Self Defense weapon

Troll · December 19, 2015, 17:02:07 PM

Went out to the range today. Getting better with the little cannon....10 shots, rapid fire, 9 yards, 240 gr. semi flat nose lead

Troll · December 06, 2015, 20:31:59 PM

OK...I think I found the magic combination for my Judge. Hornady triple defense 410 slug/buck shot cartridges....Very consistent and I have already tried the penetration, by shooting through the door of n '88 Chevy Corsica...window was up, but the inner door panel came off....Red pasters for the Hornady FTX slugs, and green for Federal 000 defense buck shot. All shots were at 7 yards...the maximum distance at the Gander Mountain range.....
Before there are any smart remarks, the pasters are pre-printed garage sale stickers I had laying around...

Troll · November 29, 2015, 09:36:14 AM

I took a firearm self defense class at Gander Mountain yesterday. I was figuring that rusty (from 1970) skills were better than nothing, but after taking the class, I am glad I did. There were many facets to the class, from legal issues, to techniques and equipment. There was a 1 hour range session included with the $99 class fee (that's usually $25 to use the live range all by itself). There were 15 people in the class, and when we went to the live fire range to "qualify" it was a chance to get serious with the Judge. There were a few people with .380s, and mostly 9mms....and me. We had to shoot 30 rounds, 2 handed, left handed and right handed, at 15 and 21 feet and get 30 hits inside the silhouette outline. They suggested we bring 50 rounds just to be sure. It was a pretty interesting experience. There were 4 shooters at a time...pop, pop, pop, BOOM....Mostly they were shooting slow fire, and that's how I started out, but quickly moved to rapid fire using D.A. I was going to count the 90 holes in the target, but the middle of the 8-10 ring was completely gone by the time I was done....This might be a solution to the carnival game where you shoot the red star out of the paper...ya think they'll let me use my own gun?

Troll · October 19, 2015, 08:51:24 AM

So far, I'm really pleased with the performance. The patterning with various kinds of specifically designed shot shells is very consistent, and even with the 2" barrel on this version, the accuracy is very good. All the loads easily penetrated a steel building wall panel at 25', and almost all the shot wads managed to penetrate the 1/2" plywood the targets were attached to. I've not shot a handgun since I had carpal tunnel surgery 8 years ago, and my skills are just a bit rusty. I'm sure the piece is much more capable than I am. I put a set of Pachmayr Diamond Pro grips on and this was the first time I tried it with those. Big improvement over the small round butt grip it came with. Perceived recoil is much less due, I would think, to spreading the impact over a larger area. I put 30 rnds through it and my hand didn't even notice it.....This one is a "concealed carry" model, so it's built on a small frame, with the short barrel. There are so many variations on this theme, it would be difficult to describe them all (but after owning this one, might be something to try and collect!) I have noticed one thing, however, on internet postings. The poly frame model seems to have some inherent issues. I like steel anyway, so that wasn't even something on my "radar" when researching it. Here's a picture of one of my "targets" with a single shot from a Hornady Critical Defense triple load.

Troll · October 18, 2015, 17:59:00 PM

Not much to say, at this point. the video says it all https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/October182015Judge#6207123059192046546

49Reo · October 11, 2015, 21:42:19 PM

I sold one a couple of weeks ago; an 1871 manufacture Remington Rolling Block, and have about 4 others in the bullpen waiting for a new home...... starting to thin them down, but I like my .45-70's....wife says it is more obsession than 'like'......lol

Troll · October 10, 2015, 14:33:52 PM

Quote from: 49Reo on October 10, 2015, 14:08:03 PM
I understand that thing about not having a new gun in the last 25 years.....its been at least 2 months since I bought on.....starting to have withdrawals.....

49Reo · October 10, 2015, 14:08:03 PM

I understand that thing about not having a new gun in the last 25 years.....its been at least 2 months since I bought on.....starting to have withdrawals.....

Troll · October 09, 2015, 10:58:17 AM

Quote from: 49Reo on October 09, 2015, 00:22:19 AM
You could have gone for a BFR....not a concealable gun, but takes the starch out of the bad guys' sails real quick.....

I needed something to take on the road when I'm going on a trip. I probably won't carry it any differently than I did my .45. I have a nice 12 ga pump at home and my wife has a .22 mag, so since I haven't had a new gun in 25 years, I thought a change might be in order...The thing is a hoot to shoot, too!

49Reo · October 09, 2015, 00:22:19 AM

You could have gone for a BFR....not a concealable gun, but takes the starch out of the bad guys' sails real quick.....

Troll · October 05, 2015, 20:02:18 PM

There are so many variations on this theme, you can't hardly believe it. From the Public Defender line, alone there are at least 4 variants. Then there are the medium frame variants, and the large frame variants...and then the "Raging Judge" line chambered for 454 casull.....and then there is the "Circuit Judge" which is a revolving carbine....2 1/2" cylinders, 3" cylinders, Poly frames, stainless, one with a titanium cylinder, the ultralight version...poking through the catalog on line will keep you busy for a while. Shop around though. Prices vary as much as the versions do.

greenbarn · October 05, 2015, 19:43:38 PM

Dad had a Smith & Wesson 500 magnum. It was actually painful to shoot. The muzzle was ported from the factor, to minimize the muzzle rise, which it did to some extent. However, the result was that when you fired it, it felt like someone had just hit the end of the gun (back into your palm) with a baseball bat. It was a 5 shot, like the judge, and that was all you wanted to shoot it at one time.

