...if we can get the new offering from Taurus chambered for the 45 Long Colt and .410 Guage shotgun shell. It seems that Taurus has hit a niche in providing the ultimate close quarters protection handgun that fires bullets or shot. Even their new video proclaims the advantage of a rifled handgun that offers a spread close enough to take out a car jacker, yet tight enough to clear your passenger side window - when fired from the drivers seat of your vehicle.

Dubbed, "The Judge", apparently because it's popular with Jurists sitting up on the podium in the courtroom, This 3.5" barrelled, dual chambered dynamo packs a helluva punch for thwarting the unwanted advance of unruly defendants who decide to approach the bench uninvited.

But the Jury's not in yet, because there's a meaner, and more powerful hand-cannon on the market that chambers and fires a 3" .410 shell, as opposed to the 2.5" chambering that's afforded by The Judge.

The Thunder 5 45/410 is a heftier bellygun, weighing in at just 3 pounds, and sports a 2" Barrel and a durable phosphate finish w/pachmayr grips. Capable of single or double action operation, this 5 shot man-stopper is, according to the manufacturer, "Built like a tank". They even go so far as to say that  a 45LC fired from one of these puppies, "feels like a heavy, toy cap-gun."

Here's a pic below of the beast:

Although Manufcturing operations have been suspended for the past couple of months, the folks over at Thunder 5 will resume fulfulment of orders and begin shipping again after the end of November, when they complete their migration from Tenessee to Texas.

NO, you can't get either one of these in California, and not just because they aren't on the drop test either - because they're shotguns with two inch (or in the case of the Taurus, three and a half inch) barrels, that's why.

"But it has a rifled barrel", you say. Correct, and in most any other state than California this federal distinction makes the The Judge and the Thunder 5 a handgun. Taurus even points out that rifling, contrary to what one might assume, actually expedites the spread of the shot pattern over that of a smooth-bore barrel.

In California, if a gun is manufactured to accept shotgun shells (not those CCI snakeshot pistol cartridges), then it's a shotgun, with no bearing on the bore of the barrel.

That's a real shame, because both of these handguns really are the ultimate home (or auto) protection weapons, able to be wielded and operated young and old, firm and feeble alike. A double action revolver that you mrerely point in the general vicinity of an "Evil-Doer" to force them to acquiesce is exactly what most people are really seeking when they come into the shop here asking for 'home proection' firearms.

Any granny (litterally anyone) knows how to operate a double action revolver - even under conditions of extreme fear in a dark hallway while half asleep.

So why are these illegal in California? Write your local representatives and ask them for a good reason, one they undoubtedly will not be able to provide, and then vote someone else into office.

You can view Taurus', "The Judge", at any gunstore outside of California, where you may have to wait in line for the back orders to be filled; while the Thunder 5 can be had by visiting their website at http://Thunder5.com