''My conclusion is the Governor is a superb 45 Colt revolver that has the
capability to fire other cartridges for specific purposes.''

If Stu needs be the Dissenter then so be it.

But to peg the Governor as an ABORTION without even shooting it may be a
bit harsh.
I do not blast rattle snakes with my Governor as I live in a strictly urban
environment.
But the da*n Gov. has won me over with its utility.


Governor and Associates. Range and pictures 12-31-11

I stick by my copy, and allow the naysayers their opinion.

My Governor stays next to me as my utility gun.
Someday when I move to a more rural environment I may like the
Governor even more. Maybe not.

Good luck
Allen Frame

__________________
NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.

If Flip Wilson was still alive, I wonder what he would say about this conversation.

Have to admit, I like the looks of that S&W

__________________
Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

Since it looks like it's The Governor's night out, let's bring back this one back for a few minutes.

__________________
Ogy

Here's why I have a problem with this concept.
First off-most people who buy this type of revolver are NOT gunny types but the idea of shotgun power in a revolver intrigues them and that alone sells a lot. Smart move on the manufacturers part to sell a LOT of product. Most of these people will not, or don't have the facilities to pattern these guns to see where they hit.
Go out and pattern one of these with the OO buck .410's. We did. Start at the 7 yard line. Take careful aim at center mass and see where the pellets go. Scary ain't it. Now factor in adrenaline and a little greater distance and a less than careful center mass aim and the possibility of collateral damage to an innocent bystander goes up exponentially. OK so you use a specialized "personal defense" load. Pattern these as well and see if you feel comfortable sending one of these down range in a real life situation. If you say "I'll use a slug" then you would do better shooting a .45 in a snubby dedicated to that calibre in an easier to carry package-remember-this gun is a stretched N frame to begin with.

Now, where this gun would be fun is shooting 7.5 high brass .410's but even then your pattern goes to snot past 10 yards.

I hope Smith sells a lot of them, but the first guy that hits an innocent by stander with one of those OO pellets is gonna be in for one RUDE awakening. I can see the deposition now. First question-"Did you pattern the gun".......

Sorry.

__________________
Forum consigliere

I own neither a Judge nor a Governor, but would pay the extra $ for the Gov in a heartbeat in order to get the better S&W quality and the capability to use the omnipresent and easily-obtainable-for-a-half-way-reasonable-price 45ACP ammo.

I think that this would be a very close to ideal night-stand gun, or car gun. I've used my car gun, almost invariably a 357 of some sort (currently a Ruger SP101 3"), to dispatch wounded game along the side of the road more than for any other purpose. 45 Colt or ACP would be just fine for that. I'm not nuts about the 410 option, but it's cool. I think 410 Personal Defense buckshot, while, as Cajunlawyer accurately points out, would not be good for more than about 4 or 5 yards, that'd be more-than-adequate in a middle-of-the-night indoor defense situation, and the rounds would not be as likely to penetrate 23 layers of sheetrock to kill the neighbor lady either.

In my humble opinion, the two previous posts by Cajunlawyer & MTKTM are about as good as it gets when discussing The Governor or The Judge.

Twice, once at a Gun Shop and another time when I was showing my Judge to others I heard something along the lines of "Wow, you don't even have to be a good shot with one of these, you just point & shoot!" The Gun Shop was a young couple (early 20's) looking at Guns and the other, who I knew, was definitely a non gun type of person.

I've said it here before, as well as on other forums, the .410 option for self defense would be best suited to something like an "Answering the door gun" where you would be at close contact distances and your neighbors houses were close-by. The latter was said in the context of over penetration issues.

Personally, having shot critters with The Judge I consider the top end of the effective range with .410 000 buck to be about 15'-20'. After getting two critters with my Judge I had a 'coon treed that was no more than 20' from me and even at that distance I opted to go get my .20 ga. to take the shot. That's how much confidence, or lack thereof, I had in the .410's ability to be effective, even at that distance. On a person, anything past 10' would be pushing it for me.

To be fair, Taurus, when marketing The Judge early on, touted it as an "anti car jacking" gun and had videos showing the perp right in the driver's face tying to get into the car. Based on that marketing pitch it looks as if even they felt that this type of gun was best suited to, "in your face" distances.

With that said, I still like my Governor and have no intentions of ever selling it.

__________________
Ogy