Carmoney

I agree, this is a great idea!! And frankly, it would be much more meaningful than the "Top 20" listings that are posted now.

OK, you know how I feel about spending money needlessly on custom doo-dads that don't really do anything. Yes, I am sort of the technology grinch around here. But now, just for fun, let's sit down and compare photos of some of the efforts that have been made over the years to improve wheelgun technology--who knows, maybe something here will stir up some new innovative juices! If nothing else, it'll be fun. Please add photos, guys! #1 I'll start with my own favorite custom revo, made by the hands of the late, great John Nowlin himself, back before most shooters had heard his name. I used this custom 25-2 to win a Second Chance shoot-off back around '89 or '90. It's got a ported Shilen barrel with interchangeable underlugs, and a shortened cylinder. #2 Here's a wild one! The Schottler boys used to cart this thing around on a frickin' sling. I'm not kidding. Yes, that's a Model 28 with a 15" barrel and an AR comp opened up to .365. #3 Here's Jerry's 10-5/8" Clark Custom M-27. This is the one he used at Second Chance in 1993, finishing in third place that year. You can definitely see a lot of features that were later incorporated into the Performance Center models. #4 One more for tonight.....this one's an Alan Tanaka ICORE gun, built during a time when ICORE was actually considering recognizing a separate class for (get this) "Unlimited Snub-Nose"! That's right--a PDP-2 red dot scope is fine, as long as the barrel length is 3" or less! I shit you not.

This is an interesting idea.....I can see no particular reason why the entire grip frame of the revolver couldn't be totally re-configured to match somebody's idea of what feels right. It would never sell to those of us who "grew up on" traditional wheelguns, but who knows, lots of other people might like it. Hmmmm.....well, a lot of us have tried them, including Sam and me.....they're OK if you get them adjusted exactly right. Personally, I like them better for carry (with my 646 in .40 caliber) than competition, and am convinced that IDPA's banning of the Blade-Tech product was a completely ignorant move, as they are street-worthy. But for competition, I still think there's nothing faster than hanging the moons off the front of the ol' Shoot the Moon clip-holders.

Remember Bill, I said "(in the USPSA context)"! All of the advancements you mentioned (some that are certainly real and some perhaps perceived?) are not applicable to USPSA's revolver division. We can certainly give ICORE some credit for encouraging continued advancement, although most of it (porting, scopes, comps) is just carry-over from what was happening with semi-autos at the same time (porting, scopes, comps). The Baumannize conversion was a true step forward, I'll grant you. John Baumann sent me one of the very first guns to test during my brief period of time as a gun writer in the early '90s. I used it and the "Lincoln Log" bullets very successfully at the old Midwest Pin-Blasters match that year, about the same time Jerry M. had discovered the same technology. The next year a bunch of guys had 7-shooters at Second Chance, including Brian E. (shooting for Team S&W), who promptly sold his gun to me after the match. It became my main pin gun from that point on, and won me a lot of stuff over the succeeding years. The 8-shot stuff currently produced by S&W was the logical extension of John's (and Charley's) experimentation. My Baumannizer still comes out to play at least once a year. I can think of at least two original RPM guns in Iowa gun safes, and at least one shooter who is still waiting for his.... Here again, though, we're talking games other than IPSC/USPSA. In IPSC/USPSA, we've never really improved on the original set-up. Take a look at what Sweeney will be shootin' at Nationals, and you'll see that nothing has really changed. It's not like we haven't seen efforts to improve the prototype, it's just that nothing has ever really stuck. We've talked about the possibility of another manufacturer (other than S&W, that is) someday making a real competition gun that would be a viable option to the 25-2/625 and its variants. Unfortunately, it will probably never happen. Then again, like I said earlier, this is part of the beauty of our division--you can literally take a $500 gun you picked up at a gun show and win the USPSA Nationals with it if you shoot well enough! It's all about the shooting. That's certainly not true in L or O. Absolutely--people are starting to recognize that fact, and I think it's a primary reason why Revolver and Production are currently the divisions that are growing the fastest in USPSA.

On a recent plane flight, I had time to reflect on the equipment I use in competition, and it occurred to me that the last genuine advancement in competitive revolver equipement (in the USPSA context) occurred more than 15 years ago. The introduction of the S&W Model 625, you ask? Nope. The 625 was merely a stainless re-make of the 25-2, and from a practical perspective not really any better. In my view, the last meaningful advancement was an extraordinarily simple little invention called the "Shoot the Moon" clip-holder. Previously, there was nothing available that would carry moonclips on the belt and permit fast reloading access. Before that, the last real advancement was the full moon clip itself, which was pioneered by Ranch Products in the.....early '80's maybe? Somewhere in there, anyway..... Since then, nothing new under the sun! OK, you can buy a fancy high-tech holster these days. But is it really faster than a plain 'ol Safariland Cup Challenge or an old Ernie Hill rig? Nah. You can put a fiber-optic sight out front. Pretty cool, but will it really help you shoot any faster or more accurately? Nah. You can order grips and thumb releases and other miscellaneous doo-dads from Europe, but are any of them a bona fide improvement over the original equipment supplied on the 25-2? Nah. And despite the best creative efforts of some very fine craftsmen, in the end an action job is still an action job, a chamfer is still a chamfer, and blue or stainless steel still works perfectly fine for making cylinders. So there is no equipment race in Revo division. Grab a 25-2 with a nice action, load up your moonclips with 230-gr. ball ammo, and it really doesn't matter whether it's 1991 or 2006--if you're the best wheelgunner there, you will win the match. This is not true of any other division. Think how radically the other division guys' equipment has changed over that same approximate span of time! Whole new categories of firearms have arisen to fulfill a need, real or perceived. Personally, the lack of "technological advancement" is one of the things I like most about this division. It takes the whole spending and gimmickry race out of play, and ensures the match is all about relative shooting skill. Then again, this may be one of the biggest problems of the division--because so many IPSC shooters love to win by attaining an equipment advantage over the competition, and there's nothing to play with in Revolver. Maybe those guys simply can't have as much fun rubbing their guns with a chamois and showing them off to their buddies, because--let's face it--a revolver is a revolver is a revolver..... Any thoughts on this?

