S&W Governor

[Nathan]

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I find no pleasure in killing anything, except for mice. I have an absolute zero tolerance policy for mice, and when I find the occasional one in my cabin I hunt it down with extreme prejudice and haven't missed one yet. The mice are coming into my pasture to steal the corn from the deer and elk, and then snakes are coming in for the mice. And they're nesting in my equipment shed. So I bought an S&W Governor, which is a .410 shotgun revolver, with high hopes of being a hands on solution to both my mouse and snake problem. I've always looked at these things as novelties with no real purpose, but I've also never tried to become a serial mouse-killer before. It took a bit of experimentation, but for mice/snakes, this thing is the real deal! While mowing today, I got sixteen field mice, all shot from the tractor seat while moving. From 15'-20' away with #7.5 shot, you can't miss (much further from that and the spread is too wide for guaranteed effectiveness). So for today, I'll walk around with my chest puffed out calling myself the Mouse Slayer.

[Ohio9]

I gotta say I've found mice to generally be too fast for any firearm. The ones I've encountered tend to head for the hills (or the nearest hole in the wall) the moment I make any type of motion in their presence. I've found glue traps to be my only defense against them.

[Nathan]

I had no trouble nailing mice, even while scurrying under the grass. 15'-20' away, #7.5 shot gives you about a 3' kill zone where anything inside of that circle is getting hit. If you can shoot within 3' of the mouse, you'll hit him.

[lazyh]

I've had a Taurus Judge for about 10 years. It works well on snakes. I keep it by my door in case someone comes knocking after dark. I keep it loaded with Winchester three inch PDX loads. They contain five copper discs and sixteen BB's. Should be adequate at very short range.

[Tye]

It will be interesting to see how long you regularly carry that thing around the property. Is it in addition to your every day SD carry? After using my carry piece on a few nuisance varmints of opportunity in the yard without ear protection, I thought an ADDITIONAL light weight .22 LR (Beretta 21a) would be the ticket -- light enough to carry comfortably during yard work and maybe more accurate than the novelty NAA mini that I have but can't hit the broad side of a barn yet alone a ground hog at 20+ yards... Those things are very wary!

Anyway, not many shots down range, but for an advertised arthritic compatible, tip-up barrel, blah blah style of semi auto, this thing "features" TIGHT controls. I can't imagine ANYONE with arthritis being able to press the tip-up barrel lever let alone the 50 lb trigger weight (an exaggeration). Anyway, my particular 21A needs a LOT of break in order to even have a chance of meeting my expectations. We shall see.

At least in the case of the Judge/Governor you have a varmint AND SD gun in one!

I S'pose you have ear protection when running around on machinery.

[11bravo]

My best friend has one for our summer kayaking trips as cottonmouths are everywhere here in the south. It’s the most effective snake slayer I’ve ever seen. We use to both carry our cheap Rossi 38’s with those shit CCI shot shells, but if the snake was more than 8-10’ away it wasn’t very effective.

Since our last trip ended with my Rossi safely resting at the bottom of the creek, I’m going to pick one up as well.

[Nathan]

It will be interesting to see how long you regularly carry that thing around the property. Is it in addition to your every day SD carry?

I carry it in a Diamond D Guide Holster and continue to wear it daily. Yes, this is in addition to the Glock 20 on my strong-side belt, and the J-Frame .357 Magnum in my front pocket. The Governor stays loaded with 7.5 shot, which crates a 3' wall of pellets at 15'-20'. At that range the spread makes it impossible to miss a mouse or a snake. For this purpose it's ideal, and the guaranteed hit is worth the inconvenience of carrying around an additional gun. It rides very nice in the Guide Holster though and isn't really imposing to carry it. Mouse hunting has become a priority for me. They get into my deer/elk corn and ruin it. I'm not going to put out corn with mouse shit mixed in with it. So every one I kill is one less problem I have to worry about. Before I started wearing the Governor around, I would see mice every day in equipment sheds or where I store my corn. Now I rarely see one anymore. My dog Dora has also developed quite the taste for field mice. She can catch them as good as any cat I've ever seen. The only problem with that is that she eats them before I can stop her which doesn't hurt anything but they tend to give her the s.
And then of course, rattlesnakes. I have a zero policy for rattlesnakes. I don't want to lose one of my dogs to a rattlesnake and for that role, the Governor is ideal. I shoot a large target from 15-20 feet or so and the spread is perfect. You can't find a 1" spot that doesn't have a pellet in it.

At least in the case of the Judge/Governor you have a varmint AND SD gun in one!

I have the potential for it, but the 7.5 shot is very limited. At 10', 7.5 shot .410 won't penetrate 1/4" plywood. I found this by trying to shoot mice in my wood pile. While I could use .45 LC or .45 ACP, I just keep it loaded with 7.5 shot and then also wear my my Glock 20 for bear, cougar, marauders and bandits.

I S'pose you have ear protection when running around on machinery.

I do, but usually when I see a mouse I only have a split second to draw and fire before it disappears so if I'm not already wearing it when I see a mouse, I don't take the time to put them on else I would lose the shot. On the plus side, I'm improving my western gun fighting skills.

[Nathan]

We use to both carry our cheap Rossi 38’s with those shit CCI shot shells, but if the snake was more than 8-10’ away it wasn’t very effective.

I thought about using those shot shells for when I see a mouse inside my cabin (hey, I really hate mice!) but opted to use electronic mouse traps instead (they electrocute them mouse and then send me a text to let me know to empy the trap).

[11bravo]

Nate do you have a link to that holster? That would be perfect for kayaking. Where we go we are constantly having to get out to lift the boats over log jams and what not. With the Rossi I didn’t mind it getting wet, but with something more expensive I’d rather not submerge it if possible.

[Nathan]

Nate do you have a link to that holster? That would be perfect for kayaking.

Honestly, it's the best damn holster I've ever found for any seated activity. I bought mine so that I could draw easily while seated on my tractor, and it's worked out incredibly well for me. I've already ordered another one for my Glock 20 and am awaiting delivery. You can order with or without the flap, with or without ammo loops/mag carrier.

https://www.diamonddcustomleather.com/p ... st-holster


You can also get them instantly on Amazon without any options, depending on the gun you want to use it for.
www.amazon.com/Diamond-Guides-Choice-Gl ... ref=sr_1_2