Video: Thoroughly Testing & Reviewing The Taurus Judge

Taurus has been on this kick lately where they introduce ridiculous-looking firearms that are surprisingly quite field expedient. Last year, I met the 10-inch .460 Raging Hunter. It looked comical with its elongated barrel and tank brake-esque muzzle device. However, shooting it was pleasant enough to give that cartridge another look. Contempt without prior investigation can be one of the most debilitating practices in an adult’s life. So I try to avoid falling into this trap anytime it rears its ugly head. If I had, I would have never gained the appreciation that I have for hunting, cooking wild game, competitive shooting, or the new Taurus Judge Home Defender.

Testing the Taurus Judge Home Defender

I’ll admit, when the press release rolled into my inbox, I took one look at the picture and said, “OK, now they’re just running out of ideas.” However, when I joined one of the first groups of writers to fire it at the 2023 Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous, my attitude changed. Initially it appeared to be a “hip-fire” weapon. But after picking it up, I quickly realized that it was more than light enough to shoot from a standard pistol stance. Moreover, provisions were made to safely put your hand in front of the cylinder, something you don’t see every day. Then, after putting five rounds of .45 Colt on a pig target set out at 150 yards, I realized there was something quite interesting there. With that in mind, I requested a sample and eagerly awaited its arrival.

Why Buy it for Home Defense?

So the big question is: “Why should I choose this for home defense?” As you and your family’s life might hinge on that answer, it’s certainly a valid one. To answer that completely, we must examine both the ammunition and the firearm slinging it.

As there are plenty of dead cowboys out there, I don’t think I need to sell anybody on the effectiveness of .45 Colt. However, there is a mystical trepidation to using .410 bore shotshells for self-defense that must be dispelled. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a gun store clerk dismiss the potency of even 20-gauge, and this just needs to stop. By the numbers, even a light #6 .410 game load produces somewhere around 700 ft.-lbs. of energy at the muzzle, which is roughly twice the power of .45 ACP. Not lightweight bullseye loads either, but real 230-grain F-around-and-find-out rounds like the ones Grandpa used to kill Nazis with. Ironically, the same guy who’ll tell you that .410 “isn’t enough” is also typically the guy trying to sell you a 1911, but I digress.

Not only is .410 sufficient to stop a threat, but it also edges out 12 and 20 gauge in a few categories. First, it’s almost always subsonic. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s hearing-safe, but your hearing will recover in days as opposed to weeks after firing it in a confined space. You also have a lesser chance of permanent hearing damage. The other advantage you’ll see is my favorite, and that is pattern control.

Get Yourself a Shotgun … Sorta

Experts like that guy behind the gun counter and Joe Biden have instilled in us that all we need to do is “get a shotgun” and point it toward an attacker, indiscriminately spraying lead in that general direction. The problem with that is we’re responsible for every pellet that leaves the muzzle. That means the few that stopped in the threat, the handful that went through the wall, and the two that made it across the yard and killed the infant sleeping in the crib next door. Yeah, we ought to rethink the “blanketing” method of home defense. In the case of .410, you’re working with less lead, flying at a more realistic velocity, making it easier to not only keep your pellets on the threat but inside of your home as well.

So, if you agree with me on using .410, the question of why I chose this Judge over a shotgun still remains. There are plenty of good ones, but I think paramount is the ease of follow-up shots. When compared to a pump action, pressing the trigger a second time is undoubtedly faster than racking the action. The argument can be made that semi-autos are faster still, but factor in just one jam, and the old reliable wheelgun is still quicker.

The last point I’ll make is the availability of “slugs.” Should you want to shoot a .410-bore shotgun at paper or take it deer hunting, sourcing slugs for the sub-gauge remains problematic. Once found, you’ll likely hesitate to buy more than a box of five after glancing at the price tag. However, with the Judge Home Defender, all you need to do is grab (or make) a box of .45 Colt ammo for your single-projectile needs. In most cases, this ammo prices 50-percent less. It also shoots significantly more accurate, as this handgun features a rifled barrel.

Shooting .45 Colt and .410 Ammo through the Judge Home Defender.

Feature Rich

Taurus’s Judge Home Defender is built to make you want to shoot it, plain and simple. Aside from being larger, it’s also fair to describe it as a Gen2 to the original, as there are some stark improvements—first up is longer, three-inch chambers. On the surface, it looks like Taurus was solely interested in opening the design up to heavier-hitting fodder, and it does.

However, if you know your Judge history, then you know that you could fire 3-inch shells out of the old 2.5-inch chambers–you just couldn’t get them out. When these longer shells are accidentally fired, the crimp unrolls and wedges into the forcing cone. The only way to get the gun operational again is to beat the cylinder open with a mallet. Ask me how I know. So, although this move puts magnum shells on the table, I consider this a reliable move, as it’s easy to grab the wrong shell in the middle of the night.

Taurus also put a tremendous amount of work into ensuring that the Home Defender can safely be fired with a hand both for and aft. This was done through the installation of a pair of blast shields that direct gases escaping from the cylinder gap away from your hands. Forward of this is an elongated forend with aggressive texturing for your support hand. On the underside of this forend, you’ll find a four-slot Picatinny section, which is perfect for flashlights or lasers, both handy if you are forced to shoot from the hip.

