# judge



## faststang90 (Apr 8, 2013)

i took my judge the the range the other day just because i have not shot in for sometime. this man was walking by and asked me what it was. he never seen one. i told him a judge and he asked what ammo does it shoot. i told him it was 45/410. i had the ammo that has 3 plates and 12 BBs. i let him shoot it a few times and he said he is going to buy one. i have not seen at the gun shows in some time but that gun has been out for years are they hard to find now?


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Not in MI, most of my LGS's usually have a few Judges & Governors. I'm still contemplating a Raging Judge just to have... for fun. The polymer Judge is getting more popular as well.

A comparison of a Judge & Raging Judge...









Another pic...


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## WilliamDahl (Feb 10, 2014)

Some people justify the .45/.410 handguns as something that they can take with them in the woods for snakes. I've never subscribed to that logic since I'm not afraid of snakes. I've never found a snake that I couldn't just take a couple of steps back from and be completely safe even if they were poisonous. Personally, I think a walking stick is more useful against snakes -- you can move them out of the way or kill them if necessary. Then again, the largest snakes that I've ever encountered were perhaps 5-6 ft in length. Maybe if we had anacondas roaming around here I might feel differently? Don't have any experience with snakes that large, so I don't know.

The primary concern that I have with a handgun that shoots the .45LC and .410 shotgun rounds is that it has to be rifled per ATF rulings. The rifling has an adverse affect on the shotshell rounds -- I've heard it described as a "donut pattern". I believe that this could be eliminated (or at least reduced) if they were to install rifling (to make the ATF happy), but put NO twist rate in the rifling (i.e. just straight ridges along the interior surface of the barrel). The .45LC bullet would not be as stable, but for the distances that this weapon is designed to be fired, that might not be as much of an issue. Besides, if someone wants to seriously shoot the .45LC round, they are going to choose a different handgun anyway -- something like a Ruger Super Blackhawk perhaps.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

WilliamDahl:
You made some valid points, I bought an S&W "Governor" and a Bond Arms "Snakeslayer" .45/.410 only because I like them. That Bond Arms Snakeslayer is one mean looking bastard, impractical as Hell but it's a cool gun nonetheless. Same for the "Governor" except the "Governor" does have it's usefulness, six shots, double action and the ability to handle .45ACP, .45 Auto Rim, .45 Long Colt, and .410. It's lighter than my Model 629 3", 29 4" and Ruger Redhawk 7 1/2", making it in my opinion an ideal gun for hiking on trails. As for snakes I too prefer to leave them alone, I don't believe in killing anything unless you absolutely have to.


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## WilliamDahl (Feb 10, 2014)

Like in most things in life, if a firearm tries to serve two different purposes, it ends up compromising and doing neither as well as it possibly could. But, life is full of compromises. My daily carry handgun is a Glock 29 and even it is a compromise. It's not as compact as one of the smaller 9mm handguns, but it makes a larger diameter hole and it will penetrate further. Since I live in a pro-2nd-Amendment state and since I'm retired, I can deal with it being less concealable since I don't have to hide it while wearing office clothes. If you're wearing a vest over a t-shirt during the summer, anyone that knows anything about firearms will know that you are carrying. If I'm visiting somewhere that is less pro-2nd-Amendment, I'll likely carry either one of the compact 9mm handguns or maybe something even smaller. Sure, I would like to be able to carry a double stack full size M1911 all the time, but that just is not that concealable for me except when the weather is *really* cold. Everything's a compromise...


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## faststang90 (Apr 8, 2013)

i got the gun in a trade. i had a glock and i did not like it. i just go to the range with it nothing else. all my guns are range guns i dont hunt. my carry chl gun is a px4 9mm


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Not every firearm needs to have a purpose or fulfill a role... some guns are just enjoyable to have/shoot. It's the reason many of us have multiple firearms in our collections.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

TAPnRACK:


> "Not every firearm needs to have a purpose or fulfill a role... some guns are just enjoyable to have/shoot. It's the reason many of us have multiple firearms in our collections."


You've got that right! I've got a Henry "Mare's Leg" .45 Long Colt, too short for a rifle, too big for a pistol, but the damn things a work of art, especially with that brass receiver. A Masterpiece Arms "Mac 10" .45 ugly as Hell, but man is it sinister looking! Will I ever carry these things? Highly unlikely. I also have a couple of North American Arms "Mini" revolvers in .22 Long and .22 Magnum, impractical for self defense purposes, and hardly intimidating, but fascinating that they could build a functioning firearm in such a small size. Life would be pretty boring if we only bought things based on need, it's more fun to just buy what you want just because you like them, or are just plain interested in them.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

WilliamDahl:
I have a Glock G30 that I carry all the time OWB, along with a G26 in a shoulder holster and a Kahr MK 40 in a pocket holster. The G26 with it's short grip, I find is perfect in a shoulder holster, both it and the G30 are easily concealed under a loose fitting short or long sleeved shirt unbuttoned. A lot of people never even know that I'm carrying. Open carry is legal and common here in Arizona, people would not get alarmed at the sight of a firearm in case the wind temporarily exposed it. But it is good to have a variety of firearms to suit any occasion.


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