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

I've been shooting rats when I bushhog with .357 shot capsules loaded with #8 shot. It often takes 2 shots for each rat if they are big ones...and often there will be more than one rat. I've used a short double 12 gauge and a single shot 20 gauge before but it takes to long to get them in action from a tractor and they are a bit of overkill. You can call me Bubba cause I'm dying to try a Governor for this...

Honestly, I haven't looked at the links because I read everything there was to read on this subject several years back. That is not to be disrespectful of what they're saying. I've read a bit of the box o' truth's stuff on .410's and know that particular site doesn't favor them. You can generate "evidence" to support the other side too. Also there are other experienced shooters who like the concept. I'm probably the single most experienced shooter here when it comes to this concept. Anybody who doesn't believe it can do a search or simply disbelieve it. My take on the whole thing is this:

Doesn't matter about the concept, the basic Judge (I can't speak to every single variant) isn't reliable so the concept doesn't matter. It may be the design but my opinion is that it's the execution. Whatever it is, it is unreliable.

As to the Governor, it is reliable but my experience with it isn't as great as the Judge. But now we can get to the concept. The 45 part of the equation is fine and is surprisingly more accurate than one would expect given the 410 chambers. It is fine at typical self defense ranges. The 410 side is more iffy. With specialty loads designed for 410 handguns specifically, the guns pattern adequately at self defense ranges. With standard 410 loads, the individual load must be judged on its own merit. Collectively, the standard loads are not impressive at all.

I'll take real-world results over lab ones any day. That doesn't mean I totally discount lab results, it means that I think real world ones are in the main, more representative. IIRC there are a couple of instances of self-defense on record with these guns. I'll leave that to others to check on though. If you can believe the bit about the hog's head, I've been around enough hogs to know that a hog's head is tougher and more resistant to penetration than a human's is, unless you're talking a liberal. So anything that penetrates a hog head will definitely penetrate a human skull. To me this trumps talk of velocity and chronographs, etc.

The Judge isn't a worthy choice for anything much. The Governor is fine if you like the concept.

Before you spend a lot of money for a better shot revolver, try loading your own shot cartridges with #12 shot. The problem isn't the shot size, it's the number of shot on target. With 7.5-8 shot, I've always had to shoot a snake 2 or 3 times. With #12 shot, rarely do you have to pull the trigger twice.

The Governor solves the problem by just putting more shot on the target, but you can get that without going to that goofy revolver.

Yeah, actually makes perfect sense.....never thought about weighing the shot and loading it like a bullet

Thanks

It would go great with a Governor. Kindly remove that Smith from the photograph. It deserves better.



Travis