Yep, even my wife has shot them. First time we took one out to her brother’s place the noise scared her. But seeing her daughter shoot it, and the son-in-law to be’s young boys shoot it, gave her the courage to prone out and put a mag worth of rounds down range. Then she asked if I had any ammo left. She put over 100 rounds through that el cheapo Dpms slick-sided bull barreled ar that afternoon. Now she has her own, and it is nicer than my beater Dpms. That’s my “ here try one yourself” gun.
Generally speaking, AR accuracy is not very hot.
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I bought the Governor in silver coz it had a cool name and neat finish. It is my bathroom gun tucked in the medicine chest. While showering, it is placed on top of the toilet tank over a clean dry cloth. The gun in this position can then be easily grabbed from behind the shower curtain or glass door, if I had one. For extra security, the bathroom door is also locked from the inside while showering. Good home security is done by adding layers for bad guys to have to negotiate. This bathroom practice was inspired by seeing the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film, "Psycho". I'd hate to be caught by a home invader defenseless while naked, wet, soapy and vulnerable. There is no easy retreat from the shower or toilet in my home were to be invaded. This Guv would also be my open-carry gun, in theory, if I were to have a sidearm while hunting. Otherwise, I have no other uses slated for it. This Governor Z Frame is big, clunky, awkward and not very concealed-carryable and thus has limited practical applications. It is best for open holster carry and keeping off one's person for security.
I keep .45 ACP in the factory-included moon clips for home defense. I bought a special demooning tool to make loading/unloading the clips easy. If I were in bear or cougar country, I might I have Buffalo Bore .45 Colt hard-cast. I have no holster yet for this Guv. The only revolver I favor over owning this is a minty Colt Trooper, blue, .357 Mag. which would assume the same station as my Governor is now.
The Smith Airweight .38 is now my kitchen drawer gun. In the kitchen, I have no hasty retreat should my front door be attempted to be broken down. My Smith SD9VE auto is now for concealed carry and automobile travel.
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I never had any interest in hunting or varminting with handguns.
I keep .45 ACP in the factory-included moon clips for home defense. I bought a special demooning tool to make loading/unloading the clips easy. If I were in bear or cougar country, I might I have Buffalo Bore .45 Colt hard-cast. I have no holster yet for this Guv. The only revolver I favor over owning this is a minty Colt Trooper, blue, .357 Mag. which would assume the same station as my Governor is now.
The Smith Airweight .38 is now my kitchen drawer gun. In the kitchen, I have no hasty retreat should my front door be attempted to be broken down. My Smith SD9VE auto is now for concealed carry and automobile travel.
I never had any interest in hunting or varminting with handguns.
Your Governor might be adequate for a defensive use but since you have never fired it, it may not work with the 45 acp or 45 Colt in it. Early it was found that some brands, I think Remington ammo had primers that were too short or too hard and often would not work in the Governor. Pistol primers, for example are shorter that shotgun primers. The difference is small but each brand should be tried in the Governor to ensure the chosen brand of ammo will work. And that particular model had problems with the key lock. Mine had zero problems and so far but it is sure something you want to know, since you have never fired either your Governor or your 442.
Smith and Wesson Governor Problems and Solutions – GunAnalyst
Light primer strike in S&W Governor | Glock Talk
S&W Governor misfiring | Smith And Wesson Forums
As I stated above, my Governor will put every buckshot inside a 14 inch circle at 50 feet, most are in a 12 inch circle, excellent for an inside gun. I also bought inserts for mine that will allow me to shoot 9mm in it. They are basically coke can accurate at 30 feet. Just for shooting fun, not for anything serious. However, at those imaginary 7 yards gun fights the 9mm with inserts would work fine. In fact you can find 410-gauge inserts for many handgun calibers. I think the 9mm is pretty common, the reason is those thick inserts make the gun safe for the heavy pressure rounds.
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The judge has serious application as a short range defense gun, and certainly is about the best for shooting big snakes including Pythons. And of course, the concept of a survival gun cannot be ignored. It can take small game birds out to maybe 12-15 yards, it can take rabbits much farther with #4 shot or any of the buck shot loads. It takes 3 different ammo selections as it comes and with inserts even more selections. And often forgotten use for a survival gun is shooting fish. We all have had those occasions were trout and bass would swim calmly by and would never bite a hook, this gun with #4s, should work fine. I reload my 410s with #5 birdshot but that is just a personal choice, I like #5 for turkeys also.
So, if your gun actually pops the primers it should be good to go. You might check that internal lock also. Personally, I love the gun. I have owned a large collection of revolvers from cheapo 22s to top line 22s to 44 mags and 45 Colts. Over time many get boring. The Governor never gets boring. I never carry it alone, it is in addition to my carry gun, however, I would go anywhere with that one. You cannot conceal it in summer, but in winter, no problem, I use vertical carry shoulder rig, it works fine.
You mentioned open carry. I do not do that very often. I spent much of my life arresting evil people, an open gun is a sign of weakness and tactical ignorance, I will never give them that luxury, if they need to see it, they will see it.
