S&W Governor

[willie]

Recently my lgs owner begged me to buy a used, like new Governor that had become an albatross around his neck. I said I would if he would sell it cheap and not tell anybody I bought it. He agreed if I promised not to trade it back to him at some later date. As an experimenter and tinkerer, I've been enjoying shooting .45 ACP, .45 Colt, and various .410 shot shells through it. With the two handgun cartridges the Governor will roll beer cans at 25 yards. With .410 birdshot the Governor would be deadly on snakes out to about 20 feet if number 6 shot is used. This size produces the most dense pattern. The Governor really shines with Federal's special handgun defense .410 offering. This shell is loaded with four 000 buckshot balls. Those interested can view the research at http://410handguns.com

Though I'm enjoying playing with this revolver, I'm unable to determine the Governor's niche. Its two handgun cartridge offerings would suffice for self defense, and the .410 000 loading with four balls probably would too. For the man who shoots snakes the birdshot offerings would work very well. The Governor is big and awkward and a tad heavy when loaded. The term clumsy might apply. My Ruger Vaquero .45 Colt is much more accurate and considerably less clumsy to handle. Also, CCI shot cartridges are available for those who fear the serpent.

Unfortunately, many uninformed persons will buy this model, load it with .410 birdshot, and then consider themselves well armed. Some will go a step further and stagger the rounds like two bird shot .410 shells, two .410 buckshot shells, and then two .45 Colt rounds. This action is the ultimate delusion.

So what am I really going to do with it? Well, I plan to take it along with my other firearms when I fish or hunt, although it may remain in my truck. Too I'll experiment with cast bullets to see whether or not I can improve its gallon bucket 50 yard accuracy.
Will I keep it? Probably not, but please, fellow members, give me credit for knowing the Governor's limitations before I bought it. Anyway I'm having fun.

[Joe in PNG]

The appeal to most people who buy such a thing is that a shotgun shell best used for small game somehow becomes a hallway clearing cloud of splattery death when fired from a handgun.

For one that knows the above is nonsense, one then sees what the gun truly is- something that is neither fish nor fowl, a revolver that is too big and bulky to be a really good .45, and something that's not really a good shotgun.

But fun, yeah, in the same way as mopeds- enjoyable, but you don't want anyone to see you doing it.

[Bigghoss]

We've all hooked up with that one chick we wouldn't want our friends to see. And we've all had that one fun gun that we don't want to show to anyone.

[Rosco Benson]

I said I would if he would sell it cheap and not tell anybody I bought it.

Exactly. To me, the main usefulness of the Governor/Judge type revolvers is to make it easy to determine that the doofus extolling their usefulness as a defensive firearm IS, without a doubt, a doofus.

The same goes for extended slide stops on 1911's and bump-fire stocks on AR's. Doofus litmus all.


Rosco

[Sherman A. House DDS]

I wrote this a few years ago. Ignore, “Judge,” and insert, “Governor.” Not saying you’re a cultist! Tom Givens wrote a piece in SWAT magazine about them too.

https://revolverscience.com/2014/06/...-taurus-judge/


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[Eastex]

Have fun with it and keep your eyes open, some knuckle head will inherit something real cool and desirable and there you’ll be with a trade ready go! It’s well known knucklehead logic that a Taurus Judge is the next best thing to a death ray and you’ve got one up on the Judge with your Governor, one look at those .410 rounds and they might even toss in some cash if you’ll take that old dusty S&W 44 special off their hands!


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[Glenn E. Meyer]

Thanks Sherman! Whenever I moderate elsewhere and the Judge comes up, I've turned them to Tom's article. Now I have another. The hilarious reply is who is Tom Givens, what does he know!

OY!

Can you cut out the middle, weld and make it a smaller 45 ACP revolver? . I ask because I am reading a book about the war in the South Pacific. Mechanics out in the Islands figured out how to cut a truck in half to fit half in a C-47. They would fly the halves to the small island airfield and then weld the truck back together.

Of course, you could buy a nice 625.

[WDR]

The fact that there are a handful of places making concealment oriented kydex gear for these.... abominations... boggles my mind. I've never understood the attraction. But, if one buys it for a novelty... whatever. Maybe try some .410 slugs from it.

[willie]

My sense of humor sometimes gets me in trouble so I changed my mind about posting this: that Sherman and VDM were pestering me with pm's in order to get me to sell them my Governor. I was afraid of the ass whipping, but the rest of you birds would have had fun with it.

[S Jenks]

While we’re on the topic of .410 revolvers, is there any collector value in a Thunder Five? My inner Conrad Vig is telling me to pick one up.