Boats

Finally took a picture of the 625 3 inch. Those Houge grips are not it's regular handle, Use a pair of Spegell small boot grips. However was shooting the IDPA 90 shot classifier with it yesterday so switched to the larger. Have owned a couple of .45 acp Smiths over the years, 1917 M 25 but think I like this little one best of all Boats

Thanks, Tell the truth If I made one no doubt would end up making 3 or 4 before getting it right, time spent would be much more than just buying one. Will have a look at there web-site Looks like a pretty useful tool Boats

It depends on what you plan to use the spotter for. I have more than one scope stand. Flimsy stand handicaps a good scope more than anything else. Steady stand can make a cheap scope look good. Camera style Tripod you can't beat Bogden. I like the fluid head sold for Video cameras fast on target and swtiching target to target. Only use it for Silouette and spotting another shooter though. Wide legs get in the way of shooting if spotting yourself. We usualy sit spotting so a tall stand is not real important. If standing it needs to be high so you don't bend over all day. Unless your scope is angle eyepice, then it's another fit up. Traditonal scope stand mine is a Champions Choice, Straight shaft offset Bipod legs with a weight. The type is not steady at all but you can put the scope next to your body when shooting. I keep a light cord in my bag and often lash it to the shooting house post, particulary if the wind is blowing. Single shaft stand you can Lean over to spot without changing position. Same stand assembled with only one extension is good self spotting prone. They are steady if set up short. Also have an old B&L table top tripod that is easy to put into my shooting bag and works fine off a bench. Will sometimes put a chair on top of the bench and put the scope on top to shoot offhand when pratice shooting. Only good thing about it it's size. Boats

Ouch 75 bucks. How does it work, just a swage, put the clip in and hit it with a hammer ? I can turn one up on my lathe in 15 minutes if that's the case. Looks like it goes a bit past square so the clip springs back flat. Have had some luck just putting the clip on the anvil and wacking it just right. Sometimes it works sometimes not. Boats

Is your Kimber barrel the same leingth as the Glock ? How much light either side of the front sight blade is a function of how far apart the sights are and the size of the blade/notch. I like a lot of light so on shorter sight radius pistols like a Commander need wider rear and narrow front. longer radius it's not as much. 1 inch difference between a Commander and regular Colt 1911 is real obvious when using the same sight notches. Pistols having a short radius don't need a lot of metal removed to make a difference. Something like cutting down a high front sight on a long barrel muzzleloader is not real hard to do and you can't get into much trouble. Filing is a skill and I would say filing a little bit wider rear sight notch takes more skill than most jobs. Not square and you see it everytime you shoot. Need the right size file and if it has "safe" sides it's better. That is cut on the flat only just 2 sides of the file, or the reverse just the edges if using the file to cut a notch deeper. If not real sure better to get somebody else to do the job. Good Gunsmith will have files ground specificly for the cuts. Some do it with a mill for better precesion and speed. Boats

I use lead in my M&P 9mm. Like you use lead SWC's in my 1911's. I can't see any reason a M&P 45 won't feed lead bullets. Might want to start with some RN first. Lots of them for sale intended for Cowboy action shooting. Although correctly seated H&G # 68 SWC's are good feeders. Did find in my M&P had to switch out the guide rod for a no-captured rod and tweak the mainspring some. Try Speed Shooters for the rod and springs. Boats

I am with Flex on this one, The flashlight neck hold stong hand on the pistol works best for me. Fast and sure particulay on Close targets. When some distance is required those cross hand holds never gave me any extra support and shot worse than Stong hand only. I have been playing with the Marine Corps method as detailed in Surefires article. Using a big heavy Mag Lite it seems to give me more support. Can see it of advantage on stages that are longer distance. Besides the M 10 Smith stowed in the kitchen has a Mag Lite beside it. Might as well get familar with it. Boats

Dig arround Surefires web site in the section headed articles. Very good explanation, history & pros and cons of all the flashlight tequniques. I saw some things that suprised me and a method I had not seen used that is working good for me. Boats

I talked to a manufacturer Friday about a bulk club order. We discussed the price of his bullets at retail shops, He said he should go back to the dealers and reduce his prices some since Lead has dropped considerably. Many of them on shelves were priced when it was high. While ammo is selling fast his lead bullets are not. Our club order may well come in at lower prices, Boats

