Gratuitous Gun Pic – Rossi Circuit Judge (.45 LC / .410ga)

Okay, I did not know of this gun’s existence.

Rossi says it was inspired by the Taurus Judge revolver, and I have to say, having what is essentially a large-caliber revolver with a stock attachment and 18″ barrel piques my interest.  It has a 5-shot cylinder, and comes in either stainless steel or what they call “polished black”.

“But Kim,”  you may ask, “what would you use it for?”

Offhand, I can think of three, whether as a pest control bush gun, a trunk/truck gun, and even a home defense piece.  If I spent a little more time, I could probably come up with another four or five reasons.  Best reason I can think of, though, is that the Circuit Judge looks extremely badass.  So yes, I’d like one.

…preferably the stainless model, but the black would do, too.

MSRP is about $850, and probably a hundred less “street”.

15 comments

  1. While I would never begrudge another man for whatever new toy he wants to buy, I can honestly say that the abomination above is the ugliest firearm I’ve ever seen. Some months back I was searching for a Rossi lever action. At one gun store the clerk told me he didn’t have any lever guns, but he did have a Rossi in 45LC. I asked to look at it and he tried to hand me that … thing. Tried. I wouldn’t take it. Politely told him he could put it back on the shelf as I slowly backed away.

    Ended up getting a Rossi model 92 in .357 and absolutely love it. Much nicer looking, well balanced, and a joy to shoot.

  2. Pretty damn Nancy Pelosi ugly looking through my old eyes. I read reviews on this thing, kind of like a large revolver and a small rifle got drunk, screwed around and had an offspring that is not too much good for anything, perhaps Hunter Biden thing. Having said that if it appeals to other folks just for fun they should have at it and shoot the crap out of .410 shells and .45 LC just because they can.

  3. The amount of smoke, sparks and hot gasses that discharge out the back of the cylinder should DQ this from anyone’s want list. It’s less than useless.

    Everyone I know that bought one has theirs for sale, so if you gotta have one, there should be plenty out there.

    1. I own one. It has a shield around the front of the cylinder to prevent forcing cone gap flames from hitting your left arm.

      I do not get any back flames as long as I use full power loads. Target loads fail to fireform the brass, and allow some back gas.

      Mine shoots fully loaded .45 LC just fine.

  4. “smoke, sparks and hot gasses that discharge out the front of the cylinder”

    Feature, not a bug.
    Clearly, you’ve never fired .30 Carbine through a Ruger Blackhawk…

    1. No, I MEANT back of the cylinder. Any open cylinder is a pathway to your forearm, hand or face. I don’t recall if it was the early forcing cone problems or something else that left a fair number of shooters with face and hand burns. Sticking a open revolving cylinder 6-8 inches from your face seems counterintuitive.

      And no, I never shot a .30 Carbine through a Ruger Blackhawk, but I did shoot a .44 Magnum from a Bond Snakeslayer II derringer.
      Once.

  5. I used one during an Independence Day visit a few years ago to my grandparents to exterminate a tangle of cottonmouths that had set up in their creek. It was damn near ideal for it, was easy to make quick, accurate shots, and a hell of a lot of fun. Don’t remember exact numbers, but it was well over a dozen of the damned things. Just stood on the banks of the creek and took them out one by one. Probably would have been faster with some of the specialized .410 snake loads.

    And now I know what a viper tangle smells like. It’s not pleasant. If they had been on the other side of the property, probably would have left them alone, but this was 30 feet from the house, and can’t have hundreds of baby vipers suddenly showing up on the back porch.

  6. I’m not an NFA expert, but I do remember there being something about shotgun revolvers being on the no-no list.

    And the .30 carbine out of your Blackhawk was a memorable hoot. The ball of fire was even bigger than that of 5.56 “pistols”.

    1. Handguns (rifled barrel) larger than .50 caliber are magically bad, as are any short barreled shotgun (smoothbore) that is actually a handgun. Eliminates any true smoothbore shotgun or anything chambered in 20 gauge or larger in a pistol either (also I think 28 gauge may be verboten too).
      Slap a .45 Colt caliber designation on a .410 revolver, rifle the barrel, and you’re good to go. That’s why the original “Judge” exists. It’s an end run around arbitrary and capricious NFA rules.
      THIS abomination exists because someone wanted a rifle length version.

  7. Thing looks like a hot mess, and shotshells don’t do well in rifling, nor does .45 Colt do so well with massive throats in the chambers.
    I comprehend thumbing the nose at ATF with the Judge handgun, but neither smoothbore long arms nor long arms chambered for shotshells greater than half an inch are prohibited. A pump, lever action, or semi auto would likely work as well or better, and possibly with greater capacity. The ONLY reason I can see for the Circuit Judge is “because I want it and eff you.” Except I do NOT want it.
    You do you, and if you like the idea, go for it.
    I’ll do my own, and stick to guns that don’t try to be a rifle/handgun AND a fowling piece at the same time.

    1. The streetsweeper type had spring powered cylinders, IIRC. Somehow that made it more deadly, so that was how they banned it. (vague recollection of a knob for winding it up)

Comments are closed.