buckshot, which isn't real effective in a 410. I'd take 6-9 rounds of 357 over the 5 round judge.

.45 colt--255gr--523 ft-lb
.410 slug-- 650 ft-lb (from a rifle)
.357mag--125gr--710 ft-lb

The problem is energy is a useless measure out of the barrel, we dont know what is lost before the projectile comes in contact with a shirt, jeans, or anything else, let alone the velocity lost due to a very poor projectile shape.

I think it's the myth of the shotgun. All you have to do is point it in the general direction and it'll obliterate whatever you're aiming at. Just like in the movies.

Yeah, it is pretty terrible, I have been doing some hunting around, and what I have seen in household distances, even birdshot maintains tight enough groups to fire on a hostage taker.

[Lycanthrope]

At how far from the muzzle?

About 5 yards.


Lycan15feetthrope