Taurus’s new Raging Judge Magnum
Taurus's Judge revolvers have proved to be incredibly popular. Not resting on their laurels, Taurus has introduced the gigantic Raging Judge Magnum. In additional to the standard Judge cartridges, the .410 shotshell (2.5"/3") and .45 Colt, the Raging Judge can chamber the .454 Casull! Outside of Africa there is probably nothing that cannot be taken down with a Raging Judge Magnum.
The handgun will be available with either a 3" or 6" barrel and in either a stainless or blued finish. The 6" version includes a vent-rib for use with a scope mount.
Like the Taurus Raging Bull line, the gun is big and it is heavy. The advantage that the Judge has over similar .454 chambered guns is its ability to chamber shot shells. A hunter or fisherman can load a shotshell in the first chamber for snakes and .454 in subsequent chambers to defend against bears. The cylinder holds six rounds.
if ya miss your target you can always beat them with it…
“Raging Judge Magnum”; sounds like a sex toy to me.
Dirty Harry ain’t got nothing. Bring on Dirty Harry 2011.
That’s one really long cylinder for the bullet ammo. Almost like those really old revolvers that only used the cylinder as a barrel.
It seems the bullets will have to fly unsupported through all the rest of the front of the cylinder until they enter the barrel. Isn’t there a chance of something going wrong there, like the bullet yawing and hitting the barrel sideways?
Whoa, I think Taurus has officially jumped the shark with this one. Just attach a two foot sword blade to that Raging Judge and you’ve got something any spiky-haired anime hero would be proud to use.
The Tarus website lists a 3 pound 5 ounce weight for the Raging Bull. I’m guessing the Raging Judge would weigh at least 4 pounds unloaded – pretty hefty. Even so, it’s still lighter than a long gun.
That looks like the cartoon gun from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
An excellent choice for hiking in our forests.
Carl
I can’t be sure, but it seems that the cylinder is about 2 inches long, and the 454 Casull is about 1 3/4 inch long. so it looks to be the same. but i can’t say for sure.
“Outside of Africa there is probably nothing that cannot be taken down with a Raging Judge Magnum” Yeah, including the shooter!
Oh I want! I already have a Raging Bull Casull, but man oh man!
You call that a gun? THIS is a gun!
I wouldn’t mind adding the Raging Judge Magnum to my collection but then again I refuse to buy any products that has integrated locks on them.
Bandito762, LOL
This is about as useful as a single-shot rifle that’s chambered in .22 short and weighs 20lbs.
Some great comments here, most of all Sian’s. Yes, they have jumped the shark. I want to know why it doesn’t have a bayonet lug and a quadrail.
I like it. It adds a little more practicality and flexibility. Still pretty hefty , but a little more justified. If someone made some new shotgun ammo in say .357 caliber…
We had a similar weapon in the Army. We called it the M1 Abrams tank.
Is the accuracy with the .454 going to be as bad the the .45 Long is in the rest of the Judges???
W. T. F.
Holy Crap!! That kinda looks like the revolver from the hellboy movies… I want one
Elvis: Yeah, one wonders when that sucker would start to keyhole.
Judges have to have shallow rifling.
Interestingly, the Circuit Judge gave it up and just comes in two barrel versions.
After the first cylinder full, the barrel will launch down range as a diversionary tactic. Maybe Taurus could machine the muzzle like a SureFire DNA collection device for the full harpoon/spear effect.
Folks, buy three – one for use, one getting repaired and one for when the first one breaks again.
This just looks like compensation for something else.
Hmm, what can I buy the video gamer / rapper / Mexican Crimelord in my life?
Not that I believe that the size of the pistol is inversely proportionate to the dimensions of an individuals reproductive organs – but if I saw a guy pulling this out at the gun range, then I would imagine he’s smooth down below, like a GI JOE.
I look forward to seeing this pistol on the front cover of yet another Steven Segal straight to DVD ‘effort’.
BTW Steve, I liked your rationale for such a pistol – .410 for a snake, .454 for a bear – it made me think of some dude going mad in the woods, double action shooting anything that even remotely crossed his path.
