S&W Governor

Saw one today and liked the way it fit. Seemed better then the judge. I know nothing about it. $640 and shoots .410, .45 acp, and .45 colt. I like the Colt round.

Thoughts?

Read lots of reviews. Usually something that shoots such different kinds of things doesn't do either particularly well. Remember that the .45/.410 revolver was a failed concept in the Thunder Five revolver. Then Taurus introduced it with the benefit of one of the biggest marketing campaigns the shooting world has ever seen. I still meet people that swear their Judge is the most powerful revolver ever made. Anyway, S&W is just grabbing onto Taurus' coattails (after decades of the other way around) and one-upped them (literally, six shots instead of five) plus gave it .45 ACP capability.

I'm not saying it's not an acceptable sidearm. Just as long as you know what you are getting.

But yes, my two most oft carried sidearms are chambered for .45 ACP or .45 Colt. They are capable of any self-defense encounter with any number of legs.

MAC702 said:

Read lots of reviews. Usually something that shoots such different kinds of things doesn't do either particularly well. Remember that the .45/.410 revolver was a failed concept in the Thunder Five revolver. Then Taurus introduced it with the benefit of one of the biggest marketing campaigns the shooting world has ever seen. I still meet people that swear their Judge is the most powerful revolver ever made. Anyway, S&W is just grabbing onto Taurus' coattails (after decades of the other way around) and one-upped them (literally, six shots instead of five) plus gave it .45 ACP capability.

I'm not saying it's not an acceptable sidearm. Just as long as you know what you are getting.

But yes, my two most oft carried sidearms are chambered for .45 ACP or .45 Colt. They are capable of any self-defense encounter with any number of legs.

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These AND the Judge are fine- as long as you understand, and are fine with, their limits. As a .45C/.45 acp revolver- there may be smaller, lighter options out there,but this will do just fine @ the distances you are most likely to use them. No, they probably wont be "match-grade" accurate revolvers (cyl. /chamber depths, etc) but then, no one here will really be shooting match-grade accuracy when their particular SHTF, anyway.
On the .410 side of things- mixed.
Makes for a very handy option if you live somewhere with a lot of snakes, like me, with birdshot.
With slugs and 000 loads, I wouldnt under-estimate those vs. humans. No, it wont be .44 Super-Duper-Magnum power, but it will do some damage, no doubt.

Both the Govenor and the Judge were initially interesting to me but I decided against them.

1) 45acp is equal or superior to 45LC balistically/power so why not use the more compact 45acp?
2) It is a huge pistol to carry. I would rather have a S&W 629 if I am going to carry something that size.
3) Capacity of 5-6 rounds makes me lean towards semi-auto models for higher capacity (in smaller packages).
4) You can use snakeshot in a 45acp/LC pistol so why not get a S&W 625 in 45acp if you like revolvers?
5) Bird/snake shot out of a 410 shotgun shell is good for birds and snakes. Humans may be harmed but it wont stop an attack as much as a slug or a 45 slug.

There were many downsides and few upsides. Mixing cartridges in different chambers doesn't really add any value because anything that any of them could do a 45acp can do too.

Now with all that said I have run into 3-4 people that have a Judge or Govenor and the love them. They even carry them as their OC gun. So it all comes down to how it feels in your hand and what you want it for.

Choose this day whom you will serve ...as for me and my household we will serve the 45acp (to any attackers)!

Just understand, the .410 was never designed to be a self defense round. I think the .410 would be best used only as a small game/varmint destroyer.

You don't have the penetration you have with a .45 acp/LC, and that is usually the game changer.

MAC702 said:

Read lots of reviews. Usually something that shoots such different kinds of things doesn't do either particularly well. Remember that the .45/.410 revolver was a failed concept in the Thunder Five revolver. Then Taurus introduced it with the benefit of one of the biggest marketing campaigns the shooting world has ever seen. I still meet people that swear their Judge is the most powerful revolver ever made. Anyway, S&W is just grabbing onto Taurus' coattails (after decades of the other way around) and one-upped them (literally, six shots instead of five) plus gave it .45 ACP capability.

I'm not saying it's not an acceptable sidearm. Just as long as you know what you are getting.

But yes, my two most oft carried sidearms are chambered for .45 ACP or .45 Colt. They are capable of any self-defense encounter with any number of legs.

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(sigh) I'll admit to owning a Thunder Five. If memory serves, didn't Colt attempt to put their name on the Thunder Five some time before the pistol's demise?

