The Judge

[gnepig]

This is the only Taurus I have ever owned and it is a blast to shoot. The weight and the grip design make this one very easy to shoot, even the girls like it.
I sleep with this one, it's loaded with 410 #4 shot and OOO Buck. Because it has a short rifled barrel, it throws a large pattern in a short distance making it easy to hit a bad guy while I'm half asleep.
It also shoots the 45 Long Colt really well, but I haven't seen any of that for sale anywhere for over a year, so we practice with the shot-shells.

[alleydude]

I've been looking at these for the very reason you have yours: home defense. I am a revolver fan, which is why I bought the GP-100, but in the home I am afraid the .357 would punch through walls and hurt a friendly (like my daugher or son).

So how bad does that thing kick with .410 shotgun shells? I've always wondered that.

[gnepig]

Quote:
"I am a revolver fan, which is why I bought the GP-100, but in the home I am afraid the .357 would punch through walls and hurt a friendly (like my daugher or son)."


That is my exact thinkin also, I also don't want to hit kids in the rooms across the hall either. The rifling causes the shot blast to spread rapidly, you get a good coverage area but probably less energy than with a long smooth barrel = might f..k up a bad guy, yet might not clear the walls to hit good guys. The best way to find out would be to try it out on a wall to see what happens.


Quote:
"So how bad does that thing kick with .410 shotgun shells? I've always wondered that."


I have the Judge that only chambers the 2 1/2 inch shells, so I can only speak for this one: Recoil with this gun is going to be considerably less than your new GP 100 that's chambered in 357 Magnum.

From our experience, this is what recoil looks like from Ruger SP101 with 357 Magnum:



(This gun was a very sweet shooter loaded with 38 Special and very accurate)

Now that I look at your GP100 again, it looks pretty big, felt recoil might not be all that bad.

[Delbert]

When I first read your post about your gun being able to chamber a 410 shell, I had to laugh, in that somebody actually has a pistol that took such a large cartridge, that a shotgun shell could fit in the cylinders, then I thought about the recoil from that 45 long Colt, and I said "good choice--stay with the 410". Man that 45 long must put a 30/30 to shame. That thing would make a heck of a deer pistol for 25yds or less, if you was to find the correct ammo and put a red dot sight on it. Good for you---in making a 9mm cry with fear. Happy shootin'.
Del

[gnepig]

It's pretty accurate with the 45 LC, you could hit a deer out to about 25 yards, problem is getting that close to one.
As far as recoil with the 45 LC, it's not that bad. As I said the gun is kinda heavy and that grip is a very good design. The soft rubber ribs absorb alot of shock.

[Delbert]

There's no problem in getting a deer to be within 25yds of ya. Just this past deer season, I was with my Son-n-law and we were talking in almost wispers with a brush thicket dividing off 2 fields(1-corn and 1-soybean) with us at the top end of the fields where a tractor can go between both fields, but we were on the soybean side, and I hear what I thought was a squirrel rustling the leaves near me and just that moment a doe poked it's head around some bush on the cornfield side and that sucker was within 30feet. We looked at each other "shocked" and I hip shot my 30-06, but the bullet went over it's back. I was pissed too, that was the only (live) deer I saw in the woods in 1 weeks hunt. I won't let that happen again, this deer season, I'm gonna get a tree stand.
Del

[alleydude]

Actually, if you're sitting in a vehicle with the motor running (it helps to have a loud muffler) you'll see all the deer you could ever hope to see. Get out, get the rifle ready and they're GONE.

WhyIzzAt?

[Delbert]

That's kinda funny Alleydude, but in reality, there's a theory on this. It goes, deer in certain areas get a-tuned to their surroundings and if a road is nearby to where they play, bed down or their feeding areas, they become naturally adjusted to the noises and how that noise is filtered to their ears. Now if something comes into their area that they don't quite make out, and they hear just the faintest twig snap--them suckers are off into the next county. That's why, this next deer season, I'm getting a tree stand and get up above their immediate line of sight where they normally don't look at. Of course, it's always a guess as to the best place to put a stand as any deer hunt is just a guess. Where I was hunting last season, I found a spot where 3 fields converged into a triangle and there was all kinds of tracks in the area, and if I do shoot one, I'll have to drag that thing almost a 1/2 mile back to vehicle, but it'll be worth it.
Del