Taurus took the concept of a revolver that chambered both shotgun and centerfire cartridges and ran with it when the company introduced the original Judge in 2006. Over the past two decades, Judge models have remained popular, and the company has continued to add new variants and features to the lineup. Not content to merely mark the gun's 20th anniversary with a special engraved edition, Taurus is also introducing a Judge in updated form.
The new Judge is not a radical departure, but a subtle upgrade of the original. It still uses a five-shot cylinder that chambers both .45 Colt and 2.5-inch .410 bore shot shells, and has a double-action/single-action trigger mechanism. The steel frame and cylinder are re-contoured, most noticeably in the trigger guard and cylinder flutes.
Controls have been updated with a re-shaped trigger to improve the trigger pull, lowered hammer spur and re-contoured cylinder release. The stainless-steel barrel is housed within an aluminum shroud with a full-length underlug. New grips have an integrated soft rubber insert for recoil mitigation. Sights are upgraded, with a removable front sight with a fiber-optic insert that is compatible with Taurus small-frame revolver sights and a drift-adjustable rear notch with a serrated face.
The updated Judge is available with a 3-inch or 6.5-inch barrel and either an all-black or two-tone finish. It weighs 38.2 ounces with the shorter barrel and 44.5 ounces for the longer version. The MSRP is $699 for the all-black model in either barrel length, or $719 for the two-tone version. Previous versions of the Judge are still being made as “Classic Judge” models. For more information, see the company’s website.
