LaserLyte announced a “side mount” laser for the Taurus and Smith & Wesson line of revolvers, including the incredibly popular Taurus Judge.  The Taurus Judge is a line of medium to large revolvers that fire both .45 Colt cartridges and .410 bore shot shells (and slugs.)  This is the first time anyone has developed this kind of  side mount laser for the Judge handguns.
LaserLte says the Side Mount Laser (SML) is easily mounted underneath the rubber grip of the revolver and allows the shooter to retain the factory or custom grips, and use the same holster as an unmodified gun. Â The included photos show where the laser unit mounts on the revolvers.
Image provided by Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons license.
Image provided by Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons license.
Charter Arms announced the “new” classic .44 Bulldogs will be shipping in September 2010. Â Modeled on the old-style Bulldogs, the new .44 Special revolvers will feature a 3″ tapered barrel, exposed extractor, and checkered walnut grips. Â Finish will be a high-gloss blue. Â The hammer will be exposed, and the cylinder will hold five of the big-bore .44 Special loads.
The image to the right is of an original .44 Bulldog. Â Photos of the new revolver have not yet been released by Charter Arms.
MSRP is $521.00 and the model number will be 34431 for those interested in placing an early order. Â The rep I spoke with said the new guns are in production now, so delivery should be on-time.
The new Taurus M380 is a 380 revolver. Â Yes, that’s right a wheel gun chambered for the rimless .380 ACP cartridge.
IÂ love the panache of Taurus. Â They aren’t afraid to try new things, and they can often start a little stir in the industry. Â Who would have thought the original Judge would sell well, much less spawn specialty ammo and a whole series of revolvers based on the idea.
“It’s the neatest little gun you’ve seen in a long time,” said Bob Morrison of Taurus USA. Â Morrison appeared on the May 30, 2010 broadcast of Tom Gresham’s GunTalk radio program.
Since then, the revolver has been released and we have all of the specifications on the new handgun.
The Taurus 380 revolver is in the company’s Ultra-Lite line of handguns, and it comes in two finishes: Â stainless steel and black. Â Otherwise, the two guns appear to be identical.
The Smith and Wesson Bodyguard 38 is a new “hammerless” revolver like those found in the Centennial line. Â Unlike those guns, the new Bodyguard 38 has a polymer frame and integral laser. Â It is one of two new compact handguns called Bodyguard introduced by S&W at the 2010 SHOT Show.
First, the basics, it is a five-shot, 38 Special revolver that is rated for +P ammunition. The hammer is fully concealed, and the gun is double action only. The gun is black with a grip. At first glance, it looks a lot like a model 442. But, this revolver is actually very different.
The Bodyguard 38 is a polymer-framed revolver, the first-ever by Smith & Wesson. This means that Smith had to go back to the drawing board to design this firearm. The lower frame (roughly from the rear of the cylinder back), is polymer, while the upper frame (surrounding the cylinder and housing the barrel) is aluminum. As you might expect, the revolver is very light, weighing only 14.3 ounces.
A significant change on the Bodyguard 38 is the relocation of the cylinder release. Instead of being mounted on the side of the frame, the release has been moved to the top of the frame, where an exposed hammer would normally be. Since the cylinder release is along the midline of the revolver, it is now ambidextrous.
Speaking of the cylinder, one of the problems sometimes cited by owners of Smith & Wesson J-frames is the extractor rod is too short to reliably eject fired brass. This is an annoyance at the range, but a possible deadly problem in a self-defense shooting. While not full length, the rod on the Bodyguard 38 is noticeably longer to provide a more sure ejection of spent cartridges.
Smith and Wesson lists the barrel length as 1.9″. Traditionally, S&W has listed the barrel length of their “snubbies” at either 1 7/8″ (1.875″) or 2″. I assumed that Smith was rounding up the 1.875″, but the company rep insisted the barrel length was exactly 1.9″.
Sights are fixed and black. The rear notch seems wider than the notch on the 442/642, but that is my impression only. I didn’t measure them, and the Smith rep was not sure.
Significantly, the Smith and Wesson Bodyguard 38 ships with an integrated laser from Insight Technology. The red laser mounts high and back on the right side of the frame. The laser is adjustable for drift and elevation. Two laser modes are offered: steady and pulse. To activate the laser, the shooter may turn the unit on by pressing a button on the unit.
In another evolution of the Judge line, Taurus introduced the Raging Judge Ultra-Lite revolver at the 2010 SHOT Show. The Raging Judge Ultra-Lite is a seven-shot revolver that can shoot 2.5†and 3†.410 shotshell in addition to .45 Colt.
The sights are fixed, with a fiber optic front and notch rear. The barrel is three inches, with the gun’s weight just a touch more than 41 ounces. Though it was not shown on the show floor, the Taurus catalog also lists a six inch barrel, which weighs a little over 47 ounces.
