Taurus Judge or S&W Gov?

[dennishoddy]

I’ve owned a Judge for years. 3” chambers with a 3” barrel in stainless.
Actually did a lengthy review with different ammo on this forum if anyone wants to search for it.
They are a novelty gun for sure. The rifling in the last inch of the muzzle makes for very loose shotgun patterns. Definitely a close range pistol.
Member SMS and I had a pretty robust discussion about the effectiveness of it as a SD weapon so did some testing on that as well with pics.
At hallway distance shooting someone in the face with 7 1/2 shot would be painful, but if they had glasses on, would not take out the eyes.
In further testing at the same distance, a full length .410 shotgun wouldn’t either. A couple dozen pellets in the face might slow one down though giving them pause for thought about advancing further.
Using the buckshot loads the performance increased. Full penetration of a 2X4 was the norm. If I remember right, the 3” had a bigger payload, but the 2 1/2” had higher velocity. Federal ammo being the fastest.
Our discussions got so deep that I was going to buy a couple slabs of ribs and a brisket to do real world testing on to prove my point, but it never got that far.
Yes there are better weapons for home defense but with the right ammo it’s not to be dismissed.
6 rounds or 5? That’s a judgement call for the owner.
.45 Colt accuracy is totally fine for hallway distances. Your not buying a bullseye pistol.
I keep the cylinder loaded with # 4 buckshot for the first round, .45 Colt lever evolution for the rest.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

I think I have shared this before. The Taurus Judge proved to be an effective self defense tool for this gentleman.
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/02/03/make-my-day-shooter/

 

[JD8]

Thanks for all the replies, going the Gov route, but might wait for prices to calm down. This is not intended to be a true SD platform for me, SD from snakes and critters maybe.

 

[FreeSpiritBalloon]

I wish I could give a review. I got a governor for Christmas and still haven’t got any 410 shells to try it out. It looks and feels nice, definitely not a pocket gun.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

I wish I could give a review. I got a governor for Christmas and still haven’t got any 410 shells to try it out. It looks and feels nice, definitely not a pocket gun.

If you make it to Tulsa, I can hook you up with a few rounds for testing.

 

[killerpigeon]

My friend had the Taurus, it blew up into peices. Luckily, and thank God, he wasn't injured. Afterwards, he got a replacement from Taurus, promptly sold it and bought a S&W. I'd go S&W.

 

[OneShotKill]

Has anyone chronographed the 45 Colt ammo out of the Governor or the Judge? I have the 45 acp and it was only 798 fps for the 45 acp. the Governor was an absolute surprise to me. I carried a model 19 and a model 65 in law enforcement for years so the double action was easy for me. The 45 Colt Hornady Leverevolution shoots great at 25 yards and the 45 acp knocks the 8 inch gongs down very well. Once you learn how to speed reload the moon clips you can shoot the 45 acp just as fast as you can any revolver with speed loaders. I also carried a Glock 19 and a 1911 in 45acp in law enforcement and would not hesitate to carry this Governor for defense anywhere any time.

The Federal loads with the four 000 buck are really dandy little rounds. As I said on another post last year, I fired 6 shots, two hand hold, one second apart at a bull at 50 feet. I had al 24 buck shot in a well balanced pattern the was 14 inches in diameter. That is a perfect defense load at that distance and the 45 long colt you could hit a many silloute probably out to 100 yards if need be. Really an accurate gun once you master it. Not as accurate as my 357s but close enough for any defensive use.

The birdshot is fine out to 20 feet or so, just like any pistol with rifling that shoots birdshot, it is goig to scatter pretty quick.

I also own an original snake charmer, the one made only in Dallas, not some Rossi or cheap copy, but the real collector item gun. It never leaves the house now that I have the governor. Probably should sell it, but the real ones are not to be had.

Anyway, I would appreciate know if anyone has tested the actual velocity of the Winchester Silvertip or the Hornady 45 colt load or the Buffalo Bore load in the Governor. They say they will go 920-1,000 fps in these short guns, just do not want to buy them unless they really will.

 

[dennishoddy]

Has anyone chronographed the 45 Colt ammo out of the Governor or the Judge? I have the 45 acp and it was only 798 fps for the 45 acp. the Governor was an absolute surprise to me. I carried a model 19 and a model 65 in law enforcement for years so the double action was easy for me. The 45 Colt Hornady Leverevolution shoots great at 25 yards and the 45 acp knocks the 8 inch gongs down very well. Once you learn how to speed reload the moon clips you can shoot the 45 acp just as fast as you can any revolver with speed loaders. I also carried a Glock 19 and a 1911 in 45acp in law enforcement and would not hesitate to carry this Governor for defense anywhere any time.

The Federal loads with the four 000 buck are really dandy little rounds. As I said on another post last year, I fired 6 shots, two hand hold, one second apart at a bull at 50 feet. I had al 24 buck shot in a well balanced pattern the was 14 inches in diameter. That is a perfect defense load at that distance and the 45 long colt you could hit a many silloute probably out to 100 yards if need be. Really an accurate gun once you master it. Not as accurate as my 357s but close enough for any defensive use.

The birdshot is fine out to 20 feet or so, just like any pistol with rifling that shoots birdshot, it is goig to scatter pretty quick.

I also own an original snake charmer, the one made only in Dallas, not some Rossi or cheap copy, but the real collector item gun. It never leaves the house now that I have the governor. Probably should sell it, but the real ones are not to be had.

Anyway, I would appreciate know if anyone has tested the actual velocity of the Winchester Silvertip or the Hornady 45 colt load or the Buffalo Bore load in the Governor. They say they will go 920-1,000 fps in these short guns, just do not want to buy them unless they really will.

If I were home, I'd test my 3" judge for velocity. It will be a couple months before getting home so if you don't get an answer, I'll test when getting home. I'm curious as well.
Had one of our members think he wanted to use a .22 mag Davis Derringer as a deep cover SD firearm. I have one of those as well so tested it on the chrony.
The .22 mag from that 2" short barrel only goes 900 fps.
The .22 mag is designed to be shot in rifles. The powder charge is still burning most of the way.
That Derringer sure made an impressive fireball though with the unburned powder!

 

[CC379]

Either of them worth a darn? Wife wants a snake charmer. I'm not a fan of Hillary hole S&Ws and Taurus revolvers seem to be hit or miss. Any feedback from owners?

I have a taurus judge and bond arms derringer, with regular 410 shells they both sound like just the primer went off hardly any kick, only fired either one a couple of times thought they were a joke, then I found out what probably you and most everyone here already knew to get any reasonable power out of them you have to buy 410 shells made for handguns and they aren't cheap

 

[JD8]

I have a taurus judge and bond arms derringer, with regular 410 shells they both sound like just the primer went off hardly any kick, only fired either one a couple of times thought they were a joke, then I found out what probably you and most everyone here already knew to get any reasonable power out of them you have to buy 410 shells made for handguns and they aren't cheap

Basically I just gave up trying to find one last summer, surely couldn't find ammo either.