What kind of .45 Ammo can the Judge 3" Magnum actually shoot?

[MohicanRon]

I have a Judge 3" Magnum and have only shot 5 rounds of #4 shot 9 pellet rounds which did just fine. What I would like to know is just what kind of .45 rounds besides the Colt will it shoot. I was at Wal-Mart the other day and seen a value pack of .45 rounds for 32 dollars. It did not say Colt on it so I didn't purchase. Since this has such a long chamber (3") can it shoot any standard .45 rounds. Or does it have to be the Colt or APC? What about th +p or +P+? I am not familiar with this size of ammo at all. Thanks in advance.

[Buckeye!]

Do not shoot 45 Colt +P in a Judge...and its a no go on 45 acp also...just use standard pressure 45 Colt ammo (45 Long Colt) as it is sometimes referred to ...

[ccviper]

45 colt only. As far as 410 ammo, you can shoot 2 1/2" or 3". Stay away from slugs as they do not provide any advantage over 45 Colt and will usually not be very accurate due to the fact that they are undersized. There is some great SD rounds for the Judge being produced now. Here is some of the latest that I have used through my Judge with great results. Lehigh Defense | Ammunition and projectile products for Hunting, Personal Defense, Law Enforcement and Military applications

[MohicanRon]

From my understnading the Colt .45 are also called longs. So if a regular size .45 would be shorter and less powerful is this correct? And it would not fire properly in the Judge Magnum? Just trying to get some cheap plinkers.

[ccviper]

There is not actually a 45 Long Colt. They got the name due to when introduced, the round,45 Schofield, it replaced was shorter than the 45 Colt. Hence, 45 Long Colt. You can shoot 45 Schofield out of a 45 Colt. Unfortunately, there is not a very cheap 45 Colt round for plinking. You can do a search for some companies that offer reloads which is usually cheaper than factory new.

[Robby]

There are models of 45's that shoot what was known as Schofield 45s or 45 short. They are not really for the JUDGE. Any standard power 45 colt, or long colt, or LC should work with no problem. Like others said any 410, newer ones even say handgun on the box, should work just fine in a 3" chambered JUDGE.

Please save your money and do not buy slug 410s, as a 45 colt give much more accurate shooting. Anything from light loaded cowboy loads, up to full power 255 gr plus will work just fine in a standard JUDGE.

Now on the new Raging JUDGE, all bets are off as they are rated for 454 down, so +p 45 would be OK, in my opinion. Enjoy your JUDGE, I DO MINE!!

[joecil]

From my understnading the Colt .45 are also called longs. So if a regular size .45 would be shorter and less powerful is this correct? And it would not fire properly in the Judge Magnum? Just trying to get some cheap plinkers.

The 45 Colt (Long Colt) will actually fire the 45 Schofield (short) rounds just fine. 45 Schofield came about due to a gun made in 1869 by S&W. The cylinder was a bit too short to shot the 45 Colt. In 1873 when the Army bought half of their guns from Colt and the rest from S&W they used Schofield ammo in both and basically let the 45 Colt die for awhile in Military use. Now Schofield replicas shot 45 Colt but my 1873 Colts shot Schofield's fine also. Now keep in mind the ammo of the day was all black powder as smokeless came along in 1892.

.45 Schofield - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Buckeye!]

.45 Long Colt 255g LSWC - Reed's Ammunition & Research, LLC

I don't handload the 45 Colt....but this looks like fine ammo for the judge.....




should look like this

[MilProGuy]

From my understnading the Colt .45 are also called longs. So if a regular size .45 would be shorter and less powerful is this correct? And it would not fire properly in the Judge Magnum? Just trying to get some cheap plinkers.

I've not found any cheap, plinking ammo in .45 Colt. Please let us know if you do.

[DrillSergeant]

I have the Rossi Circuit Judge in blue, same as thejudge magnum with a 3" chamber. I got it for xmas and I took it outshooting yesterday for the first time, wow was I impressed. The 45 colt shellswhere accurate and had very little kick. The 410 shells were a different story.Russian Silver Bear 3”magnum shells. They are a very powerful round, abouttwice that the kick of a 45 colt 255gr cowboy load but, they expand in the 45colt portion of the cylinder when fired and have a tendency to stick in thechambers or split. I fired 10 rounds and all of them stuck and one split fromthe neck of the 45colt to about an inch down the case towards the rim. Isuggest to only firing plastics, not any full case 410 shells. You can not fire 45ACP in the Judge magnum. The rim of the 45acp is not big enough to seat and the entire round will go into the chamber.