Public Defender
Probably been touched on but as said: I've been out of whack but now I'm back. Anybody tried out the Taurus Public Defender and do they make it in a hammerless model? Thanks.
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http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=662&category=Revolver
An effective noise maker IMHO.
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From my dad in the late 60's who got it from J.E. Brooster in the early 20's "If you are going to carry a pistol, then carry one big enough to shoot your way out of the trouble carry one can get you in"
A model 60 S&W has traveled many a mile with me since I got it in 86. One gallon milk jugs at 100 yards with a Lyman SWC with frightening regularity back when I shot a lot. Beer bottles out of the air if you or I threw them.
A good slicked up 1911A1 is a reasonable unit.
I like my S&W 29's a lot, not real concealable with 10 and 5/8 tubes but they sure shoot nice.
I carry my S&W 53 Jet a lot. A reloadable 22 is very fun and cheap to shoot. Full tilt ammo requires ear plugs and muffs.
added2 I have seen reliability issues develop with hammer bobbing, they are usually fixed by increasing hammer spring force. Get a body guard to start. I doubt there would be any legal issues other than to likely to kick a older revolver out of C&R status.0 -
Owned one of the original, long barreled stainless ones. Got rid of it pretty quickly. To many negatives, as far as functioning and accuracy were concerned. I felt it was just a worthless novelty gun, after owning and shooting it for awhile.
From my personal experience. It's only value would be, as a very up close personal protection handgun. Nowadays there are, way more small high cap automatics. That will do the that job better than the Public Defender.0 -
quote:Originally posted by mackcrane
Probably been touched on but as said: I've been out of whack but now I'm back. Anybody tried out the Taurus Public Defender and do they make it in a hammerless model? Thanks.
At 28 ounces and 9" overall length (that's the "small" one with the 2" barrel), this is not exactly a "svelte" gun.
Compare to say, a 4.5" 1911 Colt Commander at 36 ounces and only 8.5" overall length. Or better yet, compare to a Glock 19 at 7.4" OAL, and 30 ounces, loaded with 15+1 rounds, and you'll see that this Jude "snubnose" is every bit as large as a standard compact service auto and just as heavy.
There is a bobbed hammer version out there (see here: http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=GM436488 ) and you could always bob the hammer further, but the point is, I'm not sure what a hammerless model would buy you here. At nearly two pounds weight this gun is not really amenable to pocket carry.
As to the merits of the actual gun, IMO these combo .410 shotgun/45 LC revolvers look a lot nicer in the ad copy than their function in the real world. Stipulating that maybe the shotgun function gives them some potential use as a "snake buster", I don't think they're good choices for self-defense.
If you want a more detailed explanation of why, you can see my thoughts on these here. If you click the links in my post in the below thread, you'll see the ballistic data:
http://forums.GunBroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=526357
If you don't want to read all that, here's my summary:
-.410 shotgun shells from a full sized shotgun aren't even adequate to reliably kill a duck. The main "real world" use for 410 shotshells is for teaching children how to shoot shotguns. With the Judge you start with this low power round, then cut its power by 50% by firing it from a short barreled handgun. IMO this is just not powerful enough to rely on for defense against angry human beings.
If you want to "bust" snakes, shotshell rounds are available for conventional revolvers (including .38/.357 and .44 special/magnum) as well as 9mm luger, and for that function will probably do about as well as .410s.
45LC *is* a good round for self-defense, but its also relatively expensive, harder to find than more conventional calibers, and bulky. If you are interested in a .45LC platform revolver, I think there are better choices than these hybrids, including ones with lesser weight, higher capacity, better accuracy, and better overall build quality.
-Patterning out of these shotgun pistols is lousy, effectively inadequate to shoot anything (even squirrels) past 20 feet. In other words, anything you might actually want to do with a "real" shotgun (ie hunt or bust clays at distances exceeding 7 yards), you pretty much CAN'T do with one of these. Which means that the biggest "advantage" of this gun (that it can be a shotgun) isn't one.
-Accuracy is more than adequate for defensive use, but for a number of design reasons having to do with compromises to make them work as shotguns, relatively low for a large bore revolver. IE, these guns are not suitable for any "serious" target shooting, and marginal for hunting.
-Guns themselves have at least two separate design defects potentially affecting reliability, making them (again, in my opinion) a sub-optimal choice for defensive use. (Edit, see here: http://forums.GunBroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=561767&SearchTerms=taurus,judge )0 -
I remember the posts from the past about the Judges now that you showed me some. I used to carry a S&W Centennial Airweight I bought in the 1970s. I'm now in a Healthcare Center for rehab with my legs and hope to go home later in the year. I had my "trusted" kin "store" my goodies but they got it confused with "sell". O HELL, O WELL. I am looking at a Charter Arms Bulldog DAO also. Any thoughts? 0 -
quote:Originally posted by mackcrane
I remember the posts from the past about the Judges now that you showed me some. I used to carry a S&W Centennial Airweight I bought in the 1970s. I'm now in a Healthcare Center for rehab with my legs and hope to go home later in the year. I had my "trusted" kin "store" my goodies but they got it confused with "sell". O HELL, O WELL. I am looking at a Charter Arms Bulldog DAO also. Any thoughts?
Go with the .357 mag version, rather than the .44 Special. Ammo is easier, and cheaper to come by. And you can use any of the .38 specials in it. From the light wadcutter target loads. To Plus P's, to the barn burner .357 mag loads that will set your hair on fire.0 -
Do yourself a favor and get a S&W or a Ruger. Much better revolvers than Taurus or Charter. 0 -
I am with the rest of the bunch, and say scrap the Taurus idea, and go with a small frame revolver. As a matter of fact, I like the Charter Arms revolver for the price, in 38, and is only 12 ounces in the various Undercover models.
I also like the Ruger LCR-X, but you say you are looking for hammerless, and they make that too, in the LCR. The Trigger's in the Double Action mode are extremely nice in most of the new guns, except the Taurus...just a total lack of quality...but do not overlook the Charter Arms.
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i have the SS 2" good shooter with buck shot loads does the job at defence distance ,,bird shot = worthless,, never tryed with 45colt they make 410 inserts for sub cal so it will not touch the rifling if you know what i mean anyother barrel legnth is worthless 0 -
Thanks for the help, feels like I'm back home after getting to talk with "yall agin". The Smith was good and I can't git a straight answer from the kin about where it's at cause it's so hard to look through all that stuff. Bet if they might need it, it wouldn't be that much trouble. Would it be a problem to bob a hammer on a good used revolver either in hammer weight or legal ways? 0 -
A woord warning, a Charter Arms Bulldog in 44Special can be brutal for some.
As far a bobbing a hammer, this can lighten the hammer to the point where it will not reliable detonate primers. Most factory bobbed hammers have weight added to the hammer. If you do bob a hammer make sure it reliable detonates your rounds.0
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