Ruger used to prototype Taurus Judge?

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hittman

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Maybe in the early 90's?

Looks like an extended Ruger style frame .... has a Ruger barrel and grip frame.

What's the group think on this?

It's marked 45 / 410 and it's NOT mine.

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No insult intended, but are you familiar with the "BFR," made by Magnum Research? They predate the Taurus Judge by probably a decade, or more.

I believe Ruger and/or Pine Tree Castings had a hand in providing parts (frames, maybe?) for the early BFRs.

I think this could be a "Frankengun," with Ruger barrel, grip frame, etc. installed on the BFR frame.

The two-tone "pinto" look (to my eye, anyway) and barrel with the "Warning" might bolster that theory, too(?).

I shot a BFR in .45-70 in the early 2000s. It was all stainless, with a 10" barrel. What a hoot! I started thinking about it later, and decided the (factory) ammo must have been loaded to "Trapdoor" Springfield pressures. I'm not into the big boomers, but the rounds were still pretty pleasant to shoot. (5-lb. revolver might have tamed recoil a bit, too!) :mrgreen:

I look at the BFR in .45-70 like I do the Boss Hoss (Chevy V-8 powered) motorcycle- a novelty, or show-off item. A serious piece of machinery, but there are others that are likely more practical- and still offering serious power output!
 

hittman

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As I understand the story of this gun ..... this one is the prototype from which a total of 12 guns were made. All "custom" ..... NOT produced by a known manufacturer.
 

HAWKEYE#28

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Purchased a BFR 45 70 at auction............ consigning owner was present...........asked him how it shot and handled. He said it was easy to carry in a cross chest holster setup.............when I asked about his firing the piece, he replied : "What? Do you think I am that crazy?"......... 8) :wink: BTW....it came with two full boxes of unfired HOT Hornady rifle loads!
 
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Many, many years ago I fired a .45-70 single-action owned by a friend. I have no idea who made it. As I recall, it had a brass grip frame and was vaguely similar to a stretched SBH. It may have been a "one-off".

The loads he had for it were nothing extreme, and the gun was quite pleasant to shoot if you had a little experience with large-bore single-actions.
 

hittman

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The s/n etched onto the bottom of this grip frame …… if its a Ruger s/n …….. makes it a 45 from 1991.
 

hittman

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Allegedly, the maker of this gun sold the idea to Taurus and they morphed it into their Judge.
 

nrobe50

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Looks like maybe a prototype from D-Max. They made guns from Ruger parts in Bagley MN in the 90's. Moved to South Dakota and later sold out to Magnum Research. Don't know how many guns were made but probably a few thousand. Look up D-Max sidewinder on Google.
 
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nrobe50 said:
Looks like maybe a prototype from D-Max. They made guns from Ruger parts in Bagley MN in the 90's. Moved to South Dakota and later sold out to Magnum Research. Don't know how many guns were made but probably a few thousand. Look up D-Max sidewinder on Google.

Thanks, nrobe50!

I Google "D-max Sidewinder," and the first link is to a discussion on this Forum. :p
http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=121759

This is why I love this Forum!

(BTW- after reading that thread, I vaguely remember reading it, ten years ago! :shock:
 
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