Wallop, thy name is Judge

Y’all, this handgun is amazing.

Let me tell you, in the Army, I didn’t have much desire to own a gun. I mean, yeah, I kind of wanted one because I enjoy shooting, but any time I really wanted to go out and shoot, all I had to do was find a unit that was running a range and find the time. I was able to go out pretty often.

But it’s been five years. I haven’t shot anything except my little pellet pistol since then. That is, until the other day when my father in law came to visit and brought this bad boy with him.

In addition to the Judge, he had a Springfield 9mm and a Walther .22 LR. We went to the local indoor range primarily so he could sight in his new laser site on his Springfield (a beaut’ too, BTW), but he had plenty of ammo to shoot all three.

Out of them all, I had the best shooting experience with the Springfield. It ain’t like riding a bike, if you want to remain a good shooter, you need to shoot, and I could tell I was rusty. Still, I was able to fire reliably with the Springfield at 7, 10, and 15 yards. It felt the best too.

The Judge, however, was just fun. Loaded with .410 shells, I took the first turn and, sheesh, it’s a knuckle knocker. But seeing that target flip out like someone called its mamma fat was a heartwarming experience. After unloading the .410 shells I fired some .45 Long Colt rounds and it was like I was firing the 9mm again. They were nothing after shooting those shotgun shells. I think it has a lot to say with how well the Judge is constructed that you can fire such a round from that pistol so comfortably.

The bad is that the pistol carbons up pretty quickly. It was noticeable more difficult to put the .45 rounds in after firing the .410 shells and that progressed through more shooting. All said, my father in law and I went through a box of .410 and probably 20 .45 rounds.

Folks, I missed the smell of carbide.

FYI, here’s a good review of Taurus’ newest version of the Judge.