Sorry guys thought I had posted results. Have another thread on the 625 that's more mechanical and updated that one. Clays is working great. I loaded dozen of each charge around what had been recommended, all with a 200 GR .452 lead bullet. Rolled in the strongest crimp my lee 45 ACP dies would give. What is working best in that gun is 3.9-4.0 of Clays. Adjustable measure set at 4.0 however the one I like to use a little Bonanza throws 3.9 Have not chronographed the load but am pretty sure it will not make major. It's clean recoil is not real bad but no powder puff either Since this gun is a 3 inch and wears small boot grips and will not shoot regular matches Major is not a factor. It's amazing how clean Clays shoots. Have loaded 45 ACP over 30 years, Unique and then W 231. Am used to dirty which never affected my 1911's Years ago had a Smith & W 1917 moonclipper and dirty was never a factor with that revolver, Accucary was not a factor either, The 625 is tight and even though I had the cylinders polished clips were not dropping in easy using W 231. In fact the cylinder was dragging too after many rounds,. Gap on this gun is as tight as I have seen, Clays I am loading a Plano box full 12 dozen and don't clean until they all go through with no problems, Our club has a BUG match mid Feb and plan to use the 625 instead of my usual 2 inch M 10. I may switch out the grips and shoot the IDPA Classifier with it in March, if so will have to boost the Clays load working with the Chronograph to Make the PF. Am shooting stage III with it now practice. Now I have to make up my mind on switching my other pistols to Clays. Load more 9 mm than anything else, some 38 spl in powder puff loads for snubbies and of course 45 ACP for a pair of 1911's Thanks all for the advice. Boats

Joe, Might sound like a dumb question but, never having used STP before, Does it make the Mobil One thicker or thinner ? I would like to thicken it up some. Boats

Here is my Binocular advice. Consider what you plan to use them for. Scanning and searching out large objects lower power is more suitable. Standard marine glass is a 7x50 for good reason. Long hours of scanning from a rolling vibrating platform. Big objective because they are using the glass from a fixed spot not carrying it around all day, weight is no big deal. On the other hand Bird Watchers like higher power. Most see a small object with there naked eye and put the glass on for a quick identification. Most common bird glasses are 10x by 40 or so. Smaller because they have to be carried while walking. 10 X makes it easier to identify one species from another. I like and always recommend lower power unless you have a real good reason for high. However I own a couple of spotting scopes that handle the High X close look work for me and don't need 10x 8x may be a good compromise bionic. Objective lens should be as large as you can carry. My hunting glass is a 7x30 but often times use a 8x20 mini when spotting work will be minimal and don't want to carry a lot of weight. When on the water use an old pair of 7x50's and are often struck by how much easier they are on my eyes than the smaller objective glasses. Better low light situations too. When it comes to quality a few things to consider. Higher power and smaller objective lens better quality will really show it self. Lower power larger less expensive glasses often can give a better picture than the smaller more powerful & expensive glasses. Not a bigger picture but looks clearer because it's easier optically to deliver. Older you get better quality you need too. With any glass it's a good idea to look first. Particularly with the lower price models. Seems to be a lot of difference between glasses that are same make and model with the less expensive ones. Even high dollar glass they are not all the same. Brands ? they are all good in my book, buy from somebody who will stand behind it and make sure it meets your needs. Binocs and Spotters I use Swarvoski, Leopold, and Bushnell. Wide range of cost. Have had a few other brands I no longer own because they were not good "lookers" I account it to the particular glass more than the brand. Boats

Never thought about trimming the shell holder ought to work good. Die itself is so hard it's not easy to trim. Actually right now I don't have a big problem with swelled bases as long as I watch out for those bent rims. Our club allows full auto and it may have come out of somebody's open breech gun. Back to the 625 just ran 12 dozen moon clips through without a hiccup. All using a 200 gr RN strong crimp and 4.0 of Clays. Think I am home free. Am going to try to classify IDPA with it in a couple of weeks. No doubt the 3 inch barrel will give something up on the 20 yard barricade, hopefully not a lot, all I really need to do is keep 18 shots on the paper. make scores on the rest of the course. 7 yd head shots it seems to shoot right along with my Government models. Rest of the classifier expect no troubles due to the 3 inch barrel. My re-loads are not as fast as with automatics but not many to do in the classifier. The give you right much more time revolver vs automatic 45's. Plan to carry this revolver with a short boot grip but have put a full size pair of Houges on for matches and classifying. Will see if I can get some pictures up. Boats

Tom, If you want to see what small base dies will do to your brass take the de-capping pin out of your F/L die and shell holder out of the press. Put a washer on the ram and run a case in full. Have to knock it back out with a rod from the top. Measurements are interesting sometimes. Boats

Tom My die set is a Lee, understand they made a run of small base dies too for progressive loaders. However problem I have found with range pick up 45 ACP brass is some cases have a very slight bend to the rim. It may be from Glocks or some other new style 45 acp autoloader. I found some cases not fitting well when put into the shell holder. Chucked them up in my lathe and put a dial indicator on the rims. Was out just a bit, faced off square they load and feed fine. It's hard to see when seperating so rely on any sticky fit in the shellholder to reject cases. Was this a problem with FTF in a 1911 ? who knows, I don't have a big problem with it but one is a lot when match shooting. For the S&W 625 it's easy to keep brass seperated. Thats a good policy to follow with any gun if possable. Boats

