Thoughts on Judge?

[spencerhenry]

My girlfriend said she wanted a handgun that would shoot like a shotgun, I have never used a Judge, but have seen them. Are they really any good as an in home defense weapon? Do they fit small hands? She has a shotgun, but doesn't like how big it is. She has handguns but she's not the best shot without a lot of time and no stress to make the shot. She also has very small and not very strong hands.

Many years ago she had a guy in the neighborhood that she hired to do some work, he became a stalker. One night he broke into her house, she had two male friends there because he had promised to kill her, she missed the guy twice with her revolver before the two male friends were able to contain the guy. He went to prison for many years, but was recently released to a halfway house. He was denied parole a few times because he was a serial criminal, but now he has the potential to return. The halfway house is a 3 hour drive from where she lives. I don't live with her, but nearby, and that is 30 minutes from the nearest highway.

While it is possible the guy shows up, I don't think he will. But, I am pretty sure that if she has something she feels more comfortable with in the house, that she will feel a little safer.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

A judge shooting 410 or 45lc has the same pattern at self defense distances and its a big revolver in reality. As heavy as it is it still has a pretty snappy recoil. I think something like a glock 17 and some practice would be better. You can get a 33rd mag if the 18 is not enough

 

[Rocketvapor]

Go to a big box store and let her handle a judge.

 

[watercam]

Might be better off with the shotgun she already has. The defensive ammo made for the .410 is pretty good but it is still a short barrel firearm. Misses will not help her.

 

[DangerRanger]

Ar pistol.
Semi shotgun with extended tube with #4 buck

Judge is gimmicky and not going to spread adequately to make a difference imo

 

[CharlieNC]

A sawed off shotgun, 410 or 20 ga, may be a better choice. Youth single shot or pump is easy for a smaller person to handle and manage, and much easier to shoot accurately than a pistol.

 

[Bc'z]

My wife has the judge given to her by her father.
She's shot it a coupe times, fair amount of recoil there.
She really liked shooting my buddies keltech
12 gauge pump, you know the lil stubby one with 2 magazines that you rotate.

 

[Medic505]

Have you considered a .22 LR or .22 Magnum pistol? I know I'm going to get flamed for this but I must ask, before you light me up, would you want to get shot 8 to 10 times with a .22? My wife shoots one very well, I sure don't want her shooting at me with it.

 

[Knotwild]

From your description, it sounds like she has a chance of this guy coming back and that's a serious situation. I would get her some serious training - not informal. What to do with a malfunction and how to shoot under stress, in the dark, how to move in the house and not be a target just to name a few. A judge and a shotgun may help her in the house, but what about when she is out and about? Sounds like she does not conceal carry. And, she may have to learn to like something for concealed carry as well as something in the house. But personally I would not want to be one of three guys in the house at night with an untrained and frightened female who was just startled out of sleep and has a loaded gun. She also needs to know the legal ramifications of the decisions she could be forced to make and what to do in the aftermath if something does take place.

I would also be thinking about some cameras all around the house, the ones that alert your phone when they detect movement. And a burglar alarm that goes off if the house is breached. There's a lot going on in your description and nothing really says she can handle a "situation".

I just have to ask why there were two guys in that house to help and the attacker survived?

 

[JBT47]

Unless this is for concealed carry, I would look at a 20 gauge coach gun. Very simple to use. Much shorter than most shotguns.

 

[SEGARE]

Sounds like a good excuse to get married!!

 

[C.E.Smith043]

Like others have mentioned I would definitely consider more ideas in addition to the pistol.

One of the absolute best burgler alarm systems is about four or five Chihuahuas. Nothing gets past those dogs. Also don't be afraid for her to have 3 or 4 weapons stashed throughout the house. Good quality pepper spray will run anyone out of the house and will put the hurt on any sexual attack some man may try to do. Imo, i would have as many weapons of defense at my disposal. I saw a video once where a guy drilled about a 1.5" hole thru the wall next to the bedroom door and had a can of pepper spray mounted to the wall. The idea was if u were self locked into a room and someone on the outside was trying to breech the door u can spray thru the hole and towards the attacker. Hard to do much when u can't breathe.

Personally I would look at the at the Smith EZ M&P line. Easy rack slide and specifically made for women. https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/mp-9-shield-ez-truglo-pro-night-sights-no-thumb-safety

 

[Bill K]

Sounds like, unless there is a very good reason, for her to sell her home and take up residence with you and don't tell her neighbor's where she went, if someone asks.
As for the Judge handgun. A good revolver of semi-auto in 38special to 9mm with some training would be a better choice.

