I don't need or want one but I'm curious....since the cylinder is so long to accomodate 410s, how accurate would the 45 colt be since it has to jump halfway through the cylinder before hitting the barrel?

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

Fairly accurate, at least to about 20 yards.

I'm wanting a 3" chambered model, but I've heard that the extra 1/2" does cut down on the accuracy with .45 Colts.

More later...stay tuned.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

The rifling is also shallow to minimize spinning the shot, and hurts hardball accuracy.

Try running the plate rack past 10 yds and you'll see what I mean.

Although the Judge sells well and apparently has lots of emotional appeal, I just can't see it as a defense handgun.
Too heavy, too inaccurate, too short range with shot........

I had to have one when they first came out. It will be my first and last Taurus. It had a timing problem right out of the box. I know Taurus has a good warranty program, but most handguns I shoot are as old or older than me and none of them have problems. (I'm 52 and they're all S&W's or Colts).
Also, it wasn't near as fun as I thought it would be. I could hit everything at 10-15 feet and nothing further out. If I want to shoot 45 Colt, I will stick to my 25-5. I know it has some accuracy issues, but nothing like the "Judge". Fortunately, I was able to trade it quite easily as right now it seems to be the hottest seller going.

My gun dealer said, "Well, it's a lousy .410 and a lousy .45."

Needless to say, I don't have one.

Barb, you beat me to it!

Honestly, if I found one for $200... I still wouldn't buy it.

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- The Federalist #46 -

I had an old small frame .45/.410 Contender with a 10" barrel and it was a blast to shoot skeet from a tire mounted thrower or birds in flight. I would love to have another one with a shorter barrel for easier carrying, but all the Contenders now are so big and heavy you might as well carry a light rifle of shotgun. For defensive use the .410 is not a good way to go.

My dealer stopped carrying them after too many complaints about reliability.

They're banned from sale in California - as are other .410/.45 handguns - as short bbl shotguns. The rabbit lobby was presumably worried about the squirrels having luparas.

I have the three inch barrel version and really like it. I bought it to shoot rattlesnakes at the ranch and it goes everywhere with me. It has performed well in that capacity. I wouldn't buy one to use as an everyday defense weapon. The only time I would get rid of it is if S&W would build something similar.

I PUT A TARGET 24 X 36 UP AT 15 YDS
#4 SHOT GOT 12 ON THE PAPER
BUCKSHOT GOT 0 ON THE PAPER
SLUGS ARE DEADLY ACCURATE
45 LONG COLTS ABOUT 8 INCH SPREAD
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM CAME AFTER SITTING IN MY DRAWER FOR 2 MONTHS THE SHOTGUN SHELLS SWELLED SO MUCH THE CYLINDER REFUSED TO ROTATE.
THAT WAS IT GONE GUN.
dAN

I thought about those when it comes to handy "snake" pistols.
But.. Too cheap to buy one when I have other weapons, including
a couple of regular .410's..
But seems to me, it that thing had one handy quality, it would be
for blasting them ornery legless lizards without having to take too
careful a aim.. :/

I work at a gun shop and we've sold DOZENS of these things, not sure why. They suck at everything. They are a ridiculously large, heavy and not too accurate .45 colt while at the same time managing to be a 100% suck .410 shotgun. Not to mention the one's I've taken out of the boxes to put on the rack and give them the standard once over function check whereupon they immediately go right back in the boxes to be returned to Taurus. So far I've seen things like broken cylinder hands from the factory, 30lb trigger pulls, cylinders that would rotate in the wrong direction under moderate pressure, hammers that wouldn't lock in single action and cylinders with horrible tool marks. I hate the things and do everything I can to discourage people from buying them to protect themselves with but they tend to get them anyway. And don't get me started on the people who think the .410 birdshot is great for self defense. Why can't people use .22's for a snake gun or shotshells in a .357 or .44? It would be a hundred times the gun of one of these pieces of ****.

Around here (Central Texas), I'm told by gun store staff that farmers and ranchers love them as they are supposed to be the cure for all ills from snakes to feral dogs. I think they're a piece of ****, and I'd carry a 4" or 6" barreled .357 Magnum and be done with it.

