varminter22

M627 .38 Short Colt (Starline) 147 Xtreme or 142 Mont Gold Fed small pistol 3.3 gr Tite Group OAL: ~ 1.080" PF: 127 (as I recall) I probably should increase the powder charge a bit as PF127 doesn't provide much comfort factor at a USPSA chrono stage. But plenty good for ICORE.

I cannot imagine a club that would not "allow" visitors/spectators. Only requirement is eye/ear protection.

.38 Short Colt, Starline brass. Xtreme 147 gr (on right); OAL ~ 1.139". This too has a slight case bulge at the base of seated bullet. But again, no problem; performs fine. http://www.stillwaterfirearms.org/index.php/sfa-photos/j-l-rhodes/miscellaneous/short-colts-1-3052#joomimg

I've not been able to cut/paste text data, include an image, nor use quote/multi quote function in these BE forums. No problem with other website forums. Anyone know why?

.38 Short Colt, Starline brass, Montana Gold 142 gr; photo at: http://www.stillwaterfirearms.org/index.php/sfa-photos/j-l-rhodes/miscellaneous/38-short-colt-moonclip-1-3051#joomimg OAL is ~ 1.082". Can see a slight case bulge ring at the base of the seated bullet. But it is not a problem; this ammo chambers and performs just fine. Although the bullet has a cannelure, these bullets are taper crimped; the cannelure is just above the case mouth. Again, no problem.

Glad to hear it - despite the rain! Match results?

Definitely prefer Federal in my M625 and M627; but also use some Winchester in other guns. Never had a problem with either in my Dillon 550. I did manage to ignite one, but it was my fault.

I too am wanting to purchase a time. Large, easy-to-ready display and ease of use is important. Pocket Pro II a good choice?

Ha! Good point, Mike. I always wanted to start casting. But I've just never found the time for it. And frankly, I doubt I ever will. I've had very good luck with Xtreme (copper plated) and Montana Gold (jacketed).

Forgive me for not noting that, Dean! Win it again!

Sounds great, Mike! And am glad to learn the 2012 and 2013 Midwest Regional winner and 2014 IRC winner, Rich Wolfe, will be there.

Wow, that Zoot Shooting, like Cowboy Action, looks like great fun. Unfortunately, I don't have the time nor $$ for either. So many shooting disciplines and so little time and $$.

Good points, all. Nothing wrong with that!

I'm thinking you could do just fine with a M29/629. I would strongly consider using .44 Spec brass - quicker in/out, and more positive ejection. For USPSA and ICORE Limited, moon clips are definitely the way to go. For ICORE Classic, speedloaders are required. For the latter, I have a dilemma. I have a M24-3 .44 Spec I would like to try using in ICORE Classic. The problem is, apparently there are no competition speedloaders available for it. Safariland Comp III? No. SL Variant? Reputed to be among the best, but haven't been available for a long time, and no relief in sight. HKS and 5 Star speedloaders are available. I always considered HKS to be "low end" (and wore out quickly on me). I don't know much about 5 Star speedloaders. Never even seen one. They appear to be good, but not competition style. Anyone here ever use 5 Star speedloaders? Having said that, anyone here shoot a .44 in USPSA or ICORE using speedloaders? Recommendations?

I went with the "buy once, cry once" theory. Starline brass and Hearthco clips. Works great.

I think not. Unless he has some VERY consistent brass, the variation in individual brass weight could easily be more than the weight of the powder.

Ah, understand. You definitely have more constraints!

Steelman, Please don't take this as harsh criticism. I DO understand, as PatJones pointed out, the concept of distance is different in the east than for many of us in the west. Heck, when I was a kid in rural northern Missouri, it was a BIG deal to travel to the next town - only 19 miles distant! (Okay, that was in the '60s.) Out here, we think nothing of driving one to two hours (or maybe occasionally more) to a match. Where I live in Nevada, Reno is a bit over an hour, Carson City is about an hour, Winnemucca is two hours, etc. Why did I write this? I don't know. Its just a bit amusing how opinions differ on travel.

And a final note/recommendation: Try competitive shooting! Ya don't have to be some kind of "super shooter". There is a class for everyone. Its great fun and great practice for gun handling skills, accuracy, etc, etc. I hear it frequently: "I like to shoot but am not good enough to compete." But if we can get them to come out and shoot once, virtually without fail, they enjoy it immensely - and many return to compete again.

Again, I don't mean to be argumentative; I suspect you're correct. The results are obvious - all but one of the top twenty CHOSE to shoot Minor. Perhaps they chose Minor because of all the reasons everyone has mentioned here. But the nationals results are hardly conclusive proof of how Major vs Minor would have broke out within GM and M classes. Of nine GM shooters, only one chose to shoot Major. And his finishing place is rather meaningless as he reported had gun problems. Of 14 M shooters, only two chose to shoot Major. One of them placed in the top twenty overall (at 13th). The other placed 25th overall (hardly a "poor" finish.) Within M class, one Major shooter placed 5th and one placed 10th out of 14 M class shooters. Again, hardly a poor finish, and definitely not conclusive proof that Minor was better than Major; a very small sampling from which to draw conclusions. Had that one lone GM 625 Major shooter won the match, would we conclude the M625 Major is the best? Again, I suspect you're correct. But I sure would have rather seen a more equitable number of Major vs Minor shooters in order to draw a conclusion simply from one set of results.

I don't mean to be argumentative; heck, I suspect you guys are correct. But as I see the results, of nine GM shooters, only one shot Major, and he reportedly had gun problems so that renders his placement overall rather meaningless. Of 14 M class shooters, only two shot Major, and one made the top twenty (at 13th place overall) and the other was 25th. Seems like a good showing (and who knows what other factors were involved, such as having a "bad day", etc.) Within M class, one Major shooter came in 5th and one came in 10th of the 14 shooters. Being a small sample, and given the vagaries of how they were shooting that day, etc, it seems difficult to make a judgment call. Again, I suspect you are correct. But it seems like such a small sampling.

I kinda wish more top shooters would have shot Major. Doing a quick scan down the top 50 shooters, I see only one GM entered Major. I didn't count how many M class guys shot Major. But I see the M class fifth place finisher shot Major (and that ain't bad). Does that mean Major is still viable? Probably/maybe not. Having to perform an extra reload or two is a lot to overcome. But it would be nice to see a better balance of Maj/Min shooters. Wouldn't it be a better indicator? I bet we'll see many more opinions in the days to come!

And there is the ICORE Northwest Regional in September, Fallon NV!

Same here. Taper crimp; never had an issue. Use same die set-up for both 1911 and M625.

Maybe I missed it. Did anyone suggest using a primer pocket uniformer tool on your suspect brass?