Just as S&W jumps into the .410 shotshell revolver market, Taurus counters with a 28 Gauge monster. The question remains: how big will they do?
The page in the What’s New for 2011 catalog now appears to be “locked” – it’s grayed out and the photos and content won’t click and enlarge…
http://www.taurususa.com/2011newcatalog/?catalog_page=6
…not sure what this means, but it doesn’t look too promising.
5 
0Many years ago I wrote BATF and asked for an opinion on the subject of how deep, how wide, and how fast constituted ‘riflings’. They wrote that there were no such standards and the determing factor was whether they ‘stabilized’ the projectile.
It seems to me that round balls are always ‘stabilized’ in that they do not tumble. Also hollow based projectiles such as foster slugs, finned projectiles, and the original style saboted slugs (I forget the name) are also self stabilizing.
4 0I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of wrists suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly snapped.
1 0Latest news on this is Taurus pulled it after one day at the shot show and is no longer considering manufacturing it. Reasons unknown.
0 0Just read elsewhere that BATFE put the kibosh on the Raging Judge due to bore size as well as the Rossi Trail Judge lever action .410 for a less known reason. I was really wondering how the 28 Gauge was going to fly. Any updates on this Steve?
0 0Tim, I just posted about this on the blog: http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2011/01/25/big-gun-short-lived-taurus-28-gauge-revolver/
0 0If you have to have rifling for legal reasons couldn’t you just cut it straight, wide, and shallow?
-D
0 0@Tux
Why isn’t the Ithaca Deerslayer regulated as a destructive device? It has a rifled barrel and thus is by-definition a .72 caliber(12-gauge) rifle, yet nobody seems to care about that. Could be Taurus is trying to pull a fast one and sneak it by because it doesn’t give-off scary-scary ‘sawed-off shotgun’ vibes.
0 0Finally something to shoot up the boxes of 28 gauge slugs I’ve had stored for a while. Paper hulled rounds stored in a military surplus ammo can for a few decades would be just the ticket….lol.
0 0@ Les
Despite their rifled barrels, slug guns are still considered shotguns under the NFA , which are mentioned as being exempt from the barrel diameter restrictions because they have a legitimate sporting purpose. If the ATF has decided the judge 28 has such a purpose, AFAIK it will be the first time they’ve granted it to a “smoothbore pistol”. Other smoothbore pistols like the serbu super-shorty have previously fallen into the “any other weapon” category.
0 0I just read on thetruthaboutguns.com that they cancelled production on these! NOOOOO!!!!!!! http://thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/01/robert-farago/taurus-cancels-raging-judge/
0 0Thanks Steve! heading there to read it now!
0 0what is the price of revolver
5 shots
0 0According to the one dealer I do business with, who was at the Shot Show, the gun won’t be released because of its bore size. He says he stood right there and heard BATF tell the Taurus reps — “No way.”
I realize opinions vary on this; I’m not trying to start something – just repeating what was said to me.
Bottom line – Taurus removed it from their catalog earlier this past year (2011) and apparently told at least one caller that they were not going to produce the piece.
0 0Too bad they canceled this. I would have loved to have this in a cross draw holster. Purely for some legitimate reason other than fun, I assure you. I can’t think of one, but it will be legitimate.
0 0Now that’s the gun I’v been waiting for to add to my collection. Bravo Taurus! My hat’s off to you.
0 0The Raging Judge looks neat. I like the idea of launching big, slow slugs downrange without having to use a spotting scope to see where they hit the target.
0 0Okay, the .410 Judge is fine. I actually like them after trying the guns at the range. But this monstrosity is just silly.
0 0wow! they ripped off HELLBOY! love it
0 0Yeah, I’ve been wondering the past couple days how they get around the SBS or AOW classification too. If it was just a matter of a rifled barrel, then why couldn’t you do a gun like the Ithaca Auto Burglar again in 20 gauge with a rifled barrel? I’m guessing there’s more to it than simply the rifled barrel.
0 0Since I am guessing it doesn’t fire alternate pistol rounds like the .410 Judge does, would one encounter any restrictions trying to buy this? Is this not just a short barreled shotgun?
0 0Up next: a Serbu Super-Shorty based on Remington’s 8 gauge kiln gun.
