The Governor

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thechamp
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The Governor

Post by thechamp »

When Taurus came out with the Judge I thought it was a pretty nifty idea to have a pistol that used 410 shells and 45 long colt ammo. Friend of mine bought one but I just didn't cotton to the feel of the Judge. A few years back S&W came out with The Governor and after handling one I knew it wouldn't be long before one would find it's way home. About a year ago I finally bought one and regretted not doing so earlier. The gun is a bit bulky but with the Scandium alloy frame it weighs 29.6 ounces, less than 2#s. In comparison my Performance Center 629 weighed in at 49.7 ounces! The Governor cylinder is a 2.5" and holds 6 rounds which is quite adequate for my needs.

Living on the farm now and having no shortage of rattlesnakes it is the handiest handgun I've ever owned. In addition I've shot 45 ACP through it with the two shot moon and full moon clips and it's super accurate as well. The real surprise came when I shot several different 410 buck loads through it. The Federal 410 handgun 000 buck is super accurate and does a great job of grouping all 4 of the rounds into a small area. Most of the groups are a vertical string with most touching. Now if you're looking for a scatter-gun group the Winchester white box 000 buck will give you that. Personally I wanted the tight group so all the rounds would hit within a short distance of each other inflicting maximum damage in other words. I recently picked up a box of Hornady 45 long colt but haven't had a chance to check them out in it. Suspect they'll be just fine.

The gun comes with a 'Tritium Night Sight' in the front and fixed rear dovetail sites that are not. It is surprisingly accurate with both the 45 ACP and the 410 buckshot with both printing very close to each other. I had shot some targets a while back but since I hadn't planned on writing anything I threw them away. Next time I shoot it I'll post some pics. It makes an excellent self defense gun as well as a snake gun. The #8 shot loads are almost too tight up close with the better pattern being at least 5-10 yards out. From the loads I tried the pattern is nice and uniform as well.

What led to this comment was on Sept 1 we had our usual opening day dove hunt and of course everyone was warned to watch for rattlesnakes. None were encountered and the hunt went off very well. Everyone limited out and there were still hundreds and hundreds of birds flying at the end of the day. That night I had decided to go out and lock up the shop and in doing so I realized that the tractor was sitting a ways off and the key was in it. Went to bring it up to the house and secure the key for the evening. As I was driving back I spotted a snake running from the harvested corn field to the back yard. Recognized it as a rattlesnake and drew the Governor. 1st shot was birdshot and at about 10-12 yards it stopped her. She wasn't sure what happened but stopped running. Wasn't the best shot but some pellets did hit her. Fired another one and this one had a weak primer or bad powder charge that pretty much bounced off of her. These 410 loads were my handloads from the mid 80s when I shot skeet so they've earned the right to be 'so-so'. Actually it was first one that had an issue out of several boxes that I've fired in the last couple of years - (most through my Rem 1100 skeet gun). The next rounds were the Federal buckshot loads. First shot took out about 3"-4" of her body about a foot behind her head and left the two pieces attached with some skin. She then turned her head to look at me instead of looking forward like she had been. I then aimed for the head and the results were nothing but cool. Most of the head was torn off along with the neck and some of the body. The 4 pellets did as they usually do where one starts out higher and the others fall in below. :mrgreen: Game over at that point. I never would have thought that a handgun with a 2 3/4" barrel would be that accurate and consistent with buckshot loads.

If anyone is interested in one of these pistols I heartily recommend it. After seeing the pattern those 4 000 buck pellets give I certainly wouldn't want to be a bad guy hit by that load. Living might be the worst alternative....

Link to the S&W Governor: (It is available with the Crimson Trace grips as well from S&W)

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/ ... 767_757751

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/ ... rrorView_Y

Anyhow a couple pics of the rattler. 31" long with 7 rattles - big enough to ruin your day. Speaking of which my neighbor's big black lab was bitten twice last year. He was lucky in that the wife noticed something was wrong and got him to the vet not long after he was bitten.
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Dom
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Re: The Governor

Post by Dom »

Don't mess with the Governor, rattlesnakes included :lol: I need to go rattlesnake hunting in Tejas 8-)
-------- There are those who only reload so they can shoot, and then there are those who only shoot so they can reload. I belong to the first group. Dom --------------

Gleedaniel13
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Re: The Governor

Post by Gleedaniel13 »

Every time I see snakes, no matter what kind of snakes or breed it will really shaken me. But anyway, you have posted a good pictures of snake.

dinsdale
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Re: The Governor

Post by dinsdale »

Dang.....at 31" that shot in the middle ruined a good belt for me. :doh:

:whistle:

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Corjack
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Re: The Governor

Post by Corjack »

dinsdale wrote:Dang.....at 31" that shot in the middle ruined a good belt for me. :doh:

:whistle:

Gonna have to make two bracelets.
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MM
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Re: The Governor

Post by MM »

Does anyone make a version in 28ga? I thought I read somewhere that one was coming out but have never seen anything since.

thechamp
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Re: The Governor

Post by thechamp »

MM wrote:Does anyone make a version in 28ga? I thought I read somewhere that one was coming out but have never seen anything since.
Taurus was bringing the Raging Judge to market in the 28 guage but the ATF had some issues with it and it was pulled. Not much out there on it.

AndyC148
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Re: The Governor

Post by AndyC148 »

Wow, looks like a great snake-killa! Guess it beats CCI shot shells, you don't have to get too close to "Mr. Noshoulders."

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