Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Governor at the range. My video of what ammo works best.

It was a unusually warm day today in Central Pa. so I did a video selection of the most popular choices of ammo for the Governor.
I test the new Hornady Triple Defense, Winchester PDX1 triple disc, Federal 000 buck, Winchester 45LC 225 Long Colt.0





My full review of the Governor here:
"http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-revolvers-1980-present/289833-governor-fires-judge-finally-taurus-free-governor-review.html"

I feel sorry for any perp that gets killed by one of those things.



Travis

Great review! Thanks

The Governor is on my short list of guns I need to own

I think you need a new list.



Travis

Bahaha! Agreed.

Serious question for yall? Why would this not make an excellent self defense handgun? For one, its a revolver and for two, you can see from the video that it is accurate and apparently quite deadly. Not to mention you can use .45acp as well

Excellent? In a word, NO!!

It's massive, and .410 looks really impressive when it hits paper. But what does it translate to when it hits tissue? How far do those pellets penetrate?

They're gimmick guns where defense is concerned. Outside of about 10 yards, the patterns open up pretty big, and both hits on target and penetration become even more of an issue.

For snakes, using Fiocci #9 shot in .410 they're absolutely awesome. But who has snake problems so bad they need a dedicated snake gun?

As a defensive revolver in .45 Colt; now it's decent. The .45 Colt is a first rate defensive cartridge, not some silly gimmick like the .410. But then you have to ask. If I wanted a large bore revolver for self defense, why saddle myself with a HUGE 5 shot with marginal accuracy? Why not just get a REAL revolver in the cartridge you want?

These things sell because they play off the ignorance of people who don't really know their guns (I'm not trying to be rude, just stating the facts...there's no shame in being ignorant of how guns really work; we all were beginners at some point).

Shotgun cartridges are most effective in long guns. Even in a long gun, .410 wouldn't be my first choice.

If you want a revolver for self defense, then just buy a real revolver and be done with it.

No one seriously considers a 410 shotgun an ideal weapon for self defense. The shotgun will get about 1200 fps the revolver 410 will be lucky to get 600 fps if that much. The huge cylinder to accept the shot she'll is overly long for the 45 Colt and that is not conducive to accuracy. These type weapons excel at nothing.

KevinGibson and jwp475 nailed it! Good posts.

Awesome test! I need one of these!

Eric

Having hunted small game with a .410 handgun at very close ranges, I can tell you, you'd be seriously hindering yourself by this choice.



Travis

Meh...
I bought the Taurus Judge out of curiosity to go test it out. I have a large handgun collection and it wasn't untill I did some shooting and killing with it that I started to see the beauty and knew it was more than a novelty when used correctly.. At that point, it was time to step up to the much better quality Governor with night sights.
I have killed several farm animals with my Judge that I owned at the time. One hog we put down was shot (10 feet) in the head with the Federal 000 buck and it blew its skull into mush. Another pig we put down and it was smaller in size and it took the top of its skull completely off. Its all about the ammo you use in these. The shot pistol is like fire, scarry at first but very usefull when used correctly with the right ammo. It makes a great Personal Defense weapon when you stick to the 000 Buck, 45LC. Its even a better trail gun. I have killed countless grey squirrels with Federal #4 shot. After owning both, I can tell you the Governor keeps a much tighter pattern and was more accurate than my Judge.

The Federal 000buck does NOT open that much more past 10 yards. Even 20 yards its the size of a 5" circle. The 000Buck is where its at with these guns. The standard 410 loads are crap in these pistols. Even with Shot Pistol specific loads like #4 are not that great for a human and what I use for squirrels and small game at reasonably close distances.

The empirical data is there.... This is a 10 yard shot with 000Buck. 30 feet is longer than most anyone's room in their house. The idea is to stagger the cylinder with 000Buck and 45LC to handle the very rare scenario you are defending your self past the 15-20 yard mark. At that point you better have a hell of a lawer for engaging much past that.
Even old Hickock45 can see the beauty.

How can you possibly argue with 4 36caliber balls in a 2" group at 10 yards???
Its accurate as hell and very controllable. Its all about the ammo.



At 29.5oz, its lighter than its size would have you believe. Carry it on the belt in a good holster or good shoulder rig and you won't know its there.

I think some of you experts are missing the point. Most self defense and police shootings are inside 7 yard and a large number are within touching distance. Any .410 ammunition you put in the chamber will work well at that range. The trouble with .45 colt or .45 acp ammo is over penetration. Make yourself up a fake studded wall with drywall on both sides and test your preferred ammo on that. Now just imagine, in the dark in the middle of the night in your house. Your kids might be on the other side of the wall from the burglar in your house. In that case bird shot might be the best. I can't imagine a better handgun for such a scenario. The only thing better would have been my trained police K-9, but he's long gone.

Well I couldn't disagree with you more.