Setting it up

If I had to fault the Home Defender in one category, it’s that it doesn’t include any sights. Taurus was gracious enough to include a Picatinny rail for an optic, but other than that, there isn’t so much as a bead on the front end. If this product ever sees a revision, I’d like to see a front sight post and a narrowly notched Picatinny rail that could serve as a crude rear sight. Anyway, I took advantage of the pic rail by mounting an EOTech EFLX red dot and had everything I needed for accurate fire. I chose this optic for its brilliant 6 MOA reticle that is situated within one of the largest lenses in the industry. This ensures rapid acquisition of the dot and ease of presentation, even in compromised positions.

The Taurus Judge Home Defender proved easy to shoot.

With the glass securely mounted, it was time to pick out ammunition. I wanted to be as diverse as possible, so I ensured my selections in both categories were as widespread as possible. For .45 Colt, I grabbed Hornady’s 185-grain Defense, which features their FTX bullet that is designed to expand at even the lower velocities associated with this cartridge. As a practice load, Fiocchi’s Range Dynamics seemed appropriate, as its reduced recoil would make it fun to shoot in volume.

This left defensive shotshells, which are always fun to work with. Turning to Hornady again, their .410 Triple Defense load is one of the more interesting on the market. The first pill out of the pipe is a .41-caliber FTX slug, ensuring an accurate center hit. It is followed up by a pair of 35-caliber round balls, to produce a complete, yet predictable pattern. To take advantage of the three-inch chamber, I decided to go with Remington’s Ultimate Defense 000 Buckshot. The extra half-inch allows for a fifth pellet, ensuring your target is fully engulfed with leaded fury.

Range Day

I began my day by zeroing the optic with the Fiocchi Range Dynamics ammunition. The first time I pressed the trigger, I was reminded of how clean it was. In single action, I measured a break at 6 pounds, 2 ounces, which is fair for a defensive firearm. The double action was incredibly smooth for a production revolver but broke at 11 pounds, 10 ounces. Again, for a firearm that might be destined for a high-adrenaline environment, a heavy trigger isn’t a bad thing. More importantly, it didn’t affect its accuracy, which was downright impressive.

Testing both shotshells at the same 15 yards that I evaluated the .45 Colt ammo confirmed my feelings on pattern containment. Hornady’s load performed as intended, with the slug hitting damn near where the dot was, while the wingmen didn’t spread beyond the A-zone of a standard IPSC target. After covering the holes with a Target Barn Repair Center (Targetbarn.com), I experimented with Remington’s Ultimate Defense and was deeply pleased with the results. All pellets landed safely inside the threat, with the largest patterns barely cracking the D-zone.

TEST AMMO:

Final Shots

I finished the day by shooting the revolver from my feet using a variety of two-handed and one-handed grips. Then I played around with some hip shooting, which is effective in a pinch. I found the Home Defender to be less cumbersome than I thought and easily manageable, particularly when I employed the push-pull method of stabilizing it.

The Taurus Judge Home Defender turned out to be quite capable and enjoyable to take to the range. I could write chapters on how this firearm and ammunition proved excellent tools for the task. But what’s wrong with it just being fun to shoot? In reality, that’s one of the most important characteristics of a defensive firearm. If you don’t look forward to practice sessions, then you won’t practice. If you don’t practice, you’ll likely come up short in a real-life encounter. Call me crazy, but that’s reason enough to add one of these to your home defense plan. For information, visit taurususa.com.

Taurus Judge Home Defender Specs

Caliber: .45 Colt/.410
Barrel: 13 inches
OA Length: 19.5 inches
Weight: 58.6 ounces
Grips: Rubber
Sights: None; Picatinny Rail
Action: DA/SA
Finish: Matte Black
Capacity: 5
MSRP: $729.99

Performance

Load	Velocity	Accuracy
Hornady 185-grain Critical Defense FTX	1,112	1.11
Fiocchi 255-grain Range Dynamics CMJ	817	0.54
Hornady Triple Defense Shotshell	1,091	4.25*
Remington Ultimate Defense Shotshell	1,002	10.12*

Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in feet per second, and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups from 15 yards. *Shot pattern max diameter.

On September 15, 2023, Ballistic reported:

The home defense revolver just got swole. The new Taurus Judge Home Defender brings a beefed up new version of the company’s popular Judge, chambered in .410/.45 Colt.

Taurus Judge Home Defender Details

The Home Defender sports a massive 13-inch barrel, engineered to ensure optimal performance from both .45 Colt and .410, according to Taurus. The top of the receiver includes a Picatinny rail for the attachment of a primary optic. The cylinder accepts .410 shells up to 3 inches in length.

Up front, the Home Defender comes with a a forend accessory rail. For home defense, users can mount a white light or laser. For range sessions, a bipod would enhance a full day of shooting.

The Home Defender employs a steel blast shield to protect the shooter’s support arm, enhancing safety. A rubber grip design delivers solid recoil absorption and a comfortable, positive grip under recoil.

Taurus’ new Home Defender retails for $729.99. For additional information, visit taurususa.com.