Judge/Governor Hate

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Driftwood Johnson said:
Howdy

I don't hate them, I just think they are dumb.

I have lots of 45 Colt revolvers.

If I wanted to shoot 410 I would buy a 410 shotgun.

That's why I will never buy one of those ridiculous things.

One thing I don't understand is all this concern with shooting snakes.

The great majority of snakes are harmless, certainly in this neck of the woods anyway.

Why do so many think they have to shoot snakes on sight?

I think they are pretty cool and like to see them.
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I just saw one that'd make you change your mind.
 
Mr. Mosin said:
Only reason I want a Judge is because I can't bring myself to stomach paying S&W's asking price for the Governor.
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I got mine used, and it was barely used, as there wasnt a mark on it. If I remember right, it was around $600 might have been a little more. I traded something for it and picked up a couple of other things about the same time, and really dont remember what exactly I paid for what. Pretty sure it was in that vicinity.

The original owners paperwork was still in the box, and the gun was less than a year old.

I havent seen too many Governors on the shelf, new or used around here. See a lot of the various Judges come and go pretty regular, and it seems a lot of them go from the "New" shelf to the "Used" shelf in just a matter of a couple of weeks. Same thing seems to happen with those Bond Arms Derringers. :)
 
kidneyboy said:
This is where the internet experts/haters fail. It isn't an all around gun and never has been.
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Exactly!! I noted that in “ my” perspective it was somewhat limited! In no way am I a hater. I, through hand-loading can make my revolver more versatile!

I was merely following-up on the OP. It’s just not my “cup of tea”! For those that like/want it, go for it! Within the applications for which it was designed and promoted.....a neat package. memtb
 
ColtPythonElite said:
Nope no hate. I consider them a novelty more than anything.
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IMO they are a dedicated type of revolver, not for everybody. They are very effective, in their intended purpose, defense against snakes. I'm impressed that they are a serious handful of revolver, but very lightweight, for their size. The long cylinder, gives them the look of housing a huge caliber. Perhaps 410 is not an earmark SD caliber, but the sheer size of this pistol is intimidating.
 
EMC45 said:
I don't hate them. I think they are a novelty with very limited use.

The rifling is shallow to prevent shot disruption, which in turn can cause leading (already noted here). The accuracy with centerfire pistol cartridges leaves a lot to be desired as well.

I can never understand how the .410 was near useless as a defense shell out of an 18+in shotgun for decades, but put it in a handgun (limiting effectiveness considerably) and it takes the shooting world by storm.

P.T. Barnum was mentioned earlier. I can agree with that.
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Why do people think 410 self defense ammo from a full sized 410 shotgun are useless?
 
Driftwood Johnson said:
One thing I don't understand is all this concern with shooting snakes.

The great majority of snakes are harmless, certainly in this neck of the woods anyway.

Why do so many think they have to shoot snakes on sight?

I think they are pretty cool and like to see them.
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I just said the same thing to the OP in an email. We trade emails all the time. And like you I am interested in snakes and try to never kill them. A couple of years ago my son came in the house and said there was a snake on the front walk. Sure enough there was a small copperhead. So I picked it up by the tail and put it in a 5 gallon bucket and released it at the railroad tracks a couple of miles away. What a pretty little snake it was. I think copperheads are the prettiest of all snakes.

But I'm not going to spend $500+ on a goofy gun just to kill snakes. As far as I am concerned that gun is the answer to the question that was never asked. But once again if someone else wants one then get one. Maybe it will be the best thing since canned beer for you.
 
BlueHeelerFl said:
Why do people think 410 self defense ammo from a full sized 410 shotgun are useless?
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I have hunted everything from dove to deer with a 410 shotgun. From a long barrel shotgun with the proper ammo selection the 410 is a very capable, though not overpowered, cartridge. 410 shotshell from a Judge/Governor is wonderful snake/rat medicine if you need it, few other cartridges can throw as much shot from a revolver size package.


On the snake thing I usually leave them be but my story up thread were I killed 7 rattlesnakes all happened less than 10 ft from the hunting cabin door. I am happy to let snake (poisonous or not) live free on my property as I think they do more good than harm but when they are hiding in the wood pile that close to the cabin they had to go.
 
In some cases snakes do need to be killed. My best bud's brother was at his girlfriends house digging out her burn pit when he ran across a copperhead den. He said every old can had a baby snake it it. One copperhead chased him back into the tractor he was using. Here are some pics of the pile of snakes he killed. And he used a 22 rifle. No shotguns or hand guns needed.

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Almost two dozen family and friends have fired our Judge. It is a very easy gun for novices to fire with very little perceived recoil, some had never fired a gun before. Using Federal 410 000 buck handgun ammo, every person put all five shots (20 projectiles) between the 7 and 9 rings on a life-size target at 7 yards. As a home/defense or car gun, it is very easy for anyone to use and accurate at closer ranges, with a high capacity of down range bullets. And for those that live in rural areas, it excels at dispatching snakes. No gun does all things; the Judge does some things well. That's why it's nice to live in a second amendment country; you can purchase different gun tools for different jobs.
 
