David Sinko

Quite a few years ago Behlert Precision glued a rubber stop to the trigger guard of my Model 66. I hated it and eventually cut it off. I feel it's the wrong way to shoot a DA revolver and I'd never do it again. It had to be installed just right and even the slightest change in mainspring tension ruined the whole effect and made it worthless. There may be newer solutions to prevent this, but I feel in the end it's all a waste of time. Dave Sinko

I cut the spur off all mine with a Dremel and a knife maker friend cleans it up and rounds the edges with a belt sander. He then adds some kind of grit to the wheel to finish it off. This does not disturb the coloring of the sides. I prefer that the end result look concave and not flat. In a few days I will buy an older pristine Model 60 from my brother and it will get the same treatment. On my SP101 I left a rounded nub where the spur used to be in case I needed to carry it in a holster with a retention strap for extra security, but looking back it seems that was not really necessary. Years ago I had a debate with Hamilton Bowen when I ordered my Redhawk Alpine Conversion. I told him to cut off the hammer spur and he said he felt it would cause ignition problems. I was the first one to ask him to cut the spur off a Redhawk. I told him that there was no evidence this causes ignition problems and the gun functioned perfectly when I got it. Years later it did develop serious ignition problems, and again he accused the spurless hammer as being the culprit. In the end, my original spurless hammer still works fine in that gun but these transfer bar ignition systems are very quirky and difficult to understand. It all made me realize what a wonderful thing the S&W revolver really is. Dave Sinko

I still find it hard to believe that a revolver is a better choice for a salt water bath. Stainless guns would still require an extraordinary amount of maintenance to perform at all. All my S&W revolvers need a lot of Loc-tite to prevent the screws from backing out even when dry firing, and how do you overcome this when the guns need so much attention? I am probably the biggest fan of revolver carry for self defense and police use, but I'd have to decline if I'm going for a long swim in the ocean. SEAL Team 6 supposedly used the Model 66 when they were in the water, and I'd really like to know what level of maintenance they needed. Of course, if I had somebody ELSE'S 66 I'd be happy to figure it out for myself. All things considered, I'd still be happy to shoot a stage where my revolver gets dunked in mud or water, provided the Open gun next to me gets the same treatment. Dave Sinko

I would also choose a revolver and I feel that six rounds of moonclipped .45 ACP are preferable to eight rounds of .357 anything. But you need to remember that revolvers are also vulnerable to sand and dust and would also need a good amount of maintenance in that kind of environment. Dave Sinko

It is normal to be tense while shooting a revolver. Miculek does not fire eight shots in one second while being "relaxed." Shooting a revolver with any degree of speed and accuracy causes great strain and the photos of the elite shooters (especially those of times past when there was no such thing as a 5 lb. DA trigger job) will bear this out. The problem is most shooters get frustrated and quit before they can reach anywhere near their potential. Dave Sinko

Do you shoot a lot with the semiautos? If so, then stop! I shot only revolvers for years and never had any problems when I shot as fast as I could pull the trigger. Then I spent time with the autos, and when I came back to the revolvers I experienced what I thought was the occasional skipping chamber in my heavily utilized 625. I started to blame the gun. But that was all nonsense. I had nothing to blame but myself. You start to lose touch. The autos will corrupt you! Dave Sinko

Just buy one. I did. It's cheap and it works. You never know when something will go wrong and you'll desperately need it. Dave Sinko

You may as well just pick through them individually. Sooner or later you'll have to eyeball each and every one of them to check for various "issues." Some of us use our worst brass at matches just so it could be somebody else's problem afterward. Gotta be real careful out there! Dave Sinko

I just chew it away with a countersink. I load some of my stuff pretty hot and as long as I use CCI primers I don't have any problems. Dave Sinko

The answer to this question is very simple: MICULEK. He has it all figured it out, right down to the most minute detail. If I had the time and money, I'd rent him for a week. Be aware that the revolver is NOT the same as the auto. I don't care what anybody says; they are different and need to be treated as such. Another great resource is Ed McGivern's book "Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting." About a month ago I saw a new softcover version at Barnes and Noble, so it's out there and readily obtainable. It's chock full of valuable information but it can be a tough read if you're obsessed with perfect grammar and punctuation. It's absolutely amazing what that man could do with a one handed bullseye stance. Dave Sinko

Back when I was loading very small quantities I was able to prime crimped FC with my AutoPrime but when I load in quantity on the 550 I need to ream all the primer pockets. Dave Sinko

I snatched up five boxes of the Cast Performance 460 gr. FNGC from the Bargain Cave at Cabela's and I load them with a heavy charge of IMR 4198. I was getting 1812 FPS out of my Guide Gun but have since reduced the load a bit just to be on the safe side. I have complete reliability and no signs of high pressure in a load that will easily take anything that walks the planet. This is not a load to shoot off the bench if you suffer from neck or back pain, though. I also like 405 gr. cast bullets over a moderate charge of XMP5744. This reduced load is still a solid performer and is all most people will need for the field. Another interesting load is a .457" round ball over about 10 grs. of 231. This is very accurate and good for small pests. I have also had decent results with the 255 gr. RNFP sized .454" for the .45 Colt. I didn't think it would work very well, but it did. These are the only loads I ever use anymore. There's really no need for anything else. I never considered shot cartridges, but now you got me thinking. I don't know if shot capsules for the .45 Colt would work or of they'd be too small. Or maybe they could be paper patched... Dave Sinko