0 0This thing obviously has to have rifling in the barrel. Is there a way for them to kind of game the system so that it has rifling while not comprising shot patterns at ranges past 15 feet? Seems like it would be fun to hunt something like quail with this if I could be convinced it would do an efficient job of taking the bird cleanly out to a reasonable range.
0 0Nice and cheap way for plicking!
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Wallet empty!
I am broke!
0 0that little lass couldn’t even properly hold that thing to shoot it! smoothbore shot shooting pistols are pretty cool though. you couldn’t get a much more solid and reliable zombie apocalypse defense weapon than a revolver that shoots 12 or 20 gauge now could you…
0 0There’s a 12-gauge, 4 or 5-shot revolver made by some Russian sporting guns manufacturer. I’ve joked that Taurus needs to get the rights to it and call it the Supreme Court Justice.
0 0Like everyone else here, I would like to know how this isn’t a NFA weapon, or is it? Or did the ATF finally realize they are a waste of tax payers money and their laws are useless; so they just said, fuck it, do what ever you want Taurus.
0 0you make it ! ill buy it ! keep the price in reason !!people love hand cannons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
0 0Is it possible the barrel ID tapers to 0.500 at the end? Would that make it for legal purposed 50-cal?
0 0Pass, but the Tracker in .22 sounds interesting.
0 0I don’t understand how this thing isn’t an aow or other NFA regulated gun.
Whereas the Judge is, for NFA purposes, a .45 lc pistol, a 28 gauge bbl should measure about .55 caliber… which puts it into destructive device territory. I’d be interested to know what type of legal gymnastics Taurus had to perform to get that thing approved for import.
0 0I have a reputation for dissing on shotgun pistols, but this is just too cool…
-D
0 0I’m with Tux on this one. IANAL but this looks like an AOW to me…
0 0Why can’t someone chamber a revolver in 7.62×39?
0 1It’s because the cartridge is bottle-necked. Revolvers historically have had issues with powerful bottleneck cartridges. Something about the recoil shaking them out of the cylinder.
0 0Taurus are no fools by having an attractive girl holding this pistol, the phallic imagery only should appeal directly to their demographic.
All you need are the words ‘Are you embarrassed by your tiny pistol? Are you concerned by it’s lack of fire power? Now you can impress all the girls at the range with your meaty Raging Judge and it’s 8″ barrel.’
What a stupid, useless waste of man hours and materials.
0 2
what is the price of revolver
5 shots
According to the one dealer I do business with, who was at the Shot Show, the gun won’t be released because of its bore size. He says he stood right there and heard BATF tell the Taurus reps — “No way.”
I realize opinions vary on this; I’m not trying to start something – just repeating what was said to me.
Bottom line – Taurus removed it from their catalog earlier this past year (2011) and apparently told at least one caller that they were not going to produce the piece.
Why can’t someone chamber a revolver in 7.62×39?
It’s because the cartridge is bottle-necked. Revolvers historically have had issues with powerful bottleneck cartridges. Something about the recoil shaking them out of the cylinder.
Too bad they canceled this. I would have loved to have this in a cross draw holster. Purely for some legitimate reason other than fun, I assure you. I can’t think of one, but it will be legitimate.
The page in the What’s New for 2011 catalog now appears to be “locked” – it’s grayed out and the photos and content won’t click and enlarge…
http://www.taurususa.com/2011newcatalog/?catalog_page=6
…not sure what this means, but it doesn’t look too promising.
Many years ago I wrote BATF and asked for an opinion on the subject of how deep, how wide, and how fast constituted ‘riflings’. They wrote that there were no such standards and the determing factor was whether they ‘stabilized’ the projectile.
It seems to me that round balls are always ‘stabilized’ in that they do not tumble. Also hollow based projectiles such as foster slugs, finned projectiles, and the original style saboted slugs (I forget the name) are also self stabilizing.
Now that’s the gun I’v been waiting for to add to my collection. Bravo Taurus! My hat’s off to you.
Thanks Steve! heading there to read it now!
I just read on thetruthaboutguns.com that they cancelled production on these! NOOOOO!!!!!!! http://thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/01/robert-farago/taurus-cancels-raging-judge/
Latest news on this is Taurus pulled it after one day at the shot show and is no longer considering manufacturing it. Reasons unknown.