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All this talk about snakes like they are invincible.

When I was young and ignorant and thought every snake needed killing, I killed them all successfully with what ever I had on hand: 12 ga, 45.acp, 38, 22, pellet gun, even a stick. .

You don’t have justify to us on the forum WHY you must buy a Judge, WE get it. Save the snake arguments for your wife.
 
Mr. Mosin said:
Only reason I want a Judge is because I can't bring myself to stomach paying S&W's asking price for the Governor.
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If you truly want one then you should have one. ;)
There have been a few guns that I have wanted that others turned their nose up at or tried to convince me otherwise.
A couple of them I am glad I took advice and passed on, but there were a couple that I bought and found out that I was correct in my thinking.
One was the S&W 327 Night Guard. It is one of my favorites. I will never part with it.
The others were the Glock 19X and the Glock 45. Both are excellent guns.
I will say the one gun that I bought that I should have listened to people was a Kel Tec P3AT. Cool little gun, but what a punishing little gun. I sold it.

If you want a Judge, buy a Judge, that is the only way that you will know if you like it or you don’t.
 
Reinz said:
All this talk about snakes like they are invincible.

When I was young and ignorant and thought every snake needed killing, I killed them all successfully with what ever I had on hand: 12 ga, 45.acp, 38, 22, pellet gun, even a stick. .

You don’t have justify to us on the forum WHY you must buy a Judge, WE get it. Save the snake arguments for your wife.
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If only I had a wife... hopefully I'm not *quite* as wishy washy when it comes to finding a woman. Lol
 
a taurus judge was the first firearm bought by a cousin who lives and works from home in the woods in very rural connecticut. he wasn’t a gunner and isnt a hunter or target shooter. he wanted something simple and big. 410 handgun ammo was easy to find and worked well on milk jugs filled with frozen water. soon he discovered the value of firing 45lc in a double action revolver. he invested in a decent holster to make it a ccw, usually loaded with 45lc. he has since acquired a couple more, more conventional, handguns. the taurus judge can be a viable choice.
 
gyp_c2 said:
I think they are just a...gun.
For those who aren't especially shooters, or hunters or gamers...just a gun...
;)
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Or a novelty for those that are.
I had a 45 Colt/410 contender barrel as a kid years ago and made many treks into the woods at my grandpa Jack's there was plenty of small game to do plenty of testing different shot sizes and with and without the choke. Actually I tried quite a bit to find something that worked without the choke because you couldn't slip a 45 Colt slug in with the choke on if necessary.
I found that nothing really worked to extend the range much without the choke much beyond what I could do with Speer shot capsules in my 45 Colt Blackhawk.
As to the 410 buck as SD/HD ammo I really have no doubt it's probably effective, just not sure it's more effective than a 200 to 250gr hollow point from a 44 or 45 that don't require a 3" cylinder.
 
Most snakes are very beneficial, they keep the rodent population in check. But we have a bumper crop of Moccasins, Canebrakes, and Coral Snakes around here. The thing I like best about non venomous snakes is they displace habitat for the biters. It's been raining a lot, in Florida, lately, and the snakes are all on the move, to higher ground.

As such, the Governor is a fine snake gun. Fires to point of aim, handles well, is lightweight. Saves hauling the 500 around. In the highly unlikely event I have to defend myself, I'll just make do, with those "underpowered 410 rounds"...
 
I sometimes think about getting a Governor. I think that it might be a better tractor gun for dealing with rats and other small vermin stirred up in the field while bush hogging.

Then, I wonder how effective it would really be based on my experience with handgun shot capsules and I put the idea on the back burner.

I do not hate them, I just cannot bring myself to love them either.
 
My buddy straps on his Taurus Judge while doing chores around his farm.. for copperheads and rattlesnakes .. and scared the crap out of a trespasser that was aggravating his horses .. he likes his .. he knows its limitations and has killed enough snakes to pay for its weight…
( you can’t carry a shotgun on your side)

I carry a 22oz 4 in h barreled 357mag Charter Target loaded with 38 Spl shot loads ..for snakes
I killed a Pepsi Cola can with it last week ..
I don’t have pics . My wife recycles
 
BlueHeelerFl said:
Why do people think 410 self defense ammo from a full sized 410 shotgun are useless?
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I do believe that I have proven that a 3" 410 shell loaded with 5 pellets of 000 buckshot is quite capable of doing the job for HD/SD use out of a 14.5" barrel on the Shockwave or 18.5" barrel on a Mossberg 500. Now I haven't tested them in a Judge or Governor since I don't own or have access to either. I personally don't know how the 000 buckshot loads will work in these revolvers.

I have thought about getting a Judge several times but haven't bought one yet.
 
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