Carmoney

Not sure, but perhaps this will help:

I know you said you didn't want to mess with it, but seems like a .45 with minor loads would be the softest-shooting and fasting-reloading way to go for the PSA. The year I shot my 625 at the IRC I used the 185-gr. hollow-base plated Berry's bullet at minor PF, and although I had a larger velocity spread at the chrono than I wanted to see, it worked perfectly fine. Also, were you running your moonclipped 686 with Short Colt brass and machined Hearthco moonclips? If not, you haven't really experienced how fast reloading can be with that gun!

Yes, I thought Josh was the original trendsetter on this concept, but I could be wrong. I have seen him run that gun at USPSA Nationals the past couple years. It appeared to work perfectly, and of course he shot it extremely well. Now I see he's planning to get a .45 revolver. So maybe the .40 L-frame is not really a panacea after all? Still a neat concept, though.

Smokeless powders are amazingly consistent from container to container, and from lot to lot. Lots of powder are compared against a control standard before they are packaged and released to the market, and are destroyed if not exactly on specification.

The unramped barrel is not the problem, per se. The problem is that they don't make effort to throat it correctly. It's an easy 20-minute fix for any decent gunsmith. I understand that people today expect their guns to run everything straight from the box, but it wasn't too many years ago that a throating job was a mandatory modification if you wanted your 1911 to feed hollowpoints.

Spit, right?

This guy loves his Flitz, doesn't he?

The flirtation between the hot chick and the complete doofus with big earrings and his underwear hanging out the back of his pants is making me ill. My office is right next to a college campus, so if I want to see that sickening phenomenon all I have to do is look out the window.

12.5 or 13.

I think you cited the correct rule and should be fine. I also think nobody will give a crap. Even a good wheelgunner is no threat in that division. Shooting a wheelgun in Production is purely a fun diversion. You won't be competitive, except maybe at small club matches where you're only shooting against a bunch of goons.

That's true. And the Spartan has a reputation of not working well with anything other than ball ammo. However, with a good throating job, it will work great--my throated Spartan 9mm will feed anything, including short little hollow-points that will choke many other guns. Just something to keep in mind with most of the Filipino pistols--they tend to have feed angles that are too steep and abrupt.

My initial reactions to Season 4: 1. Once again, we have some very good pistol competition shooters stepping on their.....ah, how should I put this?.......not performing up to expectation. This tells us that many very good pistol competitors are specialists with skills that don't necessarily translate well to other types of firearms. (Sure wish we would see a real 3-gun competitor allowed on the show for once.) 2. We are already seeing some absolutely awful technique being employed.....Barney Miller, thumb-over, feeb-Weaver, flying elbows, etc., etc., UUUGGGHH!!! It looks to me like this season's crop of shooters was specially chosen to give one of the chicks a chance to win. 3. My wife kept telling me to stop rewinding my DVR so I could review certain key portions of the episode. Her direct quote: "Stop! The show is called 'Top Shot' not 'Top Jugs'!"

"Finger" and "Muzzle" may be part of the IDPA program, but they are not range commands and have no place in USPSA. If you are ROing me and I engage in unsafe gun-handling by having my finger in the trigger guard at the wrong time, or if I allow the muzzle to break the 180, you should yell "Stop" and immediately DQ my ass. Because you're exactly correct in saying it's not good RO practice to let DQ offenses slide. If it's not a DQ situation, you need to keep quiet and not distract me when I'm shooting my stage.

With all due respect to Daniele and Sasha, I would never recommend attempting to make IPSC major with short colt brass, and particularly not with heavy bullets. You're talking some serious pressures, guys. I am guessing that some of the Euro wheelgunners are compelled to try that stuff because they don't have access to bigger caliber guns. If you are able to purchase a .45 or 10mm revolver, there is no good reason to screw around trying to make major with short colts and risk blowing the gun apart.

Good point, although I don't think the factory ever issued a bobbed hammer in an N-frame, and I'm virtually certain they never put one in an N-frame. Another thing to keep in mind is that factory-style bobbing is one thing, and the cut down hammers are quite another. My read of USPSA and Bianchi Production rules is that hammers and triggers must not have any mods that are externally visible.

With a good minor-PF load, .38 Short Colts with RN bullets and Starline brass in Hearthco moonclips are GREAT to shoot and GREAT for reloading at speed. I have never found anything better for shooting ICORE or steel out of an 8-shot revo. In fact, I have quit loading .38 Specials entirely. Yeah, you will have to spend some money on the moons and brass initially, but I think you'll find it well worth the investment.

It's hard to find a pin punch small enough for that job. My solution was to buy a set of those little eyeglass screwdrivers ($1.99 at Menards) and grind the tips flat. They work perfectly as long as you don't beat on them too hard. If you use a .200" height Toolguy or Hi-Viz front sight on your 617 instead of the EGW, you won't have to change the rear blade. Think twice before you go with a white outline on the rear. I know everybody has different preferences and all, but it's pretty hard to defend the notion of putting anything on the rear blade that would tend to draw your attention when the whole idea is keep your visual focus on the front post. I'm not wild about the idea of drilling the hole out to 1/16". The tenon on the front blade doesn't have much room for drilling error as it is, and increasing the size of the hole would make it that much more critical.

I really like mine. Here's a thread from a couple years ago that describes my experience with the American Classic: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=96673&st=0&p=1106870&hl=metroarms&fromsearch=1entry1106870

Absolutely true. Several years ago we discussed the whole issue of cylinder stop notch peening, and noted that it was almost always stainless guns which were affected. I am convinced the stainless alloy used by S&W for cylinders is softer than the carbon steel alloy. Excessive rotational cylinder shake can usually be fixed in the manner Warren describes above. If the cylinder stop notches have widened badly, fitting a new cylinder (if the cylinder is still available) may be another option.

Absolutely. And if the gun is set up properly, JHPs will run perfectly in a .40 SS with an unramped barrel also. In fact, JHPs are all I shoot in my .40 competition guns!

The classic 200-gr. H&G #68 (or similar)is a bullet design that is well known for its phenomenal feed reliability in 1911s with non-ramped barrels. Load them to 1.25" and make sure they're crimped decently, and you should be in great shape.

Maybe in your gun.....I shoot tons of HP bullets through my .40 single-stacks. Sounds like you need a good throating job.

I own a custom .40 single stack that has an unramped barrel. I was a little leery at first, but it's been just fine. Sam shot it at the WSSSC last year and it worked perfectly.

Bob is a great friend to have, both personally and professionally.

I wondered if that might become a problem, Tom. I didn't have my wife along, so the swingers never approached me.