Regards,

Dave

I think I would like the bond gun rather than a taurus. My first semi auto pistol my wife bought a taurus, and after reading about all the problems, I took it back and traded for a ruger P97 and never regreted it. Here is a couple of pics of the bond which is chambered for the same.
http://www.bondarms.com/gunSSlarge.gif
http://www.bondarms.com/gunRinHolsterHipL.gif

Around here (Central Texas), I'm told by gun store staff that farmers and ranchers love them as they are supposed to be the cure for all ills from snakes to feral dogs. I think they're a piece of ****, and I'd carry a 4" or 6" barreled .357 Magnum and be done with it.

Regards,

Dave

Same here my 4 inch 66 is carried wake up to bedtime 2 rounds of CCI shotshell 4 rounds of .38 wadcutters. I shoot .38 cause of hearing loss. Couldn't hear rattlesnake and wear protection at the same time.

david

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My Mother likes me.

The Judge we own, 3 inch stainless, does what we expect it to do. Close range with the triple 0 410 shot at 10-12 feet. We bought one of the first that came to our gunshop and have had zero problems. If I want to shoot a 45LC I'll shoot a S&W Model 25 or Ruger Blackhawk. JMO and worth exactly what you paid for it.

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"DEO VINDICE"

The Bond guns are well made and they don't seem to take any shortcuts. They're heavy little beasts though. I have one. Still wouldn't use it on anything but snakes or perhaps at contact distance with .45 Colt BP rounds.

I handled one of these today in a local shop. Man it is heavy. $468 plus tax. I can think of several handguns I'd rather sink that kind of money into first.

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I drank what? - Socrates

I see more of these things being sold at the shows than anything else. That said, I have absolutely no use for one. I have an old .410 Revelation that was only used in two killings (or maybe three, I'm not sure) that makes for an excellent snake or small critter gun and a S&W 25 dash something or other and a Beretta Stampede if I get a hankering to shoot .45 Colt. This reply was not intended to create thread drift. Don't even reply to it. If you're curious about the .410 you'll see a comment on it in a thread titled "Red" in a few minutes. For some reason this thread brought back an old memory.

Sip, buy two and give me one.

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Memory of Randy Freas-Rimfired

The new issue of Gun Tests gave it an A grade. A really strong review. I don't need one but am intrigued. I like the 3-inch Magnum model as I have no need or desire to shoot 45 LC. I'd love to see a test of a 6-inch barrel one and see what kind of results you get with 3-inch 410 shells.

That ought to tell you something... Gun Tests provides the lamest evaluations anyone might think of --- its endorsement is damning. A freind bought a Judge and some ammo, test fired a few rounds of shot, buckshot, and slugs, with pitiful results all around, and immediately put the *** on consignment at our local shop.

After seeing the results of many years of Taurus quality at various ranges and classes, the Judge is just another reason I don't own one single Taurus.

I have had two go through my classes. Accurate enough (firing at ranges 3 and 7 yards) but heavy and hard for the students to manage. One gun failed to make it through the 200 round course - it broke it's hand after about 50 rounds. That heavy cylinder has to be putting a lot of stress on the hand during rotation.

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Big bang, much smash'em.

I think of the Judge as being a "novelty". Why?

Personally, I like the tools that I may have to defend my life on being more than a novetly.

I think it is a solution to a problem that has of yet been defined. Just because you can do ball ammunition and shot shell through the same gun...why should you?

If Smith or Ruger would try it, make it out of real blued steel and wood, make it a very conventional design, blah, blah, blah....I might be tempted to give it a try.

With Taurus' track record, I just think it's a gamble on don't wish to take.

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G.P. Charlie

I agree that the Judge is more a novelty gun than anything else. I can't imagine why anyone would select it as a purely defensive gun when there are so many better choices.

I look at it as an improved quality Thunder Five.

I've owned two Taurus PT92s and both were excellent guns that never had a single issue. My only current Taurus is my 4-inch Tracker in 45 ACP. I must have got one of the good ones. As well built as any standard production S&W.