I’ve seen goofier ideas sell well
Taurus to come out with a 380 revolver? I never ‘got’ The Judge. I don’t ‘get’ this either. Must mean it will sell well.
22 Responses to “I’ve seen goofier ideas sell well”
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June 9th, 2010 at 8:21 am
So less power than a .357, or even a .38 +P, but with all the bulk? It’s really disappointing that you’re probably right.
June 9th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Hey, at least they’re coming up with new ideas. It may not work well but it may lead to other inventions.
June 9th, 2010 at 8:46 am
These are going to sell like hotcakes. The 85 is already pretty small, and something even smaller is going to do really, really well. If it comes with a holster that allows it to be carried in a purse then the sky’s the limit.
And do you know what? It’s a great thing. People feel comfortable around revolvers because they’ve seen them in so many movies. My sister refused to have a semi-auto because she thought it was too complicated but was happy to get a J-frame. If this is marketed as the gun for people who don’t normally carry guns and costs around $300 then I predict you’re going to see a lot more carry permit applications and a lot of eventual upgrades and purchases of complementary weapons (such as the Judge for home defense…).
June 9th, 2010 at 8:52 am
Coming out with a gun that no-one can find any ammo for sale to go in it? Hmmm.
June 9th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Im not a huge fan of the 380, but I must say that the judge was an ingenius design. I know a lot of people who have them and they are awsome. They shoot really well and the diversity of being able to use shotgun shells is great for a number of reasons. One is when you are out on the water. You cant carry rifles or pistols out on the boat(well, you are not supposed too) but shotguns are OK, they dont shoot that far, so you can load the judge with #4s and away you go. Urban dwellers are using it to great effect for home defense in places where liability may prevent hte use of a handgun or rifle due to apptments or close housing but a shotgun is much safer and the judge fills two bills, handgun and shotgun for home D. great concept and good R&D in the build.
June 9th, 2010 at 9:30 am
+1, definitely don’t get a gun that will have nominal improvements over a .38, will have the disadvantages of weaker ammo, more expensive ammo, and ammo you might not be able to find…and tying the user to clips, which aren’t exactly beginner friendly….
June 9th, 2010 at 9:58 am
If anyone is considering using the Judge for home defense with shotgun rounds, I would encourage the shooter to examine the adequacy of the .410 as a man stopper.
June 9th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Awesome, I can’t wait until you can’t find the proprietary moonclips for the gun (which suck anyway because Taurus’ moonclips have always sucked) and then you have a gun that can’t even chamber its ammo.
June 9th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Third parties will make clips for it ( check out moonclips.com ).
Might be impressive if they scale the size way down, and make a true pocket pistol out of it, something like a DA version of the NAA mini-revolver?
June 9th, 2010 at 11:51 am
For some information on the Judge with .410 shells for home defense, The Box O’ Truth looked at it a while ago.
The conclusion? DON’T. Regardless of the effectiveness of .410 loads normally, the Judge doesn’t impart enough velocity for sufficient penetration – probably because .410 shells are loaded for 18″ barrels, not pistol barrels.
As far as this .380ACP revolver, I have to wonder what the advantage would be over a .38. The biggest advantage to .380 is the ability to make an extremely compact pistol for it. Would they be able to get a .380 revolver to be noticeably smaller than a .38?
June 9th, 2010 at 11:53 am
So they stopped making their 9x19mm revolver, so they can make a 9x17mm revolver?
(facepalm)
June 9th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I’d buy one, if the quality was there. The only reason I never bought a 9mm Taurus revolver is because there was usually some noticeable flaw in it’s construction. The barrels have to be 3″ to be imported, but they don’t sell them as three-inchers, so they cut them off when they get to the US. They stick them in a lathe and cut them apparently without coolant, which results in a hot spot between the barrel shroud (Aluminum)and the barrel (steel). This creates a “Blow out” between the two parts and will destroy accuracy, as well as create a spot that rusts horribly and can’t be cleaned.
I love guns in odd calibers, though. If they made one in 9×18 Makarov, I’d definitely buy it.
June 9th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Matt- How about a 5mm revolver?
TAURUS 590 TRACKER
http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=617&category=Revolver&toggle=&breadcrumbseries=
June 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
So is Taurus gonna make .380 ammo. I hope they know there is a shortage of it now!
June 9th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Pros: small, quick reloading (if the clips work) and low recoil for noobs.
Cons: .380 sucks and is hard to find. Clip dependent.
June 9th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Also clips can be tricky to carry in a CCW situation. Meanwhile things like Bianchi Speed strips or the competing Quick Strips, are nice and flat and easy to carry a few reloads in a pocket….but you can’t use these with this gun.
Fail if you ask me.
June 9th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
I don’t think this is going to be marketed to the kind of people who carry reloads, though. I suspect it’s meant for people who haven’t owned a concealed carry gun before. If they can get the clip to work the first time when they’re loading the gun at home then that’s probably good enough. The low recoil is going to be good for new/weak shooters and the small size is going to encourage carry.
Keep in mind that a snub-nosed revolver in .380 is going to be mostly a frighten-away or point-blank weapon for most who carry it. Realistically, anyone who is going to train enough to do more is going to carry something else. If this is the “gateway drug” to get more people concealed carrying, though, it ought to do well.
June 9th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
The snubbie is the real problem, I think. I don’t feel comfortable with less than 4 inches or so in a barrel, no matter the caliber.
As for the .380 ACP, I’d go up against Comanches with a 100 grain hollowpoint at 900 fps from a seven and half inch barrel.
June 9th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
I’m not sure barrel length is that big of a complaint at least vis-a-vis an auto in the same caliber.
Most folks carrying .380’s are carrying the micro guns now and those all have itty-bitty barrels on them, there’s what, only 2-ish inches of actual rifling on my Mustang?
I’m not sure what real gains can be made size-wise though. The cylinder can be shorter but the cartridge diameter will still be the same so it can’t get much smaller in circumference which means the overall frame dimensions can’t change much. The grip of a J-frame/85 is about as small as it functionally can be given average hand sizes.
Anyway, kudos for trying new things.
June 9th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
If they would start making their 9mm wheelgun again, it should handle .380 too, no?
And I think I’ll start buying .380 locally, and shipping to the rest of the country–at a “reasonable” markup, of course. Plenty here…
June 9th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Hmm – what would happen if they went in the opposite direction? Instead of making it tiny and concealable, they put more bullets in the revolver? A 10 shot revolver would be cool.
June 10th, 2010 at 10:15 am
If it’s well-executed, it might be a great idea.
We tend to forget that there are an awful lot of people who are not really ‘into’ guns, but who need one as a defensive tool. Many of these folks are physically smaller than your average gun nut, and far less tolerant of recoil and noise. They want guns that are mechanically obvious, easy to load and clear, small and light, and that don’t kick too hard.
A tiny, well-designed, 5-shot .380 would own this market. I hope they don’t screw it up.
Sure, the .380 is a little less potent than .38 special, but it’s a whole lot better than a .32 long.