Good your big GOV is back home, I love mine, Who thinks rpg doesn’t like the GOVERNOR?
Semper paratus

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I got her back yesterday and it looks like it is in fine shape. The repair sheet said they replaced the firing pin, the main spring, and repaired the yoke. Not sure what they meant by repairing the yoke, but maybe a spacer in there somewhere to change the cylinder spacing between it and the firing pin bushing. I won't be able to give it a test run until this Friday but I expect it to work just fine now. It still amazes me how much work had to be done on a new revolver to get it into shape. I've heard it mentioned several times that it's a good thing to send a new revolver back in for service because they look it over from top to bottom and give it a good tune-up. I guess quality control only goes so far on new firearms.

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Badgers? Did someone say badgers??????
Watch it until the end !
Badger Badger Badger.com! The Original Dancing Badgers!

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I been watchin' for three days now and it ain't come the end yet. It's gettin' plum borin'.

I just got back from the shooting range and I put the governor through it spaces, and it passed with flying colors. I had four different 410 self defense shotshells that I ran through it and they all work perfectly. There wasn't a sign of any weakness in the gun at all. I also loaded up some pretty strong 45 Colt rounds last night and shot them with great success. Strangely, one of my favorite rounds I shot through the revolver today was 45 Auto in the moon clips. I find it very comfortable to shoot, and it was much more accurate than I expected. Although, the best part of the 45 Auto was the moon clips and how easy they were to load in, eject, and reload, making it a strong choice for self-defense. As I mentioned earlier Smith & Wesson replaced the firing pin, the mainspring, and repaired the yoke. All the repairs added up to a perfectly operating and reliable self defense gun in my opinion. This is heading in the direction of one of my favorite pistols I have.

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Yolk = yoke

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Last week I had the good fortune to shoot the Gov's distant cousin the Judge.
Comparing horseshoes and hand grenades, especially in this site

It was fun , for a short while , then it became ,meh???
If I were to own one , it would never leave the house , with the exception to go to the range. Sure it "could" be an adequate nightstand gun, but personally I would prefer a Mossberg Shockwave.

I don't scoff at the idea of having any firearm for self/home defense. Although the governor would be my last choice as a carry gun due to it's large frame. Kinda harder to conceal compared to a J frame. That's my only beef with it.

I actually was considering both the Judge and Shockwave for Home Defense last year, but ultimately chose the Judge because I couldn't find a safe way to store the Shockwave by my bedside, and although the Shockwave is relatively short at a total of 26" long, I still had concerns about maneuvering around with it in some of the more cramped quarters in my home, not to mention concerns about the ability (or lack thereof) to fire it one-handed if the need should arise, so ultimately the Judge won.

The Judge really isn't designed to be a concealed carry Revolver. There is a concealed carry version of the Judge called the Public Defender, but even in that configuration I wouldn't use it for concealed carry because there's just too much risk of collateral damage with .410 and if you're just going to load it with .45s then there are better options.

I have been shooting my governor quite a bit lately and finding the 45 ACP more accurate than I expected. At 21 feet I was keeping a silver dollar size hole in the Target without an issue. What is nice about the 45 ACP is the ease of loading and reloading with moon clips. The spent moon clip Falls right out and the reloaded moon clip slides right in quickly. I think too many people worry about power in a self-defense situation, especially in a house, where bullets could penetrate through walls into the next house or residence possibly hitting someone there. The most powerful round isn't necessarily the best round. I can load my 45 autos with mild rounds or strong rounds, however I choose. The 410 as well, depending on what load you choose, can be contained in your own house as well without the fear of going into the neighbor's house. Again, power isn't everything, it's only one aspect of self-defense. I could see me loading a couple rounds of number 4 shot, a couple rounds of ACP, and a couple rounds of colt to fill up the cylinder. I can also see me loading in just 45 Auto due to the ease of empty in the cylinder and filling it back up again.

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Keep that to yourself. Some people like to pretend that anything coming from the barrel of a Governor is harmless and couldn't hit or bust through wet newspaper @ 10 feet away. Don't play with their heads.

Yep, apparently the Judge and by extension the Governor is just such a abysmal design that it can bend the laws of physics, thus reducing even otherwise powerful rounds like .45LC/ACP to a virtually harmless state.

Ah, but in reality the design does seem to indeed have one anomalous ability that defies comprehension, and that's the uncanny power to drive certain individuals into a state of irrational anger/disgust so strong that it stupefies even those with a wealth of knowledge/experience with firearms to the point that they make statements about the ballistic performance of ammunition fired from .410/.45 Revolvers which are physically impossible.

I bought a Governor several years ago when my LGS received one. I would label it unique rather than any of the other adjectives. It has the Scandium alloy frame and it will shoot .45 acp and .45 Colt as well as 410 shotshells. I have carried it in a Disantis holster as a sidearm when hunting and I do not find the weight bothersome to my 69 year old frame. I load it with Buffalo Bore .45 Colt standard pressure Outdoorsman cartridges. I have a lot of fun with it and again it is a unique handgun in my collection. I would not feel under gunned with the Federal 4 count 000 Buck shotshells although I would more likely use .45 Colt which I reload for Cowboy Action Shooting.
Personally I would never like to be shot with anything including .22 rimfire.

