Taurus Judge Public Defender .410 / .45
Taurus have added a snub nosed revolver to their line of Judge .410 Gauge shotshell / .45 Colt revolvers. The “Public Defender” 4510PD model is build on the smaller Taurus Model 85 frame.
It can only take 2.5″ .410 shells unlike some of the newer Judge models which can chamber 3″ shells. It also features a reduced profile hammer.
Photo from casa-z
Two models are available. A lighter model with a titanium frame (see photo) and a standard model with a blued steel frame.
Specs:
Capacity: 5 rounds
Cartridge: .45 Colt and .410 2.5″ shells.
Sights: fiber optic front sight and fixed rear sights.
Action: SA / DA.
Grip: Taurus Ribber
Cylinder: Steel or Titanium.
These are AWESOME! Unfortunately we can’t own them here in the People’s Republic of California.
Wait, in Cali Taurus pistols are illegal? Is it because it fires shotshells?
I have heard bad things about the Judge. I know my Lady’s father owns one, but I do not think he has tested it. I would never buy such a contraption.
I know there are great spots on youtube about it. But seriously something like that viable? The box of truth has a ballistics test of that revolver. It is not very promising.
Jennerson, I agree. As a anti-snake gun I think its great, otherwise you need to use .45 Colt, which will give your wrists a hard time.
The Judge is no lighter than a lot of SA “quickdraw” revolvers that come in .45 LC, and the Taurus has led to a companies putting out 2 1/2 in Buckshot loads.
I like my snub nose in a small caliber (just got a .327 that I load mainly with .32 H&R because I’m a big fan) but I think the Taurus could be a decent trail gun that gives you the option of a couple of rounds for snakes which are only a couple of quick trigger pulls away from something heavier for feral dogs etc.
I haven’t fired one but I handled one in a gun shop and it was a decent weight.
But I don’t pt a lot of stock in ballistic experiments. I love Box O Truth but I also come from a long line of guys who carried .25s and .32s on the mean streets of Newark NJ and all those old timers in my family lived to a ripe old age in a tough place with guns that would have failed the Box O Truth.
Wouldn’t buy one myself but don’t underestimate someone with one.
Mr. Taylor, did those old timers have to use those .25s or .32s much?
The whole point of ballistics testing is not that a .32 or even a .25 can not be made to work – at least some of the time, I do wonder though how well they would work against a really dedicated assailant – but rather it is about probabilities. A more potent weapon is more likely to stop an attacker than a less potent one.
It does seem from my point of view that sometimes folks in the U.S. do seem to fixate on searching for the “magic bullet”, but that does not mean that going the completely opposite and completely ignoring ballistics testing would be the optimal way to go either.
I was watch the Movie Max Payne the other night and I am pretty sure he was carrying and using a Judge.
Heath, he was
I have seen it yet but I read that on Wikipedia.
The Judge line up is one of my best sellers and I have shot and love this little Home Protection gun. Loaded with #4 shot it is an up close never miss backed up with 000 Buckshot you have 3 40cal Pellets going down range per trigger pull. As for the 45 Long Colt ammo it is a great shoot at point of aim. I wish I had a dozen in my shop right now to sale they would be gone that day. Taurus found a real niche with this one!
I have the 2.5″ and the 3″ Taurus Judges and I think they are great. I had to wait 2 months to get the 3″ version because they are so popular. The Military has taken to using 3″ 000 .410 in auto shotguns for clearing rooms. You don’t have the Hi-velocity .223 rounds ricochets and the .410 can be held out and fired around a corner unlike the 12 gauge. This is why you won’t find a single box for sale anywhere and if you do, let me know where.
I am considering this Public Defender as my car gun. If someone tries to hijack me I’m rather send 15 36mm 000 buckshot into the problem then hoping one of my .38+P from my S&W 340PD hits home. I love the judge as I can go to the gun range and from about 15-20 feet I don’t bother to site, just point. I can’t wait for the Lasergrips to start shipping as that will make it the no-brainer close defense weapon.
One last thing. The recoil on the 2.5″ shells and the .45 Colt is FAR less than my J-frame .38 Special which when a .357 is fired, it is the most painful pistol I’ve fired. I haven’t shot the magnum shells yet as I am nursing a shoulder issue for a couple more weeks and the 3″ is a recent pickup.
