Carmoney

Looks like Jerry's coming back pretty strong now, and Spook's now giving Ricardo a tough time. Still very hard to tell who's actually winning, since there aren't too many stages yet where all the top wheelmen have shot against each other head-to-head. I'll be very interested to hear whether some members of our team have been sufferering from ammo compatibility problems (i.e. light actions but no federal primers in whatever ammo they had to beg/borrow/steal to shoot the match). Sure wish more of us could be down there.... Mike

I think they need to be that stiff---or almost that stiff, anyway--to do any real good. I've installed the Ron Power spring ball detents on several guns, and was never convinced they did much of anything. Then again, the whole front lock-up thing is probably somewhat overrated anyway.....

Dave, I think Federal American Eagle 9mm ammo would be the best choice for cheapie factory ammo for those who do not want to reload 9mm (including me) in a gun with a way-lightened action. I think you could also still get an action reasonably light and make it work with Winchester White Box. NOW--what is that you're saying about using .38 Super moonclips with 9mm brass? Are some of you guys running 9mm reloads through your .38 Super 627s or what? (I know from first-hand experience that doesn't work with factory ammo.....)

Having looked at the results filtering up from Ecuador, I gotta wonder if this post shouldn't be titled, "1 Day With Ricardo"...... Let's hope today went better for Wheel Team USA.

Yes--I'd be interested. For steel and ICORE and various other stuff, I'd love to be able to buy Wally World White Box on my way to the match. I do enough reloading already and finding time always seems to be a problem for me.... HOWEVER--cost would be an issue, too. I would not be interested in spending $300 for a Ti cylinder and then $8-10 apiece for 30 or 40 moonclips. Other than being a cool novelty to own, I can't think of a competitive application for a moonclipped 9mm 6/7-shot L-frame. Would have been perfect for the old SSR (even better than my 646 was), but not under the new rules.

Am I the only one who has never had this peening problem?? Now I'll admit that most of my rounds downrange over the past 20 years have been through older blue carbon-steel guns, but I've done quite a lot of shooting with stainless guns too. And I have never once had to replace a cylinder on anything. I'm careful opening and closing them--is that part of it? Maybe my trigger pull style (rolling a smooth trigger with the first joint of my index finger) is gentler than all this slappy-pad stuff?? I just dunno. I'm trying to get excited about this super custom concept wheelgun, I really am......but the more I think about it, the more I suspect that I would do every bit as well with my 625 or 25-2, with my own action work, chamfer job, replacement sights, and rubber Hogues. For a third of the money. But--that said--I think it would be cool to experiment with all this stuff, and I'm glad this project seems to be growing wings. Mike

The overall results are completely meaningless at this point, guys. Jerry, Ricardo, and Bjorn are clearly all on separate squads, shooting different stages. We won't have any real comparisons to make until tomorrow night, maybe. Looks like there are a few dark horses doing pretty well on Ricardo's squad--there's a Nemecek guy that seems to be pretty hot. Patrick's shooting with Jerry, and appears to be shooting his usual consistent game so far. Cliff has had a few good stages, but also some really bad ones--gotta wonder if he's having gun and/or ammo problems. Lisa appears to be struggling, unfortunately. But as I pointed out, it's still early--lots and lots of shooting left! Wouldn't it be great if we could watch it on TV? Mike

Just keep in mind all the incredible work Jerry did with his 8-3/8" M27 at the Steel Challenge, Second Chance, and elsewhere. Many other wheelgunners, either copying Jerry or through discovering the same benefits on our own, really learned to love those lighter-profile long barrels, even for fast and dirty shooting. After "Team S&W" started and he had a real sponsor, Jerry had them make him one with a 10-5/8" barrel!! Does "long and lite" translate to IPSC, though? Not sure. Drawing and settling the front sight would not be a problem, though. Shooting through ports and windows, negotiating doorways, etc., I could see where there might be an issue. You'll notice Sweeney is already thinking about milling off part of the underlug!! Just promise me that you'll bring Jerry in on this conversation, Randy, and get his advice on barrel length and weight. It won't matter how cool and cutting-edge the gun might be if it feels sluggy. We all gotta remember--this ain't for ICORE. This is for a faster-paced game. What would make me happiest? If my gun had a 8-3/8" skinny barrel the same profile as the old Model of 1950 Target. And if everybody else had a big ol' heavy underlug stuck to their guns...... Mike

My first full season back in the game, and I've hit the big matches pretty hard! 1. Florida Open 2. Single Stack Classic 3. Rocky Mountain Regional ICORE Champ. 4. Sunflower Classic 5. Iowa Sectional 6. Missouri Steel Champ. 7. Ohio Sectional 8. Area 3 9. USPSA Nationals 10. Big Dawg Steel Match Yet to go this year: 11. Great Plains Sectional 12. Minnesota Sectional 13. Area 5 14. Iowa Single Stack Match 15. Illinois Sectional 16. Missouri Fall Classic 17. Shoot for Life Charity Match

Personally, I think I'd prefer a regular 6.5" tube, similar to that on the older 25-2s. I might be wrong, but I'm guessing the full-underlug idea might wind up too muzzle-heavy, even with the last inch cut away.... If we're trying to add a little weight, I wonder if a 7" or 7.5" standard profile barrel would be even better? Longer sight radius and higher velocity? I would be interested in Jerry's and Patrick's thoughts on this--they're two others who like the long tubes.

