I got my new Taurus revolver on Monday. It’s called The Judge. Taurus claims that the name comes from the fact that so many judges carry The Judge with them into the courtroom for personal protection. That sounds made up to me.

Questionable name mythos aside, The Judge is totally awesome. For the uninitiated, what makes The Judge so interesting is that it takes both .410 Shotgun Shells and .45 Long Colts as ammo.

The specific model I got will additionally take either a 2 1/2 or 3 inch shell.

The small size plus the firepower/destruction ability of a shotgun make The Judge the ultimate home protection weapon. No need for perfect aim, no fancy semi-automatic mechanism to jam- just point in the general direction of the bad guy and pull the trigger. Rinse. Repeat.

Sure it may not kill the bad guy, but if he’s somehow still a threat after 5 shotgun blasts, that’s what the 9mm is for.

Below, a silhouette target with the result of 10 rounds. Also, a close up of the face. (click the pictures for larger images)

Oh, and in related news…