Greetings, My wife and I are in a conundrum. What would you chose. They are all about 400$-450$. - MAS 49/56 like new with scope. - Taurus 44 Ten 45LC/410ga 6.5 "The Judge" - Taurus Raging Bull .454 Casull 8 3/8" - Taurus Raging Bull .500 10" (Except that one is a little bit more expensive) Thank you
the MAS.... all the other ones can be had a lot more easily than that one. have you or your wife shot 45LC, 454 Casull , and/or the 500 before???? they are a HANDFUL....
Greetings, Never shot those, but she wants BIG! She said she shot a "very long barrel" revolver at the women NRA day and she loved it. My guess is that she shot a .45LC maybe and she did not mind the recoil. Thank you
thats cool and all, but if she doesnt know the caliber, you might want to try one of those out bfore you take the plunge. she might have been shooting 38SPL out of a big heavy long 357mag gun or something, where recoil is almost a joke. that would be peanuts compared to a 454 Casull or the 5-hundo.
I really want to try one of those Judge's out. I just like the idea of a shotty shell fired from a wheel gun. Finding .410 in 00 buck isn't the easiest thing in the world though.
Not from personal knowledge, but I read on a gun site somewhere, you don't need buckshot. At defensive distances, any size shot will form a cylinder of shot rather than a spread. Ergo, lots of smaller shot does the same damage as the few 00 pellets a .410 shell contains as the total weight of shot is the same. The person posting the comment stated smaller shot works better for personal protection than 00 or 000. Don't know if that's true or not, but it sounds about right.
There is a three inch .410 000 buck shot load containing five of the big .36 caliber shot. Advertised velocity is 1100 fps as well. A 000 buckshot is .360 inches in diameter and weighs 70 grains. Thus, this load weighs slightly more than a 3/4 oz. shot load. (Incidentally, the 12 gauge 000 load contains only 8 of the big buckshot.) Each of the five pellets will have energy roughly comparable to a .380/9mm K pistol bullet at the same distance. For some years Winchester has made a 2 ½ inch .410 shell loaded with three 000 buckshot. The 2 ½ inch version contains just three of the big 000 buck shot but propels them at a noticeably higher muzzle velocity, the advertisements say 1300 fps. The 25 yard velocity of the three inch shell is 967 fps giving each pellet 142 ft. lbs. of energy. The combined total energy delivered for five pellets would be 711 ft. lbs. The 25 yard figures for the higher velocity 2 ½ inch shell is 1118 fps and each pellet has 190 ft. lbs of energy and a combined total of 571 ft. lbs. Either would be suitable for deer inside 25 yards and would be formidable for self defense at close range.
At contact distances, birdshot can take the brain, remove it from the skull, and spread it onto various indoor surfaces. (don't ask . . .) You don't have to get very far, though, before birdshot loses its ability to penetrate deep enough to pierce anything vital. Remember, birds do not present such a thick target as a 275 pound man. I do not know exactly what distance that is. Once the bird shot begins to separate, it will spread when it hits a person, even if it did not spread before it hits. At that point, you lose mass, so the weight is not the same as a slug or buckshot.
Here's a range report article on "The Judge": http://www.gunblast.com/Taurus-Judge.htm After reading that, I'm not sure if it's as effective as the writer says. With a loose fit in the barrel and a short barrel at that, the shot spreads very quickly. Might be OK for killing a snake at close range, but I'm not so sure it'd handle the two-legged variety. Like MP says, those little pellets lose effectiveness once they start to spread out. I used to buy my gas from one of the few stations to stay open late where I grew up. The owner had either a 16 or 20 gauge SxS. He cut the stock off just behind the pistol grip and the barrels at about seven or eight inches. It always was in his back pocket. I got to shoot it once. Very effective on a stack of empty oil cans! And loud! Of course, it was illegal. Cops were in and out of the place frequently, but none ever mentioned it to him. Things were a little different then. Back before electricity... .
Greetings, Yesterday we went to the range and the range master asked my following question: - (ME) Can we shoot big caliber like .44 mag , 454 casull or 500? - (HIM, who was always friendly and answered all my stupid questions patiently) WTF? Is it her (pointing my wife beside me) that is going again on a power trip? A .500 or .454 Casull is definitively a no-no here!!!! What do you want to do? Break your wrist or go through our back wall? And he laughed and said this is too dangerous for the range. So, I asked him if we can shoot "The Judge". -(Him) What is The Judge? -(Me) It shoots .45 long colt and .410 shells. -(Him) huh? ah! I knwo the .45LC is ok, but the .410 may be a problem. I'l have to check and come back to you. Hehehehe.
I would vote for: Taurus Raging Bull .454 Casull 8 3/8" I don't think it will break anyones wrist. The ammo is pricey but I doubt you'll shoot off a lot at one time. You also have to acknowledge the practical aspects of having a handgun that will shoot through a truck... longways.