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I'm starting to use Clays with my Uniflow. Charges are in fact less consistent than with N-320 or Winchester Super Target. A firm medium speed throw seems to be the most consistent. I measure each load until I get five in a row that are spot on. Then I check every fifth load. It's a little time-consuming but I want to be careful with a very fast powder like Clays. Chris

Clays and 230 gr. lead round nose in my 5" barrel SW 625 3.8 gr Clays, 1.250 AOL, Fed 150 primers. Three six shot strings Low 748 754 745 High 772 789 779 Ave. 759 767 760 ES 24 25 34 SD 8.88 9.84 11.7 4.0gr Clays, same OAL and primer Low 745 790 790 High 820 810 800 Ave. 786 804 795 ES

I agree with Spook. I used my GP-100 in Revolver before I bought my 625. I recommend converting it to moonclips. Call Tom Kilhoffer at TK Custom (www.moonclips.com) and get directions for your machinist/gunsmith to modify the cylinder for moonclips. He sells good moonclips and mooning/demooning tools. FYI, .38/.357 moonclips work best with Starline and Reminton brass. Federal may work but Winchester will not work. Shooting major or minor is your choice. Compare your recovery times and hits between .38spl and .357. See if shooting a hundred 170 pf .357s causes noticeable fatigue. Dry-fire your Ruger like crazy. It will both smooth the action and strengthen your trigger finger. Consider installing a Wolf spring kit although installing such a kit may require you to use Federal primers. Chris

I alway load my 9mms fairly long even though my CZ has short throats. For 124gr FMJ the OAL is between 1.150" and 1.155". I make a dummy round and see if it will drop into the chamber without touching the rifling. Chris

One of the moderators at CZ Forum uses WST with 124gr Berry's bullets. Check his loads in the Ammunition and Reloading section. I used 4.4 to 4.5 gr. WST under some bulk Winchester 124gr. FMJ and go about 1040 fps with Winchester cases and WSP primers. Hopefully Hodgdon will provide more useful load data for WST. Chris

The problem with lead in Glocks has little to do with pushing the bullets too hard. The top pressures for .45 ACP are just high enough to start obturating the base of a 92-6-2 hard cast bullet and well below hard cast bullet pressure limits. That said, I have had fairly good results with 4.2 to 4.4 WST under hard cast 230gr. bullets in my S & W 625. VV-N320 is also a good choice. Check for pressure signs, clean your barrel often, and be careful. Chris

I use 200gr Precision RNFP in my S & W 625. They are much cleaner, leave almost no residue in the cylinder, and produce much less smoke than hard cast. They also do not leave any lead in the forcing cone while a small ring of lead is visible after about 100 - 150 hard cast lead bullets. I run a few wet and dry patches down the bore and through the chambers after a match and I'm finished cleaning. Chris

Greetings: The Hodgdon 2004 Annual Manual has 4.0gr as the minimum Universal load with 115gr lead round nose. 4.5gr is the maximum load. OAL is listed as 1.100" with CCI 500 primers. I have only used Universal with 122gr. Laser Cast truncated cone lead bullets. Performance was OK but nothing remarkable. However, it did give much less smoke and leading than similar velocity loads with Titegroup. Not to dispute Carlos, an experienced reloader, but I found Universal very clean (and relatively quiet) with both mid-range and maximum book loads under 115 and 124gr jacketed bullets. I load my 115gr at 1.145" OAL and 124gr. at 1.155" OAL. for use in my CZ. Chris

There is no official load data on WST in 9mm from Winchester or any loading manuals I am aware of. I use Winchester SP primers and they looked fine in my 4.5gr WST I described above. That said, I would stay between 4.5 and 4.8gr WST and stay below 1,100 fps with 124gr. bullets. A few years ago I loaded some 124gr West Coast plated bullets with 5.2gr or greater of WST. Velocities averaged 1,200fps but extreme spreads suddenly jumped to about 120fps. This showed me that WST is best for target and not full-power loads. Chris

I tried 4.5 gr. WST under 124gr. Remington FMJ and got about 1,040 fps with 30 fps extreme spread in my CZ 85C. It cycled fine and the empties fell near my feet. I shot only 20 over the chrono but it was a soft load. I did not test for accuracy. A moderator at CZ Forum uses 4.8 to 5.2 WST under Berry's 124gr. HP and is very happy with that load. Check CZ Forum for more data about this propellant. Chris

I prefer the RCBS hand primer to the Lee Auto-Prime for 45acp because it's sturdier and properly seats all primers. Besides, Lee's Reloading Manual, (2nd Ed.) says never to use Federal primers in a Lee Auto-Prime. The Auto-Prime works fine for .357 and 9mm with Winchester primers. Chris

Shooting a double-action revolver requires an approach different from a semi-auto due to the longer trigger pull. To ensure accuracy, the trigger must pulled smoothly and released at the same speed. The trigger finger should be constantly in motion, more slowly for difficult shots and more quickly for close shots. This in turn requires a different approach to seeing the sights. Most of us learned to see the target, get a good sight picture, then gently pull the trigger. Think of it as the trigger catching up to the sights. In revolver, it's the opposite; the sights catch up to the trigger. You have to have confidence in your ability to move the sights from target to target while the cylinder is turning. Practice dryfiring two shots each at three 8 x 11 inch targets set a foot apart and ten feet away. When you "call" good shots on each target, move them a little further apart and speed up the trigger finger. Then take this drill to the range. I'm only a D revo shooter now but find I can get better groups on USPSA paper targets at 15 yds with .5 second splits keeping the cylinder moving than .75 or longer splits lining up the sights then pulling the trigger. At the match, plan the "tempo" you will shoot each cylinder and stick to it. Good luck, Chris java script:emoticon('')

Thanks for the information. I'll try some n-320 for the cooler months. Interesting behavior of Winchester ball powders. I know that W-231 loses velocity at cooler temperatures but WST may gain velocity. Perhaps some of the chemists among us could explain this.

