Dr. Phil

O.K. but bear with me... I'm perfecting a new turkey hunting scent right now called, "Hen -in-heat"

Yep! 1. Get a can of air. The kind for computers. Blow out under the shell plate from time to time. 2. Slow down. When the case comes to the primer stage, develop a slight hesitation and let the primer advance. Seat and continue. It will become 2nd nature very quickly. 3. see #1 4. get rid of the chain and use springs! The chain will fail you. SQUIB! bang, bang, bang, poop,,,etc. 5. use a little graphite or silicon (on a q tip) on the case slide and the loaded round drop. 6. See #1 etc. Your worst enemy is static electricity. If all these tactics fail, paint said press dark blue and your problems will vanish... Just kidding guys! Jeesh, lighten up!!

If I could bottle those "twice a year runs", I'd sell it!!! I'd call it "Zone Juice". "One bottle of "Zone Juice, and you'll be out shooting the field! Try our satisfaction guaranteed Zone Juice for the paltry sum of $29.95 a bottle. A must-add for your shooting bag!" Zone Juice. That's the answer...

Just watched a neat T.V. bit by J.M. from the show "HotShots". Worth watching if you can find it on the net. (Seems there are or were several shows called Hotshots. It's the one with Jerry, Patrick Flannigan, Randy Oitker and K.C.) He mentioned his practice regiman for the Steel Challenge was to shoot a relay 2 or 3 times for practice, 2 or 3 times a day. (9 runs?) He said it does no good to warm up before you get good runs going. All about the "cold start". We used to do the same thing getting ready for bowhunting: Shoot 1 arrow before work every day and 1 before dark every night and live with the results. Little pressure, lots of improvement! Hope it helps...

Funny you should ask! I was having a problem with about 1 out of every 10 or 15 rounds not going into battery. My OAL on those rounds was 1.135 or longer. I dropped them to 1.125 and the problem went away. My RIA will shoot anything. My Fusion has a Storm Lake bbl and it's finicky about OAL.

I've been shooting a lot of Bayou 147s with 3.4 of 231. Recently tried 3.2 gr of 231 and they run my guns fine... Great, soft plate load!!

I had an issue with a 586 after having it cut for moon clips... Seems with the quicker reloads, the front of the cylinder would get hot (after 25 rounds or so) and drag on the forcing cone. The cyl. gap was uneven by about .0015, I seem to recall. I remember the gap was at a real minimum, but that was a long time a go... Had the face trued up and BINGO no more problems. Were you shooting fast, magnums, etc., and maybe heating things up?

Thank you!!

Perhaps the game and the name could be changed to the "walking kind of fast till I start shooting, and then running" man... Or, how about the "running, stair stepping, keeling over from a weak heart" man? Never mind, just thinking out loud... +1 on running shorter, shooting sooner, etc.

I'm just a steel shooter, but, isn't the P in USPSA for "practical"? So the bad guy hides behind a pole and we cry, "foul!"? Our steel shoots regurlarly feature 8" plates with 2" holes in the center. Sometimes the shoot plate is behind the no-shoot hole-in-the-center plate. Nobody cries. We shoot it and have fun... I think the loudest whiners are the guys trying to hold back those who are probably better... Great stage! I'd love to shoot it! Keep up the great work...

When I, as a lefty, started kickboxing, I learned to fight right handed, mainly because it did 2 things: Placed me further away from my opponant's "power", and put my more powerful side forward. The only similarities I ever found in shooting was that the Weaver stance is a slightly similer, yet more compact version of some of the Japanese style's fighting stance. I think Bruce said it best (to paraphrase) "when you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup, etc". I think your shooting reverts to your training to shoot...

Like I tell my son when training, always race the start of the beep!

I would think S&W would like to know about it, regardless of who fixes it. They would (IMHO) be the ones to do the repairs first and formost. Fixing it yourself probably voids future warranty work, but, more than that, they should be made aware. (just in case they don't follow this forum...) They will wish to make it right. I think the bad rep is probably over the top. There are already enough Ruger shooters!!

know what I hate!? Electronic muffs; cause between BANGS! you can HEAR them laugh...

