Carmoney

Congratulations on a successful surgery, Strad!

The primary purpose of the Carmonized hammer (i.e. cut down to minimal dimensions that reduce the curb weight of the hammer by about 50 percent) is to allow the hammer to run at a significantly higher velocity when it falls, decreasing lock-time and imparting that "fast slap" on the primer that is most efficient for ignition. As I have mentioned here previously, I got the idea from an old photo of a PPC revolver done by a west-coast gunsmith back in the '70s. As indicated above, with a Carmonized hammer you can lighten up the spring tensions noticeably, and yet still maintain full ignition reliability. The secondary benefit of Carmonizing the hammer is that it reduces the jarring and jostling upon impact when the hammer falls, which may improve inherent accuracy and definitely creates a tangible and noticeable improvement in feel. Here's an interesting visual depiction of this effect: Lightening the hammer works with both types of hammers--those designed for the frame-mounted firing pin, and the older style with the hammer nose.

Probably a "speed stick." There are a few revolver guys that use them in order to implement a grasp and loading motion similar to how they load with Comp IIIs and Jetloaders.

You're very welcome, Frank. Although I shoot my N-frames more these days than anything else, there's just something magical about having a nice K-frame in the hand, isn't there?

Yeah, I don't think it's anything to worry about. The MIM parts are just fine. Both of the 625s I use in USPSA competition have MIM guts. The older one has a fair number of years on it now, with quite a few rounds down the pipe, and it's still doing great.

I have never timed my reloads.

Virtually all the top-level USPSA Revo Division competitors have gravitated to a 5" gun (and some, to the even longer 6"-6.5" barrels). Keith held out with a 4" 625 for quite a while, then finally switched to a 5". The sight radius is one issue, but the bigger advantage is the improvement in balance and recoil control that is achieved with the 5" tube. You wouldn't think one little extra inch of barrel would make that much difference....but it sure as hell does. I even found myself a 5" 629 in order to have a .44 Magnum utility revolver that would have a similar feel to my competition guns!

Fiancee????? Wow, this is news to me, Hop! Reminds me of that line from 48 Hours where Reggie says to Jack: "You've got a lady? The generosity of women never ceases to amaze me."

I concur with Glockwerkes on items 1 through 4 above.

The sight doesn't have to be a plain black blade. A fiber-optic front sight can help with acquiring the focus faster, and may be what she needs to get her looking at the front sight. I use the FO front blades myself. However, your wife should still be counseled to use the top edge of the blade as the focus point. I would stick with a plain black rear sight--anything that resembles "lining up dots" will encourage the shooter to use the "middle dot" as the aiming point, and then things start getting sloppy. Again, this works fine up close when the shooting is quick 'n' dirty, but falls apart when the shots get tougher.

I'd rather see her learn to obtain a good sight picture, using the top of the front blade. Lining up dots works OK up close, but it's a bad habit and will invariably cause problems as the shots get longer and tougher.

Excellent!! Thanks JT! (who's this "Jerry" guy you keep mentioning?)

Given certain historial events, this sounds like a really bad idea!

Man, JT, are you high-maintenance or what??? Seriously, this is a great development. Most of the area matches do a pretty good job of recognizing division winners (the previous administration at Area 5 being a notable exception), and I'm glad to know this one will be no exception. Thanks very much, Jim, for your efforts on this. I'm stoked!

We went on Saturday. Reasonably decent entertainment. It's supposed to be a prequel to the Robin Hood story we all know, so I'm not sure why they cast a 46-year-old actor to play the part.

Same here! I have an old book at home that has photos of a custom PPC revolver from the '70s with the exact same hammer cut. That's how I stole re-discovered the concept!

Were you touching yourself when she caught you?

I shoot a fair bit of lead through my wheels--have for many years--and have always simply scrubbed the chambers out with an oversize stainless bore brush.

Looks to me like it's been "Faux-monized."

I just had a nice PM conversation with Ken the other day. He's fine, said his work life has been hectic lately, but that things are starting to settle down a little. I think we can look forward to seeing him back on the range before too long.

Matt, it's probably not the firing pin bushing, it's probably wear to the center-pin hole in the frame, which is allowing the cylinder to be pushed a little bit sideways by the hand as the hammer falls and causing the off-center hits. Anyway, firing pin bushings are easy enough to replace.

What a great idea! Bob Perdue truly is the "mad genius of Revolver Division."

An easier option is to simply drill and countersink the sight body and use the existing screw hole and mounting screw to install the sight. This will leave the original hole in the sight, but it really doesn't look all that bad, and it's fine functionally.

Yep, me too. The North Mountain carrier is a slick set-up.

Sorry I missed your birthday Keith. Hope you have a happy sexto de mayo today!