Smith & Wesson Governor - Home Defense Gun

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YankeeIronSights

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S&W Fans:

During a recent visit to a LGS I found a used S&W Governor in " like new " condition, with case, manuals and all moon clips. The price: $499.00. Needless to say, I placed it on Lay-Away without hesitation.

After reading related gun reviews, I found many firearms owners feel this is a novelty gun that may not be a recommended/effective home defense gun. Many stated that a .410 000 buck cartridge would not be effective at stopping criminals beyond 15 ft. Furthermore, others claim this revolver offers marginal accuracy when .45 ACP or .45 long colt ammunition is used...

This has made me reconsider my decision to invest money on this type of revolver. Please share your thoughts and suggestions.
 
Its not the exact same gun but I've rented a Taurus Judge at a local range and had no problems with accuracy firing 45 Colt out of it. If anything I would expect the Smith to be even more accurate than the Taurus. I didn't try firing .410 out of it so I can't really give you an opinion on that.
 
Don't own one but have taken good looks at both the Taurus and the S&W. My observation would lead me to buy the S&W if I wanted such a gun. It just seems to be a better made gun.

I do think to some extent it is more of a novelty gun than a serious gun but with .410 it could be a snake gun if a person had a need for one.
 
The 410 buckshot has the same weight and velocity per pellet as 12 gauge, just fewer pellets. For SD in a house ten yards would be about the max range of any realistic encounters. I've seen deer killed with 2 00 buck pellets at 45 yards.
 
I think this model / type of firearm is not worth buying. For $500, you could get a good S&W 357, 22, 38, etc. I just bought a Colt pre Woodsman for $460. I think its novelty item with much less usefulness than people realize, but if you want a gun like this, the S&W should at least be a well made version.
 
Got one and hell yeah. The Federal Buck is fine out to 10 yds or so for accuracy, and I can hit a silhouette in the torso 5 out of 5 from 25 yds from a standing two handed grip with 45 ACP or Colt. Luv the #6 bird from 10' in on the face of any creature, and from 10' to 20' it will cause enough duck and cover wounding to save your life for a followup 45 or buckshot.

Don't laugh at 410 birdshot as it's killed grizzly at point blank with one shot to the snout.
 
for .410 at close range its a killer but anything beyond 10 yards gets slightly sketchy. now as for accuracy with .45acp and lc i dunno ive heard some complain and some seem to like it. as a HD just im sure it would be fine and as a car or truck gun. for carry sure but i would def not use .410 as being in public and cc with a mini shotgun seems unethical.
 
There are a whole lot of people out there with opinions, and some of those opinions are valid while others are based on misunderstanding, anecdotes, and BS.

In your OP you stated you were looking for a "home defense gun". So consider your home, and identify the longest distance inside your home (or immediately outside it for that matter) at which you might engage an intruder.

What would that be - 20 feet? 30 feet? Are you really likely to engage someone inside your house at any greater distance than that?

The .45 Long Colt cartridge is a great round. It doesn't know what sort of revolver its being fired out of, and out of any Smith & Wesson revolver its going to perform entirely satisfactorily - and particularly at 15 to 30 feet. That revolver is quite likely to be as accurate as you are, again at those distances.

I wouldn't endorse firing .410 rounds in a defensive role, but thats based on my very limited experience with .410 rounds. I don't have any use for a revolver that fires .410, but that doesn't make it a "novelty" handgun - it makes it a tool I have no need for. But it works great for snakes. If you spend a lot of time in snake country, it might be exactly the tool you need.

If you want a home defense firearm, and you've ensured that a handgun will fill this purpose for you, a S&W revolver that fires .45 Long Colt is likely to do a great job for you.
 
There are some loades made for revolvers like those.

Winchester has a few nice ones like the PDX.
pdx1_410pack_shells-tfb.jpg


I don't own one of these but I'd feel safe in my home with one.

Self defense is such a personal thing. It's really more about your comfort level than anything.

These .410 revolvers are pretty new so there aren't a lot of dead bad guys yet to use as solid evidence of how effective they are.
 
It would not be my first choice, but it's better than many options out there. I'd personally pick it over a Snub in 38 spl and anything else smaller than a 9mm for HD. For HD distances, 10' to 20', they should work fine. I recommend alternating the chambers between 410 buckshot and 45LC.
 
something I haven't seen talked about yet...

even if you don't have issue with the .410 / 45 calibers accuracy reliable stopping, whatever...

