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:

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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!