I'm not saying it's worthless, because for home defense at those sorts of ranges it will probably work; it's just far from ideal. If you're thinking birdshot out of a .410 you may be in for a rude awakening. In 16 years on the street as a Paramedic, I've had several people shot with birdshot. Including those shot in the chest inside of 10 yards. EVERY last one still had fight in them if they chose to. With 12ga buckshot, inside of 20 yards, I've yet to treat a single victim; all were declared dead at the scene.

Look up birdshot ballistics gelatin testing and you'll see that from a 12ga it MIGHT reach deep enough to hit vitals from a frontal shot. Now if it's iffy with a 12ga from an 18" barrel, how well do you think it's going to work from a .410 with a 3" barrel?

As for misses and walls...Simply put, if you have family in other rooms, you just can't afford a miss. ANYTHING that will penetrate soft tissue enough to reach the vitals will zip right through wall board. Actually wall board is easier to penetrate than living tissue. Fire a pellet gun at a ham, and then shoot it at a couple pieces of wall board; it's interesting.

So what you want to know for home defense is not so much will it penetrate walls if I miss (yes it will, if it won't; it's inadequate for defense); but will it penetrate a wall AFTER going through a human torso...now THAT's over-penetration for home defense.

Hey, before I became a paramedic I thought the same thing you do. I thought birdshot out of a shotgun would be perfect for home defense. When I started treating ACTUAL shooting victims, it was a real wake up call. In fact, I'm generally not real impressed with shotguns. Inside 20 yards with #4 or larger BUCKSHOT, they're devastating. Outside 20 yards, I've never seen a fatality from a shotgun with buckshot.

So for .410 buckshot, inside of 7 yards it's probably marginally adequate. Understand that you're talking very small round ball projectiles. Round balls have very little sectional density. 000 buck which is (IIRC) .36 caliber at about 70 grains per projectile. So think of a handgun shooting a 70 grain bullet at only 700 fps. That's a touch less than a .32 ACP, but with only about half the sectional density of the .32 ACP (stop and think about that...a .32 ACP that penetrates half as far; how much confidence do you have in that?). So even if there are a dozen balls (and there aren't in a .410), if none of them reach a sufficient depth, what then do you have?

So the Governor/Judge is an adequate defensive revolver. In .45 Colt, I would use a bullet in the 200-230 grain JHP load which should be just about ideal for a dedicated inside the home load. Use that and you have as good of a load as you can ask for from most any handgun. The Governor only has 5 shots, but if you make them count, it will get the job done.

So if that's what you have, you can be quite well armed. If I were buying a new gun, I would just buy a normal revolver in the caliber that suits me.

Just don't get caught up in the .410 hype because that's all it is. Sure it will get the job done at very short range. But what if someone's holding your loved one hostage at 10 yards away; you wanna take that shot with a .410 buckshot load? What if your assailant is 20 yards away shooting at you. I haven't seen a 12 ga shooing buckshot ever kill anyone beyond 20 yards; you really think a 3" .410's going to get the job done?

The Governor has 6 shots. The skulls I shot were penetrated thoroughly and the smaller skull I shot penetrated completely through, blowing it apart.. It had enough kinetic energy. Shooting a thinner human head would equal a closed casket. The getting shot by 4 rounds at the same time in a very small point of impact is what amplifies its effectiveness. If you don't have confidence in your weapon then I understand. Having owned one and tested it out way beyond what the average owner can do certainly brings more clarity to its potential and actual field performance. I certainly would take a head shot at 10yards with 000Buck or 45LC if the opertunity called for it.
Considering the Governor can shoot 410, 45LC and 45acp, its almost a perfect weapon for a gun owner with multiple calibers and likes to reload. The versatility is unmatched by any other handgun. Consider it just another tool in the toolbox of handguns. Its just more of a multi tool.

Shotgun revolvers are an answer to a question that was never asked. Poor performance with bird shot, and why even shoot buckshot? The spread is not exactly going to clear any hallways. Just shoot a bullet and do the job correctly. But then you're packing a big, ridiculous, unwieldy proposition that is better suited to the set of Hellboy than the streets.

It seems like they sell well with the Bubba crowd; S&W will probably make some money off of them and their stocks will increase, so there is one upside!

Poor performance with birdshort on humans. What buckshot is supose to clear a hall way anyway??? The gun is multi dementianal and can be used with personal defense, critter hunting. survival, pests in areas you don't want ricochets, etc,... They also make a hell of a swamp gun. It goes well beyond just the bad guy in my house scenario. I suppose you would actually have to own one to have any educated experience on its potential. Just because a gun may not fit "your" ideology doesn't mean its wrong or inferior.

What is the "Bubba" crowd??

Exactly.



The uniformed, typically overweight, Team Realtree clad, Outdoor Channel watching buyer with more money than sense who purchases the Taurus Judge, Butt-Out tool, and camo wallet. Bubba often can be seen in his natural environment, at the Wal-Mart gun counter spouting off complete BS to anyone who will listen. Alternatively he comes on internet forums to preach more of the same.

Regional variations abound, including Self-Defense Bubba, Tacticool Bubba, and Backpacking Bubba.

Hmm... Never occurred for me to classify someone that way....