Do y’all think this would be a good CCW for a wheelchair-bound paraplegic with limited grip strength?
Check this video on the judge and the damage it does:
What link, Zenanskig?
here are the links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ORlYmHtx78
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMLQ1kJIomY
this one is on conceal carry of thejudge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ORSuRcl9no
I am really looking 4ward to the public defender. I had the oppoutunity to shoot the judge last year with 410 00 buck and 45 colt long ammo. A pleasure to handle. I am excited because I think this gun will make the best defense for in the car protection…bar none. An attack from the door or window, simply point and shoot, jus make sure that your arm is out of the way. I also think it would make a nice companion on the trail, but I am buying it for the car. A side not.. 410 ammuntion that does not have the ridges, so i guess you would call it smooth rolled 410 ammo does not expand when fired, so it does not get stuck in the chamber like a lot of that ribbed ammo. Jus a thought, this site and you guys rock. Keep shootin’ and keep safe !!
I find myself most troubled by the appropriation of ‘public defender’ in the denomination of such a dubious machine.
I agree with the person who posted on Jun 17, 2009….as an actual public defender, the misappropriation of my appellation throws my pyloric valve into a spasm.
Sound more like a public complainer to me? This gun is awesome so if you can’t recognize that then you came to the wrong place.
I purchased the original Judge about 8 months ago. Since then I have shot 000, 4, 6, 7, 7 1/2, and 8 shot shells from multiple manufacturers–not to mention many 45LC rounds and have never had a problem with the gun. I originally purchased it as a snake gun, as well as for the novelty…and was suprised of the accuracy of the 45LC at 25 yards (Most actual shooting is well within 7). I was very interested when the Public Defender came out and purchased the SS model. Same gun, smaller package. Nicely fits in a ‘SmartCarry’ holster for CCW. I personally load 2 4 shot shells, followed by 3 Gold Dot 45s. In response to the paraplegic without good hand strenght, I don’t think this would be the best choice due to repeated double action. Highly recommend you look into Kimber Crimson Carry for its ‘Cocked Carry’ set up.
I have a couple buddies that have the budget to buy guns just for hell of it. They bought Both the 6″ 2.5″ chamber, and 3″ 2.5″ chamber.
I love them both. They do what they designed to do. They make a handy Snake, Rat, Squirrel gun when outside hunting camping or working. You can carry without much hassle and dont have to run grab a shotgun.
I really like the idea of self defense. I have always worried, Gor forbid I actually got in gun fight I would be to nervous to aim well and miss and hurt some innocent stand by with a large cal handgun (9mm or bigger), or than a small cal gun wouldn’t stop some hop up meth head.
I think is a good mix. In gun combat at close range the 6″ is kinda hard to conceal and slow to draw. The inch is a little heavier than my .38 but I am a varly bick guy, so i doesn’t bother me.
I did not test the 3″ chamber model. I settled on the steel 3″ 2.5′ chamber steel. I have read the 3″ chamber packs a little bit more powder bunch on the buck shot and you can get a 4 pellet 3″ .410. But, it cost more and I noticed the weight difference.
The recoil was about the same to me. I could shoot the Long gun longer but I dont plan on going fird hunting with it.
I fits handy in the night stand, in between the car seat on console. Easy to draw. i am not worried of hurting anyone than who I am aiming at.
Loaded with .45 longs the long gun was about as good a can shoot any hand gun at a good distance. The 3′ not so much, but I got a tight pattern about 8 or 10 feet.
I prefer #4 buck on the .410 shell. I Prefer .45 long as the killing shot. 000 works well up close 6 to 10 feet.
I keep mine loaded with first three rounds #4 buck, and that hasn’t change the prep’s mind he at least itsn’t moving very fast I pretty sure I can hit them with the last two chambers. I prefer .45 long in last two, can’t always find them in stock, so I may have 000 .410 in last two chambers.
