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Posted by Troll
- November 29, 2015, 09:36:14 AMI 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?
Posted by Troll
- October 19, 2015, 08:51:24 AMSo 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.
Posted by Troll
- October 18, 2015, 17:59:00 PMNot much to say, at this point. the video says it all https://picasaweb.google.com/109550952480484427597/October182015Judge#6207123059192046546
Posted by 49Reo
- October 11, 2015, 21:42:19 PMI 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
Posted by Troll
- October 10, 2015, 14:33:52 PMQuote from: 49Reo on October 10, 2015, 14:08:03 PMI 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.....
Posted by 49Reo
- October 10, 2015, 14:08:03 PMI 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..... 
Posted by Troll
- October 09, 2015, 10:58:17 AMQuote from: 49Reo on October 09, 2015, 00:22:19 AMYou 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!
Posted by 49Reo
- October 09, 2015, 00:22:19 AMYou could have gone for a BFR....not a concealable gun, but takes the starch out of the bad guys' sails real quick.....
Posted by Troll
- October 05, 2015, 20:02:18 PMThere 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.
Posted by greenbarn
- October 05, 2015, 19:43:38 PMDad 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
Posted by Troll
- October 05, 2015, 11:21:39 AMI 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
Posted by 49Reo
- October 05, 2015, 10:44:33 AMWell congrats on your new family member.....lol nice. Curious to know what the recoil will be like on such a small revolver.
Posted by Troll
- October 05, 2015, 09:53:45 AMThe 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..
Posted by CDNRatMan
- October 05, 2015, 09:39:56 AM 
ever consider it might not be the weapon or the ammo, might be operator issues....
Posted by Troll
- October 05, 2015, 08:29:18 AMYes, 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: