Taurus's new Judge

Any pistol that I can use buckshot with is good. Have one next to my bed.

From the Box O Truth:
LINK

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The buckshot only penetrated one jug and went into the second one.

That is equal to about 4.5 inches of penetration into ballistic gelatin or bad guy.

Not nearly enough.

The shot were flattened completely, but not from hitting the water jugs.

I believe it is a result of the three pellets being forced down the barrel and smashing each other flat.

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The rifled slug:

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penetrated 2 1/2 jugs or equal to 7.5 inches of BG. Again, well short of the 12 inches minimum required for a defense load.

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For the .45 round:

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penetrated 5 jugs, or equal to 15 inches of BG.

Plenty of penetration, but the expansion was not very good, a problem with this particular bullet

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Lessons learned:
1. Jack bought this pistol for snakes and it looks like a fine tool for that job.

2. Birdshot, in any gauge, is for little birds.

3. Buckshot out of a .410 does not penetrate enough to be an effective personal defense load.

4. The rifled slug was also a disappointment and did not have enough weight or power or penetration to be effective as a defense load.

5. The .45 Long Colt loads had plenty of penetration and would be the preferred defense load for this pistol.

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Opinions ALWAYS vary. But the novelty of shooting the .410 rounds doesn't appear to me enough to justify it, although I guess it would be cool in the woods to use on varying threats from both small and large.

ETA: Dammit. Just saw the BOT stuff posted.

i only read the first few post bc i feel that ive made my stance on the judge pretty clear, fun range toy thats it. however, i do feel it is necessary to mention that for everyone on here that bought the gun for their girlfriend or boyfriend that plays the catcher role, the argument seems to be you want these people you care about that have zero experience with guns to have this one because it is a small shotgun and they have the advantage of shooting a pattern vs a single bullet.

first, i feel that the most common mistake when picking a bedside gun for females is that people automatically think they need to get them a small gun. it is the exact opposite. if the gun is not for concealed purposes it makes more since to get the largest gun the person can weild. a bigger gun is often more comfortable to shoot due to the reduced recoil and fullsized grips (many can change grips for fullsize female hands). So if you want your girl to have the benifit of shooting a shotgun you should get her a home defense shotgun (18" barrel or longer) in 20 or 12 gauge.

secondly, you say you want your girl to have the benefit of a pattern vs a single bullet, and im assuming because your girl has zero shooting experience. if someone is going to own a gun they plan to use in the event of a home invasion they better be fricking good with it. you think the military hands out judges and then just ships everyone out to war. no they go through extensive training. so, if you are going to own a gun for protective purposes you better be trained well using it. if you become very proficient with a gun you no longer need the advantage (albeit it a small one out of a judge) of shooting a spread vs a single bullet. if you don't need a gimmick of a handgun you can get a real one. if you get a real handgun vs a gimmick you can better defend yourself. if you can better defend yourself you have a higher chance of surviving if it ever comes down to it. etc...