Carmoney

I think the factory sights are just fine, actually. I used them for years with no problems whatsoever. I did eventually switch my competition guns over to the Millett plain black target rear sight (these, sadly, seem to be discontinued now), but it's mostly just a preference thing. They do give a nice non-distracting sight picture, but the truth is your visual focus should never be on the rear sight anyway....

Maybe it's me, but I never use speedloaders with any of the 5-shot belly guns. If you're willing to tolerate the bulk of a speedloader in your pocket, you might as well carry a second gun there instead. Or so it seems to me.

Here's a quick tip on replacing a hammer nose: The perfect tool for flaring the rivet on an old-style S&W hammer is the vise-grip-style tool marketed by Brownells for flaring the legs on a 1911 plunger tube. Using that tool, a perfect staking job can be completed in about five seconds--squeeze, flip it over, squeeze again, and you're done! It may not be worth buying the tool just for one hammer nose rivet, but if you like to mess with revos and 1911s, it's a good thing to have on the bench.

As a general rule, 25-2s shoot like crap with cast lead bullets. Every time this topic arises, I always chime in with my old story about how we got around the problem by shooting unsized bullets (which typically were about .454" in diameter) straight out of the mold, with just a little liquid Alox tumble lube. It worked fairly well, but the easier solution is to run jacketed bullets, which usually shoot just fine out of 25-2s. Since this thread involves a 625 cylinder (which should have good throat dimensions) and a 25-2 barrel, and it shoot fine with FMJ, it pretty well confirms that there's something about most 25-2 barrels (shallower rifling, maybe?) that is simply incompatible with cast bullets.

I wouldn't get too excited, fellas. Remember a couple years ago when Randy Lee took point on gathering a consensus on what would be the perfect competition .45 revolver, then sold the concept to a distributor to get it done? (There's a long and detailed thread buried here on the Revo forum with all kinds of discussion.) Well, the whole deal got "un-done" when it turned out the mininum order number and the price were both going to be so high that it was deemed not feasible. And guess what--the involved distributor was none other than good ol' Bangers. So unless dramatic changes have taken place at S&W since that all happened, you're not going to see anything like this happening. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but we've been down this road here before.

Again, I agree. I do a fair bit of fixing up other people's bungled efforts. It can almost always be done, but it certainly adds time and money into the equation, so the price needs to be adjusted accordingly.

My Nowlin gun is hard-chromed (I have no idea who did the chrome job, probably Metalloy). It's the gun pictured in the first post of this old thread: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...mp;#entry438242

I check guns in my luggage fairly frequently traveling to matches. I did lose a bag once, fortunately it did not contain any firearms (although it had ski boots, goggles, gloves, etc. that I hated to lose). If you have FFLs on both ends, you can ship via USPS Priority Mail. There's no package tracking, but it's so much cheaper than the common carriers it's worth it, in my view. With no FFL on your end, you'll need to use Fedex or UPS. Both will nail you for overnight express service, and both will be fairly expensive.

I agree. And even timing problems can usually be fixed fairly easily.

For ICORE snubby (it's just a category some matches recognize, not a true division), the rule is 3" barrel or less. Unquestionably, the best choice would be a short-barrelled 25-2 or 3" 625, if you can find one. They did a run of snub .45 ACPs a year or so ago that would work nicely, too: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=122784230 If I were to decide to shoot a gun that qualified for ICORE snub division, I'd probably break out one of my matched pair of 2-3/4" 25-2 Jovino Effectors!

Just remember that too little barrel/cylinder gap is worse than too much.

Sure, unless it's something really exotic, it should be no problem. Mahovsky's been around for a long time. The last time I checked around, his prices were impossible to beat.

Yes, I like APW also. I picked up a certificate they donated for a free chrome job off the table at the USPSA Nationals one year. They did a nice job hard-chroming an alloy-framed 1911 (something many platers will not touch), and I have always appreciated the fact they helped sponsor a USPSA event.

