Carmoney

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.

Brian, that sounds great! We will do our very best to make it worth the trip. Plus, if you've never been here, Iowa at harvest time is something worth seeing.

Weird. With all the S&W revolvers I have handled, I don't remember seeing one that had a barrel misaligned enough to matter. I must not pay attention to that issue, apparently.

LOL!!

I sorta agree with Pat, fellas. It's sorta unrealistic to expect a perfectly tuned competition revolver for a thousand bucks. They are still good raw material.

I don't know that I would count on the 333 to reliably retain the speedloaders during strenuous activity. Just sayin'.....

The best S&W revos ever were the guns built right around 1999-2000, right after the new CNC machinery was installed, when all the cutters were still nice and sharp. The post-MIM but pre-lock guns were the smoothest and most trouble-free production Smith wheels ever made.

Apex is excellent. You might also check with Tom over at TK Custom.

A large percent of the field courses around here go to 32 rounds. That means a large percent of the table starts do too.Aside from me, I've never see anyone else shoot their first USPSA match with a revo and I had a 627. I shot my first USPSA match (we just called it IPSC, or combat shooting, back then) with a six-shot S&W 25-2!

I agree completely. If you can find a stock pin with the round tip that measures .495" (give or take a thousandth), you cannot improve on it with anybody's aftermarket pin.

Ed, this is the exact thing I discovered with your 617--the aftermarket (C&S) firing pin was sticking forward in its channel so far it was dragging on the extractor ratchet. I fixed that problem by replacing the C&S pin with a "good" stock S&W pin that measured around .495". I then placed the C&S pin right where it belongs--in the trash can. I recommend you do the same with your 686.

128 PF across one chono is cutting it closer than I prefer. I feel much more comfortable at 132-135 PF, given the range of conditions and equipment you can find at major matches. Keep in mind that your risk is not going minor--it's going sub-minor, which means you are shooting for no score.

on the few loads I tested, everything was consistently 50fps slows through the 929 than it was through my wife's CZ. If you are barely at minor my guess is the 929 is not making minor. However, keep in mind that revolver velocities are already very "specimen-specific." You often see very different velocities from identical guns, depending on barrel wear, cylinder gap, etc. So Sean's results with his particular 929 might be 150fps different than the next 929 off the line, not to mention what you might find in comparison to the various autos.

There's nothing on the market to compete with S&W's 8-shot revolvers. They would presumably do a better job building them if they had any competitive pressure.

The old S&Ws weren't much better. They had nicer external finish back then, but plenty of ratchety machine marks inside. Generally, the newer guns tune up easier.

It's a trick. Do not fall for it Steven.

The greatly anticipated big advantage of the 929 was supposed to be easy ammo compatibility with 9mm semi-autos. Since it appears you can't shoot "just any old ammo" through these things reliably, that advantage seems to have blown away with the wind. Can anybody tell me something the 929 can do that the 627 can't do just as well, or possibly better?