I went out and braved the cold long enough to run a few rounds through the Judge. I seriously cannot shoot it without grinning. Although I took this one in on a trade, I am considering buying another one for the bedside. I keep two Saiga shotguns at the ready, one upstairs and one down. I also have a semi-auto handgun on each floor of the house. But recently I was shooting a semi auto and had a misfire. If that happened to my wife in a crucial situation she would be done for. If it happened with a revolver she could just keep squeezing the trigger. I am seriously rethinking my handgun choices for in the house and leaning toward another Judge with Mrs. Bigdog in mind. I know the .410 is not the best overall choice for defense. But under these parameters what do you think?
Taurus Judge for home defense
- Thread starter bigdogdaddy
- Start date
There has been some interesting developments in .410 defensive ammo lately, I personally wouldn't rule out the Judge's viability for a home defense pistol at all.
And if you are more comfortable with a revolver's reliability, then it is doing a good job the other 99.5% of the time when you and your family's life aren't depending on it.
And if you are more comfortable with a revolver's reliability, then it is doing a good job the other 99.5% of the time when you and your family's life aren't depending on it.
Probably some of those bad, big dog reloads. 
Can Mrs big dog clear a semi-auto from jams, stove pipes, etc.? I'm not a big fan of a .410 for defense loads. When I was researching penetration for shot gun shells, I found that a .410 was not sufficient. I'm thinking if I have to shoot someone in my house, I want some stoping power available. I have a house alarm, so if after setting off my alarm, they still want to come in, they my have bad intentions.
I get it that I'm not volunteering to get peppered by a .410. But my research shows it lacks in penetration. I think I would rather have a revolver with some good defensive loads over the .410 if someone could not clear a semi-auto.
Can Mrs big dog clear a semi-auto from jams, stove pipes, etc.? I'm not a big fan of a .410 for defense loads. When I was researching penetration for shot gun shells, I found that a .410 was not sufficient. I'm thinking if I have to shoot someone in my house, I want some stoping power available. I have a house alarm, so if after setting off my alarm, they still want to come in, they my have bad intentions.
I get it that I'm not volunteering to get peppered by a .410. But my research shows it lacks in penetration. I think I would rather have a revolver with some good defensive loads over the .410 if someone could not clear a semi-auto.
lws380 said:Probably some of those bad, big dog reloads.
Can Mrs big dog clear a semi-auto from jams, stove pipes, etc.? I'm not a big fan of a .410 for defense loads. When I was researching penetration for shot gun shells, I found that a .410 was not sufficient. I'm thinking if I have to shoot someone in my house, I want some stoping power available. I have a house alarm, so if after setting off my alarm, they still want to come in, they my have bad intentions.
I get it that I'm not volunteering to get peppered by a .410. But my research shows it lacks in penetration. I think I would rather have a revolver with some good defensive loads over the .410 if someone could not clear a semi-auto.
It actually was a reload! But I pulled the bullet and everything was in order. It just didn't go bang. I have shot a lot and as I was clearing it I wondered to myself about how much harder that would be if I were actually facing somebody with bad intentions. Then I thought about my wife. Being completely honest, I would guess that very few here on the Internet would not be in serious danger with a simple misfire on a semi-auto in a real life or death situation. Don't get me wrong, I am not ditching the semi-autos, but it certainly has me rethinking revolvers.
I'm in the revolver camp for my wife at home or otherwise...and so is she, by the way. Although she shoots large semi-autos very well, there are only a couple that she can rack the slide on, and none that I or she would trust her to be able to do in a heated situation. Therefore, her bump-in-the night-go-to guns are her SP101 or my Security Six, both loaded with Hornady CD.
Although I carry my LC9 or LCP, my bump-in-the night-go-to gun is my Security Six. My fully loaded SR9 is also stashed in the bedroom.
Strangely, the gun she enjoys shooting the most is the Beretta 92...strange because she has tiny hands and is only 4' 10" tall, yet she loves shooting them. I'm seriously considering buying one because she likes them so much...not to mention the fact that I enjoy shooting them, too!
Although I carry my LC9 or LCP, my bump-in-the night-go-to gun is my Security Six. My fully loaded SR9 is also stashed in the bedroom.
Strangely, the gun she enjoys shooting the most is the Beretta 92...strange because she has tiny hands and is only 4' 10" tall, yet she loves shooting them. I'm seriously considering buying one because she likes them so much...not to mention the fact that I enjoy shooting them, too!
My wife says she is much more comfortable having her S&W 637 revolver for HD than any of our semi's or my 870 Thumper.
She says she understands the wheel gun: It's reliability, its accuracy, and even its recoil. Her confidence with it exceeds her confidence with anything else.
I'm good with that.
She says she understands the wheel gun: It's reliability, its accuracy, and even its recoil. Her confidence with it exceeds her confidence with anything else.
I'm good with that.
Well fellers, since you didn't talk me out of it, tomorrow I am picking up a second Taurus Judge. One for upstairs and one for downstairs. I will feel better knowing that all my wife has to do in the event of something terrible is to aim and pull the trigger. Is it the most effective stopping/killing choice? No, not by a long shot. But I think we often settle on something due to circumstances. I carry a LCP because it is so easy to carry. I will be keeping two Judges because my wife will have a gun that does not take a high skill level to operate under stress.
bigdogdaddy said:
You'll own more judges than a crooked politician, BDD! Let us know how it feels to have that much judiciary in the house.
RICHGCOOP said:
I'm not gonna lie here. They are a lot of fun to shoot and after tomorrow I can have one in each hand.
Well I got it. $425 for the Poly Public Defender with a really nice Hogue grip, the factory grip, and some PDX ammo. I love the grip and now I will want one for the other one. So now my wife (and I) have a Judge and a Saiga shotgun upstairs, and a Judge and a Saiga downstairs. If she can't protect herself with those options she probably wasn't meant to be around much longer anyway.
I will post pictures soon.
I will post pictures soon.