No downside to hard-chroming a revolver, and several upsides. Definitely do the complete gun. Two of my personal revolvers are hard-chromed with a "brushed" finish and they look sweet. Make sure the action is done, and everything is the way you want it before sending it out for hard-chroming. I've been very pleased with hard chrome work from Ron Mahovsky's Metalife--his pricing is excellent (even better if you have an FFL or know somebody who does), and I believe it includes disassembly and reassembly.

Chris, I doubt if it would make enough difference to throw you off track at the match. You may find that dropping .2 grains may put you below P.F., though. Sometimes just a tenth of a grain can make more difference in velocity that you would think.

It hurts to use up the time if you're on the clock! One of the ways to improve performance is to identify those little unnecessary things we're doing that eat up time, and work to remove them from habituation.

If the "jump to the forcing cone" were truly a problem, it's tough to explain the success quite a few people are having .38 Short Colt loads being shot out of .357 Mag. chambers....

As Bubber said, the 627-4 is the variant chambered for .38 Super. These were limited production, are fairly rare, and command prices that are driven more by collectability than utility. You do tend to see a lot of them at the IRC, looks like half the world-wide supply of 627-4s find their way to Morro Bay, CA every year! The 5" Performance Center slab-side (like the one being auctioned that was the original subject of this thread) is probably the most common 8-shooter out there, although the 4" Pro Series (with the very similar slab-sided barrel) is gaining heavily on it due to the reduced price. Both are excellent, it's a matter of barrel length preference. The "plain" 4" 627 also being marketed now by S&W is the one that is not cut for moonclips. I would avoid that one, unless you just insist on the traditional barrel profile. For any kind of competition use, moonclips are the only way to fly. Yes, you can cut them down like Bubber's, but that costs extra money. The 627 PC V-Comps are also fairly popular. They're a little more front-heavy than the slab-side versions, but not offensively so. The comp can be replaced with a solid cap to protect the threads if you want to use it for ICORE Limited division. (Pretty much everyone agrees the comp is worthless anyway.) There are a few other variations that surface sometimes, but those are the main ones. If I were in the market for an 8-shot revolver, I'd buy that 627 5" PC off Gunbroker. The owner is correct, with the price jumps we've seen recently, he's got it priced very favorably.

A guy on the S&W forum also has this gun for sale: Smith & Wesson Model 625-8, “45 Cal Model of 1989,” 45 ACP, with lock, 4" barrel, frosted stainless steel, 5 moon clips, box numbered to gun with papers, normal handling marks for a used gun......$625.00, plus shipping. Email SmithCollector AT gmail DOT com for photos, questions or other inquiries. Again, I know nothing about the guy, but that's sure not a bad deal if you're looking for a 4" 625.

I don't know anything about the seller, but it looks like he has good feedback and plenty of transactions: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=122639844

Brian, please post frequently on the Revolver forum (and whatever you do, don't change your avatar)!!

After I accidentally knocked my loaded 625 out of my CR Speed holster and onto the ground (it was a crazy start deal where you started out kneeling and had to jump up and throw a grenade) and received my first and only match DQ, I now use a Blade-Tech DOH for USPSA. I used it all through 2008--I don't really think it's all that much slower and it's definitely more secure. For steel shooting (which are always stationary starts and where you draw the gun multiple times on each stage), I may continue to use the CR Speed rig. I like the CR Speed, but like any of the true race holsters, it does get a little scary when you have to start from a seated position, etc.

I have never regretted getting a 4-post NMMH for the front and a single-post for behind the gun for "make ready" (and emergencies).

You can still find good Labs in this area. Being right between the Mississippi and Central flyways, there are enough serious waterfowlers around here to demand high quality retrievers. Watching a fully finished water dog do its thing is an absolutely remarkable experience. Some day I would like to own a good Lab myself. (Every truly good hunting Lab I've ever seen has been black in color. Whatever they've done to create "chocolate" or "yellow" Labs does not appear to have been a good thing....)

"How to Make a Cobra Vanish" sounds like a game my high school girlfriend and I used to play....