The young lady hiker was lost in her thoughts
as she sat in the summer sunshine. She didn’t notice me until I said
hello. As is common with just about everybody I meet on this trail,
her eyes immediately went to the handgun on my backpack’s hip belt.
“Are you armed,” she asked with a bit of fright in her voice.
“Of course. Are you?” I replied.
She smiled and said, “You sound like my father.”
A formidable arm for self-defense or survival situations, “The Judge,” loaded with .410-bore shotshells in No. 9 or 12 shot, is adequate for close-range shots on small game like snowshoe hares.
That started a conversation in which she asked
fair and honest questions. I explained my reasons for carrying a
handgun. First and probably most important was that this section
of the Appalachian Trail is frequented by a few bad people, and some
areas are a hotbed of drug activity. I also pointed out that there
have been several murders over the years along the trail. Then I
told her about the rabid coyote that tried to attack me just a few
days earlier.
“The bottom line,” I told her, “is that I carry this gun for
problems I hope will never occur. I am betting you have insurance on your
car and house, right? Out here in the woods, you have only yourself
to rely on and a gun is the insurance policy.”
“Now you really sound like my dad,” she laughed.
“Your dad is a smart man, you should listen to him.”
“I do.”
I carry a gun every time I enter the woods. Not just when I
am hiking on a trail, but also when I am scouting for new deer stands, shooting
photography, fishing or any other activity off the pavement. I would
sooner leave my truck without pants than leave my gun behind.
Lately I’ve been carrying a new type of handgun; one that has
brought a new approach to wilderness protection.
Taurus USA’s Model 4510TKR, nicknamed “The Judge,” is a revolver
designed to handle just about any conceivable wilderness self-defense
scenario. (Taurus president Bob Morrison named it so because one
judge he knows in Florida always carried a piece of steel reinforcing
bar into the courtroom with him for unruly defendants; now the man
carries this revolver.)
The Judge is capable not only of defending you from trouble,
it’s also designed for wilderness survival. Danger in the wilderness isn’t
always from attacks by four- or two-legged predators; getting lost
or stranded presents a unique set of problems. In that setting, this
gun can feed as well as defend you.
The Judge is a five-shot, .45 Colt revolver with
an extra-long cylinder that will handle .410-bore, 2 1/2-inch shotshells.
(New for 2008 is a 3-inch magnum model.) The versatility of this
handgun lies in the fact that it might have .45 Colt, .410 buckshot,
.410 slugs and .410 shot loads all in it at the same time.
This stretch-frame, double-action revolver features two cylinder
locks, one in front and one in the back, both activated by pushing
on the release lever behind the cylinder. The Judge uses a transfer-bar
hammer system so the gun is safe to carry with all chambers loaded.
Like all Taurus handguns, The Judge also features a locking screw
on the back of the hammer. If you turn it to the right with the supplied
wrench/key, the gun is rendered inoperable.
The double-action trigger pull is smooth with little noticeable
stacking (becoming increasingly heavier as it is pulled). It is, however,
beyond the 12-pound maximum range of my trigger pull scale. The single-action
pull on all three guns I have tested is crisp and reasonably light,
averaging 4.7 pounds.
The grip is the Taurus ribbed, rubber “Ribber.” I have used
this on several other Taurus handguns and find it provides a good gripping
surface, excellent control and some recoil reduction. The Judge features
a red fiber-optic front sight and a fixed, rear sight notch. Although
they are not adjustable (this gun is not intended for precision accuracy)
they are very durable.
The Judge is offered with either a 6 1/2-inch or
a 3-inch barrel. My preference is for the shorter barrel, for the
following reason: I look at this gun as primarily a .410 handgun
for short-range use. The short barrel works very well for that and
is much easier to carry. Because of the required long frame and cylinder,
the gun is longer than most revolvers to start with; the short barrel
just balances better.
The Judge is offered in blued steel or stainless steel. New
in 2008 is a titanium-framed, lightweight model that is my choice for carrying
in the field. Its only downfall is that it has more recoil (a product
of its light weight), and it costs more. Also new in 2008 is the
aforementioned 3-inch magnum model in stainless steel or blued steel.
Taurus says The Judge can be used on a limited basis with +P
.45 Colt ammo, which makes it a formidable gun for protection against
any problem in North America. I recommend shooting a few +P loads
in it for familiarity, then only using these high-power loads in
real emergencies. The Judge can also be used to kill big game in
a survival situation. The only small problem I can find with this
gun lies in its extended frame length—the long jump for the bullet
to contact the rifling in the extended cylinder reduces its accuracy
potential. But this gun is intended to be a short-range handgun anyway.
Based on my testing, this is an “in-your-face,” close-range handgun.
The .45 Colt groups were acceptable at 10 yards even though the bullets
were keyholing, but at 20 yards I couldn’t keep all the shots on
a 12-inch bullseye. Alternate loads may improve this accuracy problem,
but I doubt this gun will ever be a tack driver.
For close-range problem solving, the .410-bore
load is a good choice. Buckshot loads can deliver three 000, .36-caliber,
70.5-grain pellets to the target with each pull of the trigger. (The
new 3-inch version has five pellets.) Or you can use a .410 slug.
Finally, the gun will shoot .410 shotshells. The barrel is rifled,
which is why it’s considered a .45 Colt handgun by the BATFE, and
not a short-barrel shotgun, which would be against federal law. Spinning
the shot column as it passes through the rifled barrel disperses
the shot pattern rather quickly, but, if the ranges are kept short,
this is a formidable gun capable of taking small game as well as
protecting you. Large pellet sizes like No. 4 shot work well for
many defensive situations. But if hunting for the pot or for survival
I have found that a high pellet count is the key with a .410 handgun.
Shot sizes of No. 7 1/2 to No. 9 work best.
For self defense, survival or just to carry in the woods, The
Judge has set a new precedent, and this Taurus revolver gets a favorable
decision.
NRA members,
if you already receive American Rifleman or America's
1st Freedom you can add American Hunter
to your reading list for just $9.95,
by calling 877-672-2000.
Taurus Model 4510TKR
“The Judge”
305-624-1115
taurususa.com
Type: double-action revolver
Caliber: .45 Colt/.410 bore, 2.5" chamber or 3" chamber
Barrel: 3" or 6.5", rifled
Twist Rate: 1:12"
Trigger: double-action; single-action pull weight—4.7 lbs.
Cylinder Capacity: 5 rounds
Sights: rear notch machined into frame, red fiber-optic front sight
Safety: transfer bar/hammer system
Grip: ribbed rubber
Overall Length: 7.5"-9.5”
Weight: 22.4 ozs. (titanium); 39.8 ozs.
Metal Finish: blued; stainless steel; titanium
MSRP: $519 (blued); $569 (stainless); $639 (titanium)
