Wheelgun Wednesday: Return Of The Raging Judge
One of the most notorious self-defense revolvers of the past couple of decades is back in production—in limited production—and it offers a lot of firepower in a hand-cannon package. The Taurus Raging Judge has returned to the lineup, offering your choice of a standard cowboy cartridge, a heavy-duty bear-buster, or a buckshot load.
Trick shooting @ TFB:
A handgun with hitting power
Remember the old TV commercial about tacos? That might have been the inspiration when Taurus released its first Judge revolver in the mid-2000s—”A handgun or a shotgun for home defense? Why not have both?”.
The first-generation Taurus Judge was chambered in .45 Long Colt and could also handle 2.5-inch .410-bore shotshells, due to a long chamber. While the revolver was first called the 4410, then the 4510, the Taurus backstory behind the name change to the Judge was that the Taurus bigwigs allegedly found out judges were buying the revolvers for self-protection, reasoning that the .410 shotshells had less risk of over-penetration in the crowded confines of a courtroom.
Maybe you believe that, maybe you don’t. But the idea of a revolver that fired a shotgun load has appealed to many buyers since, with some worried about over-penetration of a bullet and opting instead for a shotshell load. Others might think their chance of hitting a target goes up with a multi-pellet buckshot load instead of a single projectile. And for some users, the option to carry a .410 birdshot load is ideal because they’re carrying the gun for pests like snakes, not two-legged predators.
The reason this doesn’t fall under SBS/SBR restrictions (as a short-barreled shotgun) is that its barrel is rifled. It’s a .45-caliber revolver, and .410 shotshells will fit, but it’s a handgun, not a sawed-off shotgun.
In the case of the Raging Judge, this version of the revolver is chambered not just in the cowboy-era .45LC, but also the stretched-out .454 Casull, which means a big upgrade in hitting power. It can also handle 3-inch .410 loads, not just the shorter 2.5-inch shotshells. It was originally introduced in 2010, but discontinued in 2019 as Taurus wanted to focus on the Raging Bull series of revolvers. Now, it’s back.
Previous versions of the Raging Judge came in a long-barreled 6.5-inch configuration on a large-framed revolver. The current version has a 3-inch barrel, a matte stainless-steel finish, a rubber grip for better control and fiber-optic sights (the rear notch is non-adjustable). It fires in single-action or double-action mode, and has a six-round cylinder. It weighs 61 ounces and is 10.2 inches long overall. MSRP is listed at $1,337.99 on the Taurus website—see more here. Pricey, but if you want to carry the same handgun as Tuco Salamanca, accept no substitutes!
Professional hoser with fudd-ish leanings.
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I think Taurus should come out with a new, further evolution of the "Judge" concept, and design the Raging Chief Justice, chambered in .500 Bushwacker, but should also collaborate with a shotshell company to design and manufacture "37 Gauge Magnum" shotshells (37 gauge equates to about .50 caliber, and I know "37 bore" would be a more technically accurate designation of a round developed to be fired from a rifled bore, but I think this is a project where one can afford to play fast and loose with terminology 🤣 ). The 37 gauge shotshell would be loaded to .500 Bushwacker chamber pressures (which is to say, really, .500 S&W Magnum chamber pressures), so Raging Chief Justice owners can choose among .500 S&W Special, .500 JRH, 500 S&W Magnum, .500 Bushwacker, and 37 Gauge Magnum.
Of course, that might just be me 😉.
Doesn't the .410 shot tear up the barrel's rifling?