Judge Public Defender

I have a Public Defender Poly. It's been very good so far. the accuracy with 45 Colt ammo is far better than I had expected. With the new handgun specific buckshot loads from Federal, and Remington, along with the Winchester PDX1 rounds it holds a tight pattern of buckshot to at least 10 yards. With # 7 1/2 shot it shoots a certain snake proof pattern at 10 feet.
Lots of other threads on this forum, so use the search feature on the tool bar above to get plenty of pros and cons.
The biggest cons come from people who don't like Taurus anything, and those who think the Judge idea is nothing but a gimmick.
that's something you will have to decide for yourself.

Here is what a professional has to say:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOq9a8sAHfg
http://www.downrange.tv/blog/drtv-weekly-shot-show-edition-day-2/1432/
 
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I picked up a steel 2" Judge PD a couple of months ago. I also found the accuracy of the 45 colt to be much better than expected. I have not shot any 410 out of it yet.

It was the first Taurus firearm I have owned (since bought a TCP 738 which I also love) and contray to what I have read about Taurus (from some), it seems to be a very well built gun. Locks up as tight as any of my 6 Ruger revolvers. Blued finish is really nice. Recoil is not to bad. Similar to my 357 snub nose SP101.

I really like it. Picked it up on sale from the Sportsman's Wharehouse for $379. Bought it just for a fun gun. Lots of my hunting buddies who are not into handguns, seem to be interested in it and figured it would be a good incentive to get some of them out to the range with me (more people into handguns is a good thing right?)

Glad I bought it and after my positive experience I would not think twice about using it as a nightstand gun or truck gun.

I probably would not recommend it for someones only SD gun, but it can be a solid piece to a good handgun collection
 
A friend of mine had a problem with the cylinder stop on his. I was in a gun store a couple years ago and a guy brought one in and said he needed it sent back to taurus to get fixed. Said it had already been in once for the same issue. I didn't own a judge but I had a 605 and the cylinder pin would get stuck bad on it. I was able to fix it myself and I then sold the gun and replaced it with a ruger sp101.

Personally I don't particularly trust any taurus guns and I really don't believe in 410 revolvers for defense.
 
Not a very good use of money unless it is purchased as a play-thing. The "Judge" concept is very, very poor for self-defense. Many, many better pistols and revolvers for self-defense.
 
well the guns can be tempermental on what ammunition you use however this can be said.

if a 6 shot semi auto chambered in 25 or 32 acp is superior to my 5 shot revolver from a modern tactical standpoint then a revolver that can put 4-5 9mm diameter holes in a target with a single triggerpull, is superior.

however, if you can get one that has not been used as a display model. i have yet to see a store clerk or customer who cannot resist snapping the cylinder on these like bogart
 
I was half way expecting the typical Taurus bashing but this thread has been pretty good. The last artical was great, all the test runned are really interesting.
 
TaurusMan, That is the first true review of 410 handgun specific load performance I've seen. Kinda refutes all the "useless gimmick" theory of the Judge detractors. It also backs up my choice of my Poly for a traveling companion!
 
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Taurus Public Defender UL 20 OZ This gun is like carrying a Charter Bulldog on the hip....

Never considered one of these till I saw just how effective Federal 410 Handgun ammo was with the 000 Buck Shot
Made a believer out of me.... and it was a tuff sell..

At 15 ft makes one large hole..in Ballistic Gel it penetrates 12 + inches


But it its a real life close SD firearm real world 0 to 15 ft it is deadly ..thats with the Federal Handgun 000 Buck


You'll hear bashers ... But I have 12 + Handguns ..Sig & Ruger ,S&W and other brands,.. but I carried my Judge today...and yesterday
 
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I can't say anything about the specific model you are wanting, but they are good guns. Just for a heads up, cheap place for 000 is Walmart in Federal. The action is reliable and I've never experienced a problem while shooting a Judge. I've shot anything from cowboy action loads, soft points, and ballistic tipped rounds in .45lc. And I've shot pretty much every kind of .410 shell. I haven't tried pdxi yet, but have a box to try. I love Federal 000 in 3 inch, they have 5 pellots, and the 2 1/2 inch ones have 4 pellots. I suggest staying away from Remington ammo, I've had quality issues. I like Winchester ammo, never had an issue. The same goes for .45lc. If you want a speedloader, 5starfirearms.com sells them. In .45lc, the Circuit Judge guns are very accurate. I've shot the stems off of the tops of pumpkins, done it a few times. And when when shooting small shot, they pattern tighter than expected. And with 000 at around 20 yards all of the pellots are within a square foot, probably a little less. I'd really like to get a 6 inch barreled revolver. The only negative things I've heard about anyone are from people that haven't even shot a Taurus Judge.
 
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