Greetings: There was a nip in the air this morning in Denver and it will be time to start loading for Fall and Winter matches. I use WST with 200gr. lead and Precision round nose flat point. I've heard that WST loses velocity at high temperatures. Any suggestions for these propellants at cooler and cold temperatures?

Greetings: I shoot 200gr. Round Nose Flat Point lead (Bonus Bullets) in my revolver with WST. 5.3gr WST shot double action has about 880 to 900 fps. I've settled on 5.1gr WST for my practice loads that should yield about 840-850 fps in my S&W 625. WST is friendly to lead. I also use 5.1gr with Precision 200gr. RNFP for my match loads. You probably need smaller charges in your 1911. Chris

I just used up my first batch of 45acp 200gr. RNFP in my revolver. I'm happy with their accuracy and cleanliness. Will order 2000 more later this month. Has anyone tried their 9mm bullets? I'm thinking of trying some plated bullets for my CZ. Chris

I am using Precision 200gr. RNFP over 5.1 Winchester Super Target in my SW 625 with no leading after a 125rd match. A couple of thoughts. As has been said, some coated bullets don't like fast powders. Try something slower like VV-N320 or WST. (That said, a shooter I know uses N-310 with 40 cal Masterblasters and says he has no leading problems.) A load with lead bullets that is too light can cause more leading because the rear of the bullet does not obturate and seal the bore, allowing hot gases to contact the shank of the bullet and melt the coating and body of the bullet. (I had more leading with .38 specials at 130 PF than with the same hardcast bullet in .357 and 170PF). I do not know if your load is light or not - consult your loading manuals. Your crimp may be too tight. A tight crimp may strip some of the coating off the bullet and cause leading. I crimp to .472" for my revolver loads and the OAL doesn't change while the round is in the cylinder. Good luck. Chris

I agree that the 625 or 25 are the "gold standard" for IPSC wheelguns. A "second-best" that has not been mentioned is the 629 using .44 Special. The holes are about .430" and .44 Special should easily make 165 PF with a variety of heavy bullets and fast powders. Moonclip conversions are readily available from both the 629 and Ruger Redhawk. Has anyone ever seen .44 Specials in competition? Chris

Round nose bullets feed best in the .357 although round nose flat point feed well, too. Chamfering the charge holes a bit will also help. .38 special cases are about .1" shorter than .357 and may load a fraction of a second faster. I think you will save more time by simply practicing your reloads with dummy rounds. Consider shooting lead bullets; they shoot softer than plated or jacketed and at 165-170 PF, you should little if any leading if the chamber mouths are not undersized. Enlarging the mouths to .3585" on my GP-100 improved accuracy and virtually eliminated leading. For 158gr lead, use about 5.5gr Titegroup or 5.9 - 6.0 gr. Universal with a magnum primer for about 168-172 PF through a 6" barrel. N-340 is a nice clean powder but its minimum load was in the 175+ PF range in my Ruger. I got a squib load when I went .5gr under the minimum N-340 load. 180gr. may be the ideal weight for lead bullets but it's hard to find RN or RNFP bullets at that weight; most are truncated cone design that do not load as quickly. Good luck with your .357. Chris

5.3gr. Winchester Super Field under a 115gr. Montana Gold round nose = 1,135 fps with 35fps extreme spread. It meters well, is accurate, and has a mild report. 4.9gr. WSF under a 115 West Coast RN gives almost identical velocities but a little less accuracy. 4.9 WSF under a 124 gr. Remington or Winchester round nose gives about 1,080 fps with 45fps extreme spread. These loads are from the Winchester manual and are well below published limits. Chris

4.4gr of VV-N340 under a Berry's 124gr. flat point bullet gave an average of 1104 fps with an extreme spread of 21fps in my CZ 85. It was clean and also was the most accurate powder for the Berry's plated bullets. On the CZ Forum, Angus Hobdell said that he changed from N310 to N350 under his Rose 124gr bullets and saw his group sizes at 25yds cut in half at the same PF. My 2 cents. Chris

Thanks to everyoine for the replies. I ordered the .250" high red fiber-optic and a .126" wide white outline blade from Smith and Wesson today. Chris

I bought the 625-3 (see February 27 post) but find the black patridge front sight somewhat difficult to see, especially with the stock rear sight. I'm D level revolver shooter. I need suggestions regarding the gold bead vs. fiber optic front sights. (I find the green fiber optic sight on my GP-100 helps with short and medium-distance targets but is not great for small distant targets.) Also, do you have suggestions on the width of a new rear sight. SW's web site shows a variety of widths as does Jack Wiegand's site. I know much is a matter of taste but I would appreciate your comparisons. Thanks, Chris

The local shop is holding a used Model 625-3 45.ACP w/5" barrel for me. It is a round butt that has nice target grips. The firing pin is on the hammer and it says "Model of 1989" on the barrel. It cycles and locks up well with just a teeny (barely noticeable) bit of sideplay in the cylinder. No end shake. Crane-frame fit is tight. It appears to be 95% but I didn't examine the rifling or forcing cone because I didn't have a light. Since I've never bought a SW, is there anything else (besides the rifling and forcing cone) I should look for before buying it? Is throat size an issue with Smiths? What does Model of 1989 mean, if anything? The owner of the shop works on and collects SW revolvers. I will ask him to do a "trigger job" but what does that entail with this revolver? Thanks for the help, all you N-frame users. Chris

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