I had to post this as i had sent it to a couple of members after i took the PD to range. I figured i would share it with every one. I own the M450 and the M460 tracker in 45 colt. I had always been looking at the Public Defender but always had my doubts about it. The review from "shooting the bull" and one of our members input gave me the motivation to give one a try.
i finally had a chance to take it out for a spin today. made an error in initial purchase. federal 410 #4 by mistake. lots of fun but really nothing special. lucky the range had a couple of manufacture rounds on hand. hornady critical defense 950 fps 2 X 35 caliber ball and one 41 cal FTX, Winchester 4 X 000 buck 1200 fps. I also shot a bunch of my 45 colt hand loads. Both were easy to shoot and yes accurate. nice spread until you get out to about 7 yards then they seem spread begins to to get large. still at 7 yards that many 9mm size projectiles do give one confidence that you will ruin someones day. I hope to try the federal 000 buck loads next. Recoil really was nothing to speak of. i like the small grip. I did not miss using my little finger on the grip at all. In fact I wish i could get my M450's modified as that grip would make it even more concealable.
the trigger seemed heavy at first but lightened up rather quickly. the single action is Good from the start. the grip allows you to reach the trigger with ease. It may feel slightly nose heavy but nothing that distract from shooting it well. that feeling goes away after you shoot it for a while you hardly notice it.
sights easy to pick up and function well.
I was impressed with its accuracy with the 45 colt rounds. It rivaled my M450. I was drilling a 4 inch target at 13 yards . I really like the versatility the PD offers. If i would have never had the chance to shoot the M450 it would be a candidate for primary carry. the 3 extra ounces and added length are noticeable but very doable. I think thats where the M450 really shines for me. It is light, easy to carry (even in jeans pocket) accurate and packs a punch.
I can see the PD be a great house, car and hiking gun. I will be looking forward to seeing just how versatile this neat little weapon is. i can see using some larger shot for small critters out to ten yards and the federal 000/45 colt loads for SD.
Yea, I know what you mean. I have the steel PD and enjoy shooting it. I had to start reloading 45s so I could shoot it as much as I wanted to. I bought mine a few years ago, and it's made many trips to the range.
The triple 0 buck is a devastating round. I've tried them all and it's my personal favorite round for home defense.
Second range session. Man this trigger is just getting better and better. the single action has gotten so good that if i don't pay attention the weapon surprises me. double is improving as well. I am hooked. great weapon. glad i took the plunge. i am with you buckeye. That 000 buck and a back up of 45 colt is very comforting.
Yep if you get the chance to shoot someones first too see how you like it. personally i think they are great to shoot. Like i said a bit longer than the M450 but not by much. I am really impressed with how this thing is performing. i haven't had any problems with the 000 buck sticking as in the other posts. i haven't had the chance to try the federal but the Remington work fine.
Now i am beginning to wander if a longer barreled judge might be worth looking at. heck a longer barrel would boost the 410 performance and definitely give the 45 colt extra punch. i am going to have to research it more. if it is worth the effort i may just trade the tracker for a longer barreled judge.
I guess i should have looked at the forums previous posts .
the posts i have seen about a longer barreled judge provides no improvement with the buck or shot shell ammo. In fact they actually demonstrate diminished performance.
Now that would bring me to ask the question: what use would the longer barreled judge have? I mean if it doesn't improve the buck shot performance and the 45 colt is relatively the same as the M460 then why purchase a longer barreled judge.
Maybe for hunting? Some places have rules about barrel length for handgun hunts.
Other than that I can't really think of a reason to get a longer barrel judge if you already have a shorter barrel. You get more fps on your shots, but the shotgun ammo has a wider spread.
If you have a shorter barrel judge and you get a longer barrel raging judge magnum, then you'd gain the ability to shoot .454 casull and +p .45 colt.
I guess i am more interested in the 000 buck performance form the longer barrel. I can see switching from the M460 tracker to a longer barreled judge if the 000 buck performance distance increase. Other wise i would keep my current combination. i am keeping my loads to a minimum so i tend to concentrate on the 45 colt round.
just go back from the range. i finally picked up some federal 2 1/2 000 buck to compare to the Remington. I had heard that some had issues with the federal feeding in the cylinder. I had no such issue with the federal. i did have to give the a few of the Remington a tiny nudge.
Federal advertised velocity 850 fps
Remington 1225 fps
they chrono'd as follows:
5 shot average---about 11 feet from chrono---a crisp 50 degrees 26% humidity no wind to speak of.
reminton averaged 790 fps
federal 744 fps
I understand that advertised velocities are varies to barrel tested.