Sometimes I need a 2nd wind, mostly after I break the first one Boats

W231 has been my powder of choice for the 45 ACP for some time. Moved to it from Unique due better measureing ablity. However the revolver is another animal. 1911 only chambers one at a time and has the slide slamming the cartridge home. Revolver you drop 6 in at once and expect them to go home with gravity alone. Difference between 231 and Clays is noticable given that situation. Have a couple of jugs of 231 but once they are gone will see how Clays works for Auto loads. I don't think dirty every gave me a FTF but you never know. Agree on Glockized cases. For this 625 I have hand seperated a lot of Winchester 45 brass all from the same 1911, and keeping them seperate from my Auto fired cases. Boats

Update on sticky chambering Had my gunsmith polish & chamfer the cylinders . Still loading sticky. Finally took the boards advice and bought a jug of Clays. Makes a huge difference. Shot 48 rounds with clays no problems chambering the moonclips. Mild load and firm crimp. Brushed the cylinders clean. Ran one moon clip using my old W 231 load and the 2nd clip had to be pushed hard to go home. Now I wonder if my occasional fail to feed in 1911's was due to W 231. Boats

Bought a jug of Clays. Loading data it seems to duplicate Bullseye in the 45 ACP. Loaded up 5 lots of test cardriges above and below 4.2 gr pushing a 200 Gr R/N lead for my 625 Smith Going to the range tomorrow will report results.

I use the "batch" method. Generaly 200 cases at a time for the auto cartridges. 100 for the revolvers. One step is to clean, next is to size and flare. Third is to prime and last when I need 200 rounds charge and seat bullets. I keep large plastic jars of cases that have been through one or the other steps. I find it works best for me since I load for several handgun cartridges. If only using the 9mm or 45 ACP perhaps a progressive would be better but use 3 different 45 ACP loads two for 1911's one for a 625. 9's are all the same but then there is the 45 LC and two different 38 spl loads. Couple of rifles too. All that switching does not suit progressives. You will find heavy cast iron turret presses used often. I have one Lyman turret bolted beside a single station lyman Spartan. Leave the 9mm and 45 acp dies in the turret all the time. Single station I switch out and use for Rifle cartridges too. Also have an old Lyman Tru Line Jr that uses the small 310 dies. Only use it for seating bullets in 45 lc &38 spl. When it comes to presses there is no substitute for weight and mass. Sounds extragavant all those presses but the lot did not cost 150 bucks. All are mounted on heavy oak T shaped bases, clamp in a strong bench vice ,stowed under the bench when not in use. It's a heavy bench bolted to the post in my shop. That mounting would not work with anything flimsy. Often think about a progressive but unless shooting volume 9 mm it's not best for my needs Boats

Best get them to put a thread guage on it. Small sizes it's hard to tell metric from inch. Any you can realy screw thing up if wrong, Buying Brownells is the best way to go, Boats

Cavalier Rifle and Pistol is what you are looking for, Montpelier just north of Richmond. HP Long range to 600 yards has been closed for upgrades should re-open Feb 09. 100 Yd HP range is always open. Also dedicated 100 yard small bore range. Bullseye Pistol, Pratical Pistol, and Cowboy action ranges. Sporting clays too, Feb 3 new bays for IDPA matches will open as part of the re-work. Old IDPA bays will stay open for practice. Membership numbers are limited by County rules but always some openings after Jan 1 when dues need to be paid. Nobody shoots steel pistol matches but that's a function of intrest club will run any match members want. IDPA is real popular. Thing to do is show up for a match, they are open to all, and get info from a member. Web site is not real current but you can get the idea CAVRP.ORG Or you could send me a private message Boats

Surefire has an very good paper on shooting with flashlights on there web-site. History Pros & Cons of most methods. Boats

Easy answer is to buy new mags. For my HP have stocked up on Mec Gars in case the authorities try to limit capacity again. Now is the time to buy. You could re-spring your existing mags and tinker with them but Brownells sells new Mec Gars for 20 bucks. Boats

Thanks RevC Am making major with W231 now using the H&G 68 style 200 gr swc 5.3 for My Commander and 5.7 for the Full Size Colt. Loads used for many years with no troubles. Problem at hand is non major in my new to me 625 using 200 gr rn cast. 231 is pretty dirty and the revolver has some moonclip seating issues after a few have gone through. Gunsmith is giving it a polish and chamfer job now which could cure but cleaning burning with light loads would be good. Automatics only have to seat one at a time and the slide slams the cartridge home. Moonclipped revolver you have to seat 6 at a go with nothing to help but gravity. It's a nuisance having too many powders around but am going to get a can of Clays just for the 625 and see how it goes. Some point will have to load major for it too. Who knows may switch all 45's to it sometime. Boats Boats