Georgia Arms
 

OK you guys got me scared. And then I went to Cabelas looking for 45 LC ammo for my Taurus Judge. I'm certainly not in a league with you folks who are into serious defense weapons; but even an ordinary revolver is worthless without bullets. Guess what? No 45 Long Colt ammo at Cabelas in Hammond, IN. The helpful saleperson told me that ammo is flyng off the shelf as fast as it comes in and has been ever since the election :) Interestingly enough, there were some boxes of 45 ACP on the shelf. He told me those had just come in and would probably be gone within an hour or so. Bummer!

So the Georgia Arms web site will sell me 1000 rounds of 45 LC for $500 with a 5-7 week lead time. I'd rather pay cash at a local store than order with a credit card over the internet; but having the ammo, at the end of the day, is the real object.

Anyone have an opinion on this?

Re: Georgia Arms
 

I have trouble with buying over the net also but when I can only find supply locally at Wal-Mart then oh-well I just want the ammo in the end. Safer than having none.

:s15:I really hate watching my Driver License number being typed into the system.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Thank you for that. My order is on its way.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

been waiting 3 month for 9mm from them

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Georgia Arms is the 5th largest producer of loaded ammo in the US. Like mtnman, I've bought thousands of rounds from them.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Folks, I placed my order on 3/17. Though their website warns of 5-7 week delays on all orders, they shipped mine on 3/27 and it will arrive 3/31. Meanwhile, Cabela's still doesn't have 45LC on their shelves. I ordered a thousand rounds and now feel like I can actually go to the range and shoot some of it without worrying about empty shelves in my neighborhood.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Glad to hear you have shells on the way, because your Taurus Judge is a very formidable weapon. If I am not mistaken, you can fire .410 shot as well as 45 LC? If so, I would get very familiar with that handgun, it's very versatlie, and is indeed a serious defense weapon. Shoot it, dry fire it, and pattern it with shotshells. With a clean target, shoot the shells at different distances, each time use a new paper, and write down the distance on it. How far back can you be with shotshells and keep the pellets in a 12" group? Just so you know. Enjoy that thing! Get a holster, and master it!

Re: Georgia Arms
 

It's loaded and in my night stand now (no children in the house.) In fact, the first two shots out of the barrel will be .410 shot. I'm worried about being awakened in the middle of the night, not being 100%, and not wanting to worry about shot placement. Anyone walking through my bedroom door would be no more than 12 feet away, so I doubt the shot would disperse much at that distance.

For what it's worth, the local range will not allow me to fire shotgun shells. So I'm not sure where to go to gain that experience.

The Judge comes with a holster that's designed to attach to my belt, though I've never used it. I have a carry permit and Indiana makes no distinction between concealed or open carry. The Judge is a fairly bulky thing. Would a shoulder holster make sense? I don't want to scare people to death just walking into a room with that revolver hanging on my hip :452:

One other thought. If I had it all to do over, I'm not sure a revolver would be my choice. Something with clips would be desirable. On the other hand, in a home defense situation, I'm not sure I'd ever get into an extended firefight. Whatever happens in the middle of the night in my bedroom would likely be over one way or the other pretty quickly.

A question: when I talked to the range owner's son, he said that the .410 guage is "ridiculous" without ever saying why. Maybe because at shotgun shell should be bigger? I don't know. And, there's the question of what kind of shot? Mine are loaded with #6 shot (because that's all Cabela's had!) Is that appropriate or should I purchase something else?

Re: Georgia Arms
 

A 410 throwing #6 shot is better than nothing. I would definitely NOT want to have it aimed in my direction. That being said, I'd probably rather go with 410 slugs. Or just .45 LC.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Yeah - didn't you konw that all gun guys are experts?:biggrin:

He was probably referring to the Box of Truth findings.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Good questions, but I don't have all the answers. I have questioned what the purpose/function of .410 shotshells in the Judge would be, except for wounding an attacker prior to killing him with the .45 LC rounds. .410 shot is always going to be a less-than-lethal round, no matter what shot size. Buck or slugs are a different matter, but then I don't see why one would load those, as opposed to the .45 LC. On the plus side for the Judge, it is a good double-action revolver in .45 LC, which I consider a very effective man-stopper.

How's the recoil using .45 LC?