Sorry, I was in a grumpy mood last night after sitting through the first of three 3-1/2 hour sessions of the hunter safety course Sam and I are taking. Actually, it's pretty cool that we're even having this conversation about revolvers! Let's keep it going!

Hey!!! Maybe a true honest-to-gosh equipment race and the prospect of the $2,500 high-end IPSC revo is exactly what it takes to bring all sorts of shooters streaming away from Limited and Open and into our division!!! (...not trying to step on your dream, Randy, your stuff is definitely worth the money....I'm just not sure we can trust S&W and the distributors to avoid the temptation to try to fleece us real bad on this whole idea.....just look at those nice but weynefug-overpriced Koenig 1911s if you're wondering what I'm worried about....)

I haven't seen one in person yet, but I kinda assume they're just like the 9mm 1911-A2s--that is, ramped, bushing barrels. Anybody else know for sure? If my nine keeps running good, I'll definitely have to order a .40 too! This set-up could be a really good way for the working guy who likes 1911-platform guns, but must stay on a budget, to get into this sport. Or how about a back-up gun to haul along to matches just in case the main blaster breaks down. Still too early to tell anything long-term, but I'm liking it so far. Mike

Hey, that could be the problem....might be just that one mag, for all I know.

It is ramped. I haven't made a close comparison, but just eyeballing it I'm pretty sure it's the para/clark type ramp. There is a cut-away area for the external extractor, so an aftermarket barrel may need some additional processing to install. I like the external extractor just fine so far. I'll stop liking it if it ever fails to do its job, I suppose....but so far so good. Mike

Moderators--this post needs to be moved over to the "Favorite Rap Lyrics" forum.

Just to be sure I was clear.....Bob's Para mags work perfectly fine in his Para, just like you'd expect, but there is some weird incompatibility with my Armscorp cheapie. I suspect that's only the case with my particular gun, and maybe it has something to do with the way I adjusted the sear spring on my particular gun, but I figured I better let you know before you buy one hoping it will work fine with your mags. It might, or it might not. Then again, the Meg-Gars are pretty cheap if 17+1 will do ya. Mike

Listen to Sweeney.

Everything ran smoothly with my 145-gr. lead Bushwhackers at the steel challenge match today. Seems plenty accurate for anything I'm going to do with it. I really like the way those stubby little short colts drop right in!

Update: The Armscor ran great today at the steel match, this deal is looking better and better. Accuracy seems better with Winchester white box ammo than with Rem., but that could be just me getting used to the gun. Still haven't benched it, but it seems to be shooting just fine. No malfunctions of any kind with my Mec-Gar mags. Merlin: I did have a chance to try a buddy's P18 magazine with Dawson basepad and had a weird sort of malfunction where the first shot would fire, the second round would feed, but then sear wouldn't reset for the second shot.....did the same thing all three times I tried to shoot the gun with that mag. I didn't have a chance to thoroughly check it out but it's gotta be some sort of interference between the magazine and the sear spring. Glad I didn't bet any real money on those working.... Again, the Mec-Gars work flawlessly, but now I guess I don't know quite what to expect from factory Para mags....

Y'know what? I like my Para P14-45 Limited a lot......BUT I still had the change out the innards to get the trigger pull where I wanted it (just a little under 2 pounds and nice 'n' crispy! (There's also just something cool about showing up with a cheap "sleeper" and seeing how many way more expensive guns I can beat with it--half the reason I shot revolvers at bowling pins all those years was to see the looks on the faces of all those guys with the high-dollar 1911 compensated pin guns after I whipped up on 'em good!) Mike

Ever since Jim Clark recommended to S&W that they put a heavy barrel on the Model of 1950 for the bullseye shooters, the 25-2 always has been, and always shall be, a competition gun! (Seems a shame to put 'em away in a dark safe if you ask me!)

Shot another couple hundred rounds out back, no glitches, trigger's beginning to settle in decently. What the hell, I think I'll take to Osceola for the steel match tomorrow. Mike

Sorry, Merlin, I don't have any genuine factory Para P18 mags.....however, I would bet money it would run just fine with them. The extra mag I ordered from Brownells was the Mec-Gar mag for the Para P18 in .38 Super, and it is identical in every respect to the one that came with the Armscor gun, right down to the "law enforcement and expert only" lettering. I've actually had very good luck with Mec-Gars in my Paras, and they're less than $20 apiece, which is half the price of the Para mags. Mike

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