Judge inbound

[CJB]

Waitin for shorty 870....so I grabbed a 3 inch judge in matt stainless.....pics as they're available.

[jocko]

3" chamber or 3" bbl. I have two boxes of 3" sellior and belliot 00 buck 5 pellets. Only rand I ever found that offered that. still no judge yet. I can't seem to wantto puyll the trigger on buying one. Hope uyr report is a good one.. I want to really like that gun, I really do.

[CJB]

both...3in bbl and 3in chamber.... i dont think they offer the shorter bbl in 3in chamber....

[certified106]

Congrats! always wanted to shoot one but none of my friends have purchased one yet.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[CJB]

Videos around the net seem to be at extreme opposites with opinions on the .410 firing revolvers. One school says good stuff. The other school says useless. No middle ground, except the useless school will sometimes concede use on snakes.

My own take, is that 000 buckshot, all whopping 5 to 7 pellets of the tiny stuff, each at about .33 caliber, each weighing about 73 grains, each moving at about 1000fps more or less. Its like hitting the intended target with a half dozen 32 autos all at once.

Considering that some of the same poo-pooh nay sayers that judge the Judge as inadequate also hearald the Seecamp .32 as somethng of a joy for self defense, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

I think I can lay in a lifetime supply of ammunition for it without breaking the bank either.

[Planedude]

I shot one of these at an indoor range a while back. The young man that had it was very happy with it.
I loaded 5 rounds of the Winchester PDX SD ammo and ran a fresh "Osama" target out to seven yards. Firing all the rounds double action basically as fast as I could yielded two results. A sore hand and a two piece target, seems Osama's legs fell off in the exchange. Many at the range were impressed by my "sawing the target in two trick" and they were very impressed with the "firepower" in a Judge. I did have to remind them that a paper Osama was sure to yield easier than a doped up BG busting down your door at 2am...
Still the PDX ammo is interesting. http://www.winchester.com/Products/New-Products/Pages/pdx1-410.aspx
And the article linked here has a photo and info on a gel test with the PDX. http://www.shootingillustrated.com/index.php/9240/inside-the-judges-chamber/
Enjoy the new gun... Is it good enough for your own self defence?? You be the Judge.

[johnh]

I think the right ammo is the key here. The only time I have been around one in use, the fellow was running birdshot through it, and I could see the viewpoint of the "good for snakes" side being correct. Even at fairly close range, the target was just sprayed with tiny holes.

Change that out with PDX, and the outcome would be quite different. For folks who cannot handle a full-sized shotgun, and lack the desire to learn defensive shooting with a handgun, this might be a good home defense option. Certainly a better choice than the oft repeated "get a shotgun". I cannot fathom why anyone would tell a green shooter to get a pump, 12 gauge shotgun for their first choice in home protection. Not a fun gun to shoot for the uninitiated.

[CJB]

shipping notice says it will be here Wednesday

[jocko]

I think the right ammo is the key here. The only time I have been around one in use, the fellow was running birdshot through it, and I could see the viewpoint of the "good for snakes" side being correct. Even at fairly close range, the target was just sprayed with tiny holes.

Change that out with PDX, and the outcome would be quite different. For folks who cannot handle a full-sized shotgun, and lack the desire to learn defensive shooting with a handgun, this might be a good home defense option. Certainly a better choice than the oft repeated "get a shotgun". I cannot fathom why anyone would tell a green shooter to get a pump, 12 gauge shotgun for their first choice in home protection. Not a fun gun to shoot for the uninitiated.

expecially for a womanI think shecould handle a judge. The 3" 00 buck from sellior and belliott has 5 damn 00 bucks pellets in it. I amsure at 7 yards this would be a lethal shot. Ideal hoe gun IMO. I wouldhav eto buy the 3versionthough, so I could have that option of shooting either 410- length

They are not small guns by any means. I would think one could move or run easier and shoot with the judge over any sh!tgun:Amflag2:

[CJB]

Thinking about ammo m'self.

There is 7 pellet OOO buck out there in 3 inch. Most 3 inch has 5 pellets. Depends on the wad I guess, and/or the cap.

Thats probably the best all-round defensive choice. The 7 pellet stuff is a premium these days and very expensive in comparison to the other .410 stuff.

Doing more research..... I see the Judge 3" can shoot the 3" or 2-1/2" shot shells in .410 bore. And it can shoot 45 Long Colt, or 45 Shofield, or with full moon clips it can shoot the 45ACP, or without moon clips, it can handle the 45 Auto Rim. Not that 45AR is likely to be found at any time soon at a decent price.... and the 45 Shofield is gone with the wind, but the options are there.

The though of 13 pellets of BB size shot.... but there's not much weight to those so lack of penetration. Maybe I'll get some #4's for practice, some OOO buck for serious.

[jeepster09]

I had one [gone now] and had to many failure to fires with it. Light strikes on primer and had no success with correcting it. [Taurus revolvers are not known for good revolver actions....] Mine was short Public Defender model that I also added Thompson Contender choke to it to improve pattern.


http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv276/jeepster09/IMG_0579.jpg (http://s691.photobucket.com/user/jeepster09/media/IMG_0579.jpg.html)

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv276/jeepster09/IMG_0491.jpg (http://s691.photobucket.com/user/jeepster09/media/IMG_0491.jpg.html)

[CJB]

So what did you do to try and correct the issue? Was the gun new or used? What ammo did ya use?