The Governor seems to be better built than the Judge in my opinion. I've noted that the tolerances on the Judge, especially the Raging Judge, have been extremely loose where the Governor has been pretty tight. (the 3 I've had hands-on and the 1 I've actually shot) I still want a Gov, but I want to find one around 500-550.

shot both, have judge

having shot both and now owner of great little judge i would like to put in my $.02 here. the governor sure has the advantage in that it shoots 45ACP and holds six rounds. however, in my mind these were part of the reason i did not go for the governor. the six round cylinder makes the gun wider and heavier. this was the big difference for me when considering for a sometimes concealed carry weapon. the 45ACP was a non event since you have to use clips with the round. They both will shoot 2 1/2" 410 rounds and some of the judges will actually shoot 3" rounds. i bought the Taurus Public Defender, Ultra lite. aluminum frame and only weighs in at 22 OZ per the literature. i don't always trust the literature so i weighed mine myself and it came in at 21 OZ on my postal scales. it will only use the 2 1/2 inch 410 rounds. They both shoot well and are typically accurate for a short barrel revolver. They have a similar and controllable feed back when fired with the same ammo. as for defensive rounds, i chose Hornady critical defense in 45LC 185gr FTX and Winchester PDX1 .410 defender rounds. this round is great in my mind. 3 each copper disks followed by 12 copper BBs behind. the pattern on a target at 7 yards, (in my opinion a good defensive practice range), is very impressive. you can see a demo video here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR-A8irzyWo).
i am convinced the although a little trendy, this gun makes a good defensive carry weapon, and with the variety of ammo available very versatile. just think, in the woods for example, 45LC in case of bear, lion, pig, wolf, etc and 410 for snakes, birds, etc. very handy in my mind.

I feel I need to chime in here. I have a bond arms derringer currently chambered in the 45lc/410 shot shell. Despite the obvious lack of capacity, 2 rounds instead of 5-6 like the revolvers, I definitely prefer it over the judge and governor. It is a lot smaller in size, but still weighs in at 24 oz. It is also narrower, which works a lot better for cc if you wanted to. The biggest advantage it has is that you can change the barrel on it in about a minute. You can put any handgun chambered barrel on it from 22 to 45 for about $130 a piece. It is more in the range of $400-$450 though, so if you figure dollars per round capacity it's not cheaper though.

Personally I don't care much for shot in a rifled barrel. I have never been interested in the Judge or Governor. A bunch of people swear by them though. As far as snakes my cane or a walking stick work just fine without killing the snake, they eat pests. As far as two legged critter any good quality handgun will do the job.

Yeah I forgot about the rifling. It does leave a wide pattern with those shot shells. I don't think Taurus or S&W could market a smooth bore revolver though. Bond arms could because all they would have to do is make another removable barrel.

A smoothbore handgun must be registered as an NFA firearm with the Federal Government.

MAC702 said:

A smoothbore handgun must be registered as an NFA firearm with the Federal Government.

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Thanks, I wondering about that.

Do you want me to ask you for the cite? Or, do you just want to go ahead and give it without being asked?

MAC702 said:

A smoothbore handgun must be registered as an NFA firearm with the Federal Government.

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A muzzle loading smoothbore handgun does not need to be registered.

WalkingWolf said:

A muzzle loading smoothbore handgun does not need to be registered.

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Correct. Thanks for the clarification. In fact, these can, in most states, be mailed right to your door like a new distributor for your Jeep.

Davy Sprocket said:

Yeah I forgot about the rifling. It does leave a wide pattern with those shot shells. I don't think Taurus or S&W could market a smooth bore revolver though. Bond arms could because all they would have to do is make another removable barrel.

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If you look at the Bond, you will notice that the .45LC/.410 barrel is not rifled all the way. Amiong other reasons, why bother when most of the barrel length is taken up by the cartridge shell? IIRC, BATFEIEIO requires a mere 1/8 inch to be legal. (And no, I am not going to provide a cite because I admit up front I am offering up a guess based on my personal memory, which as we all know has never been wrong but on occassion has been less than right.)

stay safe.

Having recently become the owner of one, I can say I like it...
I wasn't a fan of the concept and wouldn't have bought one for myself. IMHO, the gun should be DAO. Mine now is.
It won't be my EDC but I can see a place for it, mainly backpackers that want one gun to fill many niches...
As far a folks thinking these things are the end all be all or the most powerful firearm known to man ... I hear crap like that from gun folks about other things all the time...

For me it's my extra backpack, extra car gun. The multi cal makes it a decent choice for a BOB....imho.
I find the ability to fire six rds (rather than five), use 2rd or 6rd moon clips or none and fire 45LC/.410/45ACP/45Gap and 45Super the guns biggest assets.
Toss in 22LR chamber inserts and that adds another calibers. Not willing to try 460Rowland in it.


Surprisingly, my gun shoots best with 45ACP+P, 45Super and 45Gap loads, recoil is stout with 45Super/45ACP+P....
I find the shot pattern way too large beyond 7 yards with bird shot or buck.. haven't tried the new buck loads made for these new revolvers or hotter 45LC, yet.

IMHO, the Govenor won't be replacing the S&W 25 or 625 in 45LC or 45ACP.

Is it the ideal carry firearm? Not to me but it might be for you....