Remington is a bit sharper recoil in hand than the federal. I think they must use a faster burning powder.
shots patterned:
Federal really tight one to two inches at 5 yards. actually kind of amazing. 2 to 4 inches at 7 yards.
Remington about 4 inches at 5 yards and easily 6 to 8 inches at 7 yards. Not as good as the federal but useable.
Now for the disturbing news.
The almost all of the federal rounds had the end of the shell bulge back and bind the cylinder. i had to push cylinder release and pop the cylinder open with the hell of my hand. I don't know if this is just a bad batch of rounds but i in no way would trust my life to these rounds.
Remington no issues at all.
I would go for a larger spread and have a reliable gun before an tight group one shot revolver.
anyone have these issues?
is this why the 2 1/2 federals are hard to find on the market.
i am going to write or call federal after the holidays to see if there is a call back on these.
heck i now have 9 boxes to shoot.
All in all it was fun and i still like this great, versatile, gun.
Spread and speed is about what I'd expect, yes. But surprised you're having extraction issues; the Federals and the PDX1 have been the smoothest-extracting rounds I've used. Well, every gun is different, and ammo can vary from lot to lot I guess, but it's too bad you're having issues with the Federals as they're my favorite Judge load. Try the NobelSport .40-caliber buck, it's an excellent load as well.
Poly PD
Ammo tested ...I have shot 250 gr Colt LRN ..lower pressure rounds ..,now let me remind you guys and gals....I practice at 25 ft max ...and the Cowboy ammo was low recoiling ..dirty ..and accurate...I also have fired a few just a few (cost !!) of Winchester PDX-1 45 Colt SD ammo ..was accurate ..a bit snappier than the Cowboy stuff but was very manageable
410 ammo ..I had some 4 shot ammo ..shot well ..6.5 ammo shot well ...only SD 410 ammo I have owned is Federal 000 Buck Handgun ammo ..I have fired a few rounds to make sure it functioned as advertised..it did.. Its the only SD 410 Handgun ammo I recommend...
Overall the Poly PD is a GREAT Choice for SD ...with the right ammo....
I hate that you had extraction problems with the Federal ammo .....
i hate that the federal has given me such issues. i am going to call federal to see if it is a possible bad lot. it did perform the best out of the poly PD. all my 45 colt loads perform well. i am not saying this pd isn't a great weapon. I just want reliable ammo. I am going to go out and try another box of the federal today. this will be the second box vs about the 6th box of Remington. I do enjoy this weapon just want some good ammo.
well been out to the range several times. same issue bottom of federal case bulge. going to call federal but they are out on holiday vacation until January the 5th. no worries still having fun shooting this weapon. it is super nice and for now the Remington ammo will have to suffice. it may not be as accurate as the federal but it is still effective. the hornady rounds are very good as well so i am good to go with a HD senerio. i try to shoot it every time out to the range. which is every day right now that i have some time off. usually once a week while working. Yeah shooting is my passion....what can i say better to be addicted to shooting sport than some of the other options. LOL!!!
Sorry it took me a while to resize the pic. Yeah that's what i have been thinking. you can see that the Remington to the right has no bulge at all. i will try to post pics of the ammo in the cylinder and you can see the gap difference. it is a shame that Federal hasn't hear about this and tried to recall the ammo. Seriously i am glad i tried it first. today every four or fifth round acted this way. I want to be able to trust my life with this type of round. we will see what Federal has to say.
update!!! sent federal pics via email... they had UPS pick up the ammo yesterday. I am going to get new case of ammo. I am still waiting to hear what is the reason behind the ammo behaving that way. the rep told me that they would have to get it back and evaluate it. Hmm!! if the new ammo performs well then i will keep a couple of boxes for SD but right now i am only willing to trust the remington. Although it provides a wider spread (double that of the federal) it never gave me an issue.
OP, the Public Defender Poly is most certainly a cool "beasty" piece. That one would definitely scare the crap out of some BG, staring down the business end of it!
New update on the ammo!!!!! i received a call from the Federal tech tonight. he said they completely pressure tested sample rounds from the rest of the case. All tested were well within spec. They then tested them in a judge they had available (no poly PD). No ammo issues. The next thing they suggested is that the rear cylinder gap of the poly PD may be slightly large and allowing for the case buldge.
The rounds slide in and out of the cylinder with no issue.
I am going to call Taurus tomorrow to get service number and send it to them to correct or get me a new PD.
Glad to hear that replacement case of Federals are coming back.
any input?
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