I know it’s a huge gun… but darn she’s small
Gotta get me one of those!!
1. I agree, it looks like the Samaritan from Hellboy but less Webley-ish.
2. What about Kodiak Bear? They’re not in Africa and I’d bet it would have a tough time with that.
3. I have long been an opponent of crazy big bullet pistols, the .50 AE, the .454 Casull, the .475 Linebaugh, the .500 S&W, etc, but for some reason that I just can’t explain…part of me wants this gun…
I shot a .454 once and see no reason to do it again. Should I move to Grizzly Bear country I will get a .44mag but other than that I see no need.
Gunslinger, the cylinder looks more like 4″ long to me. It’s about as long as the the width of the hands of the guy in the suit and tie holding it. Or about 2/3 of the barrel length of the 6″ version from measuring on my screen. So a bullet from a cartridge with over all length of 1 3/4 inches would have to travel more than 2 inches before entering the barrel.
When I first saw the picture, I thought it was an oversized plastic model, not the real gun. Either that — thing — is HUGE, or that woman is small.
I don’t know if Taurus had actually done it yet, but they really should / need to come out with interchangable barrels for their “Judge” line — a smoothbore for when shooting the .410 shotshells, and rifled for everything else. Something similar to the Dan Wessans?
Seems to be a more practical woods gun than the original judge, except for the weight. I always found the idea of 45LC in such a long cylinder to be a funny though. I wonder how long it will be before Taurus makes a Raging Judge snubbie? I once shot a snubbie 454. Recoil was stout but managable. Follow up shots were slow and unpleasant, but possible.
B Woodsman, a smoothbore would be illegal. Handgun-sized shotguns must be registered as an AOW with the BATFE. Too much paperwork. Technically, the Judge is a 45LC revolver that just happens to also chamber 410 shotshells.
“Are you happy to see me, or is that a Taurus Judge Magnum that’s Raging in your pocket?”
Cymond,
Thanks. I wasn’t aware of the BAT-F***k’s regulations on this. Too bad about the smoothbore barrel. Seems to me that somewhere I’ve read several articles about the effects of shot coming out of a rifled barrel. It tends to throw the shot into a doughnut pattern, reducing its effect.
Soooo, considering that, I would want to limit myself to shooting 45LC and 454 Casull through the Judge. And I were going to limit myself to that, I’d want to go to a better looking, better handling gun then the Judge series.
Like so much stuff that one sees on the airwaves these days, a solution in search of a problem.
This gun is a beauty, Any word about the price. I think I want one
This gun isn’t really practical at all. Taurus made a gun that will appeal to people who just like the way it looks.
That said, some of you are missing the point of the original Judge. The gun was never supposed to be accurate, whatsoever. The gun was designed to defend against carjackings. It doesn’t need to be accurate; it needs to deal as much damage possible to a target 3 feet away, or less. The shotgun shell increases the odds of hitting the target. The barrel needs to be rifled for the gun to be legal. but it also helps the shot pattern expand rapidly.
@Kempy
ever shoot paper with a .410 at 3 feet? it makes about a three quarter hole as opposed to the .45 inch hole a long colt round would. I don’t see how that can help you hit the target. It also delivers less energy than the pistol bullet.
Mind, birdshot delivered to the face can be devastating, but so can a 230 grain hollowpoint. I just don’t see the point.
Sian, the judge is designed to spread the shot (or so they say, I think the fact that the barrel is rifled helps spread the shot) but I don’t know how much.
There used to be a video at Taurus’s website of the Judge shooting a paper target about 3 feet away, through a car window. The shot spread out about 12″ already. The majority of it was concentrated within a few inches in the center, but the twist of the barrel rifling helps it spread out quickly. Now, imagine a 2 1/2 inch .410 shell with three 000 pellets in it from about 3 feet away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl-ZIo-Wztc&feature=related
I LOVE it!
