Big ole Poper " the Judge"
 

This rather large pistol is a taurus "Judge" .45lc/.410 shotshell. this one is a ss ultra lite, five shot. It shoots both .45lc and .410 shot or slugs or buck shot or a combo. It does nasty things to targets or anything you shoot with it. here in the south we have some nasty criters, right now in this warm eighty deg weather , the snakes are starting to come out, a bit early for them by a few weeks, but they are out and mean as ever. The judge with no.4 and buckshot alternating will stop the threat , you see the snake and out to about 20 yards , it will turn into several peices,end of snake and the threat. Does it recoil, you bet, it shoots buckshot.

I love these little Devastators!...

recoil can be stout, but managble. It is concealable and fairly easy to carry, get in a bad spot, it's a big gun and bigger when you pull it out.

Padre,

What is the manufacturer?

Douglas

Taurus, they are a major manufacture located in brazil. There are several models of the judge, and longer barrel lengths. I chose the ss and ultra lite , because i like to carry mine. Smith and wesson is makinga six shot called the Govennor, it will fire the .45lc .410 plus .45 acp with moon clips. i mostly fire .410 no 4's or buckshot. the toughest cotton mouths or timbler rattlers have all gone down to it.

I have killed diamond back rattlers with a 9mm Luger shotshell fired from a Luger, but you have to get uncomfortably too close with those little size 12 lead shot dust. The Judge would be superb I would imagine at this. Once had one of these snakes leave a down dove I shot to come after me, I must have shot three rounds of 12 guage from the hip at it as I ran back wards, lol.

the texas diamond back and the cotton mouth moccason are very agressive, they do not give up easly, i think the .410 with no 4's and alternating buckshot will stop any of them. there is a pdx defensive load with copper discs and shot in each. i have it and carry it , but have not shot one with it. Starting this time of year i keep the judge really close. You know when their head comes apart, it's game over for them.

Be very carefull this spring, it has been warm in the south this winter, snakes are coming out early, it seems the rattlers are not coiling and buzzing like that have. watch your step.

This is a really unbelieveable photo. I'm glad to be living in the north where we only have pine snakes and grass snakes.

I know that rattlesnakes are a danger, and I do not object to their removal from areas where they pose a threat to humans. But when I see photos like this I think "what a magnificent animal!", and am saddened that it had to be dispatched. Don't get me wrong, I know that these things need to be done sometimes. But I sincerely hope that this old timer wasn't destroyed for pure sport. All of God's creatures deserve respect.

the guy holding the snake is 6'2", thats a big snake by any standards. that snake was killed in south ga

I agree with Ron. This is a superb specimen of what a Diamond back can be. Here in South Florida, I would step around a snake like this, (as long as he did likewise), although I have no compunction in dispatching the invasive species like Ball and Burmese Pythons that local knot heads have been releasing into the Everglades over the last few years.

Do not know what that situation may have been, the snake has a rather large hole in him. i encounter snakes alot , louisiana and texas are full of them. i tend to natural gas wells and pumps, most are in rather rugged areas, hinch why a gun like the judge is important to me, it serves a purpose. the term nest of vipers is real, when you encounter them , you try and stay away, but sometimes you cannot work safely, the snake has to go. i was making a point watch out, they are dangerous. And what i am seeing more and more of, they give no warning before they strike.

Padredan, you are a pumper/gauger?? I also am in oil biz (offshore production) in Louisiana, and a friend of mine who is a pumper/gauger walked up on a 12 foot alligator on a compressor package a few years ago. The gator was attracted by the vibration of the compressor and had done damage to this unit before by biting and parting wires. My friend snapped a few pics with his digital camera to show the foreman the cause of the recurrent damage. I'll try to locate them to post here. In any case, warm weather+being in Gulf Coast area=reptiles. Be careful.

A Well tender, basicy the same thing,as a gauger /pumper. where i am the gators tend to stay near the water or surrounding area, as long as not desturbed you have no problem with them. encounters with snakes are allmost daily. The taurus judge is about the best all around pistol i hae owned for this type of encounter.

Snakes are not just a Southern thing... The dogs and I have encountered rattle snakes in my back yard in North Carolina and also while hiking in New York just above Woodstock in the Hudson Valley...

My most interesting encounter wasn't quite a snake... While leading a diving group in Mexico:

See that thing in the reef, with the big shiny teeth?
That's a Moray...
(Eel, that is...)

Marc

Marc

That is Snakezilla!