re: Taurus's new Judge

Ok, I admit I'm not a fan of any varieties of the Judge although I do like guns and enjoy shooting them. To me, guns are a tool. Choose the right tool for the right job. The Judge is like the old Ford Ranchero vehicle from years ago, a 2 door car w/ a pick up bed instead of a trunk.....it was neither a truck nor a car so wasn't very useful to enough folks.

Best close round self defense gun--12 gauge shotgun. Best handgun self defense round (w/ the appropriate loads)--357 Mag, 45 ACP, 40 S&W and 9 mm. The 45 Colt that the Judge also shoots is a very good self defense round on it's own, w/ the correct load. OTOH, I've not seen good accuracy reported when shooting 45 Colt's in the Judge.

Glad to see someone posted the info from "The Box of Truth" site. I'll go ahead and post his summary. Admittedly, this test was w/ 2 3/4" shells not 3" shells. I think Taurus now has a 3" chambered version of the Judge, but I doubt the additional 1/4" in the load would make any significant difference of the effectiveness of the load.
From "The Box of Truth" website.
"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.

6. It's fun to bust clays with this pistol."

The following website also has good info re: use of shotguns for home defense. A big problem is the lack of actual data of 410 shotguns being used defensively. The best argument for defensive use of the 410 shotgun or pistol is an emotional one that goes something like this: "Shotguns make bad wounds. There's a lot of lead in that load. I sure wouldn't want to get shot w/ it so it should be a good round for self defense." LINK

My thoughts, if you want a good snake gun that will fit in your pocket (wear a stout belt!) or in the console of your car, get a Judge. If you want a good self-defense gun, get a 12 gauge shotgun or own of the aforementioned hangun calibers.