S&W Governor? Gimmick or Good Idea?

Call the S&W Governor whatever you like, mine has earned a place in my defensive arsenal. Not by marketing imagination but by actually shooting the gun and from there deciding where it fits in. I'm sure it's not for everyone.

Mine too. It's the gun I most often carry when I'm riding my bike on the bike path with my kids. I'm ready for snakes, dogs/coyotes, whatever.

Blacksmoke said:

Do you have an opinion about .38 Special shot shells out of a two inch barrel? I generally leave the Prairie Rattlers alone since they must be the laziest snake in the country but you never know. Last summer there must have been a nest near our main irrigation distribution gates since I met them frequently there in the late Spring. Mostly they were run over by my truck.

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B Smoke, Have you never seen them in the top of Sage Brush. They lay up there to stay off the hot sand and to hunt birds etc. I have a friend that was bit in the waist. Hunting and Belly stalking Antelope during late August when the males return to the dens. They are aggressive and in mass. I don't hunt them but I don't try sharing space with them.
Yes, the short barreled revolvers are an excellent platform for the effective .38 Special shot shell. The longer the handgun barrel the less effective the shot column. The rifling opens the pattern more. B Smoke be careful around those Head gates.

Cornhusker77 said:

If I remember right, the Governor shoots .45acp too.
For that reason alone I'd look at one

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You would really buy a revolver with a hugely large cylinder just because it shoots the short 45 ACP? The M625 JM is a much nicer revolver which is chambered in 45 ACP.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-625-jm

It and the Judge seem to sell like hot cakes at the local shop, but I've never figured out why.

I seem to remember Ayoob and company testing they type - the rifled barrel means you have a bagel shaped shot pattern - very little shot in the center, which is where I want it should I deem something necessary to shoot.

From what I remember, they also couldn't figure out the attraction. I think their bottom line was if you're going to use it, load it with a solid round and forget the shot shells.

This guy like his:


I have shot a governor and it is large but light in weight for its size, it shot the .45 colt ammo pretty accurately at 50 feet.
I would get an n frame revolver, or a ruger redhawk to shoot .45 colt and I already have shotguns for shot gun work, trap, hunting, home defense. So it seems like a novelty to me.

Well guys, I'm afraid I stand on the other side of the fence. I like my 6.5" Judge. I will certainly agree it is a lousy choice for shooting 45 Colt rounds. At 15 yards it shoots about 8 inches high and about 8 inches to the left. (Understandable since the rifling is so shallow) I would also agree it's not the best choice for self defense. However, I keep it loaded with 8's or 6's and keep it over the coat rack at the back door. IT is the cat's meow for running off stray dogs and I have killed a rattler or two with it. Oh, and I have run off my share of deer munching at my collards patch. IT's a big bank with a little sting!

The ability to fire .45 Colt and .45 ACP from the same cylinder is an advantage. Now if S&W would cut the cylinder back to the same length as the Colt New Service cylinder and optimize the rifling for .45 Colt, they might have something.

grandpawj said:

IT is the cat's meow for running off stray dogs and I have killed a rattler or two with it. Oh, and I have run off my share of deer munching at my collards patch. IT's a big bank with a little sting!

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I got my trusty red ryder for that, don't need to spend $10 a box for 410 shells

Gimmick.

I stumbled into one for very cheap.

I was thoroughly unimpressed with how any 410 load preformed in it. It would make a mess of one side of a water filled milk jug, but most loads would rarely pass through both sides.

It was pretty dandy with 45acp in moonclips though! I did appreciate that it was on a lighter alloy frame.

I turned it around for more than I had in it, and bought a 625 for moonclipped 45acp goodness.

I worked with the Taurus when it was first introduced.
No knock against the company, but I found the gun did nothing well.

Patterning was poor with shot, the velocities in any .410 load were greatly reduced & .45 Colt accuracy was indifferent.
I couldn't see the point in that gun & can't see the point in the Smith.

I was asked to work with a .454/.410 Taurus later on & just laughed.
Seemed like one of the least practical guns on the market.

Best used for snakes up close, and you can achieve that goal with a much lighter & less bulky snub .38 revolver.
Denis

We periodically have to rant against the Judge concept and S&W's take on it. There is still no shortage of people at the range who jump at the offer to shoot one. It's fun.

Seriously though, I doubt whether many people are evaluating the optimal shot ammo, namely #4 buckshot...not #4 shot, not 000 buck. That does not spread all that much out to 15 feet.

I'll go against the general grain also and say I love my Governor. It's my first-line nightstand piece.

For whatever reason, it balances beautifully in my hand and I shoot it well. Gotta love that big, bright tritium front sight also.

The only problem is that it burns up too much ammo, too quickly, at the range with those .45 ACP moon clips...

.

gimmick

I have to say gimmick although it is something I would like to own.

ArchAngelCD said:

You would really buy a revolver with a hugely large cylinder just because it shoots the short 45 ACP? The M625 JM is a much nicer revolver which is chambered in 45 ACP.
https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-625-jm

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At the price they want for them, no, probably not, but I do like .45acp revolvers for some reason.
I have a 25-2 and an old Colt 1917 to scratch that itch.

Cornhusker77 said:

At the price they want for them, no, probably not, but I do like .45acp revolvers for some reason.
I have a 25-2 and an old Colt 1917 to scratch that itch.

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I'm not disagreeing with a 45 ACP revolver, only the the combination of the 410 with it. In addition it looks strange too.

ArchAngelCD said:

I'm not disagreeing with a 45 ACP revolver, only the the combination of the 410 with it. In addition it looks strange too.

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I kinda like the looks of it, but then I like oddball stuff.

Gimmick.

I looked at one out of curiosity and was quite surprised at the light weight and nice balance. Given what I've read and heard about them I believe it'd be a handy gun for pests & such. If I had a chance to buy one real cheap I just might, but they seem pretty popular and I doubt that would ever happen.

If Smith & Wesson was able to create a new frame for a gun with limited sales potential, the Governor, you would think they could do more guns with cylinders scaled specifically to 38 Special instead of everything being based on the Magnum frames. The same would be true of the K-frames, which are bigger guns than they need to be for 38 Special. Notice in the picture the gap between the cylinder and the frame window. I prefer my older guns like the 36-1. They don't look like junkyard guns with pieces that don't fit. I do note that my 30-1 in 32 SWL, a J-frame, feels better in my hand than a little I-frame option, scaled to the cylinder length.

Governor/Judge threads are some of the most irresistible tests for tolerance yet devised by man. Can one exist in a world that contains an object that one despises with a high passion and keep silent when others dance with it. Does it burn men? Does it burn?

cfullgraf said:

I have a .410/45 Colt Bond derringer for snake duty around my farm. A bit more convenient to carry.

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