A wise man once said never try to apply logic to government; to do so would be, well, illogical. One can be driven to distraction trying to understand regulation absurdities such as why the minimum length for a shotgun barrel is legislated 2" longer than a rifle barrel while at the same time there is no minimum length for handgun barrels. Back in the 1950s, I believe it was Jim Harvey who came up with the idea, surplus 1917 S&W and Colt .45 ACP revolvers were turned into some of the handiest little shotguns possible. The cylinders were re-chambered to accept a full cylinder-length cartridge made by trimming and blowing out a .30-06 case which was then loaded with shot.

Since .30-06 brass has the same rim diameter as the .45 ACP, half-moon clips also worked with the new shot shells. To complete the transformation, rifling was removed from the barrel and a choke fitted at the muzzle. They worked extremely well, making a dandy, easy packing, six-shot “shotgun” for close range critters whether they walked, flew, crawled or slithered. It was an excellent idea and certainly much appreciated by those in snake country. There was one major problem; they came under the sawed-off shotgun regulation and were ruled illegal. At the time it was fairly easy to pick up a 1917 Smith or Colt for around $25 so the whole conversion was relatively inexpensive. It was an excellent idea which was not allowed to be.

Making Do

For the past half-century or so sixgunners have worked to come up with shot shells for revolvers which would work effectively. I have articles in my file by such renowned sixgunners as John Wootters and our own Mike Venturino. Various methods have been used such as filling plastic shot capsules offered by Speer and also using gas checks. For the latter method, a gas check is placed right side up over the powder charge, shot is added and then capped off with an upside-down gas check which is then crimped in place.

The Judge Is In

Various manufacturers have issued firearms made to handle both the .45 Colt and the .410 shotgun shell. These include Thompson/Center with their Contender barrel and at least two manufacturers of derringers. Now thanks to the ingenuity of the engineers at Taurus, The Judge has arrived. To come up with The Judge, Taurus has taken their basic five shot big-bore Tracker platform and extended the length of both the frame and cylinder to allow for the use of 2-1/2" .410 shotgun shells while chambering this same cylinder to also accept standard .45 Colt rounds. So this one basic revolver actually can be used four ways. Shooters have a choice of filling the cylinder with .45 Colt rounds or .410 shot shells, buck shot, or slugs. This certainly makes The Judge the most versatile revolver available — if it works.

The Judge has a cylinder length of 21⁄2" which looks a little strange on the Tracker platform. It is offered in two barrel lengths, 3" and 61⁄2", and either all blue or stainless steel. The Judge is, of course, a DA revolver which can be used in the DA or SA mode. Single action trigger pulls measured on the RCBS Trigger Pull Scale come in at 5 pounds for the short barrelled version and 41⁄2 pounds for the 61⁄2" test revolver. Hammer and trigger are wide target style with the hammer spur checkered and the trigger face smooth, as all proper triggers should be.

Both the sights and the grips on this pair of Judges are rated A+. The sights are fixed, consisting of a square notch rear sight mated up with a very easy to see red fiber-optic front sight. The front sight really picks up available light and stands out brightly against a dark background. There is nothing pretty about the grips but they receive their ratings for comfort. They bolt on the grip frame stud from the bottom and are Taurus’ Ribbers, with soft horizontal lines. They fit my hand very well, are extremely secure as they seem to stick to my palm and they also do an excellent job of minimizing felt recoil with .410 shotgun shells.

The Verdict?

I did not hold high hopes for the performance of The Judge. How could the revolver perform satisfactorily with so many options? I expected poor accuracy using .45 Colt rounds and ineffective performance with shot shells. I was most pleasantly surprised! I started with .45 Colt rounds using three factory loads and one handload. Factory loads consisted of 250 grain RNFPs from Black Hills and Winchester and CCI’s 200 grain JHP Blazers while the reload used Oregon Trails’ 255 SWC over 17.0 grains of Accurate Arms #5744.

All four loads were fired in the 6-1/2" Judge at 50 feet with all loads averaging 1-1/2" for five shots. With the long jump the .45 bullets had to make for the length of that 2-1/2" cylinder I certainly did not expect this, but rather to see shots scattered all over the paper. My handload with the Oregon Trail 255 SWC put all five shots in 1-3/8"; there are standard factory .45 Colt sixguns which will not do this! Groups opened up slightly with the shorter-barreled Judge, however the 255 SWC loads still managed put four shots in 1-5/8". With both guns, CCI’s 200 JHP would make a good self-defense choice with groups averaging 2" and a muzzle velocity of approximately 750 fps for both the long and short barrel.

The next test was conducted with shot shells, using Winchester’s #4, #6 and #9 and fired at distances of both five and ten feet. Since I view these sixguns primarily for defense against poisonous snakes there was no reason to test them at any greater distance. If the snake is within five feet he could be a real danger, however even at ten feet or further there is really no reason for shooting unless one just happens to have some kind of obsession against snakes. At five feet any one of the shot sizes selected would surely do the job, however #9 performed superbly, putting at least 98-99 percent of the pellets within an 8" circle on the Caldwell Orange Peel Target. These targets are excellent for testing loads as they give immediate easy-to-see results. With the two Judges I aimed dead center on the Caldwell 8" round black bull and the shot patterned beautifully with #9 Winchesters.

Both Judges performed well with .45 Colt and .410 shotshells, but what about the in-between buckshot and slugs? Using Winchester’s three-ball buckshot I shot on half-sized silhouette targets at 30 feet. Whether I shot one round or three rounds, all of the balls hit the target, making The Judge so loaded something to look at for serious home defense. One test left — slugs. For some reason .410 slugs are tough to find locally. My friend Joe Penner had one box with five rounds of Winchester’s 1/5 ounce slugs so it had to be tested judiciously. One round was fired from each Judge for muzzle velocity, with the 3" barrel clocking right at 1,150 fps, while the longer 61⁄2" barrel upped this to about 1,525 fps. Since both sixguns had performed well with .452" bullets I had little hope for .410" slugs.

In Conclusion

Since I had only three rounds left, I set up a half-sized silhouette target at 30 feet and fired the three rounds I had through the 61⁄2" Judge from a standing two-handed position. These lighter rounds printed about 3" inches low at 30 feet. I expected them to be all over the paper again, instead all three shots grouped into 2". What all this means is The Judge will perform quite satisfactorily, and more so with .45 bullets and .410 shot shells, buckshot, or slugs. This gives tremendous versatility as the shooter can choose to load with all of one type or any combination. I would think The Judge will be very popular with hikers, backpackers, fishermen, and anyone who wanders outdoors and refuses to be at the mercy of anything which may be encountered. Since I don’t live in Alaska or Africa, I’m only concerned about possible dangers from those walking on two legs, crawling on their belly, or four-legged canines. The Judge may certainly be custom-loaded to handle either or all.

We’ve talked mainly about the serious side of using The Judge, however, it also has a fun side. A cylinder-full of shot shells and targets such as charcoal briquettes or clay pigeons set at various distances can make for a lot of fun shooting, perfect for supervised young people.

Taurus may call this revolver The Judge, however when it comes to poisonous snakes up close it’s Judge, Jury — and Executioner!