AzShooter

You can order them from RevolverSupply.com They also have the cases that hold your ammo ready for the loaders. Dave is still in business. He was nice enough to give me some of his new loaders recently. The new ones are easier to grab and let go of the ammo faster. They are the ones in my picture with the holster I made for the 617.

I wish it was Apex but I gave it to a friend, Nelson Ford "The Gunsmith". I've known Nelson for 40 years and thought I'd give him a try. He found that I was out of time and that my Yoke was bent. I wanted to do it myself but couldn't fit the timing with a new hand, beyond my ability at this time. I don't have knowledge enough to fix the yoke. I normally get stuff done real fast with Nelson.

What ammo are you using? I've had the best luck with Federal BYOB and Remington Golden Bullets. Blazers work well but not 100%. My timing is off a little so I'm having that worked on then I expect to be using CCI Mini Mags as well but the Federal are working so well I'll probably stay with them. I'm using the Apex extended firing pin, their springs and I've gotten my pull down to 6.5 lbs. I haven't tried lower than that. It feels good right where it is. At 7.5 pounds I can shoot more ammo reliably. 100% ignition is more important that the 1/2 pound you may save. If you need speed loaders go with the DS-10s. Dave is great to work with and the loaders are fast and reliable.

I've seen many shooters at the tables before a match checking their ammo with just a barrel. I don't consider it a firearm and have no problem. NROI would be the best place to get the correct answer though.

I like ACMEBullets.com. Always consistent in weight and diameter. What I like most is the variety of colors they come in. When testing loads I use different colors for either weight or size to insure I'm using just one example for all my loaded rounds. I also like Blue Bullets.

North Mountain worked for me with no problems. I am also Husky ( Being Nice ) weighing 375 pounds and only 6 foot. I never had a problem reaching for my magazines and they hold your moons well enough that you can run from position to position without worry.

Volquartsen had the 5.5 inch Target barrel on sale so I picked one up to go along with my Mark IV 22/45 Lite. I use the stock barrel and C-More as a backup to my Mamba and the 5.5 inch with Irons for RFPI in Steel Challenge. Just for fun I picked up the 10 inch barrel as well from the VQ Bargain Bin ( watch it for future barrels). All three are tack drivers. I do have to shoot the 10 inch from a bench to get the best results. It's a little heavy for me to hold out there.

There are no ends to the amount of customizing you can do to your Mark IV. I opted to produce a Mamba on mine and with the then extra upper I bought a lower from Wirthwein guns and ended up with another Standard Mark IV 22/45. I put C-More sights on both. I also have a 5.5 inch bull barrel and a 10 inch barrel that I can swap out. The 5.5 inch will be used for RFPI.

I mostly shoot Steel Challenge these days. We run squads of 10 shooters and it always get to me how few work. I've taken to telling the squad at the beginning of the match that there are 10 of us and everyone needs to take a turn with timer and scoreboard. I inevitably get the "I don't know how to..." so I say "Well, now is the time to learn.". Once they do one of two people they normally keep helping. Older shooters are a different story. Some are just lazy.

The pulverizer from Volquartsen is the best thing there is for cleaning a compensator. Too bad it only works on their comps. I run a 12 minute dot on my SlideRide. I like the ability to change dot size and it only cost $50 to try a different size. The new Mamba is nice and light and extremely accurate. Makes a great Steel Challenge gun.

I have a Bill Stripling thumb rest on my Mark IV 22/45 that works real well.

The Ruger Mark IV Lite upgraded to a Volquartsen Mamba and you can't go wrong.

J Michael Plaxico was a great competitor at the first IRC. After that he never made it back and Jerry Michulec came and dominated the IRC for the next 20 years. It was fun to shoot with both of them. I learned a bunch for Plaxico and watching Jerry over the years was more than a simple pleasure.

For years I've been doing my own gunsmithing and have gotten pretty good at getting a decent trigger pull. I recently tried to replace the hand in my 617 because it was slightly out of time. That's where I went above my skill level and had to call my friend Nelson Ford, The Gunsmith to help fix up my project. Wow, gunsmiths are getting a lot of money for when we screw up. He said he could fix the hand and also that the yoke was bent. Another thing I do not have to tools to fix. I have an Apex Tactical hammer in the gun and Nelson was hesitant to work on it and asked for the original hammer and the original hand. I had the hand but the hammer made it to the trash bin when the Apex was installed. Looks like it will take him a month to get around to it. Shame because I wanted to shoot it at next month's Steel Challenge Match. ( I shoot my revolver much better than my Mamba).:gun4:

I made this one this week. It's reminiscent of the old Ernie Hill Speed Leather. Fits the Mark IV with C-More or any other red dot sight.

K-frame holster for my S&W 617 with C-More Sight. Fully lined with two layers of Veg Tan Leather...Tension screw under trigger guard to make sure gun is secure when moving around. Not really needed because the first 2 1/2 inches are stitched and gun is not moving anywhere.

I like to carry my .22 in a holster instead of a bag. Our club does not have tables at each stage to be able to bag the gun and since I shoot out of a wheelchair it's easier for me than having to drop the bag on the ground and pick it up after each stage I made the holster out of two lined pieces of leather and then put a liner of suede on top. There is a tension screw under the trigger guard. The gun is quite secure even without the screw. Next I'm going to make one for my 617.

Go to your local hardware store and get a brass bolt the size you wants and some valve grinding compound. Chuck the bolt into your hand drill and put the compound on the nut. Put that on the end of the barrel and you can cut a nice crown. This is an old method used for black powder rifles and works real well for the hobbyist.

Let's not think it's only a 4 second penalty. It's 12 seconds and that is outrageous. I shoot everything from the center because I'm in a wheelchair. I only shoot for myself so I don't mind the penalty but I'm close to my old shooting friends that are not handicapped. Sometimes I still beat them so the 12 seconds is bad but not too bad to overcome.

It's not meant to be a slide release on the 22/45. You should pull the bolt back and release it to get your round in. It states so in the manual. I tried like the dickens to use it as a slide release until I read this in the Rimfire Central Forum.

That's the same thing I did to increase the trigger pull on mine. VQ kit brought it to 1.5 but the OEM spring brought it back to 2.7.

McMaster.com They are Chicago fasteners and you can get the screws and base for them.

You can come to the line with your .22 in a holster. I've been doing it for years. Our club doesn't have barrels set up at each stage so I find it to be easier to just wear my gun on my belt.

I know I don't need a holster for Steel Challenge with a rimfire but with the virus keeping us indoors I decided to make my third holster this week. I tried a different design and basket weaving. I like the new stitching as well but I realize I have lots of work to do to get better.

Canned air is all I've used on my 550/650 presses. They don't get that dirty.