Carmoney

Personally, I would never attempt a big match with ammo that didn't hit at least 133 p.f. All my ammo hits at least that power factor in all my guns. Takes down steel, and I don't have to sweat chrono.

Somebody should ask James McGinty what load he runs in his 929. He shot that gun last year at Revo Nats and everything worked plenty well.

Agree--nix the porting. That will also leave you the option of taking off the scope and using your 627 for ICORE Limited and USPSA Revolver divisions.

Interesting--but the vast majority of competitors can't shoot well enough to make much use of that high level of fine-tuning! Most practical competition handguns can be sighted in at 15 yds and will be perfectly fine at all practical distances from point-blank to well past 50 yds. An important point--do your sighting in with the gun hand-held. Sighting in from a rest will often create a misleading result!

Looks good, Dean! Glad to see somebody in the states is making a V-Comp sight.

I noticed. (Daddy like Maggie.)

I vote regular 627PC, regardless of whether you go limited or open. The V-Comp is a little too heavy for quick transitions.

+1. This is exactly what I would do. There were issues with the early no-dash and -1 L-frames: http://books.google.com/books?id=IuQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA11&dq=model+686+L-frame&hl=en&sa=X&ei=35wqUaf4KYLTrQGQ_4DwCQ&ved=0CEgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=model%20686%20L-frame&f=false Sell it to one of those little old hens that collects S&Ws but never actually shoots, and start looking for a 686-5. For competition use, that particular variation is the best of the bunch, with the FMFP but no ILS, and pinned front sight that can be readily replaced with an SDM or Protocall fiber-optic unit.

Bob sells a version with spacers for the (ahem) fuller-figured shooter.

Here's Pat at the shop. Looks like he's working on some custom grips.

Pat, you gotta be shitting me with the egg-beater drill thing. What are you, Amish? What's next, a foot-pedal-powered dremel tool?

This is the point in the discussion where I always say you should adjust the length of the strain screw so that the screw can be completely bottomed out rather than count on loctite to hold the strain screw in place. The usual suspects will then jump in and say it's OK to rely on loctite because they've always done that, and it's never been a problem in the past. Then I respond by saying it's only a matter of time, and sooner or later the loctite will fail and the screw will move. By the end of the discussion, I usually mention that anyone who is competing against me is more than welcome to ignore my advice. There--look at all the keystrokes I saved everybody! Next topic, please.

Just go prone! At the Florida Open two weeks ago, they had a crazy stage where you had to start out lying face-down on a wooden platform (the "bed"). Both knees and chest had to be in contact with the bed. My 4-post North Mountain holder was right there in front where it always is, fully loaded with 8 mooncilps. On the start signal, I jumped up off the bed, grabbed my gun from the little shelf, and ran the stage. No problem whatsoever. I believe Bob and Cliff did exactly the same thing. No problem whatsoever. Now this may or may not work with every type of mooncilp holder. But the kydex tension of the North Mountain design holds the moonclips just fine during prone maneuvers.

The Friday match (assuming we can pull it off) will be some sort of revolver thing....probably a rimfire steel match like the original version. Keep in mind that we may need to change the format to accommodate our set-up of the main match. We only have Friday through Sunday at the Ankeny Ikes. This means we will be setting up the main match on Friday. If we shoot on Friday, it may need to be in the evening after the staff has built the match. Stay tuned, be flexible, and don't get too locked in to any one concept.

Squib.

He'll get used to it eventually. (Believe me, the stages were plenty tough even with the 8-minor option.)

Thanks Brandon--you shot a great match also. This was my first FL Open since 2005--but I'm gonna try to make it back next year to defend.

Hacksaw.....Dremel.....

One of the problems is that many professional gunsmiths, even those who work on revolvers routinely, don't really understand what competitive shooters are looking for. They may be able to slick up a duty gun, or install a spring kit, but tuning the action down to 6 lbs and make it feel right....well, that's a whole different matter.

Hell, it ain't rocket science, fellas. I always encourage people to give it a shot. If you're even a little bit mechanically inclined, you can do the action on a Smith. The tough part is figuring out how to fix the problems that occasionally crop up. Experience can certainly help with that.

4" @ 25? (sigh.)

(All of which defeats the entire purpose of having a 929 in the first place.)

Better read the rest of the 929 threads before you get too excited.

Yeah, I tried to work on a revolver recently, and found my skills were rusty, my bifocals were in the wrong spot, and it made my back hurt. All of which reminded me to be happy in my retirement from working on guns! Apex is a great option, but they tend to get way backlogged depending on other projects they have in the hopper. TK Custom is working on revolvers again--you might want to give Tom a call and check on their turnaround.

Don't anybody get too excited about bonus matches--we may have our hands full doing everything we want to do with the 3-day thing.