 

[Monte F]

Have you considered a .22 LR or .22 Magnum pistol? I know I'm going to get flamed for this but I must ask, before you light me up, would you want to get shot 8 to 10 times with a .22? My wife shoots one very well, I sure don't want her shooting at me with it.

Well then be very nice to her!

 

[LonewolfMcquade]

Regardless of weapon choice, I strongly recommend she pursue training classes. She will tremendously benefit both physically and mentally

 

[DirtySteve]

S&W M&P in 22 Long Rifle plus practice..

 

[DirtySteve]

Have you considered a .22 LR or .22 Magnum pistol? I know I'm going to get flamed for this but I must ask, before you light me up, would you want to get shot 8 to 10 times with a .22? My wife shoots one very well, I sure don't want her shooting at me with it.

Anyone that poo poo's this, have them let you shoot them in the thigh with a 22... No one wants to be shot with anything when confronted... Folks on drugs are the exception of course..

 

[Oso]

I may be late to this party but I can tell you what I learned from my experience with a non-shooter girlfriend (former ER Trama nurse who'd seen wrong-side of enough gun shots). She found herself being followed by a stranger while on a 3-mos. out-of-own work assignment. She called the Sheriff's Department to report the incident, and the officer quoted a response time to her location of 17 minutes. He was honest with her and told her by the time they got there the bad stuff would have already happened. He encouraged her to consider pursuing self-protection. I get a desperate call from her requesting a gun... I am out of country on business. I strongly encourage her to go to local gun store and buy a S&W AirLite Revolver (38Spl). She listens and later that night she sleeps like a baby from that point forward. After I get back I take her shooting. My girlfriend is stronger and tougher then most of my friends. At 3 yards I have her go through 3-4 cylinders (15-20 shots) and I notice she keeps hitting the target in the head, but she started out aiming for center mass. The double action trigger is heavy enough that the finger strength required causes her to clench her entire hand which in turn raises the nose up by 10"-12" at 3 yards. At 7 yards the bullets would be going over the head of an attacker. This is a common issue for women and children with double action triggers. The recoil is harsh and compounds her dislike for this pistol. I try out the 38Spl AirLite and it feels like catching a baseball without a glove...it is a stinger. Hell, I never want to shoot the pistol again. The result is that she is now gun shy, which means she will never practice with this revolver again and possibly will be hesitant to deploy it in self-defense because of negative mental association. At this point I am better off giving her a baseball bat to use in case of emergency...

Luckily, I came prepared and brought a few polymer 9mm and 45ACP as well as my 1911. She shoots incredibly well and almost as good as me even at 15 yards with all of the semi-autos. There is no need to convince her to continue shooting. I negotiate a settlement that allows me to keep my 1911... she takes my Springfield XDM (9mm). I sell the revolver and never look back. The lesson learned is hand strength and recoil can make a Huge difference in the use and repeat use/training with a gun. I now recommend semi-autos for women. Also, from an ergonomics and hand-size standpoint the S&W Shield and Walther are the smaller grip sizes and most ergonomic. Glocks are some of the largest grips. Find the gun that fits her the best and let her be involved in the selection process.

As to the "Judge" - it is a novelty item...just pull up YouTube and do a video search of people shooting it, hurting their hand/wrist, getting hit in head from gun's recoil, or simply dropping it in the dirt. None of these bode well for it as a self-defense gun and follow-up shots are non-existent (guns on the ground or shooter is distracted nursing their injury). Keep in mind all of this is exponentially compounded by the smaller hand-size and reduced strength of a smaller sized shooter.

As someone already mentioned...shotguns do not open to 1'-2' patterns within 15 yards...this is a Hollywood movie fallacy. After shooting 3-Gun you come to realize that when shooting a shotgun in a close-quarter stage among inter-mixed targets (bad guys and hostages), the only time a hostage gets hit is when you shoot them directly, and not by collateral damage.

There is no substitute for having equipment that fits the shooter and Practice! Go attend a few local IDPA shooting sessions/training matches.

 

[pertnear]

This is not a from personal experience comment so take it FWIW.

I've seen & read about some specialty ammo for the .38 SPCL that shoots multiple bullets in a "pattern". It's maybe 3 50gr slugs impacting in a 4" to 6" pattern at 7 yds. Also there is even some nastier ammo that has multiple slugs connected with a wire that umbrella for some real damage. Also plain old 7-1/2 shot capsules would surely discourage someone - I'd think.

I've handled & shot the Judge with .410 shells. Big, heavy, clumsy handling & kicks like a mule. Nothing is much better than a medium weight .38 revolver for handy & reliable shooting under stress. JIMHO.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

The reason i mentioned the glock 17 is the low recoil and massive amount of ammo plus the reliability. When you have 17 or 33 rds something will happen before you run out. After 3-4 misses she will fall back on her practice and hit.