... I would worry about dependable function of the revolver with the cylinder that long... I shoot alot of uber magnum revolvers, have several with extra long cylinders ( 357 Max & the like ) my expirience... long term, is the double action triggers are much heavier ( because of the extra mass of the cylinder, can get even worse with the added bullet / shell weights ) there is more chance of lint / dirt causing scrub on the cylinder, because of longer cylinder... shooting shot shells has to have a higher incedence of locked up cylinder, because of possible plastic or wadding jamming at the forcing cone area...

... not that you're going to have trouble shooting it every time, but just want some of those who may not have thought of this, to be aware, that the failure might just be where / when you need it most...

my next revolver purchase will be a 500 S&W ( yep, same long cylinder ) but it's purpose will be for big grins only... If I'm camping in griz country, my Ruger Alaskan in 454 ( with a standard length cylinder ) will still be my side arm, not anything with the extra length cylinder, from a strickly reliability stand point...

if you are buying any .410 revolver, I hope you are buying it for big grins, rather that for protecting your life... that said, I may end up with one for a truck gun, to shoot skunks on the driveway... better to be stinky if the gun should lock up, than dead, because of the same
 
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Regarding the .410 round...

I wouldn't want to be shot with it. Regarding the Governor, I wouldn't mind having one, but I'm not sure what it could do that my .357 can't. Besides shoot .410 and .45lc that is.
 
I have little doubt as to the power of the .410 shell. Just look at how many defend their homes, police their communities, and hunt with .410 shotguns. :D

Out of a handgun, its got to be mo'bettah
 
I have a Taurus Judge with the 6-1/2" barrel. The gun is way more accurate than I am, but likes 200 gr JHP more than a heavier round. I've run the .410 000 buck through it and can honestly say I don't want to be on the receiving side of it.
 
I love when people say things like "much less usefulness" it shoots 45 cal bullets out the barrel how is that "much less usefulness"??

I want one & say go for it, just don't get any lint around it:rolleyes:
 
I sho one of these with 45 ACP and it was accurate enough for home defense and with so #9 shot loads it would be good for snakes and rats. I don't think 3 buckshot would be as effective as one .45 slug if you were lucky enough to put all three in the target. I consider the gun to be a novelty.
 
Formidable Short Range Defensive Weapon

Michael Bane talks about the Judge on his blog, specifically about using one for an episode of Shooting Gallery...

http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/

As far as "what did we learn," that'll be obvious on the episode, but I would like to say that the endless Internet detractors of the Taurus Judge platform need to take a deep breath and get over it. With Winchester PDX1 or Federal 4-pellet buckshot, the Judge is a formidable short-range defensive weapon. Period.
Click to expand...

I have a Governor and agree with Bane.
 
If you like the gun, and train with it to maximize your skill with it there is not reason that it can not be used to defend you, your home and your loved ones.

What I think many object to when it comes to the "shotgun revolvers" is the continued myth that one "can't miss" with a shotgun, or that a 410 revolver is somehow massively more effective than some other large bore handgun. People can and do miss with shotguns and shotgun revolvers all of the time and I would no more advise someone to buy a 410 revolver, load it up and not practice / train / learn to aim it then I would advise that approach for any other type of firearm that you can mention. Yet again, because of the "shotguns can't miss myth" there are tons of people out there doing, or even worse advising others to do just this. This concept is as ignorant as folks who tell me because they own X breed of dog if they are ever attacked they know their dog will know what to do.

Personally I am not a fan of the concept as if I want a shotgun, I want my 12 gauge. Comparing 12 or 20 gauge home defense rounds buck or slug to 410 simply is apples and oranges when it comes to stopping power. If I want a revolver I want something that is not quite that large and bulky. To me the shotgun revolver does neither task well.

If we are talking about handguns 9 out of 10 times to some degree size / portability comes into play even for just "home defense" There is much to be said for a revolver one can pack around the house or slip in a pocket or waist band. The shotgun revolvers don't do that well.

No matter what you do don't load it with bird shot, it's a poor choice for anti-personel use. Yet another common shotgun myth.
 
You're getting a good enough deal on it that it's at least worth trying out for a while. You'll probably end up liking it, but if not, you're likely not going to lose money on it if you sell it sometime down the road.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
 
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