One of the things that can be interesting is when a manufacturer decides to cross one type of firearm with another. Sometimes, you come up with interesting “hybrids.” Like anything else, though, those hybrids may not always come out as any kind of useful weapon.
One of the results of cross pollination of ideas that we’ve seen is the Taurus Judge line which is a revolver that fires .410 shotgun shells (this obviously isn’t a snub nose .38 special sized revolver). You can read a bit more about those here. That’s not exactly what we’re talking about today, though.
No, the firearm that we’re talking about today takes a revolver like the Taurus Judge and, then, adds on a stock. It’s like having a revolver in one hand and a short shotgun barrel in the other hand. And, because it’s a revolver, you can put several shells through it quickly without having to deal with pump or lever action between trigger pulls. Adam Borisenko writes,
Previously, the largest Taurus Judge handgun models featured 6.5-inch barrels, but the Judge Home Defender has a whopping 13-inch barrel. While that might not make it the most wieldy handgun out there, the extra barrel will provide more velocity too. To compensate for the longer barrel, the Home Defender also has a polymer forend for additional support. A new steel blast shield has been added next to the cylinder as well to protect the shooter’s support hand. Further, the forend features an accessory rail for mounting a light or laser. Most believe that a good home defense weapon should have a light on it, so this is a crucial addition.
The final new feature of the Judge Home Defender is its top rail for mounting optics. Much like weapon lights, the consensus these days is that a red dot sight is preferable to irons for home defense purposes, so that’s another positive mark for the new Taurus. However, the addition of some sort of sighting system will be required as the Home Defender has no iron sights to speak of.
You can see the Judge Home Defender in action in the video below.
Both the reviewer in the video and Borisenko mention that the Judge Home Defense, as the name implies, could be an effective firearm for home defense. And there are many that would argue that a shotgun is a great home defense firearm. With that thinking, maybe you can think of this gun as a “quick fire” shotgun for that purpose.
So, if you’re in the market for a home defense firearm (or just want a really big revolver), the Taurus Judge Home Defense may be one to consider.