OklkieAveGuy is absolutely on target with the comment concerning first shots under stress. This is the draw of the Public Defender to individuals who have a realistic understanding of the effects of extreme stress while executing marksmanship. 4 Shot and/or 000 followed by 45LCs hasn’t been an option until now. The versatility of this firearm in a defensive posture is beyond reproach. Kudos to Taurus. Side note: I stated in a previous posting that this gun “fits nicely in a ‘SmartCarry’ holster”. I recently purchased a leather belt holster that I was not aware of at the time of that posting. I still use the ‘SmartCarry’ in certain outings where I would prefer not to be ‘printed’, but the belt holster definately as the advantage of a quicker draw. Chase is also on target with the ’smooth’ cased shot vice the ribbed working out better.
When the Judge was 1st announced was it offered in 44/40, 45 Colt and 410?
I really like the concept of the Judge revolver for home defense. When you have children in the house, you need to worry about shooting at a perp and the round going through a wall and hurting someone in the next room. I used to keep a .357 loaded with shot shells in my bedroom for this reason. Now, as soon as I am able to obtain one, it will be a Taurus Judge, loaded with #4’s! I don’t think the #4’s will penetrate 2 layers of drywall, and my children in the next room will be safe. I will probably load 2 .45LC’s for the last 2 shots.
I am retired military and ex-police officer (SWAT team leader). I have handled a wide variety of fire arms. I own a few handguns in a different calibers that I use for concealed carry. I recently bought a Judge with a 2.5 cylinder as an optional carry. I am now considered a “Senior Citizen” and my eyesight attests to that. I still love to shoot when I can and I know from experience and training that most self defense situations occur within relatively short distances with only seconds of available reaction time. The Judge is a great option for anyone, they are not hard to shoot, accurate at short distances with the .410 and the .45 LC is no less accurate than any short barreld revolver or pistol used for self defense. The .45 LC has a very manageable recoil with the short barrel, more so than a light framed .38 spl or .357 Mag revolver. This gun is not as light as some of the other choices, you can easily stay on target for a doulbe tap with either round.
I just bought one of these Judges with the 2-1/2 inch barrel, 3 inch chamber. At 25 yards with 45LC defense rounds, that pistol is very accurate and deadly. With the .410 000buck, the shot group was a bit spread one pellet entered the bulls eye, the other two were about 6 inches from that one (one to the left, the other to the right both just slightly higher). All were in the kill zone. For an averaged sized perpetrator, I estimate one pellt would rip through the heart and the other two would have penetrated and each lung.The 2-1/2 inch 410 shot shells spread in about a one foot circle with few pellest in the bulls eye but, peppered the rest of the target, the 3″ shot shells did the same but penetrated the backstop much deeper. The backstop was a series of 2×4 planks. The 000 buck and 45lc and slugs ripped clean through the backstop. After a box of 20 3″ 410 shots, the backstop broke apart. Using the magnums, the gun has a pretty good kick but not much more than say, a 1911. I have big hands and the gun with its ribbed grips is perfect. I have a collection of a wide variety of calibers and manufacturers and I have to say this one has great accuracy, feel and dependability. I would recommend this gun as a personal defense gun using a combination of 000 buck and 45 LC personal defense rounds in a heart beat. Using either, if it doesn’t put the perp down, run, he isn’t human.
I have the 6 and 1/2 inch barrel Judge. took it to the range and tried it out on a siloette. (I can shoot but cannot spell) It is easy to shoot, accurate, and deadly. I tried #4 bird shot for effect.
The term blinding would be correct, the 000 were closely grouped and either would be a mind changing experience.
The slugs are like the 357 or my 45acp 1911A, good enough to rip their gut out and destroy a life.
I intend to protect my family’s life and property if necessary.
There have been many recent home invasions lately, but there is nothing in my home worth stealing to die for.
do you lose a lot of accurecy with the new judge public defender stub nose against the original 3 inch barrel judge,i really like the public defender but im worried that the short barrel will really be unaccurate and the 3 inch might be a better choice
I used my Judge Ultra Lite against a gallon milk jug filled with colored water and covered by two layers of cloth. At 20 yards it took two rounds of #9 shot to penetrate. I took one round of #4 shot to almost empty the jug. The 000 buck finished emptying the jug. The Hornaday 45LC eliminated the jug.
This is a great gun. I am as accurate with it as I am my Glock 40 cal., Springfield Armory 45 xd, or my Taurus 38 + P at 7 and 20 yards.
Any carjacker that comes up against the Judge is going to get his face removed before he dies.