.410 Revolvers - which is better the S&W Governor or Taurus Judge?

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 11/14/2018 | C Cocoles

[w1n1]

The general thinking for self-defense is who would want a .410 when a 12 gauge is available. There was a time, I never considered the .410 for this purpose.
Sometime later, I ran into an old timer and the subject of guns came up. I told him I keep a Mini M-14 in the truck for survival.
He quickly added that I should also carry a .410 because it has some punch.
Not quite sure of the old timer comments, but I am aware that Taurus and S&W makes some good firearms.
It was worth looking at the Judge and Governor since its reputation stated that the revolver would be able to clear a would-be carjacker head from your car window.
These top 2 hand cannons S&W Governor, Taurus Judge are quite popular these days.
Ammunition have come a long ways in development, nowadays there are some great loads available for self-defense.

Here's a test that pitted both of these hand cannons with man-stopper cartridges.
What are good man-stopper .410 cartridges for self-defense?

Federal Premium 2.5 inch, 000 buckshot (4 pellets) with an average muzzle velocity of 850 fps.
Remington Express XLR 2.5-inch one-half-ounce No. 6 shot with an average muzzle velocity of 1250 fps.
Winchester PDX1 Defender 2.5-inch loads contains 3 plated defense discs and 12 plated BBs with an average muzzle velocity of 750 fps. Read the rest of this test on .410 revolvers.

[cuban leaf]

Which is better, Ford or Chevy? :)

[cuban leaf]

I never really thought about this sort of thing before. I wonder why this option has not been available for decades.

[Haiku Guy]

I might as well get a single shot for this purpose, because after one shot I would have to run and pick up the gun from the floor ten feet behind me.

[SJSAMPLE]

"I told him I keep a Mini M-14 in the truck for survival."

What? So he'd have something to jam under the tire if he gets stuck?

[lgjhn23]

I had one of the older Taurus Judges before the Governor was produced.
It’s handful and very intimidating IF you happen to be on the wrong side of the barrel. My brother wanted it and kept hounding me to sell it to him which I finally did. Either one would probably work fine.

[SJSAMPLE]

My cousin bought the plastic one, the Taurus “Public Defender”. Meh. I wasn’t really impressed.

[Monterrosa-24]

Be careful when comparing velocities. Some may use shotgun length barrels which generate much more velocity while some 2.5 inch loads designed for handguns us the short handgun barrels for their claimed velocity.

I love the 3-inch loads that have 5 pellets of 000 buck. It is just devastating from a full shoulder fired .410 barrel.

[Waverunner]

it's been available since the War of Northern Aggression.
The LeMat Revolver with the a 20 gage sub barrel and either .42 or .36 for the main barrel.

[Bitman]

I like my S&W. Great snake gun, for all kinds of snakes. Was not impressed by the fit/finish of the Judge even if it was a couple of $ less expensive.

[ptsal]

Appears to be effective on two-legged snakes.

[Big Red Badger]

Oh ,The LeMat.
How many movies has That
Pistol been in?

[Yo-Yo]

Oh ,The LeMat. How many movies has That Pistol been in?

The latest that I recall is the HBO Series West World.

[Crusher138]

I love my Governor. 6 shots of increasing lethality. Now if they would only make a tactical nuke for the 6th chamber...

[Agatsu77]

A .410 will kick but I don’t expect much more than a .44 or .45.

I could be wrong but as a kid the .410 didn’t kick nearly as bad as dads .357.

[gbunch]

Any article that uses “hand cannon”, “badass”, and “man stopper” should not be considered as any sort of serious look at a firearm.

While the concept of a handheld shotgun has helped sell a ton of these guns, true ballistics testing has been pretty unimpressive. Take a look at this standardized test, using some of the ammo mentioned in the article: http://www.410handguns.com/410_gel_results.html

The ONLY rounds with somewhat acceptable penetration were the 000 and #4 buck, and even with those, almost all of the pellets from each test failed to meet the FBI penetration standard of 12”.

An older, less formal test is here: https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-41-the-taurus-judge-vs-the-box-o-truth/

In my opinion, these guns are a very heavy platform that give you 5 effective projectiles. They have significant recoil, making recovery and followup slower. As a snake gun, etc they are fine. For defense though, I believe there are many far better options.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I think there was a LeMat rifle in THE MAN WHO LOVED CAT DANCING.

[null and void]

What’s wrong with the .410 Cherry PIE round?

[Crusher138]

Never heard of it.

Actually I have two “regular” .410 shells, two PDX1 Defenders, followed by two Colt 45’s.

I can dial up whatever lethality/accuracy necessary for the situation.

[1malumprohibitum]

There is no good reason to utilize the .410 or the .45 colt out of a short barrel. The ballistics are appalling. There are many tests showing how poorly both perform. Get a different gun/caliber unless you want to trust your life to a novelty.