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Doesn't a .410 slug negate the whole point of a shotgun shell (point the revolver and pull the trigger)? I guess my question is, what other shot size makes sense? If they're too big, after all, we're back to the same problem. a shotgun shell with only three pellets had better be aimed pretty carefully. On the other hand, I don't want to shoot the intruder with rock salt :)

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Did you get the newer model that let's you shoot 3" 410 shells?

Re: Georgia Arms
 

I don't think that was even available when I bought mine a year or so ago. At least, it was not offered to me. Too expensive to trade in/up at this point I think. Realistically speaking, what kind of difference does it make? More powder, more shot, or more of both?

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Well....a slug certainly wouldn't spread like bird shot. Then again, in a self defense weapon, I'd prefer that it throw projectiles big enough to stop (or at least "seriously disadvantage") my target.

A 410 shell doesn't contain that much of a payload. Birdshot would probably work nicely as a "contact shot" (muzzle held against your target), but I would not trust it to stop or kill somebody breaking in my door.

If your wish to use a shotgun shell for the first couple rounds is because you might be surprised or yanked from a sound sleep, and are not certain of your ability to aim a pistol, there are other things you might consider. Things like a home security system or driveway alarm can increase the time you have to react to an incoming threat.

Any weapon you use for self defense must be capable of stopping the threat. I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about any 410 birdshot load being capable of doing that. Better to go with the .45LC loads for that purpose. In my humble (?) opinion.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

I don't know if you're humble or not; but I do respect your opinion. Maybe I need to take a few of my new 45LC rounds to the range and get really comfortable with the Judge. Then, I won't have to worry so much about being surprised in the middle of the night.

Next problem, I didn't order the hollow point 45LC (cause I was worried about the expense of shooting paper with it) and that's probably a mistake too.

Too soon old; too late smart.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

I recall seeing the Taurus video ad for the Judge when it first came out and it was touted as an anti carjacking deterrent. Jam it right in a jacker's face and give him a load of .410 at near point-blank range!

For myself, I rather give him a dose of .45 LC and watch his brain exit stage left!

Re: Georgia Arms
 

I'm not humble enough, for sure! YES, take your pistol for a test run at your range. Shoot it at an "up close & personal" distance, if that's the range you might possibly need to use it.

Practice/training is a lot more important than wasting time trying to find the "perfect" super-duper rhino-stopping load. Ammo is a whole lot cheaper than your life.

You can always get hollow point loads some time down the road. A good first step is to get comfortable with your pistol.

I am also "too soon old, too late smart." While I'm a "young pup" of 47, it's amazing to think back at how quickly time has passed. As a volunteer EMT/paramedic (in my "copious free time" away from my former engineering job) for nearly 20 years, I realized that life is short - make sure you enjoy the time you have, and put it to good use.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Revolvers go boom.
Birdshot is for birds.
Load the 45 LC and get a dog.
Save the humility for later.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

Don't sweat not getting HP's. Even with SP .45 LC, it might take 'em a few more seconds to die, with proper shot placement (center of mass). You've got plenty of ft-lbs to do the job.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

The good thing about this forum is that there's lots of info. The bad thing is that it's sometimes hard to figure out what to believe.

I have the same view on the Judge as you do, Merlin. While I bought a bunch of 000 buckshot (3 pellets) for home defense, I also have some 4 and 6 shot on hand. In the middle of the night, it's dark, you're half asleep, you'll want something that doesn't require pinpoint accuracy.

With a .410 loaded with 6 shot, you've got about 110 pellets nearly 3mm in diameter flying at over 1000 ft/sec. If you hit the perp at home defense ranges, say 5 - 15 feet, what is he going to think? Is he going to know it's only birdshot? No - he'll just know he's been hit, and he won't be sure how badly. If the first one wasn't enough to deter him, nor the second one, hopefully you'll be awake enough to put that third round of .45 in him.

I also wouldn't sweat not getting hollow points in the .45LC. I think 250 grains (.57 oz) of expanding lead (soft point, your typical cowboy load) at around 860 ft/sec will make a nice enough hole.

The security system advice is good, but they're not failsafe. I'm sure these installers know their systems, including their limitations, and they probably tell their freinds, who tell their friends, who post stuff on the internet, etc., etc.

Seriously, I respect the opinions of everybody that's posted here, but I don't see a flaw in your thinking, Merlin. The info that's been posted is excellent food for thought, but I got the Judge for the same reason you did.

Re: Georgia Arms
 

I really like the Judge, I would love to have one! my favorite revolver is my single action long colt revolver.