cuzinvinny

Every time I see a picture of one of those special run German 617's, I scratch my head and wonder why none of the big S&W distributors (Lew Horton or Talo) has ever offered a special run of 617's with that barrel configuration. I can't help but believe that barrel configuration in either a 5 or 6" barrel would be a big seller.

Nice work. My son has been looking for some ideas as to how he could put a fibre optic front sight on his model 66. He was considering the Weigand base that allows for the inter changable blades, but this might be an option.

Don't rule out W-W brass, and don't be quick to turn up your nose at Ranch Product's moonclips. The Ranch product moonclips cost about a buck each when you buy 100, and since they are thinner (I seem to recall mine measuring 0.022) than the other brands they work well with the W-W brass. Buying 100 makes it less painful to have to throw one away if it gets bent, and it saves the time of trying to straighten a bent moonclip. When you buy 100 moonclips, you can load all your moonclips ahead of time so you can concentrate on shooting the match, and not worry about de-mooning and re-mooning between stages.

The 4" 625 is a great choice for all 3 games but not the best choice for all 3 games. As Warpspeed noted, the 5" version is better suited to USPSA and ICORE, if the majority of your shooting will be IDPA, you will be limited to a 4" barrel. If you buy the 4" 625 it will allow you to compete in all 3 games immediately, thereby giving you the opportunity to save some money for a revolver better suited to USPSA and ICORE.

A race holster does give you the flexibility to use iron sights or a dot if you choose. I can use my CR speed holster with either my 627 which wears a red dot, or my 610 which has iron sights, since they are both 5" guns. I must admit that I keep considering the purchase of a Kydex holster for the 610. I have never had a gun fall out of the CR speed, but it sure does worry me.

I was originally going to try a SDM fibre optic front sight on my 610. One of the local guys showed me how much brighter the Hi-Viz sight was in comparison. Now all my revolvers wear Hi-Viz.

If I were in your shoes, I would find someone who had a Trojan in stock. While it may not be the CRP version, you can start using it right away. Brazos may even have their version of the CRP in stock. There are other STI distributors who might also be able to help you before May. This will allow you to use the gun through the upcoming competition season. With the money your would spend upgrading the Colt, you could add a magwell, and any other modifications you might want, to the Trojan. Once the season winds down, you can send the gun for hard chrome. The money you save by not buying the CRP version now, and by not updating the Colt, should easily allow you modify the gun to your liking later. But that's just me. As far as a holster, Comp-Tac and Bladetech are great choices.

Try Eez-ox. It is another of those that dries to form a protective film. I have had good luck using it over the last 2 or 3 years.

Yes, go to the ICORE web site http://www.icore.org/ as well as checking the revolver forum here at Brian Enos, they have an ICORE subsection. I did see 2 clubs in Illinois listed in the club section of the ICORE web site. I'm sure some of the revolver shooters here at BE will clue you in to any ICORE clubs local to you. One of the local match directors calls ICORE, "USPSA for revolvers only". I agree, with a few minor exceptions. ICORE uses a 120 power factor, rather than 165, and also allows you to use an open gun without having to compete against the USPSA open guns with their 25 round capacity.

Not much USPSA in our local area, so I don't have any recommended loads, but I would suggest starting with a 200 grain bullet, as it be easier to make major power factor. Let me suggest WW231, Clay's, and AA#5 as some potential powders for your loads, check the Winchester, Hodgdon, and Accurate web sites for specific load information. Now if you ever decide to try your hand at ICORE, I do have a favorite 40 cal load I'd be willing to share.

I'm currently using the CR Speed holster for my 610 (5" barrel) only because I already had the CR Speed holster for my 627PC, which has a red dot mounted on it. While I have never had a problem, I always worry about the guns falling out of the CR Speed holster, so I'm considering either the blade-tec or comp-tac holsters. For me, it comes down to price and delivery time.

Our local steel league, steel challenge type static steel, has no minimum power factor, so most shooters are using a 9mm or for the revolver guys 38 special. Even loaded down, the 45 has more kick than the 9 or 38. If you are serious about being competitive, you will probably need to buy another gun. If you just want to have fun using your existing equipment, either gun will do, although I'm partial to STI products.

Yes, a 5" 1911.

Let me suggest going straight to the horses mouth http://www.accuratepowder.com/load-data/. The Accurate web site will provide you with their recommendation. They have load data for jacketed, lead, plated, and frangible bullets. In my 1911 8.1 grains of AA#5 gave me 889 fps (177 power factor)with a lead 200 gr SWC.

