Carmoney

Our club's year-end banquet and business meeting is next weekend. I should be able to announce a firm date by Jan. 10 or so. Mike

I was initially surprised to see that Rob did not respond to the Shooting Gallery Invitational thing, and is apparently being replaced in the rotation by another shooter still yet to be determined. (Less surprised after I thought about it for awhile.....) Mike P.S. And I definitely agree it's great to hear he's picked up the wheelie!

Well, in any case, glad you got your problem fixed Mark, and especially glad it wasn't a problem with our good ol' favorite Federal primers!

Better throw in the old stand-by lame excuse for washed-up wheelgunners.........tendonitis.

Yeah, I wouldn't try using Bullseye. The only other powder I ever trusted with heavy bullets in .38 Spl. brass (other than Blue Dot, of course) was Unique. I don't remember any of the loads.

Hmmm.....wonder why my question is not being answered??

Jim, here's my list for a new (or nice used) 625: 1. action job with lightened hammer (done by me) 2. chamfer the charge holes (done by me) 3. Millett rear sight, black target 4. SDM fiber-optic up front (purely optional--my close second choice is to just narrow the stock black blade a little) 5. Ed Brown thumb release (never used this until I switched to the Spook/Dan reloads, though...) 6. Hoque rubber grips (or whatever feels right and lets your hand get up nice and high) That's it. There is no equipment race in Revo. Mike

You saw this with your own eyes?? (That's the only way I would believe this could possibly happen....if I saw it with my own eyes....and even then I'd wonder if I was dreaming!)

John, you don't have to just stand there and take that sort of terrible insult!!! (just kiddin!) Welcome aboard! Watched you kick my butt with the Lim. Rev. at Steel Challenge '04.... one of these days I want a re-match! Mike

Cliff's definitely joking. And I'm just asking out of curiosity.....I didn't see any president's medals being awarded at the OH match, but it's entirely possible I missed it since the awards were going on sort of at the same time as the shoot-offs. (I was second overall in my division, and won my class--I have no idea if that was enough to warrant medal recognition under the rules....) BUT--it's not that big a deal either way....and I'll be the first to be on record stating that the OH match was a fun match and a very friendly venue for wheelgunners!! Mike

Hmmm....so what happened to all the president's medals at the 2005 Ohio Section Match??? In my division (revolver--20 shooters--maybe the biggest gathering of revolver USPSA shooters to date) only two plaques were awarded (to high overall, and first in one other class way down the list, can't remember which one, maybe C).....

The factory can fix it. There are a few well-equipped gunsmiths around the country who can fix it. This job generally requires refinishing the gun. If it's a good revolver otherwise, it's probably worth doing. If it's an old clunker, maybe not... Mike

Bjorn, I'm sitting here laughing my ass off at that ugly grip!! (Consider that a compliment--I've noticed over the years that the best shooters tend to care nothing about keeping their guns looking pretty, and they don't hesitate for a second to cut, grind, and glue on whatever it takes to make the thing work--it's all about function.)

Pretty mouthy with the sandbaggin' talk for a guy who managed to get all the way to 84.321% before backing it down just enough to stay in A. He thinks he's playing the friggin' "Showcase Showdown"--closest to the actual retail class without going over....

Here's Randy's hammer:

I used rubber Hogues back when I was big into shooting pins, and so they've always felt "right" to me. When I starting shooting IPSC Revo early last year, I initially had trouble getting a good grip on the draw, and when re-acquiring the grip after the "switch-hands" reload. So I went to the Jerry wood grips for awhile, but found they hurt my thumb joint when shooting major loads. Switched back to rubber Hogues, changed to a "same hand" reload style early this year, tuned up my draw, and it all sorta fell into place. I agree that either reloading style can work very effectively in competition. Back in the day, Jerry shot blazing fast all the time. All the time. (He also "blew out" sometimes and could be beaten sometimes because of it.) Now he keeps that tremendous speed in reserve most of the time, and pulls it out only when he knows he needs it. The Jerry I saw this past July was much smoother and more controlled than the Jerry I saw at the pin shoots 15 years ago. Which is why he's even tougher to beat now than ever. Put a little pressure on him, though, and he'll show you how he's different than everybody else in the game.

Gary, I too am waiting for Shoepop to mention whether it was a C&S firing pin, but I'm pretty sure John R. (who identified the problem) would have quickly told us if this had involved a stock factory pin. Shoepop's problems are incredibly consistent with the problems I have experienced with the C&S pins. I can't imagine a factory pin being worn flat on the end like that. Merry Chistmas to you as well! Mike

Well, it's not just because the gun got dirty. This is not a pipecleaner problem, fellas. Shoepop's C&S firing pin was sticking in its channel because (1) it had become peened and distorted because it's too soft, or (2) it was improperly sized from the start. I've also had C&S pins start sticking in the channel a couple thousand runs in. They do that. The stock factory pins do not seem to exhibit this problem, even when the guns are good 'n' dirty. The tip on Shoepop's C&S firing pin then became flattened by soft brass cases (c'mon, the nickel's nothing but thin plating that has to remain soft enough to allow for repeated resizing, belling, and crimping of the case--ain't no way in the world that stuff's harder than the heat-treated steel specified for a firing pin on a revolver) because the C&S pin was made from steel that was far too soft for its intended use. (By the way, C&S pins are not stainless steel, they are supposedly 4140 left in the white. Then again, they're also supposed to be "drop-in".....yeah, right.) I know my posts on this topic are pretty strongly-worded. But I do think C&S is acting horribly irresponsibly to sell these extended-length firing pins with all these problems. We're talking about our toys here--the idea that people are purchasing and installing these things in guns that might be employed for defensive purposes makes my blood run cold. I know nothing about any different "generations" of this product, other than the C&S pins with which I've had repeated and varied troubles were all sold to me from Brownells' inventory within the past 18 months. The risks of this product are significant, in my opinion. And the benefits are essentially placebo.

.....well, maybe Michael Bane will get around to answering my question tomorrow, when he's hopefully having a better day.....

You can cut the MIM hammers similarly, and they work perfectly fine. The MIM hammer in the 625 I shot all year is radically lightened to the same contour as the hammer in my 627, shown here at the Big Dawg Steel Match back in the summer:

OK, but which national match did "Holy Terror" win High Overall against all comers male and female? I'm searching the web, but obviously not looking in the right places.......

Imagine selling a firing pin soft enough that the tip is actually worn away by brass cases.....unbelievable these guys.

I'm not at all familiar with cowboy action shooting......which national championship match did Ms. Rogers win high overall?

(I continue to hope the organizers will have the courtesy not to call this event "Big Dawg", as there is already an organized annual shooting match using that name....) Other than a couple of conspicuously absent names, this match sounds like a great media event, and an excellent opportunity to attract positive public attention to the competitive shooting disciplines! Looking forward to seeing it! Mike

Igor, Merry Christmas to you as well. One of my best holidays ever was the Christmas I spent with my family in Roma 8 years ago! (My only trip outside USA/Canada.) Italy is a beautiful place with great people, I would sure enjoy visiting again someday. Happy holidays to everyone!