Your sight is pinned, isn't it? How did it break? Did the pin break or did the sight itself break? Or did the pin just fall out? The front sight of my Mountain Gun shot loose at Summer Blast even after I had put Loc-tite on it and thought I had nothing to worry about. All my other revolvers have either screw on or dovetailed front sights and this pinned sight is the only one that ever gave me a problem. Dave Sinko

I tried this years ago with a 25-7 .45 Colt and it was a failure and a complete waste of time. I refuse to moonclip a perfectly good .45 Colt revolver. The solution is to build a dedicated .45 Win. Mag. using a custom cylinder on the Redhawk platform but that is prohibitively expensive. Heavily used Redhawks develop ignition issues and the factory will refuse to fix a caliber conversion. Ruger could easily offer a factory gun but the dictators who run that outfit are just as anal retentive as the old man was and it will probably never happen. A 625 rechambered to .460 Rowland is probably the best solution if you feel you really need the added power over the .45 ACP. A heavily loaded .45 ACP or Auto Rim is nothing to be taken lightly and I have quit my fantasies involving high powered .45 moonclip guns. There are plenty of other worthwhile things to fantasize about. Dave Sinko

Very interesting. What kind of front sight? Is it squared off on top or round? I had a round top Hi-Viz on a Glock and I could not hold for elevation at long range. Is it pinned? I'm thinking about getting a fiber optic or SDM gold bead but I have not yet been able to see or try anything with a gold bead. Dave Sinko

I am a huge fan of Speer Gold Dot but I feel the factory loads it way too soft. In my experience it does not give adequate penetration on people or pit bulls. Another one with great potential is the Barnes XPB. The only problem with these is the bullets are long for weight/caliber and take up a lot of powder space so you need to choose your powder wisely. If you are going to reload your own defensive ammo, use brass and primers to match the bullet that the factory loads and make sure you load to the same OAL of the factory loaded cartridge you are trying to imitate. New brass is also important. Nobody will ever know that you are using handloads UNLESS YOU SAY SO! This why you have the right to remain silent. Cartridges are not pulled apart during shooting investigations as any lawyer with any sense would rightly call that tampering with evidence. Just keep your mouth shut and you'll be fine. Then again, if you choose to reload something really strange that nobody factory loads, you'll be out on your own. Dave Sinko

Oh, and I also reload S&B steel .223 without reservation. This is great stuff that doesn't need to be trimmed or reamed. I just wish I could find more of it. Dave Sinko

I was once given 500 pieces of S&B .45 ACP brass and I use it for my important match ammo. The primers DO seat deeper, which is perfect for my 625. I have had this stuff for years and shot many matches with it, obviously reloading it many times. I get all my brass back with the moonclips and I don't think I have experienced any split cases or other issues. I do have problems with tight primer pockets in S&B .38 Special. Reloading these is definitely not worth the effort to me. I haven't noticed any problems when reloading the .40 but I get only a few pieces of S&B brass when I scavenge and therefore do not load it in quantity. I recently broke the crank on my 550 from forcing too many primers to seat deeper, mostly for revolvers with lightened springs. My 650 always seats the primers much more efficiently, but is dedicated to .45 ACP while the 550 was constantly being caliber converted. I have since solved all these problems by using stronger springs in my revolvers so that I don't have to obsess about primer seating depth. Dave Sinko

Starline .38 Super brass worked best in my 627-4. Actually, it was the ONLY brass that fit well enough for match use. Winchester and Remington were too tight, though tolerable for practice with S&W and TK moonclips. Dave Sinko

I would never moonclip any .38/.357 that I cared about. I once moonclipped a .45 Colt and I'll never do that again either. Just stick with the 625. It's the greatest thing invented by man. If you want to shoot Minor, I have some stuff left over that's 163.2 PF and you can have it. Dave Sinko

I bought one of his single post holders at Summer Blast and found that it's also the perfect way to carry two moons concealed out on the street. And if I wanted, I could probably carry that eight moon holder under a T shirt too. This is one of the most useful products I have seen in a long time. Imagine that... perfect for street use, but NOT IDPA legal. But I don't have to worry about that anymore. Dave Sinko

Right... And which Dremel bit is used to cut the grooves into the trigger? ANYBODY can remove them, but I'm still waiting for the gunsmith who can cut them into my smooth triggers, the same width, depth and spacing as on the factory .265" triggers. Damn the MIM parts and smooth triggers! Dave Sinko

Congrats to all. I had a Blast! I switched from Production to Revolver almost at the last minute and I'm glad I did. I didn't even know anything about the magic number of 20; I'm just tired of shooting Production and will stick with Revolver from now on. I had a great time at a great match (actually my first major USPSA match) and have not one complaint. Well, I was a bit shocked when my load of 4.1 grs. of Clays and plated 230 gr. RN went Minor at the chrono. The final word was 163.2 PF, but Minor is as Minor does. Both my hand and score were bloody. I am probably the only member of this forum who is foolish enough to take a Mountain Gun with hard JM grips to a 250 round match and I did suffer for it. But I was having too much fun to notice or care. It was great to meet the other revolver shooters who were there Friday afternoon. I do plan on doing more of this in the future. It's definitely time for me to start promoting Revolver! Dave Sinko

Rubber with a wood cap? Is that for real? Between those grips and that cylinder latch, better make sure you're not wearing any suspenders when you use that thing. Dave Sinko

OK, next logical question... Why is the original S&W part suitable and the C&S NOT suitable? Inferior metalluragy? How are these things made? Is there such a thing as a MIM firing pin? Dave Sinko