The Taurus Judge, initially designated 4410 and changed to 4510, is a five shot revolver, designed and produced by Taurus International, chambered for .410 bore shot shells and the .45 Colt cartridge.
The Judge got its name in 2006 when Bob Morrison, Executive Vice President of Taurus, learned that judges in high crime areas of Miami were purchasing the 4410 Taurus revolver for personal defense in their courtrooms.
After Morrison investigated further, the model designation was changed from 4410 to 4510 to more accurately reflect the revolvers versatility of shooting either the .45 Colt or the 410 shot shell. The Judge quickly became Taurus International’s top selling firearm.
Taurus developed a shallow rifling that would work for both shot shells and cartridges. This made the single cartridge .45 less stable, but reduced the rapid dispersing of the shot from shotshells making it more ideal for the .410 load.
The Judge does not qualify as a short barreled shotgun under the National Fire Arms Act of 1934 as its rifled barrel makes it a regular handgun (except in California which has a broader interpretation of the rules, and thus it is illegal to possess there).
Taurus continued to capitalize on the success of the Judge Family developing the Public Defender series in 2009 based on the Taurus 85 frame, still shooting the 410 and .45 Colt, but now positioning it for concealed carry.
Taurus realized that the .410 bore was not considered particularly effective with the available loads of only 3 triple 000 shots in the 2 and ½ inch shells, thus the Model 4510 was discontinued and they introduced the Raging Judge Magnum chambered for the .454 Casull ( one of the most powerful handgun rounds ever made) as well as the .45 Colt and the 3” .410 shotshell, which has 5 – 000s in its load as opposed to only 3 in the two and a half inch loads in the now discontinued 4510 model.
The Raging Judge is produced in 3 models:
The 6 shot Raging Judge M513 with a smooth action trigger, 3 inch barrel length, weighing 60 oz., chambered for the .454 Casull, .45 Colt or 3 inch .410
The 6 shot Raging Judge M513 with a smooth action trigger, 6 inch ported barrel , weighing 72 oz, chambered for the .454 Casull, .45 Colt or 3 inch .410
The 7 shot Raging Judge Ultra Lite with a DA/SA trigger, 2 inch barrel, weighing 41.4 oz , chambered for the 3 inch .410 or the .45 Colt
The more powerful 44 magnum and .454 Casull loads are too long to fit in the older 4510 models – obviously done as a protective mechanism .
After the Max Payne movie with Mark Walberg, the Taurus Judge became a household name with Taurus promoting it as a self-defense weapon against carjacking and for home defense.
RGR 