That said, the Governor takes the same grips as any K frame Smith and Wesson, round butt grips. I have a set of Crimson Trace Laser Grips that will fit it. And any of the modern G10 grips will enhance the look. Hogue, by the way will not warranty any grips for the Governor because they say the recoil can crack both wood and G10 grips. Nonsense I say, I shoot 100 rounds or more at a time and the recoil in the Governor is just not that bad. My gun is silver too. What do you think about these grips?
Of course, none of this is related to your post about how the AR 15 platform is the most useful home defense and all purpose hunting gun in history. Not for me, just for the 20 million people that have already bought them. Handy, light, powerful, accurate, and simple for anyone to learn to shoot well.
Your video is an excellent example of calling coyotes in open country. The videos show the deep sage in some areas, wind and weeds in others. What you do not see the number of misses or the coyotes that nobody ever saw because they saw or winded us first. But, a very good depiction of keeping the numbers of coyotes down which is needed in many areas.
Where did you get the 32 grain bullets for coyotes? Maybe it was said in the video and I missed it. I have sought after the tiny bullets myself since about 1976 and the smallest I have found is the 34 grain "Dogtown" brand. I am aware that there is reloading data for the 30, 32, 34, 35 and 36 grain bullets and Midway has them sometimes. But have never seen them or ever heard of anyone using them on coyotes. They are designed for the 22 Hornet and a couple other rounds. The reason they do not use them is because usually you need a 1/12 rifle twist or they will not stabilize. The commercial 223 and 5.56 guns usually have a 1/8 or 1/9 twist. Lots have 1/7. Bigger/longer bullets that work well in the 223 call for a bullet that is twisted faster while going down the barrel. The problem is usually a guy who does not know and buys an AR chambered in .223 and does not notice that it has a 1/9 and then tries the
I am always amused at people who buy an AR or varmint gun, go to the range and have bullets that keyhole or fire large groups and of course they blame the gun. Here is a nice chart that gives recommended twist rates for the .223 caliber guns. Those little short bullets need a really slow twist like a 1/12. In my 16 inch AR, they do pretty good, they do not keyhole and shoot a little over 1 inch groups, I need to play with velocity more to see if I can shrink the groups. My guns is a 1/9, not the best for little bullets.
The Milspec M4 I think is still a 1/7 twist, it will shoot the heavy bullets up to 90 grains just fine. But do not expect it to be great with 55 grain bullets and the little 30-35 grain bullets are probably a disaster. Twist rates however can be funny. The same twist in an AR pistol may stabilize the little bullets, but a 22 inch varmint rifle not so well. But if I see a 1/7 on the range and some guy shooting huge groups, I am usually correct that his ultra-high velocity is the culprit.
Lane Pierce just did a great article on the 223 and twist rates and bullet stabilization on the Ar 15 for coyote hunting. .223/5.56 NATO Twist Rates | RifleMagazine Note that he does not list any of the lightweight
bullets for long range coyote shooting. Lots of reasons, wind as I mentioned but he is a ballistician, more so than hunter like me. He is perhaps one of the best in history, certainly credible in all the big boy circles. Lane mentions an AR designed specifically for coyote hunting, and like Blue Fox, I do not buy guns for their cool name, but if I win the lottery I might by this one, the name is "K-Yote" by MG Arms. It has the 1/12 twist and Lane says has shot 2.5 inch groups, at 600 yards, but Lane could only do that out to 400 yards. Truly an AR designed for the koyote hunter.
This specialty AR built just for coyote hunting is guaranteed to shoot 2 inch groups at 600 yards I think. You will also note that they use 50 grain Nosler bullets when shooting coyotes at those distances, none of the little ones I like so well. Custom-built coyote rig MG Arms K-Yote: it's guaranteed to shoot into 2 inches at 600 yards, and the price reflects that level of accuracy. If you are really serious about predator hunting, it rates a look. - Free Online Library (thefreelibrary.com) The cost is nearly $4,000. Nobody at my house ever spent $4k for a gun and no one ever will, except maybe for that lottery deal. But my $780 DPMS will shoot under 1 inch groups at 100 yard, that is 6 inches at 600 yards, so that extra $3,200 only gets him 4 inches better.
My use of the 34 grain bullets was my quest for a little 223 round that would get to 4,000 fps. If you read the Lane
22 barrel and my AR only a 16 inch, so never going to get to 4,000 fps. However, the hunt continues. Maybe I will try those 30 grain ones. I may do a dozen experiments just to see how fast they will safely go, how accurate they can be and what happens when a tiny bullet goes 3,500 fps and hits a crow. If I like the outcome, I will continue to load that recipe. As most folks will probably agree that changes in components and velocity will often find a recipe that is very accurate and perfect for many uses. And that is me, if I can get the AR and/or the bolt guns too shoot under 1 inch groups with those tiny 34 grain bullets, they may just be perfect for my walk-about gun. Ready for any coyote or jack rabbit and dangerous crows that might attack my garden. You just never know...
Your original comment was ARs are not very accurate, yet this K-Yote offering is guaranteeing 2 inches at 600 yards. I have killed antelope (1) nearly that far. Six foot ball fields to hit something the size of a tennis ball requires two things. Near perfection in the design of the gun/ammo, and two, very expensive glass on top of the gun. Try to see anything at 600 yards, OK, how many finger am I holding up? Some ARs cans shoot those fingers off at 600 yards. Just saying.....
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