[jeepster09]

It was new. It went back to Taurus with no improvement. It had light strikes on a vareity of 410 shells, some would fire after 2 hitts. I also had gunsmith try to repair with no avail and was told Taurus revolvers tend to have some issues on some due to design.

[CJB]

Wow.... sorry for your troubles. I was sure to look at mine, regarding hits. I'm not sure what the issue would be. First I checked firing pin protrusion, and its more than adequate. It takes up the entire width of the rim thickness. You'd damn near think you'd have perforated primers by looking at it. Next I did the "ol' pencil trick" and it tossed a BIC pen farther than my Kahr's do.

And that don't mean doodly squat, cuz pens aint primers.

So not I'm thinking - if there's a problem its gotta be light mainspring. Thats something I can correct easily. Thing is - the DA pull is pretty light, better than any Smith, Colt, or Ruger. If they do that on purpose, for marketing reasons, then they're closer to the bleeding edge of functioning. Other thing could be hammer mass. If there's not enough weight to the hammer.... but I can't change that.... so gotta make up for any deficiency with heavier spring.

I'm gonna keep myself in tune with its functioning as I practice some with it. This is a mission critical arm.

On another note - my dealer is Class III and can handle the "any other weapon" for me - in terms of the Remington 870 6" barrel three shot 12 gauge pistol. WOOT!

[jeepster09]

How about a real 870.....tehe....

http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv276/jeepster09/super_shorty_870-1.jpg (http://s691.photobucket.com/user/jeepster09/media/super_shorty_870-1.jpg.html)

[CJB]

talked to my FFL just yesterday about that

[deputy tom]

Thinking about ammo m'self.

There is 7 pellet OOO buck out there in 3 inch. Most 3 inch has 5 pellets. Depends on the wad I guess, and/or the cap.

Thats probably the best all-round defensive choice. The 7 pellet stuff is a premium these days and very expensive in comparison to the other .410 stuff.

Doing more research..... I see the Judge 3" can shoot the 3" or 2-1/2" shot shells in .410 bore. And it can shoot 45 Long Colt, or 45 Shofield, or with full moon clips it can shoot the 45ACP, or without moon clips, it can handle the 45 Auto Rim. Not that 45AR is likely to be found at any time soon at a decent price.... and the 45 Shofield is gone with the wind, but the options are there.

The though of 13 pellets of BB size shot.... but there's not much weight to those so lack of penetration. Maybe I'll get some #4's for practice, some OOO buck for serious.


All Judges I've seen will not accept moon clips. Therefore they can't shoot .45acp. like a S&W Governor can. As per .45 auto-rim, the rim is too thick to use in the Governor per their owner's manual. Not sure about the Judge tho. Good luck with your new pistol. tom.:cool:

[CJB]

Yes, Taurus makes moon clips for their Stellar - 5 shot .45acp revolver - that fit the judge. Governor clips are 6 shot, and also they're different from the old 2, 3 and 6 shot clips that fit the M1917 revolvers.

The Taurus part is 5-4555 and I'll be calling them Monday for a few bags of 'em.

On another note the rifling in the Taurus Judge appears to be 45acp rifling. Folks talk about the lack of rifling dept and such... it looks to me like 45acp rifling. I'll get a chance to mic up the rifling tomorrow maybe, also measure the bore size if I've got some hole gauges handy... but they may be at work.

[deputy tom]

Yes, Taurus makes moon clips for their Stellar - 5 shot .45acp revolver - that fit the judge. Governor clips are 6 shot, and also they're different from the old 2, 3 and 6 shot clips that fit the M1917 revolvers.

The Taurus part is 5-4555 and I'll be calling them Monday for a few bags of 'em.

On another note the rifling in the Taurus Judge appears to be 45acp rifling. Folks talk about the lack of rifling dept and such... it looks to me like 45acp rifling. I'll get a chance to mic up the rifling tomorrow maybe, also measure the bore size if I've got some hole gauges handy... but they may be at work.


It's good to know Taurus makes the 5 shot moon clips. By the way the moon clips for the WWI Smith and Colt's .45acp revolvers are the same for Smith & Wesson Governor. I know because that is what I use. tom. :cool:

[AIRret]

We have a Smith and Wesson Governor and our intended use is snakes and home defense when we are in our camper.
Anybody coming through the camper door/window will be at close range and with the choices of ammo. in the Gov. we can tailor things with respect to how close our nearest neighbor is... i.e. penetration....

[CJB]

ah glad ... those clips work in the gov too... I was told that some clips have wider flanges and have interferance issues

[CJB]

Just ordered up five boxes of 3"-00x5, 3"-.40x5, and 3-#4.

The #4's will probably be the most used..... at fun targets. Also have about 30lbs of 45LC lubed bullets that I've had forever and a day in big coffee cans... so I'll just load up some of those with mild loads for fun.

Now if I can find a shoulder rig for under my vest.... I'd have it all set

[deputy tom]

ah glad ... those clips work in the gov too... I was told that some clips have wider flanges and have interferance issues


There very well could be some that won't work in the Governor. So far I've been lucky. tom.:cool: