I've owned a Judge for about a year and it as been my go to home defense gun since I bought it. 
 

 
I keep it ready and loaded with 3" 000 buck shot figuring I'm sure to hit the bad guy if I ever need it.
 
I shot several types of rounds today to compare and I'm not sure 000buck is the way to go. Click here for a larger target.
 

 
In the middle are 5 rounds of .45 long colt.  6" group at 15 yards.  Not very good shooting but the judge is a terrible gun for accuracy.  Bored for both .45 and .410, light rifling, and a 3" long cylinder to travel through before jumping into the 3" barrel.  But at least these rounds would have been center of mass.
 
The odd shaped thing around the middle 5 rounds are two shells of 3" 000 buck at 10 yards.  This is what I've been keeping at the ready for home defense.  At anything over 10 yards, I'm not sure I'd hit much.   It's unlikely I'd be over 10 yards in a home defense situation but at 20 yards, It's possible I'd miss completely because I'd be shooting around the target instead of at it.
 
The rest of the target is two rounds of 2-1/2" #9 shot at 7 yards.  I'd definitely hit somebody at close range but wouldn't do more than hurt them.
 
I think I've decided that the Judge is not the home defense weapon I thought it was and if it was all I had, I'd go with the .45 long colt rounds.

Good. The judge is a terrible choice for a defensive or HD handgun. It is nice to see somene have a "lightbulb" moment. Someone telling you how bad it is would never have had the same impact as you figuring it out in your own. Learning has occurred.

Did you ever test the pdx rounds. I would be interested in those results

Agreed. I always thought they were a gimick gun. If you want to use buckshot for HD buy a shotgun. If you want a big bore HD pistol buy a Glock 21 Gen 4.

 

Its just so happens I have one for sale.

Good. The judge is a terrible choice for a defensive or HD handgun. It is nice to see somene have a "lightbulb" moment. Someone telling you how bad it is would never have had the same impact as you figuring it out in your own. Learning has occurred.

What do you base you statement on that the judge is a "terrible choice" for a Home Defense gun?

Pizza Bob talked me out of one and convinced me to go with a 686-3 instead. More than a year later, I'm glad that he did. While my house is relatively small with short hallways, I felt that the proven accuracy of .357 through a 4" barrel beat the novelty of .45 / 410. The 686 feels better in my hand.

What do you base you statement on that the judge is a "terrible choice" for a Home Defense gun?

Seriously?

 

It's a heavy, unwieldy, inaccurate 5 shot revolver that does neither 45 nor 410 well.

 

Almost any revolver in .38 or above, pistol in 9mm or above or shotgun in 410 or above would be better.

Did you ever test the pdx rounds. I would be interested in those results

 

I have.  The groups were much tighter than buckshot but not center mass.   I think they stay together much better in the barrel but still tend to drift all over the place - just all together.   Groups were probably 6" at 15 yards although I didn't really take the time to measure. 

 

As for this gun being poor for home defense - maybe.

 

But I still love shooting this gun.  Breaking clays with a handgun is a blast - no pun intended.  And I like the ridiculous look of a 3" long cylinder.   Maybe useless but still fun.

Seriously?

 

It's a heavy, unwieldy, inaccurate 5 shot revolver that does neither 45 nor 410 well.

 

Almost any revolver in .38 or above, pistol in 9mm or above or shotgun in 410 or above would be better.

Seriously?

 

It's heavy? Not that heavy, and some would say the weight makes it more steady

 

Unwieldy? I would say it would be bulky as a carry gun, but again I wouldn't recommend 

                 that at all. But from the nightstand, it's not unwieldy.

 

Inaccurate?  The gun is designed to a hand held shotgun. It wasn't meant to be accurate using shot shells

                     at 30 yards. it is better suited for close quarters as in Home defense. The chances of missing

                     your target with the proper ammo inside your home is greatly reduced AND the chances of 

                     missing your target, or a pass through and the bullet sailing out to the neighbors house is much

                     less than that of a std. handgun.

 

Yes, there are much better pistols, revolvers, ect. but the Judge (or Governor) do have their place

if used with the proper ammo..........

I'm with HE on this one.  I never bought into the hype.  Before I'd trust a Judge to save me, I'd grab a Colt SAA Peacemaker loaded with .45 Long Colt, point it at the SOB, (and if UP CLOSE) pull the trigger and FAN that piece!  BG goes out on a platter!  I'm not sayin' for you folks here to do that, I'm just sayin' what I can do and have done in competition, FB videos, etc.

 

IMHO these guns were "invented to solve a problem that doesn't exist" and so they can't do ANYTHING correct.

I think it would make a great closet or  small panic room gun. Maybe even a car gun. I would prefer .454 casull go big!

Here is an opinion by another Wiley Clapp.....................

 

 

 

http://www.americanrifleman.org/article.php?id=14971&cat=20⊂=23

 

 

Or a download if you so prefer:

The Judge Rules - Wiley Clapp.pdf

The Governor is much more accurate than the Judge. I had no problems with the long range steel at the uspsa shongum match running .45acp and the stock iron sights with the Governor, double action. With the 2.5" 000buck I can easily explode water filled soda bottles at 15-20 yards with a single shot. I bought it for the fun factor, I did get the laser sight grip, and after that match would consider it for defense.

It's a snake gun. I want one as a novelty.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Never tried the Judge but have the Governor.

I like it and it is accurate for what it is. Only thing I don't care is the grip, I fell it is a bit small for the size of the gun.

 

It is the first go to gun in the house loaded with 6 rounds of PDX.

4 moon clips of .45ACP are kept with it.

I had a judge and hated it. Buddy talked me into it. Nothing shot to my liking in it. It was kind of disappointing having a gun that you can only shoot shot out of at 5-10 yards. .45 colts were all over the place. Hornady Lever evolution shot the best out of it but nothing that built confidence. Only fun I'd have it filling it with 9 shot and shooting clays and soda cans from self throwing them. 

I'd rather have Joe Biden's double barrel than a Judge. If I had to defend myself with one, I'd just throw the whole gun at my attacker.

The gun is designed to a hand held shotgun. It wasn't meant to be accurate using shot shells at 30 yards. it is better suited for close quarters as in Home defense. The chances of missing your target with the proper ammo inside your home is greatly reduced AND the chances of missing your target, or a pass through and the bullet sailing out to the neighbors house is much less than that of a std. handgun.

Seriously? Read what you wrote again. A "handheld shotgun"? No, it's not. It is a badly made revolver that is made to do two things, and neither of them very well. It is a .410 - That's not a very effective self defense round and has poor penetration out of an 18" barrel. Why do you think it is better in a 3" barrel handgun that shoots a pattern like a donut and has abysmal penetration across the board with the shotshell rounds? And don't say, "I load it with .45" - If you want a .45LC buy a .45LC. It will shoot straighter, handle better, and overall be a better choice.

 

How does poor penetration and inconsistent patterns better suit this weapon for home defense than say, a Glock in any caliber or an AR? How does the Judge reduce "the chances of missing your target with the proper ammo inside your home" more than using any other pistol in a standard SD/HD round?

 

The Judge, to me, is the physical embodiment of everything misguided about American gunowners and their common misconceptions about self/home defense. I only hope all those shopping for Judges as a HD/SD gun stumble onto some used Glocks, or an old Security Six.

 

Here is an opinion by another Wiley Clapp...................

Wiley Clapp? Has he ever written about a gun that he didn't like? Here is a clue - he is a Gun Writer. If he writes unflattering things about guns, he has effectively fired himself. I put little to no faith in anything gun-writers say.

 

That being said, I have yet to see a respected firearms trainer write anything good about the Judge. Here is what Tom Givens (25 year LEO and reputable firearms trainer with Rangemaster Training - not a full time gun shill) had to say about the Judge:

"... and it came up short in every thing we could think of to do with it..."

 

"The first test we did with it was at 5 yards, and the diameter of the birdshot pattern was a little over 30 inches. Now what that means is, if you are my spouse, and you're standing a foot away from somebody trying to kill you, and I try to shoot him, I'm gonna shoot both of you. Now, that seems counterproductive to me... and that's at 15 feet -- not at 15 yards."

 

"We tried it with 45 colt pistol ammunition ... the rifling has to be shallow in order to shoot birdshot or buckshot even badly, much less well... I was getting groups at 7 yards that I expect an over-the-counter service pistol to deliver at 25 yards..."

 

".. shot a 1 liter plastic bottle of water with buckshot at 15 feet, and some of it didn't even go through the near side, much less through the bottle -- didn't even get into the bottle, much less through the bottle."

And here is the Box O' Truth's take on it: http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot41.htm

 

The Judge was a bad idea as a self defense gun 20 years ago when they called it the Thunder Five. I am not saying it isn't fun, just that it isn't the right choice for a defensive handgun.

 

But as always, big boy rules apply - its your choice what you choose to protect yourself and your loved ones - and much like maintenanceguy, if you already hang your hat on this abortion you aren't going to listen to me now. You will need to figure it out for yourself.

Judge for self defense?

 

Here's Chuck Hawks' take on it: http://www.chuckhawks.com/taurus_judge.htm

 

 

 

I have been asked to do a full review of Taurus .45/.410 revolvers for Guns and Shooting Online, but declined. I simply refuse to waste that much of my time and effort on a product that I already know is inherently incapable of delivering acceptable results. However, in response to popular demand, I agreed to do this abbreviated article.

 

 

Here, he references the Wiley Clapp review:

 

One author, writing for a respected gun magazine, praised the Judge to the skies (naturally, since print magazines never publish an unfavorable review of an advertiser's product), but admitted that it would barely keep its bullets on a humanoid silhouette target at 25 yards! Considering that practically any Colt or Ruger .45 LC revolver will average 2-3" groups at that range with factory loaded ammo and no tuning whatsoever, the Judge's accuracy as a .45 LC revolver is simply unacceptable.

Naturally, firing a .410 shotshell in a revolver with a 3" rifled barrel is not likely to produce very satisfactory results. The same writer mentioned in the paragraph above patterned the 3" Judge with 11/16 ounce, #4 and #6 .410 shot loads and reported very few pellets outside of an 18" circle--at five yards! Pardon me, but .410 shotshells are customarily patterned at 30 yards. These are the kind of deceptive shenanigans required to produce a favorable review of the Judge revolver.

Is this the part where I tell you to get an ar15...

I thought  the judge was a personnel close defense gun for use in a vehicle..? They had a vid out for a while see if i can find it..

 

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2013/01/20/The-Taurus-Judge-Pubic-Defender-A-Carjackers-Worst-Nightmare

I look at the public defender strictly as a novelty gun but i could see it being practical at very close range and at weapon retention range which is within an arms length. I would never carry a weapons with that short of a range because of what i may need it for but most people won't be shooting at individuals that far away so it seemingly could be a practical self defense gun

It's a novelty item, end of story. If you have ammo manufacturers trying to make specialty rounds for it that aren't a total embarrassment, and you have to dream up ultra narrow niche purposes for it, there's a name for that. Creative marketing, failure of a product, novelty item, etc. pick the one you like.

 

 

To date, nothing is producing good results in ballistic gel out of the things regardless of using specialty ammo or not.

 

Is this the part where I tell you to get an ar15...

Jesus man! What are trying to do? Make half the forum go apoplectic? We can work on that solution later.... We are still at the .410 is better because it won't go through your house stage here. Baby steps brother, baby steps

Is this the part where I tell you to get an ar15...

I had a Judge. Was fun to shoot and a nice conversation piece. I sold it because I buy and sell a lot. If I lived in a free state I probably would have kept it for glove box duty. 

I'd use one for home defense.....  

 

 

 

 

 

 

if my only other choice were a Lorcin .25 ACP     

After reading two more pages of bad news.........it looks like my idea of buying a Colt SAA .45LC Peacemaker or clone thereof ain't such a bad idea, lol!  They're natural pointers, and great man-stoppers with 250 grain slugs.....so sumthin' invented in 1873 is better as a HD gun than the Judge?  LOL!

 

And I LOVE the remark about the .25 kneecapin' gun^^^......too funny!

Jesus man! What are trying to do? Make half the forum go apoplectic? We can work on that solution later.... We are still at the .410 is better because it won't go through your house stage here. Baby steps brother, baby steps

 

 

just shoot me a PM when we get to the point in the conversation where it is reasonable for me to bring that up.. and I will stop back and say "get an AR15" and then shortly after I will say "don't buy one build your own"...

 

i'll be waiting...  lol