Carmoney

Since you have a 27-7, that means at least four of the 100 are currently in the State of Iowa.

Hmmmmm......I think I would really enjoy being a DI at the DCC boot camp. I believe I could be firm but fair.

Same experience here.

A nick in the chamber? Was it something that you thought might make the gun unsafe or unshootable?

I suspect it happens when S&W allows their reaming machinery to become a little too worn, causing the chambers to become slightly undersized. Some 617 chambers are just fine. Those must be the ones made right after they replace the worn-out cutters!

Ejector should be same for 9mm and .40.

Yes, that's a very common problem. The solution is to ream the chambers. The Manson reamer is fairly inexpensive, and works extremely well.

Yes--for best results, stick with jacketed bullets. Most 25-2s do not perform well with cast lead bullets.

Without many of the high-level wheelgun players in attendance this year, the Memphis Charity match featured an epic battle between Dave Olhasso and Matt Griffin. Despite a great showing of 70 shooters, those two guys won 9 of the 10 stages (with good ol' Hopalong picking up the other one). Rich Wolfe and John Bagakis put on a similar performance at Area 2 that was every bit as much of a "clash of the titans." Congratulations Rich!

Bob, sorry to hear about your dad's passing. Burial at Arlington is a real honor.

Yeah, those BMT tools are the best!! Love 'em--don't use anything else anymore. Last I knew you could order them through Apex Tactical, Randy Lee's operation.

Let's hope they are more appreciative than St. Jude's, the original beneficiary of the MCC who took the money and later declined to be associated with us. Although I personally do not like "forced donations" to a particular cause, regardless of the context, I certainly applaud the giving attitude. I have always found the competition handgun shooting community to be a helpful and generous group of people, and this is no exception.

What happened to Jerry Miculek and Rich Wolfe? I thought I saw both names on the squad list.

Nice heaters!! (But do they make weight?)

Exactly. It's not illegal for an individual to ship a gun to a licensee via common carrier (UPS, Fedex, etc.) but if you violate that carrier's internal rules which require priority overnight service for shipping handguns, do you really think they're going to pay the insurance claim if it gets lost? I know.....it's a complete rip-off, but they hold all the cards. As several others have stated, it is a federal crime for a non-licensee to ship a handgun or stripped handgun frame via the postal service. And believe me, "the guy at the counter said it was OK!" is not going to exculpate you if you get caught and prosecuted. So unless you hold a valid FFL, do not carry a handgun onto USPS premises.

Guys, I was thinking about grabbing a plane ticket at the last minute to make a surprise appearance at the Memphis match, but it's not going to happen. It turns out I have VIP clients coming to visit my office next week, and so my wife and I are going to be spending the weekend painting and sprucing the place up. Sam C. (who is now a freshman at the University of Iowa) won't be available to attend either. We both wish all our friends the best of luck at the match! I'm certain it will be another great event. Catch up with all of you somewhere in 2012.

Although there are exceptions in both directions, shooters under the age of 40 seem to prefer red FO and those over 40 seem to prefer green. I used to prefer red. Now I've gone green all the way.

You want to really get people fired up about next year's Memphis match and create a real launching platform for it to become a stand-alone Nationals? I'll tell you exactly how to do it......(brace yourselves)......eliminate the charity aspect to the match and put the entry money back into the prize table. You want to guarantee that Jerry Miculek shows up? You want guys like Rob Leatham and Taran Butler to fly in? How about world champion Ricky Lopez and all the revo guys from Europe? Give them something to shoot for. Announce way ahead of time that first place pays $3,000 cash, top ten finishers get cash prizes, that gun prizes will be awarded to all class winners, put up cash bounties for stage wins, offer side matches with real prizes, etc. Make it a REAL event like the IRC and the Steel Challenge and the old Second Chance pin matches. Publicize the match early, and stand back and watch about 200-300 shooters sign up. (Frankly, this is what USPSA should do for its national championships in all divisions. What they do now is total horseshit and we all know it.)