I can't say enough good things about my Baer PremierII, so I would opt for a premier II in 40S&W. I would get it with a hard chrome finish and the 1.5" guarantee.

I have seen pictures of that model previously, and always thought S&W was missing a great opportunity not offering that model here in the US. Even if S&W didn't offer it in their product line, you would think one of the bigger distributors would consider a special run of them.

My son has a 9mm Trojan which runs great and is very accurate. So when I was in the market for a 1911, I started out leaning toward the Trojan, but always kept a Les Baer in the back of my mind. One day I decided to put the question out on several forums asking for opinions from people who owned both a Trojan and a Les Baer. Only two people who owned both replied, and both recommended the Baer. I went with the Premier II, and am extremely happy with my choice. One of the most important features for a competition gun is that it keeps on running. While I think the STI's are great guns, I have personally seen several that required tweaking right out of the box. I have never seen or heard of that with a Baer, and mine has run flawlessly from day one.

Let me suggest that you log on to the Smith & Wesson forum. They have a "Wanted to Buy" section where you can post an ad. http://smith-wessonforum.com/forum.php

Thanks for all the replies, at least now I can tell my brother I'm not the only person who favors the Buckmark.

I took my two nephews out shooting steel plates this summer. Then I told them about our steel challenge style league. They really enjoyed the outing and are interested in more of this type shooting, and may even consider joining the league. Both are junior shooters, 14 and 17 years old. My brother has asked for my advice in choosing an entry level pistol for them. The two pistols that come to mind are the Buckmark and the Ruger. I am leaning toward recommending the Buckmark, due to its being easier to maintain. I have heard horror stories of people who got their Rugers apart and found they needed to get them to a gunsmith in order to get them back together. I believe either model is pretty easy to upgrade with a Tactical Solutions barrel. I shoot a S&W model 41 and am not very familiar with either model. I'm looking for pros and cons of each model.

This was my first major ICORE match, and I had a great time. Thanks to Tom and all of his support team, with a special thanks to Shiela H. who really saved my day by giving me two of her spare batteries for my C-more. If it wasn't for her, I would have been done before I got started.

Aaron, The 627-5 is an extremely reliable revolver. It is a favorite for ICORE and for Steel Challenge. I bought one a few months back that was used very little for $800. Mine did not include the aluminum Performance Center case. I have seen those cases sell for approximately $50. So for a slightly used stock model with the case I would estimate a cost of about $850. I also suggest that you do a search for 627 in the classified forum to see what they have been selling for here on the forum.

Tom Where are you having your lead levels tested? I had my first blood test done at my family doctors office. My lead level (14)was slightly elevated (normal is less than 10). Upon further investigation my family doctor discovered that the tests done in his office may not be 100% reliable. IIRC the glass tube used to collect the blood sample may have contained a small of lead from the glass making process thereby giving a false reading. The doctor suggested that I have the test repeated at the local hospital lab. The repeat test came back with a reading of 9. I believe the hospital lab used a special tube for collecting blood samples for lead testing. A side benefit to using the hospital lab, is the skill level of the hospital lab technicians, they are better at drawing blood since they do it much more frequently than the nurses at the family doctor's office, they find the veins with no problem and leave less bruising.

The model 66 no dash and the 66-1 had cylinders where the chambers were counter bored so that the rim of the case is flush with the back of the cylinder. If you follow this link, the 5th thread down will have a picture of both the recessed and non-recessed cylinders. http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/130651-recessed-non-recessed-cylinders.html

There are those people who will tell you the older versions are better, because they received more had fitting. Others will tell you the newer versions are better since each engineering change represents an improvement in the guns design. Only you can decide if one version is better than the other for your application. When I was in the market for a 66, I was hoping to get a 66-5, which I did. To my way of thinking, I wanted a version which did not have the recessed cylinder, since I did not want a round not dropping into the counter bore properly, thereby slowing down my already timed with an egg timer, reload. More importantly, I wanted the dash 5 because it comes with a black front sight blade (with the red insert), which is easier for my old eyes to see as opposed to the stainless front sight. I also chose the dash 5 because the front sight is pinned so that I can easily replace the current blade with a fibre optic version should I choose. The pin on the older versions is more difficult for the do it yourself gunsmith to remove. Lastly, I prefer Smith & Wesson revolvers without the internal lock, only because there is less of a market, for those guns with the internal lock, should I decide to sell the gun.