This is one of my very 1'st YouTube videos from years ago with my then new Governor. Here's the kind of accuracy you can expect with the Federal 000 Buck load at varying distances. S & W Governor .....Federal 000 Buck at muti ranges.MPG - YouTube

Thanks for the no-nonsense video! Good shooting! A Governor loaded with .410 shells (that amount to 24 shots of .38) could make a very bad day for an intruder.

They still make that thing?

Things which sell tend to stay in production, yes.

Yep, and when S&W stop manufacturing it, the Governor's value will rise as a collectible due to the uniqueness of the Scandium frame plus the fact it is a Smith and Wesson.

Living up to your screen name, I see.

No, he's actually right.

Just look at the MIL Thunder 5, the ancestor of the Governor, its a collector's piece now despite being an ugly firearm by a no-name brand, ergo if the Governor were to go out of production, it's very likely that it could eventually become a sought-after firearm amongst collectors.

Took my new gov to the range a few days ago to shoot a mix of 45 colt,45 acp, and Federal .410 handgun 000. Had a great time 'till I got to my third Federal. After firing, the cylinder jammed and couldn't be opened without a healthy thump against the carpeted shooting bench.

Later I noted that the base of the offending shell had a pronounced bulge over a length of about a 1/16 of an inch. Since then I've loaded the three types of ammo and noted that all seem to have a fair amount of daylight showing between the base of the cartridge or shell and the face of the frame (headspace?)

I'm reluctant to fire the federal again and worse yet to rely on the gov for nightstand security. Thoughts?

Sounds like it needs a trip back to the mothership. Those shells ought to fit snuggly inside of the cylinder with little to no visible light between the rim and the frame.
Granted that I'm basing this on my Taurus Judge Magnum, but the Governor is a clone of the Judge and it's highly unusual for a Taurus to have tighter tolerances than a Smith & Wesson.

At any rate, I would at least call up S&W about the matter because that is most certainly not normal . I've never heard anyone having such issues with Federal .410 Handgun out of a Governor, nor even a Judge or BFR for that matter.

Thanks for the reply. I noticed a couple of errors in my original post:
I was shooting ACP not caps! And the gap in question is 1/16 not 1/6 - jeez that would be a disaster.

Even the 45s are a sloppy fit with plenty of room to slide back & forth between the cylinder and frame (breachface?).

I guess it's going home.
PJ

Yeah, even with the corrections you made, it still shouldn't be that loose. In my Judge, .45LC is just a teensy bit loose, just enough that if you tilt the gun back and shake it a bit the cartridges can back out of the cylinder slightly and come into contact with the frame, but even then they don't back out nearly enough to lock up the cylinder nor for the cartridges to bulge when fired.
Granted that the Judge is a slightly different animal from the Governor since they Governor has a larger cylinder for an additional shot and clearance between the cylinder/frame would have to be slightly larger to accommodate the thicker rim of .45 ACP + the Moon Clip, but it still sounds excessive even with that in mind. (Plus the ammo malfunction sort of speaks for itself.)

I have been shooting my governor excessively lately, being it's a new handgun and also that it is enjoyable to shoot a variety of an ammo. It has literally been flawless being 100% functional. I enjoy the versatility of the three different rounds it shoots and each has its benefit. For quick reload nothing beats the 45 Auto using the moon clips. As far as the 45 Colt, not much beats it for power with a 250 grain bullet being pushed by a heavy Colt load. Then there is the 410 shotshell self defense ammo that is just flat-out destructive. To me it is a great self defense gun for home which can be loaded up in various ways.

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Groo here
If I was going to hike around in the wilderness this is the gun I would
choose.
Three types of ammo,light weight,and makes big holes.
45acp in clips for SD, Hard cast 45colt for woods carry,410 for snakes.
Now, if there is a 410 flare, all done!!!!!.

Great looking holster - what is that?

Fill it up with concrete, use it for a doorstop, and get a real gun.

ETA: Same for the Shockwave.

Just a guess but probably never shot either one.

To the tune of "I shot the Sheriff":


I shot the Shockwave
But I did not shoot the Governor

Maybe a little training and a open mind you could
Shoot both. Try Clint Smith’s thunder ranch video on the shockwave don’t just close your eyes and shoot from hip.The Governor is not the best with any of the three rounds it uses it is very good with each round which makes it handy for many uses.

I picked up a new silver Gov and it works fine for what I want it for which is a trail and atv gun . Shoots great with about any 45 ammo ,cheap 410 ammo does get tight some times . I have a few box of 45 GAP Gold DOT clipped them up they shot fine , I would put a bad guy down with them also . I got a Desantis open top leather holster for it .

mine for nightstand duty is loaded with triple ought buck. for out in the field i choose 250 jhp long colt