Husker95

thanks Houngan. Since i made my last post i read some of the posts in the thread that Bubber posted. I like the idea of a shortened strain screw scrwed all the way in. Its simple with limited chance of failure. I am not comfortable with bending the mainspring yet - just dont feel like i have the expertise. Right now i am thinking i will back it out until i have a failure, go back in, measure the screw and then grind it down to length and screw it down tight. Does that make sense? thanks. Husker

I knew i had misphrased that. I should have said "hammer drop", - the weight/force the hammer had as it went forward. When he measured it before tightening the strain screw back up, the guy at the club said it was way to light for anything but a bobbed, spurless hammer. I think it was less than 3 pounds. My initial thought was that i should start backing the strain screw out by whole or half turns until it breaks all my Fed primers consistently but still feels smooth and lighter. And then loctite it with the less-than-permanent loc-tite. Is that the standard procedure? I have a standard hammer (non-bobbed) - what is a typical trigger pull/hammer drop in poundage after an action job that is still reliable for fed primers? I will check the archives for info as well. thanks for the advice - as you can tell i am new to the insides of a S&W. Husker

Hey guys, need some advice on my 625-8. I got a trigger job done about a year ago and it ran great – I really liked the work and thought it improved my overall performance a bit. About 3 months ago, I took it to a small, local match and it malfunctioned big time. I couldn’t fire any of my standard ICORE rounds. Turns out the strain screw had backed out and my trigger drop (?) was way too light. One of the guys at the club took it and screwed the strain screw all the way in so I could finish the match. Now it will break every primer I have but the trigger pull is factory heavy again. Its still smoother than it was out of the factory, but id like to get back to the lighter/smoother – but reliable – place that it was right after the action job. What is a “best practice” method to do this? Thanks for putting up with this basic question.

No such thing as a drill that's focused on Open guns. I understand there's no Open gun exclusive drills; but right now i need the instruction that speaks more to the FS/RS than a dot. If that's not an issue, please recommend one that is just more appropriate to general skill level of a beginner. Thanks.

I am a pretty novice competitive shooter looking for a good book to give me some practice drills. I primarily shoot local, low-key steel matches (both rimfire and center) and an occasional ICORE or steel match. I shoot a 1911, S&W 625 and a Ruger 22 - all limited (no dots). Can you guys recommend one of the practice books here (Steve Anderson's, Saul Kirsch's, or maybe BENOS) to help me figure out some drills? I especially want some good dry fire drills that dont require a lot of props. I wanted to make sure i got a book appropriate for my skill level that wasnt focused totally on Open Class guns. Thanks!! Husker95

Need some advice on sights. I am shooting a 625-8 mostly for pins matches and the occasional ICORE style match. I shoot indoors probably 75% of the time. The 625 is absolutely box stock and i would like to put a fiber optic front sight on it. What height of sight to i want? Seems like most models come either .250 or .300. With a stock 625, what height do i need to be able to adjust sights properly? BTW, i will likely go with Hi Viz as i live in CO and want to support the local companies as much as possible. I know color on a front sight is very subjective, but would appreciate the suggestions as well. I'm a newbie, so thanks for the help. Husker

If you can put together a few friends and put together a bulk order, you can negotiate the prices down a little. Some of the guys in my pin club out here put together an order that was 20k rounds plus and we got the price/1000 down quite a bit. Not sure the exact price as i wasnt the lead guy making the order, but it was better than local purchase.

I saw the movie with my wife last weekend and really liked it. I had read the book as well and thought it stayed pretty consistent with the printed word. Incidentally, if you like McCarthy's work, or want to sample it after seeing this movie, get a copy of Blood Meridian. He wrote it over 20 years ago but I think that's his greatest work yet.

Thanks guys - i appreciate the advice. TL, yes it has been a tough year. But i'm optimisitic about the future. If the Sooners (damn them eternally) can go through what they did in the early 90s and come out this strong - we will be back as well. And yes, im pretty die-hard. The last beat of my heart will pump Husker Red. Long live the Corn.

I shot my first ICORE match last sunday and really liked it. I have a standard 625, but no equipment; this club was very cool and let me shoot from low ready. A couple of questions for you veterans: I need a holster, and would like it to handle multiple guns if possible (625, a moon converted 686 and maybe (cash flow wiling) a 627). Is the Safariland Cup Challenge a good piece of gear? I do have a CR speed belt, so would want something that would work well with that. Would also like recommendations on moon clip holders. I will likely only be shooting ICORE. Sorry if i am repeating a question, but i used the search function and couldnt find anything for my situation. Thanks guys! Husker95

Code Monkey\half-assed dba\support dude working in a doc mngmnt department also in Army National Guard

Today officially marked my 20th year in the National Guard. My wife surprised me after work by handing me a card with her handwritten 'coupon' for a new pistol to mark the occasion. What i am craving the most right now is a good .22 pistol. I am fairly active in a weekly steel shooting club and we shoot both centerfire and rimfire. For RF i currently shoot a S&W model 622 which is so light i always pull high when coming up and would like to try something else. Can you guys suggest a good 22 for this application? Right off the bat, let me take the S&W 41 off the table - the coupon is not that big. I am a 1911 shooter and prefer that style of grip over the more slanted 'Luger' style grips. Thanks guys! Husker

thanks guys. i appreciate the input. time to go to sportsmen's warehouse.