Just read elsewhere that BATFE put the kibosh on the Raging Judge due to bore size as well as the Rossi Trail Judge lever action .410 for a less known reason. I was really wondering how the 28 Gauge was going to fly. Any updates on this Steve?
Tim, I just posted about this on the blog: http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2011/01/25/big-gun-short-lived-taurus-28-gauge-revolver/
If you have to have rifling for legal reasons couldn’t you just cut it straight, wide, and shallow?
-D
@ Les
Despite their rifled barrels, slug guns are still considered shotguns under the NFA , which are mentioned as being exempt from the barrel diameter restrictions because they have a legitimate sporting purpose. If the ATF has decided the judge 28 has such a purpose, AFAIK it will be the first time they’ve granted it to a “smoothbore pistol”. Other smoothbore pistols like the serbu super-shorty have previously fallen into the “any other weapon” category.
Finally something to shoot up the boxes of 28 gauge slugs I’ve had stored for a while. Paper hulled rounds stored in a military surplus ammo can for a few decades would be just the ticket….lol.
@Tux
Why isn’t the Ithaca Deerslayer regulated as a destructive device? It has a rifled barrel and thus is by-definition a .72 caliber(12-gauge) rifle, yet nobody seems to care about that. Could be Taurus is trying to pull a fast one and sneak it by because it doesn’t give-off scary-scary ‘sawed-off shotgun’ vibes.
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of wrists suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly snapped.
The Raging Judge looks neat. I like the idea of launching big, slow slugs downrange without having to use a spotting scope to see where they hit the target.
you make it ! ill buy it ! keep the price in reason !!people love hand cannons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like everyone else here, I would like to know how this isn’t a NFA weapon, or is it? Or did the ATF finally realize they are a waste of tax payers money and their laws are useless; so they just said, fuck it, do what ever you want Taurus.
Is it possible the barrel ID tapers to 0.500 at the end? Would that make it for legal purposed 50-cal?
Pass, but the Tracker in .22 sounds interesting.
I’m with Tux on this one. IANAL but this looks like an AOW to me…
I have a reputation for dissing on shotgun pistols, but this is just too cool…
-D
I don’t understand how this thing isn’t an aow or other NFA regulated gun.
Whereas the Judge is, for NFA purposes, a .45 lc pistol, a 28 gauge bbl should measure about .55 caliber… which puts it into destructive device territory. I’d be interested to know what type of legal gymnastics Taurus had to perform to get that thing approved for import.
There’s a 12-gauge, 4 or 5-shot revolver made by some Russian sporting guns manufacturer. I’ve joked that Taurus needs to get the rights to it and call it the Supreme Court Justice.
Taurus are no fools by having an attractive girl holding this pistol, the phallic imagery only should appeal directly to their demographic.
All you need are the words ‘Are you embarrassed by your tiny pistol? Are you concerned by it’s lack of fire power? Now you can impress all the girls at the range with your meaty Raging Judge and it’s 8″ barrel.’
What a stupid, useless waste of man hours and materials.
Yeah, I’ve been wondering the past couple days how they get around the SBS or AOW classification too. If it was just a matter of a rifled barrel, then why couldn’t you do a gun like the Ithaca Auto Burglar again in 20 gauge with a rifled barrel? I’m guessing there’s more to it than simply the rifled barrel.
wow! they ripped off HELLBOY! love it
Okay, the .410 Judge is fine. I actually like them after trying the guns at the range. But this monstrosity is just silly.
Since I am guessing it doesn’t fire alternate pistol rounds like the .410 Judge does, would one encounter any restrictions trying to buy this? Is this not just a short barreled shotgun?
Up next: a Serbu Super-Shorty based on Remington’s 8 gauge kiln gun.
Nice and cheap way for plicking!
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Wallet empty!
I am broke!
This thing obviously has to have rifling in the barrel. Is there a way for them to kind of game the system so that it has rifling while not comprising shot patterns at ranges past 15 feet? Seems like it would be fun to hunt something like quail with this if I could be convinced it would do an efficient job of taking the bird cleanly out to a reasonable range.
that little lass couldn’t even properly hold that thing to shoot it! smoothbore shot shooting pistols are pretty cool though. you couldn’t get a much more solid and reliable zombie apocalypse defense weapon than a revolver that shoots 12 or 20 gauge now could you…