I have a Judge 410-3″/45lc. I am pleased with the penetration tests I have done and the accuracy is good enough for me. When I shoot 45s and have a couple of Winchester 000 in the other chambers the shot doesn’t stay tight, it’s loose. I don’t know what will happen if you mix 454s and 410s, maybe they will come uncrimped from the recoil. When I bought my airweight 38, Smith & Wesson warned in the manual to watch for bullets becoming unseated. I hope Taurus did their homework. If the Raging Judge turns out to be a good gun I’m definitely getting one.
I’ve got two Judges – love ‘em both. Got a 454 Raging Bull too. But that Raging Judge Mag is just WAY to big! It looks like something The Joker would use against Bat Man! But to each his own…
.
“Yup that is pistol in my pocket and you’d better hope I AM to see you!
.
LOL
I absolutely love giant wheel guns as I fish on the rivers of Kodiak Island, AK and nothing is quite as reassuring as a .454, .460, or .500 mag on the hip.
I have over a dozen .44 mags, (3) .454 Casulls, a .460 S&W and (2) 500 Magnums, one snubby and one 8.3/8″.
My favorite is the S&W .460 Performance Center 3.1/2″ with muzzle break. It’s a snoozer with 45LC, a little “peppier” with .454 Casull loads and the .460 just flap rips the air in half like a top fuel dragster. The first sensation after torching off a 200 GR Hornady SST @ 2200 FPS is……grin, giggle, cock, do it again.
I do wish I could shoot .410 shells out of it though so the RJ Magnum will prolly find it’s way into my collection after all the dust settles.
Like Michelle Pfeiffer said in Scarface, “nothing exceeds like excess”.
While I don’t think this would be a good gun for concealed carry I think it would be a great option for outdoorsman. While it is truly a massive revolver you could easily stick it in a backpack or shoulder holster and take it hunting, hiking, fishing, or whatever. Should you head into bear country the .454 casull would be a great bear defense round and should your adventures turn into a survival situation the ability to shoot the .410 shells would truly aid in the hunting of smaller game for food. While I don’t think it is for everyone I think outdoorsman will be drawn to it for it’s versatility. I myself love the look of a big revolver and will be looking forward to seeing how accurate they shoot the .454. I would definately consider buying one.
Bad-ass not to practical but a hell of a fun gun to shoot probly
Never mind the gun, I just want the girl
Actually, I do own the 3″ chamber ‘magnum’ Judge in stainless, fitted with a LaserGrip… plenty of gun for me.
I have a good number of hand guns and the judge is the only one I would grab in case of an emergency. I guess that is why I have four of them. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know there is always one close at hand.
Sometimes I just like the recoil and boom of a fire breathing hand cannon. The shallow rifling and too long chamber is unlikely to stop me from destroying some water jugs to the amusement of a all my marginally endowed anime-loving hipster friends.
As for a practical purposes it will sit in my car- with .410 in there for poaching roadside grouse and with casull written on the side for making me feel like a big man whenever road ‘rage’ threatens my sense of security and well being.
Silly gun. . .
The combination of the long “jump” the .45 caliber bullet has to make to hit the cylinder gap from the extra long chamber, combined with the guns’ shallow rifling (to help pattern shot) means it will be inaccurate with .454 rounds, the same way that the ordinary Taurus judge is inaccurate with .45LC rounds.
This effectively invalidates this gun as a serious hunting handgun, let alone as a silhouette, target, or match gun.
Its also much bulkier and offers poorer balance than most .454 guns.
The short rifled barrel means that patterning with .410 shot is terrible. Past only 5-6 yards, the pellet spread is so wide, the gun isn’t effective on anything.
In short, you have a poor .45 revolver wedded to a poor .410 shotgun.
As a novelty, this gun is fine.
If you want defense against bears and snakes, in my opinion, you’d be better off with pretty much any conventional big bore revolver (eg .44 magnum, 454, .460, etc) loaded with pistol shot shells.
My buddie has the judge and says unless you stick it in their belly, your not to going hit them with the 45 long, they wouldn’t let him shoot the 410 at the indoor range ???
Well said, beantownshootah, the gun is basically a short barreled shotgun. The barrel is rifled so that they can call it a pistol, and so it’s legal to sell. They say it’s for defending against carjacking, and I imagine it would work well in that capacity. Trying to hunt game with it would be an exercise in futility.