Anyone own/shoot a Taurus Judge or S&W Governor?

[polishshooter]

I have always been intrigued by the Taurus Judge, actually shot one with .410 for fun on a Skeet range once, didn't hit any but my buddy actually did, which we kidded him mercilessly about since he was better with it than his Citori...he actually HIT something for once....

But how accurate is it with the .45 Colt? I've heard possibly not so good....but always second hand info....

I was actually leaning towards a Governor simply because I used to love working a borrowed .45 ACP revolver in my IPSC days, am still kicking myself I didn't buy it when I had the chance, that full moon clip makes it the fastest revolver to reload....

But my justification for it is as a "snake" gun with the .410, AND the fact I could hunt deer with it in Indiana with the .45 Colt, which I have always liked as a handgun round....

But then I see that honking Taurus Raging Bull they now have with the 6" barrel in .45/.410...HHHHmmmmm....the longer barrel should be easier to shoot accurately than the little ones on the Judges or Governor, and I still think that light Titanium Governor would be a handfull in recoil....

I know it is hard to beat for a close range defensive carry gun with either .45 or .410 buck, and would be fun to play with with bird shot...but how accurate are they really at 25-50 with the .45 Colt?

Is it a viable Deer handgun?

[carver]

That's a long jump form the cylender to the forcing cone, if there is one, before the bullet gets into the barrel! I don't own one, but like you, I like the Governor. I have never shot one either, but for close up work they should be fine. For deer hunting, well, I supose that the .45 round, or the .410 slug, would give enough energy to take a deer. Hitting that deer might be another problem. Maybe some owners will post up with some first hand knowledge of how accurate they are.

[ozo]

Close range snake gun and SD...either round..yes.
Anything else but fun...no.
I do have a 14" barrel for T/C that will work !

[Zane71464]

I've shoot the Taurus Judge on several occasions, but never had a chance to put it on the bench to try out how accurate the .45 LC was.
From the standing position and useing the .45 LC @ 30yds, I was nailing pop cans about every shot.
The .410 and shooting the Federal triple ought at 10-15yds was pretty impressive.
We had 3/8" plywood backed by some 3/4" plywood with about a 1/2" gap between the two plywoods.
Some of the pellets went trough the 3/8" and stuck into the 3/4" @ 10-15yds. Out to about 20yds., "very" few went through the 3/8" and alot of them just "stuck" into it.
Sure wouldnt wanna have one pointed in my direction, either way!

[Deacon_Man]

I ordered my Taurus Judge .45lc / 410 with a 6.5" barrel, yes they do make them. I take mine to the indoor range a lot and have a lot of fun with it. With the long barrel it is very accurate. All the negitive comments you hear about the judge come from those who own the short barrels &/or from people who have never shot the gun.

[3/2 STA SS]

My friend had the short barreled one and it was very impressive at SD ranges with .000 buck. I was very mad when he sold it for 400 and didn't tell me about the sale.

[hunter29180]

I have one with the 4 in barrel..with the 45 I can stay on a plate (8 in) at 30-35 yds. and I am not a good pistol shooter!

[Robert Font]

I have a Governor, they are very nice to shoot. Go on youtube and check out some of
the people shooting them, one guy did a bunch of tests. you will be pleasantly surprised
at the results

[Double D]

Originally Posted by 3/2 STA SS

My friend had the short barreled one and it was very impressive at SD ranges with .000 buck. I was very mad when he sold it for 400 and didn't tell me about the sale.

I normally sold the 3" chamber stainless magnum judges for 469.00 brand new. The blue model 2.5 chamber models were much less. So, 400 was no great deal.

[sprunner114]

i own the judge i love shooting it and in my opinion its just cool to tell your buddies you have a .410 revolver.

[berto64]

I own one of the first of this type of handgun, a Mil Industries 'Thunder Five'. It has the very short barrel and may hit the target out to about 30-40 ft. I must wear ear protection when firing 3" 410 slugs. That short barrel is LOUD.

[polishshooter]

Originally Posted by Robert Font

I have a Governor, they are very nice to shoot. Go on youtube and check out some of
the people shooting them, one guy did a bunch of tests. you will be pleasantly surprised
at the results

Robert, any links I can use?

I am not so computer/social media literate, I can only look at Youtube generally if somebody has a link I can click and let the laptop or pc do the rest for me...

[polishshooter]

Plus I probably won't be in the market until early next year IF I get my bonus which is looking pretty good right now, and I should know in a few weeks if I hit it...

Maybe S&W will come out with a Governor with a longer barrel by then?

[polishshooter]

Originally Posted by carver

That's a long jump form the cylender to the forcing cone, if there is one, before the bullet gets into the barrel! I don't own one, but like you, I like the Governor. I have never shot one either, but for close up work they should be fine. For deer hunting, well, I supose that the .45 round, or the .410 slug, would give enough energy to take a deer. Hitting that deer might be another problem. Maybe some owners will post up with some first hand knowledge of how accurate they are.

Carver, yeah that is what not only I have heard but was thinking the first time I saw a Judge....that cyliner is pretty long, so that 250 or 300 grain .45 slug is traveling free for a while till it hits the forcing cone...I was kind of thinking it might even upset it so badly to actually shave a nice amount of lead off of it when it hits the cone off center, which could lock up the cylinder pretty quickly, much less open up the groups considerably

[aa1911]

I went to go buy one but when I saw them, the size was just too much. I'm much more effective with a full size 1911 or my big ole Glocks so I have no real need for them. I do love the idea of them and will get one one day, it has some potential. but a hunting gun it ain't by any stretch.

When I do get one, I'm taking it straight to the skeet range, hahaha! always wondered what pistol skeet would be like....

I would seriously doubt if the average bear could make a reasonable shot on big game past 25yds with a handgun with much chance of a solid hit. It's a SD gun and not much else IMO.