Rather-B-Huntin

I load 3.0 gr. of Clays under a 150 gr. RN that I cast from wheel weights in a Lee mould. Gives me about 625-650 fps from my 637 Powerport.

Open revo is like dating a goth chick. Few guys wanna try it, even fewer go thru with it, and only a handful of weirdos enjoy it. It wasn't my cup of tea. I guess I've always preferred a more "dressed down" and "sturdy" kind of gal. That's why my 625 and 686 see the most action. But every once in a while, ya gotta give something crazy a try. It just may be your thing!

No need to think about it! Get a North Mountain!!

I've been considering one of the new 629 PC snubs for the same reason you mention Merlin. There's just something "badass" about a bigbore snubby!

I've been having a lot of fun w/ my 6" 686-0 in Retro. Got one of Bob's North Mountain Comp III holders and wouldn't think of using anything else! As mentioned previously, the advantage gained in sight radius w/ a 5" to 6" barrel will help, but the full lug barrel does hinder transitions when compared to the lighter barrel contours. However, in the spirit of staying "Retro", at our next local ICORE match I'm going to use a recently aquired police trade-in model 64-3 with factory stocks and original Melvin Tyler T-Grip, basic leather holster, and HKS speedloaders. OR, I may use the model 14-4 that I'm on my way to pick up as soon as I finish typing this.

Who can do Melonite?

I have Hogue wood on several guns and like the look and feel of all of them. That said, I run Hogue Monos on all of my competition revos.

Personally, I'd forget about competing and focus on the fun. If you want to be competitive, play them at their own game. You can't beat a Corvette with a Corvair. You can't beat a hi-cap Open gun with an Open Revo. As cool as it would be to do, it just aint gonna happen that often. A blind hog can find an acorn once in a while, so you never know, but for the most part.... I haven't fired the first round from an auto in competition this season. I've shot my 625 in Revo, my 627 in Prod. and L-10, and my 637 for grins and giggles (we do a BUG division in local ICORE, and it's my dailey carry gun. so the more practice the better). I'll be shooting my 627 in Open starting this month as I've recently added a CMore STS for ICORE Open, but I have no illusions of being competitive against hi-cap auto Open shooters. As far as the fun part of it, aside from being good practice, I found it very satisfying when last months results came in and I was second of 10 in Prod. and fifth of 14 in L-10 with my 627! And nothing says you can't add an Open revo division at a local level. We do a BUG division at local USPSA. There's no classification for it, but who cares? It's good fun and good practice. Concentrate on that and it's much more satisfying.

He can probably still beat 98% of shooters right now!

It seems to me that, as with most things these days, S&W has also foregone practicality in favor of esthetics. I run Hogue Monos on my speedloader guns with little issue.

After the DQ, do you feel the need to rinse your eyes with bleech? I do, but it doesn't help. I just curl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb until the image leaves me.

I see a vision of Cliff in his under garments. That causes me to drop the gun, resulting in a DQ. But seriously, I keep my eyes on the cylinder. My hand automatically retrieves the moonclip and delivers it to it's intended spot.

I just got one of Bob's newest creations which holds six Safariland Comp III speedloaders! It's every bit as nice, and practical, as my NM moonclip holder. It may not get me laid, but it's so cool I've considered making love to it!!

I took Carmoney's advice when I started shooting Revo and bought a Blade Tech. I'm about 50 matches and several thousand draws into it with zero drops or failures. It isn't as versatile as a SpeedSec or Ghost for holding multiple frame sizes, but it holds my 625 and 627 with zero issues and very, very little chance of dropping. I have done timed comparisons from my BT and from a SpeedSec and there's no difference (I'm maybe a hair quicker with the BT). All of that said, I may be getting ready to buy a Ghost that will hold my 625 and 627 with optic installed for ICORE Open. I going with a CMore STS mounted on a JPoint S&W mount on the 627, so just maybe it'll still work from the BT. If not, I'm going with a Ghost because my fingers are too fat to consistently, effectivley engage the SpeedSec lock.