I have been shooting a few steel matches at our local club over the past year, usually with a 1911 45. Couple nights ago, i shot the rimfire round with my S&W 622. I was using cheap a@@ American Eagle ammo and it seemed like i was always 'waiting' for the strike to move on to the next tgt. Plus, i had a couple malfunctions. What is a consistently good 22 ammo for these types of matches? Thanks.

Thanks for the feedback guys! That is exactly the assurance that i was a looking for. I will probably go for the 625. Right now I have a good 1911 (springfield loaded) and a 586 with a trigger job that I really love. So, the gap that I have is for a 45 acp revo; and now i will look to fill it. Speaking of the 586, just my take, but why the he(( did S&W quit making blued guns? I love the looks of a blued smith. Just my .02, but I think they feel smoother too. Husker

I need some advice. Over the last few days my wife has actually been urging me to get a new gun for casual shooting/steel matches. This might only happen once in my life in this world, so i want to get it right. I am setup to load 45, so am looking at a 625. But ive read more than a few posts on the recent Randy Lee topic describing problems with S&W production practices. Is a current 625 still a good piece or would I be better off scrounging for an older used model? What do I need to look for when shopping for one of these guns? Also, while I can get this gun now, I do not have the coin to directly turn it over to a smith to be smoothed out or tuned. Considering this, is the 625 still a good option for someone like me? Thanks. Husker

A friend recently offered to sell me a good used Pocket Pro II timer at a price I cant walk away from. I mostly shoot indoors anymore though and am concerned about how it will work on an indoor range. Anyone had any experience with this model indoors? Thanks. Husker

For standard 38 loads, which manufacturer makes SP primers with the softest cup? I need to work up some loads for a S&W 586 with a trigger job. Thanks.

Thanks for the info guys. Yes, they are CCI primers. I found a lot of 1000 small pistol magnum primers that I hadnt used so I loaded them up for 38 spcl and now i get like 85% first-time failure to ignites. I will try this and see if it can at least get me through this batch of hard primers. Husker

I have a 586 with a trigger job that has worked great for a long time. But I just loaded up a batch of rounds (over 500) with a different brand of primer and now the strike is too light to consistently function these primers. If i screw the strain screw in, will this increase the force of the hammer strike so I can get through these rounds? Thanks. Husker

This revo does have a trigger job that drastically lightened both the SA and DA pulls. So maybe that is what is causing my problems; i just dont have enough strike to ignite this lot of SP Magnum primers. Is there a temporary fix that a non-smith like me could do to get through this lot of rounds before switching permanently back to Federal? Does Federal have a softer cup? As far as seating depth goes, i am using a 550 and am seating the same as i always have for previously successful batches, so i dont think thats the problem. Thanks for the info guys!

OK, need a little help here to see what went wrong. I recently loaded a batch of 38 spcl and am suffering a HIGH percentage (90%) of primers failing to fire on the first strike. Most of the time if I keep cycling the cylinder they will function the 2nd or 3rd times. The load is 2.3 grains of Clays (min load) with a 148 gr dewc out of a 6'' 586. The only wild card is i loaded them with CCI SP magnum primers. I had a bunch for 357, but never use 357 so wanted to use them up. This 586 will fire other loads just fine, so i dont think it is gun related. Has anyone ever seen a lot of 1k primers with this high a percentage of problems? Could there be anything else causing this (seat depth, etc)? I am really anxious to hear your thoughts on this because while I only loaded an initial 50 rnds for testing, that same night some guy broke into my garage and loaded up another 500 using all my available brass. So you see my dilemma..... thanks Husker

Ron, I am also running 230 lrn over a charge of Clays. i am shooting pins indoors (no pf requirement), so came down to the min load (3.5 grains) and it seems like my accuracy just went to he^^. POI shifted about 3 to 4 inches high at 25 yards. Did you ever notice this problem with Clays, or is it just me? You ever shoot in Aurora? I live in Denver metro and belonged to AGC for about 6 years. Thanks. Husker (in colorado)

Thanks guys; i appreciate it. Especially the advice about just going back to the previous load. After reading that, it did make more sense to do that than to go buy 50 rounds of white box and see how it shoots. that would be a 3rd factor. I will keep you posted and I may be back for more! Husker

I am shooting a full-size springfield loaded .45 with 230 LRN. Over the last couple shooting sessions, I have noticed that my point of impact has shifted about 3 to 4 inches higher than normal. I am shooting indoors and at the 25 yard mark, I normally hold at the 6 o'clock position on the bull. While this used to give me good results, I am now high and have destroyed my last 3 target sticks! Here are my questions: 1) I have recently changed from 3.7 gr Clays to 3.5 gr Clays (3.5 is min load). Could this make me go high at 25 yards? I would think it would make my POI lower...... 2) I have recently switched from the OEM spring to a 18.5 lb recoil spring. Could this affect POI? I didnt think so, but it is a variable that has changed.... 3) Could there be anything else that typically causes this that I am missing?? Thanks guys. I am hoping to cut down my troubleshooting time as much as possible. Before I tinker with loads, I am going to get some factory ammo and see how that shoots, but any and all ideas are welcome. Husker