Taurus "Judge" vs Smith and Wesson "Governor"

[ff5121]

Looking to buy a 410 handgun, any pros or cons to Taurus Judge or the Smith and Wesson governor, I know the governor is about three hundred more than the judge but is it worth it.

 

[jgressley2003]

I can't speak for the governor, but I have shot a Judge. To me it seemed cheap and fragile, but my friend is happy with it.

 

[oldpink]

Just one man's opinion here, but unless you're in snake country where the ability to have a handgun that throws shot would come in handy if you walked up too close to a rattler to escape getting struck, these .410/.45 Colt handguns are little more than a novelty item.
Most people would be much better off getting either a regular shotgun (.410 or otherwise) or a .45 Colt handgun.
The reason is because the rifling in a handgun throws the shot outward much faster than even an open-choked shotgun will, and the short barrel reduces the muzzle velocity of the shot over a regular shotgun, further reducing its effectiveness.
Worse still, when you shoot regular .45 Colt loads out of that extra-long cylinder, you'll get reduced muzzle velocity over a regular length cylinder, plus your accuracy may well be compromised by the ridiculously increased amount of "freebore" from that long cylinder.
.410 in a handgun is effectively a small animal load poorly suited against two-legged varmints, which leaves the .45 Colt for such encounters, so you'd be far better suited getting a decent quality regular .45 Colt revolver instead.
You're in luck with gun selection in that category, as this old cartridge has remained popular ever since it was introduced in 1873.
Probably the best known of the double action choices is the Smith & Wesson model 25, if you're willing to spend a bit, but it should be in the price range of the Governor, so that sounds like a good option at the upper end of the price scale.
Ruger has also redesigned their Redhawk to chamber .45 Colt, plus they have cut the cylinder to allow .45 ACP to be fired out of it for cost savings using moon clips.
Naturally, probably the popular favorite for a .45 Colt revolver that gives you both a fairly reasonable price and high quality is the Ruger Blackhawk.
A bonus with both the single action Blackhawk and Ruger's double action Redhawk is that both revolvers are beefed up such that you can move up to the much stouter loads from the likes of Buffalo Bore should the need arise -- i.e. deer hunting -- for more power than you get with the already very respectable normal factory loads.
Speaking as a happy owner of a .45 Colt Blackhawk since 1988, I can happily recommend that, but the other choices will serve you well.
If you're heart's set on either the Governor or Judge, that's your business, but you'll probably wind up dissatisfied because either is a gun that handles two totally different types of ammo, but its ability to handle two types of ammo compromises its efficacy with either.
Again, just MNSHO, so please all you Judge/Governor owners, don't take it to heart.

 

[Bigtanker]

If it's a range peice, either will do. But for self defense, the .410 is severely lacking in penetration. Those 3 disc on top of shot barely penetrate 6". Not good. You may get a psychological stop (the perp just knowing they are shot) but against a determined attacker, it just ain't going to work.

 

[BluePig]

Ruger has also redesigned their Redhawk to chamber .45 Colt, plus they have cut the cylinder to allow .45 ACP to be fired out of it for cost savings using moon clips.

I believe that the S&W Gov will also accept .45 ACP and in a pinch .45 GAP.
I don't think the Taurus will do that.

 

[ff5121]

I should have put that in the thread that it was to be used for a snake gun. I know the governor will only accept 2.5 inch 410 shells as the judge will accept the 3 inch shells.

 

[bb37]

Biggest differences between the two are:
1. Governor is 6 rounds and the Judge is 5 rounds
2. Governor's cylinder is cut for moon clips (which are provided with the gun) so it can also shoot .45 ACP in addition to .410 shot gun and .45 LC. Judge is just .410 and .45 LC.

All of the reviews I've read say the Governor is built much better than the Judge.

There are a handful of self-defense oriented .410 rounds on the market. Winchester PDX is 3 disks followed by 12 BBs. Hornady Critical Defense is a .41 FTX slug followed by two .35 caliber balls.

Most reviewers agree that these are novelty guns which are mediocre for pretty much any application. My next door neighbor had a Judge and said it was a handful to fire. Depending on what you want to do with the gun, there may be better solutions.

 

[JettaKnight]

I should have put that in the thread that it was to be used for a snake gun. I know the governor will only accept 2.5 inch 410 shells as the judge will accept the 3 inch shells.

Then I'd just go with the Judge. I'm one to spend enough money to get a gun that meets the given requirements and not overspend.

Plus, I think I'd rather have the longer shells than the ability to fire .45 ACP, because I havea real .45 on my hip for the two legged varmints.

