Tuesday, January 22, 2013

PUCKER FACTOR: A carjacker's worst nightmare

That's what the indispensable AWR Hawkins calls the Taurus Judge Public Defender.

[For those who] regularly drive three or four hours at time or who drive a lot in the worst areas of big cities, the question is: What gun can I keep in my car for self defense? ... In my mind, one gun stands out above the rest for this application–the Taurus Judge Public Defender.

The Public Defender is a five shot revolver that holds either .45 long colt or .410 shotgun shells, or a combination of the two.

When Taurus debuted the Judge revolver family a few years back, they did something nobody saw coming–they turned the handgun world upside down. The Public Defender is a bit meatier than a .357 magnum with a similar length barrel, but its recoil is more comparable to a .38 Special and its self-defense advantages are similar to that of a small gauge shotgun.

The Judge family in general, and the Public Defender in specific, became so popular that Federal Ammunition starting loading .410 self-defense rounds specifically for handgun applications. These rounds contain nine big pellets in each shell. In a self-defense situation where a carjacker is holding his own gun and trying to pull your car door open, a Public Defender loaded with this ammo turns the tables quickly.

...The whole line of Taurus Judge revolvers is excellent, and they come in many variations–ranging from one with a polymer frame to a larger Judge with a six-inch barrel... However, the Public Defender is my favorite for the very reason Taurus provides on their website: “The ‘Public Defender’ delivers…devastating firepower in a…scaled down size that can travel with you.”

Daddy like.


Hat tip: BadBlue Guns.

8 comments:

K-Bob said...

I saw that at the new BadBlue Guns site, and read about it. Looks like a really good, close-quarters stopper.

Good call to get a guns page going. I have it bookmarked.

Anonymous said...

Mark Wahlburg packed the Judge as Max Payne. Good bathroom gun too.

JTwig said...

There has been a lot of debate online about the effectiveness of the .410 shell out of such a short barrel. I don't know a lot about it personally, but the consensus seems to be its not exactly fatal; then again even if not fatal a .410 to the face would defiantly make you rethink your career as a carjacker. I've also heard it is really good for dealing with rattle snakes.

Mike aka Proof said...

They're illegal in California, along with their long gun counterpart, for reasons almost too ridiculous to mention.
http://proof-proofpositive.blogspot.com/2013/01/when-idiots-write-gun-control-laws-we.html

physics geek said...

Two friends of mine own this particular gun. They say that target practice with the .45 shells is pricey ($1/shell or so), but they like the .410 shell loads for home defense.

Anonymous said...

I want one.

Anonymous said...

Good point about snakes. You won't find a manufacturer of snakeshot that recommends its use in a revolver. The Judge would appear to be an exception.

stablepar said...

my favorite pistol for home defense. it's a very smooth shooting 45. my wife loves it as well