At the risk of repeating myself, good USPSA/IPSC matches are not set up as a series of 8-shot arrays. If you are running into matches where the stages always seem to be 8-8-8-8, it's time to start working on the stage design problem at those matches. With better stage design in place (as it hopefully is at most major matches), the difference between 6 major and 8 minor becomes much less clear. You're going to save a reload here and there with an 8-shooter, but there is an off-setting cost in points if you only allow minor scoring for the 8-shot option. Time is obviously important, but at the upper levels, points are really important too. The difference between major and minor scoring over the course of a large match is much more significant than some people seem to realize.

One more point.....the one thing that might seriously increase interest in USPSA Revo would be a well-run stand-alone National Championship with great stages and a kick-ass prize table. That might give the top GM shooters in USPSA, and many more of the rank and file guys, a reason to put down their autos and pick up the wheels.

I think the harsh reality is that shooting a revolver in any of the action shooting disciplines is going to remain a niche. Nationally, wheelgunners are a niche in USPSA and IDPA. ICORE is a niche game in and of itself. I think the main reason is that it's damn difficult to shoot those games with a revo. Seems to me like making it easier and more fun is the way to attract more shooters. Shooting USPSA with an 8-shot 627 and minor P.F. ammo would be easier and more fun--for most people anyway. This is all an academic discussion anyway. With no clear consensus emerging on this, the equipment rules are going to stay the same.

I agree. At this point what can it hurt to try? Despite huge effort from a few die-hards, the numbers have sucked lately. We should do the rule change provisionally for a year or two, just like we did for Single-Stack, and see how it works out. The current version of the Revolver division equipment rules was drafted right here on this forum--at that time, there was a clear consensus on keeping it 6 shots between reloads, no porting or comps. Otherwise, the rules were liberalized, with the thought process being that allowing custom barrels and such would encourage more participation. The practical difference of the rule change has been minimal. Time for a personal confession--this past year, competing in USPSA matches with my 625 has felt too much like work. I couldn't wait to get home from Nationals and throw the damn thing in the safe and get out my 1911s. I take a break from Revo every year anyway, which I think is healthy and makes me a whole lot better all-around shooter--but for the first time I am not sure I will pick up my 625 after the Single Stack Nats. Depending on work stuff, I am going to try to make it to the IRC again in 2012--I really love that match. But for USPSA, I might just shoot Production all next year, or maybe even (gasp!) Limited. I have a feeling I'm not the only one tired of fighting the system to keep Revolver Division alive in its current form. So screw it.....what can it possibly hurt to change it up a little? We have nothing meaningful to lose. Or so it seems to me.

USPSA Revolver Nationals. 2011: 21 competitors. 2010: 22 competitors. Rio Salado Monthly ICORE matches. October 2011: 34 competitors. September 2011: 31 competitors. August 2011: 22 competitors. July 2011: 29 competitors. Are you sure that the current USPSA revolver rules are the best they can be? ICORE participation in most parts of the country: 0 competitors. Don't get me wrong--I love shooting ICORE matches, but there are only a few hot spots in the country where the game has taken off.

Jerry's trigger job DVD is a pretty decent resource. SDM, EGW and Protocall Design (forum dealer) make front sights, but before ordering another sight you might want to reinstall the loose one with red loctite.

I remember this exact same argument being made in Single Stack division: "The 8-shot major guns will never beat the 10-shot minor guns, and the 8-shot 1911s, made like God and John Moses Browning intended them to be, will become obsolete overnight." Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It didn't happen. Now I understand the differce between 6 v. 8 and 8 v. 10. And I suppose there still clubs around that set up a whole bunch of stupid stages with nothing but 8-shot arrays. But at matches with good freestyle stage design (e.g. most Level II matches and up), there are usually options that would allow the 6-shot major revolver to remain fully competitive, particularly for good shooters who have a fast reload and don't need a lot of make-up shots. Don't underestimate the difference between major and minor scoring. If 8-shot minor were allowed alongside 6-shot major, I would probably take both guns along and look at the stages before making a decision on which gun to use. It would all come down to stage design.