Kinda interesting--Point Series participation in 2006 grew (over 2005) in every division except for Limited and Production. You guys must be the mercenaries! If you ask me, the biggest problem with the Series is USPSA's total lack of commitment to publicize it, promote it, and make it a big deal. Have you seen anything in Front Sight about the Point Series winners from 2005? (I sure haven't.)

Within the range of possible fixes, replacing the plunger spring would be the cheapest and easiest.....you might want to start there first. Good luck!

Excellent news piece!! This is a great reminder of how important it is to get the local media out to cover our shooting events. The national news people may be strident anti-gunners, but the local folks are usually hungry for interesting stuff to put on the air! Great job B.J., Tim, and everybody else involved in scoring this wonderful P.R. coup for our sport.

I believe the politically correct term is "Gyno-American."

If it works now, it will work after bobbing the hammer.

One issue to think about, guys..... My son Sam won a President's medal for High Junior Revolver shooter at a big match a couple years ago. I suppose I could have made some smart-mouthed remark on the way home about how he was the only Junior Revolver shooter participating in the match, and imply the medal wasn't earned. But I wouldn't dream of doing that. He was 11 years old at the time, and that medal was (and still is) a very proud possession for Sam. I understand not watering down the significance of the awards, but let's keep in mind the importance of finding ways to recognize our junior shooters, particularly those who are still young enough that they are not yet performing on the stage as the rest of us. OK?

Brett--absolutely. The idea that bobbing a revolver hammer will reduce ignition reliability is a discredited myth. In fact, the opposite is true--all other things being equal, the lighter hammer will contribute to better primer ignition. Slick and bob to your heart's content, I'd say.

Nice going, mcb! Keep on wheelin'!

Whew, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was starting to think my wife was trying to tell me something.

Looks like the extractor is shaped sorta weird. The prices should be coming down once the initial flurry is over. Dealer pricing on this piece is under $400. Looks like a helluva deal to me!

I think their website might be www.bigbuttmania.com but I'm not really sure.....

I don't know if USPSA will make any effort to put together a dedicated revolver super squad like they did last year. We might be spread throughout the crowd, which wouldn't be quite as fun, but might be a good thing for PR. Sam C. and I are shooting the match on a student shoot-through pass, so he only has to miss one day of school. We'll be joining three different squads on Friday AM, Friday PM, and Sat. AM, shooting 6 stages with each squad. Should be fun! We hope at least one of those squads contains a bunch of our fellow wheelgunners, but who knows!

Have they every actually turned anybody away who showed up at Barry with ammo and entry money??

All kidding aside.......Sam, I think it's really great that you've decided to strap on a sixgun for Nationals. It wouldn't have been quite the same without you!

Nice job guys! And congratulations Dennis! Tom and Gary are both talented players, so this is a real accomplishment.

Absotively! You can always come back home.

I'm telling ya, Sam--even before he gave up the pith helmet look, the Danbagger looked as normal as Bob Perdue compared to some of these Californians I've seen on the streets out here.

Dan, must be the fact that I'm typing this week from CALI-frickin-FORNIA!! It's work-related, and I have virtually no free time. And unfortunately I had to miss the Big Dawg Steel match to be out here.

Man, y'all hilljack twangers sure do stick together.

I've done both--taken it on the plane and shipped it out ahead of time. I did have one occasion when the ammo arrived early at the hotel, and they decided anything marked "small arms ammunition" needed to be locked up in the security office. Problem was, by the time I arrived at the hotel late on the evening before the match, the security office was closed for the night and wasn't scheduled to open until 9am the next morning, and nobody at the front desk had the key. Fortunately, I convinced them to call the security manager at home and he came in and opened up the office so I could have my ammo. My current MO is to put just under 11 pounds of my reloaded ammo (that's about 230 rounds of 230-gr. .45 ACP) in factory ammo boxes I've saved just for that purpose, and put it in the suitcase next to the gun. Then I scatter a couple more 50-round boxes of ammo in the suitcase where they're not likely to see them. This has worked perfectly. And I figure if they find the extra "contraband," I'll just leave them at the counter and I'll at least have enough, or almost enough, to get through the match. I also carry my hand-priming tool with me in case I need to swing through Wal-Mart and pick up some extra ammo. From testing at home, I have determined that my light-action match gun will work with nearly every brand of factory ammo if the primers are re-squeezed by hand. (That's another advantage of not going too terribly light on the trigger pull, guys.) Of course, you only need to worry about your outgoing flight, coming back you won't have enough ammo along to matter. I'm fortunate to fly out of Des Moines most of the time, which has been a popular upland hunting destination since the beginnning of commercial air travel. The ticket people are simply not freaked out by firearms or ammo, and they're generally just nice midwesterners. I had one 60-something lady compliment me on my revolvers one time--she commented that she really liked the "blued" one (my 25-2 I was using for a back-up at the time). I figured if she knew the term was "blued" she must know a little something! We had a nice conversation about the upcoming match and she wished me luck. Cool, huh? It also doesn't hurt to look (and act) very clean-cut. I have always suspected that I have had less trouble with the airline people because I have a decent haircut and don't dress like a dirtball. So if you're 45 years old and think you still need to maintain a ponytail and beard, etc., you might want to re-think that plan. Think normal. Think Bob Perdue.