Flash Pan

Well, I don’t know if this could cause the problem, but when I disassembled the gun for cleaning I notice that the cylinder did not spin freely on the yoke. Close inspection showed that there was a severe buildup of lead preventing the cylinder from spinning freely. After a through cleaning the revolver is functioning flawlessly and after 200 rounds no lead spitting. The problem developed over time and although I cleaned the cylinder and barrel did not pay any serious attention to the cylinder and yoke junction. Could this have caused the problem or should I be on the look out for something else? Dan

Thank you all very much. I have not seen anyone shoot a classifier with a revolver. So I didn't have a clue. Thanks again.

In the CoF description it says: “(Load 3 rounds MAX. in pistol) Start back to targets, turn and fire one (1) shot at each, T1-T3, reload from slide lock and fire one (1) shot at each, T1-T3.” So for a revo, do I load six, fire 3, dump the rounds and reload or do I retain the loaded rounds and then do a reload? Dan

Thank you all for the advice. This happens most often when the revolver has been fired a lot. I will give it a through cleaning and see when it starts doing it again. I had the cylinder throats opened up to a uniform .358. When I got the gun one of the cylinder throats was .3565. That eased the problem some. I should have had the forcing cone enlarged at that time, but I didn’t. I guess that is my next step. I had the gunsmith put a range rod to it and all was well then. Dan

This happen while shooting paper targets at 25 yards. The splatter is from the revolver.

I was shooting my GP100 today and every once in a while I will get some lead splatter on my left forearm or, as today, on my left cheek. It is neither painful nor even disturbing but what could cause a bullet to splatter like that? I am shooting 158gr. Bear Creek lead bullets in my reloads. Today there was a small chunk of lead on the left side of the frame next to the barrel. There were no flyers on the target. What could be causing this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated Dan

Thanks John, I appreciate the feed back. Even though it is working for me it is good to know I am not out of the loop by using this technique.

Thank you for responding. The reason I asked was that after competing in precision rifle and international shotgun all my life I am now seriously getting involved in handgun competition and although trigger control has always be paramount, long guns are more forgiving than handguns especially DA revolvers. Big difference going from 12oz. to 3.5 pound triggers to 7 to 9 pound trigger pull with tiny sight radius, by comparison. So the method I described seemed feasible in overcoming the heavier pull and still maintaining the straight pull of the trigger to the rear. It appeared to me that when I pressed the trigger, by curling my finger at the first joint that I was applying force to the left side of the trigger more so than straight back. Whereas by emphasizing pressing with the second joint and letting the trigger slide across the finger there appeared to be a more neutral press straight to the rear. This is all one man’s reasoning and we all know where that can lead. Dan

Howdy All, I have been practicing with my GP100 and have been making steady improvement. Recently I came across a method of pressing the trigger that has helped me tighten up my groups. But I am still a newbie and I thought it would be prudent to run this by you folks who have a lot more experience than I. The method is to engage the trigger right above the first joint of the trigger finger between the crease and the pad then pressing the trigger by concentrating on bending the second joint while letting the trigger slide across the finger pad until the revolver fires. Letting the trigger finger from the first joint up just relax as the second joint does the work. It was a little odd at first but the results on the target are remarkable for me. It does seem to produce a more even and straight trigger press. I don’t want to practice something that will work against me in the long run. What do you all think? Dan

Thank you all so much. This is very helpful. And I am sorry for my misprint in one of my previous post; I want to thank Mr. Roger Davis (not Smith) for his very informative article.

Thank you all for your responses. I should have mentioned that I intend to start out in IDPA so I will be using 38 special. I guess I will trim the loaders bit and see if the problem with the cartridges being pulled out persists. If it does I'll trim off a bit more. Thanks for the Roger Smith link. That is a lot of good information. I’ve saved the link, I’m sure I will be referring back to it in the future. Dan

Howdy to all, I am just starting out shooting a wheelgun and I have been reading past post on this forum and I have a question regarding cutting down Comp III speedloaders. Since I am a newbie I don’t think it will make a whole lot of difference in my overall performance if I cut them down, but since I already had a problem with them in practice I thought I’d ask. How far can I cut the Comp III down before I can no longer load them by pressing them against the palm of my hand? Thanks, Dan

Howdy All, My name is Dan (Flash Pan Dan) and I just finish taking my Safe Handgun Competitor course with the Richmond Hotshots and am ready to go and shoot my first match. I have competed all my adult life and after having some success in shotgun, rifle, and archery competitions I’m ready to learn to do it with a handgun. I want to start in IDPA Stock Service Revolver Division and look forward to what that leads me into in the future. I have a Ruger GP100, Blade Tech holster, Safariland CompIII speedloaders and some Ready Tactical speedloader carriers. I have been reading past posts here and on the IDPA forum and that lead me to make these purchases. I think that will get me started okay. I still have a lot to learn and hope I can contribute little also. Thanks, Dan