Dad's was the 8" barrel (I think), but a friend of mine had the 4". That was ridiculous... If you would shoot it anywhere close to dusk, the visible flames were quite extensive...

But, back on topic, I had been looking at those Judges some time ago, but never picked one up. Now you've re-piqued my curiosity... thanks for the update

Troll · October 05, 2015, 11:21:39 AM

I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't anything like I was expecting. Not a whole lot more than I got with my 1911. I put 12 shots through it in that first session, and I could tell the difference between loads by the amount of recoil. The Herter's with 3 000 buck was the lightest, and the Remington Critical defense with 4 000 buck was the heaviest. The 230 gr hjhp was kind of in the middle, and pretty much the same as the PDX-1

49Reo · October 05, 2015, 10:44:33 AM

Well congrats on your new family member.....lol nice. Curious to know what the recoil will be like on such a small revolver.

Troll · October 05, 2015, 09:53:45 AM

The three holes close together are the three 35 cal. discs and the small holes are the 12 bb shot loaded behind the discs...all in all, since it hit about 2" to the right of hold, I'm pretty happy with it. I'm going to nudge the front sight a little to the right and try it again when I get a chance..

CDNRatMan · October 05, 2015, 09:39:56 AM

ever consider it might not be the weapon or the ammo, might be operator issues....

ok I finally post on this thread now to go and just hide......

Troll · October 05, 2015, 08:29:18 AM

Yes, it is. $1.80 each in .410, however compared to everything else I tested on Saturday, they were the best for consistency and pattern. 2" barrel at 7 yards:

DC · October 05, 2015, 00:44:23 AM

The PDX1 line is generally pricey stuff, and I guess they can charge a premium as these are specialized loads. I have a few boxes of 12 gauge PDX1, but I'm reserving their use for only special occasions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg44jDOL8jo

Troll · October 01, 2015, 12:20:45 PM

Sooooo, it's finally here, in my hands. Took a lot longer to get than I had expected. Shipped from Minneapolis on Monday, arrived at the shop on Wed. (I could have gone up there and gotten it in 6 hours)....Wisconsin has recently done away with their 48 hour waiting period for handgun purchases, the "instant" background check is supposed to be enough. So I filled out all the forms (the last time I bought a handgun was 25 years ago..all I had to do was pay for it and wait 48 hours before I could pick it up). At 1:00 the counter guy calls in my information. They say they will call him back, shortly...yeah, bull$hit. They called back this morning about 10 am...he calls me, and I go to get it, fill out more paperwork, and now I have it. Glad this wasn't a gun show purchase, I would still be waiting for the "instant" background check! So some pictures: remember, this is chambered for .45 Colt and .410 shotgun. I picked up a small sampling of different kinds of defense ammo designed for it. Regular shotgun and pistol ammo is not optimized for the Judge, so I decided to make sure I was getting the most out of the piece. The videos I posted were done with the same model, with 2" barrel that I bought, except he opted for the stainless model....That PDX-1 stuff looks quite interesting. I hope to get a chance to test fire it on the weekend...

Troll · September 25, 2015, 08:58:20 AM

Pictures soon. Still waiting for the call to come and pick it up...Found a 20 rnd combo pack from Remington with .45 lc half jacket hollow points and 000 Buck shot .410s designed for the Judge and the S&W Governor...and it has a $5 mail in rebate...Wife says "How much ammunition do you need" I say, we have to practice with new weapon and still have some left for it's purpose, so probably a lot! I found a neat youtube video with a guy testing various loads in the same model I bought. his conclusions make sense...maybe the 4 000 buck loads are a better choice than the 3 disk/12 bb loads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNVXuspaJtE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDMDd4eAQO0

Old Drifter · September 24, 2015, 20:48:00 PM

Congrats on your new weapon! Remember, they're like potato chips...you must have more than one.

Troll · September 24, 2015, 08:11:56 AM

I went around last night, looking for the PDX410 shotgun loads, and bought 1 box of 10...When I got home I dug out a box under my work bench that I thought had some 215 gr .45 L.C.... All it had was a box of once fired cases, and 200 rnds of .44 mag and 100 .45 auto. I'm going to ask the people at the gun store if they want to give me something for the stuff I already had. they are also a pawn shop, so maybe...

49Reo · September 23, 2015, 23:17:16 PM

Nothing makes me smile...like getting a new gun!!!. Congrats on it. We can't have anything under 4 1/2" up here in Canukistan......

greenbarn · September 23, 2015, 22:25:46 PM

Congratulations, it's always nice getting a new gun.

Troll · September 23, 2015, 12:44:55 PM

Ok, then I "pulled the trigger" on the deal. The second place I went had given me a price of $439.00. I printed off the Spec sheet from Taurus, and called Cabelas this morning. I had them check inventory and they claimed they had one in stock. I almost went down there, this morning, but decided to check with the gun shop that had given me the better price. Just for the hell of it, I took my Llama .45 with me. He checked the spec sheet against his supplier, and found they had 2 in stock that were the exact model number I was looking for.
I asked him if he was interested in a partial payment with the Llama...I paid $210 for it more than 20 years ago, and although it's been all over the country, it still is basically "new"....Bottom line, The new Judge I wanted cost me my Llama and $39. Since I was planning to carry the Judge instead, anyway, there was no real reason to keep the .45, but 400 reasons to send it down the road. By the way, the M.S.R.P. on the Judge is $607.00. They expect it to arrive by Monday, next.