 

[knot4reel]

I own a Judge poly PD. Use it to shoot cans, steel, clay pidgeons, cardboard targets etc. Put Hogue grips on, load it with Federal 000 buckshot rounds put it on the nightstand and sleep like a baby! One mans junk is another mans gold. Will it last 5000 rounds, I doubt it. But it does exactly what I bought it for and does it well. Flamers will flame no matter what is said so I'm standing by with a firehose at the ready.

 

[mcapo]

Putting the novelty of the gun aside that has been well covered; if $$$ matter - I'd buy a used Governor over a new judge. The Smith is much higher quality but either will go bang when asked.

You get what you pay for, in this case. Either one is a fun to own but not really good at doing anything in particular - except just being big and cool. The Governor weighs 30 ounces empty.

Take a look a Bond Arms too...

 

[hog slayer]

Unless you're a determined snake hunter you wouldn't need many shots. I've got a very lightly used bond arms 45/410 that I'd sell you for a song next Wednesday when I head back to indy. The thing had some appeal but it quickly dwindled on the range. The critiques before me are all pretty well spot on for performance. I own some swamp land in North Carolina where there are actually some bitey snakes and I wouldn't carry the 410 pistol there.

 

[4651feeder]

Looking to buy a 410 handgun, any pros or cons to Taurus Judge or the Smith and Wesson governor, I know the governor is about three hundred more than the judge but is it worth it.

Only you can decide if the price difference is worth it.... IMHO the S&W is far superior in fit and finish. If I were to $pend for a big bore handgun tomorrow, I'd have to give a close look at the S&W 460VXR, .45 Colt, .454 Casuall, .460 SW. Heck if I really wanted to shoot shot from a handgun, I'd just go out and buy handgun cartridges loaded with shot until the novelty wore off.

 

[Dean C.]

The governor is a much better built handgun, plus it supports American manufacturing instead of crappy Brazilian sweat shop gun factories also known as Taurus.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

You can run snake shot in any revolver. Unless you just want to buy a new gun, pick up some CCI snake shot shells, pattern them, and see what you think before plunking down your cash.

 

[knot4reel]

I have a few problems, but snakes and bears aren't on the list.

 

[oldpink]

You can run snake shot in any revolver. Unless you just want to buy a new gun, pick up some CCI snake shot shells, pattern them, and see what you think before plunking down your cash.

Yep
CCI has even upgraded their handgun shotshells with larger shot sizes to perform better for varmints over the original smaller shot used in their handgun shotshells - CCI Expands Handgun Shotshell Offerings - Now Serving No. 4 - The Firearm BlogThe Firearm Blog
That would allow the shooter to have loads suitable for the very rare occasion of needing to annihilate a snake he was unable to step away from, but still have a revolver that would perform well with the very capable .45 Colt for social work.
There's a lot to like about .45 Colt for self-defense.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Yep
CCI has even upgraded their handgun shotshells with larger shot sizes to perform better for varmints over the original smaller shot used in their handgun shotshells - CCI Expands Handgun Shotshell Offerings - Now Serving No. 4 - The Firearm BlogThe Firearm Blog
That would allow the shooter to have loads suitable for the very rare occasion of needing to annihilate a snake he was unable to step away from, but still have a revolver that would perform well with the very capable .45 Colt for social work.
There's a lot to like about .45 Colt for self-defense.

I carried a .44 magnum single action when clearing brush and like chores around my "farm". Two chambers with snake shot, the rest with HP. I liked the single action as you could put it at half cock and rotate the cylinder freely. The place is pretty isolated and I'd see a person coming from a long way off. Snakes, feral dogs, that sort of thing was the most likely issue. Once I didn't have chickens any longer, the feral dog issue also sorted itself out.

 

[Spike Jones 5 2002]

I have the Judge. I think for the same reason you have.
In close quarters home defense. I am not "Wild Bill Hitchcock or Annie Oakley"
MY first shot may not be exactly on. The scattering of shot might give me the second to place my second shot more effectively.
I load my Judge- 410, 45, 410, 45, 410 # 9 shot.
I would like to have the 6th shot. If you use the moon clip to shoot ACPs. You can not load 410s.
The Judge I have had a small grip. I talked to the Taurus personal at the NRA show. The sent me the larger grip for free.
I think it is so much easier to clear my house with a hand gun instead of shotgun of long gun.

 

[dyerwatcher]

I had a Governor and regret selling it. I had no issues, just didn't shoot it. .45acp is a pain with moon clips. 45 long colt is expensive and .410 is not allowed by most ranges. With that said I wish I still had it.

 

[Bennettjh]

You can run snake shot in any revolver. Unless you just want to buy a new gun, pick up some CCI snake shot shells, pattern them, and see what you think before plunking down your cash.

That would be my route.