I asked him how he planned on welding the 2 slide pieces together. He laughed and said, "propane". Don't know if CF would work, but, man, talk about your low mass slides! He also mentioned a 5" slide / barrel with a full profile 2" comp that looks like the slide. Told him that's cheating! I thought about a Bar-Sto 7", skeleton slide, and a belt slide holster. Pretty cool for plate matches!

That's funny! I was just talking to my smith about this tonight... I want a skeleton slide. He wants to make it out of carbon fiber.... Maybe a compromise? He said "why would you need that?" I said"what need????" Maybe next winters' project.

O.K. J.L. Hardy, I told my wife that you said I need a new open gun. At first she was'nt happy, then she said, "well, if J.L. says so I guess go ahead". Thanks for helping the brother out. PS. +1 on shoot it. If it's safe, accurate and flat, why search for a problem? Open guns, high velocity and comps are no-nos for plated bullets. I have always followed the "use lead loads for plated bullets" theory. Happy shooting! How DID you get a gun in the mail anyway? ROFL!

+1 on the plate rack! I use the same formula: chrono, groups, log all the info, then I shoot the 8" plates at 10 yd. against 2 controls. 1. the .22, and 2. my old standard load that I'm testing against. I log 1st shot, average split, low split and, of course, E.T. I also, if testing more than 1 load, shoot without knowing which load I am shooting at that rack. I put the loaded mags in my pocket and load without looking, only logging the numbered mag after the run. That way, all runs are unbiased. After awhile, the notebook begins to speak very loudly as to what each gun likes...

Hi from the Northeast corner of Pa. Stop by and we'll do some shooting!!

I cut down my 38 / 357 brass for my 586 and 686 moon clipped revos. I cut .400 off the .357 cases. I had to cut about .350 off my case bell/powder measure die (Lee dies) and the same off the bullet seating die. They work fine in my guns, though not as short as the 38 SC. I tried to resize the 9mm to 38 also. No joy! I found that I get good velocity (steel loads, not major) with less powder and the load fills the case better with the short cases. My gunsmith buddy dubbed the cartridge the ".357 SPS" for "super phil short". Fun experiment.

No wonder my wife keeps telling me "don't be a pig!"

24. Never, ever, let your 16 year old beat you. He'll tell everybody! 25. Shooting hostages costs lots of time...

My 2 cents... Worth nothing, but mine. I have shot with LEO's who qualify once a year, and are not only not "good", but not safe!! To me "good" means hitting what I shoot at. 100yds. with a hunting revo? I can do that (usually). PPC 25 or 50 yds.? I can do that too. Steel, bowling pins, el prez? All fun, and trying to improve every time out. My 14 yr. old will someday (soon?) be faster than me, but I'm more accurate. Can I defend me and mine anytime, anywhere I have to? I believe so. I will never win a National match, but the bad guys don't realize that... One more thought. I have shot beside a LOT of regular guys and gals at matches with everyday gear and everyday skills. They have rough hands form hard work and their range bags have worn out edges. They are super nice, polite, and always willing to talk to a new friend. Are they good? Better believe it! I'd shoot a week with one of them before shooting a match next to some peacock with a racegun who shoots 40 rounds at 30 targets. Yet, some pro level shooters are great to be around too. Nice, polite, willing to chat. But, man, can they shoot! Lots of good shooters around. Some are simply good enough to satisfy themselves... Thanks for listening, and please don't forget ue little people. We're in the crowd, not on the podium...

Plus 1 on cutting down 38 Special. I shoot short 38s and .357s in my 586. I set up my trimmer to cut .400 off a .357, and had to shorten the powder and bullet seater dies about 1/4". After set up, I have 1" long cases. Good reloads too. I had the gun cut for moonclips, and my gunsmith started calling my rounds .357SPS (super Phil shorts). Thanks for all the great info here everybody!!

Oh, yea, Never prop your bowling pins against your plate rack, cause you're too lazy to keep setting them up... How about a 240 gr. Almax lead tip bouncing back offf the noggin? Broke my glasses, cut eyebrow. About 10 degrees out, and last cylinder full of rounds. Had to go inside for more, bleeding like a stuck hog. Very impressed Mrs...