Carmoney

Unless you're willing to install a custom .355" barrel, I don't think you will be happy with accuracy with 9mm ammo from a .357" tube. Heavy bullets with a longer bearing surface will help some, but I'm still not really sure it's viable. ICORE (and sometimes steel) can be very accuracy-intensive.

Happy Birthday, old man!

That sounds bad. I meant to say Stan was holding Rich's XD pistol.

If you look up the word "shameless" in the New Webster's Dictionary, they actually have a photo of Stanley standing there holding Rich's gun, and he's got a big smile on his face.

Extractors are definitely not drop-in parts. You're exactly right--the old extractor was specifically fitted to your gun. The new one will need to be fitted also.

I'm really trying to stay excited and positive about the World Shoot, but so far absolutely everything to do with it has been a giant pain in the ass.

When I saw "hard case" and "North Mountain" in the topic line, I thought we were going to be discussing why Bob Perdue is such a hard case.

Very cool! Long ago we used to run a "New York reload" match on steel targets. The first gun could be anything, but we limited the number of rounds in the cylinder/mag. After you emptied it, you had to dump it and grab your backup snubby (i.e. the "New York reload") to finish the string. It was fun and challenging. (Note: One of my buddies was known for using one of those "cheater guns" at this match--it had a 2-inch barrel and tiny grips, but it was actually a highly-customized K-frame that was pretty doggone nice to shoot. He made up for it, though, by running a stock 4" S&W M-13 as his main gun, so it was all good. In order to protect his identity, I will refer to him only by his first name and last initial--Massad A.)

It almost seems like Cliff lives his whole life inside some kind of dome....sealed off from reality. In all seriousness, I'm proud of both you guys for making the effort on this. I'm really glad you're my friends.

Yeah, every time I see the hourly rates that tradesmen charge for plumbing, electrical repairs, mechanical work, etc., it reminds me that I have no reason to ever feel self-conscious about the attorney's fees I charge my clients.

Brownells does not carry the entire line of Kart barrels. You might want to contact Kart directly on this.

The idea behind the Power oversized hand is that you can use it to fix a gun that is so worn and wallowed out that nothing else will work. It's a good idea, and I keep one around just in case, but in the real world they're almost never necessary. And they are a bitch to fit.

God no, don't do that. The Power hands are waaaaay oversized in every direction. Try a regular N-frame hand first, and if you don't get proper carry-up S&W also lists an oversized N-frame hand.

(Nicely done!) You oughtta see the stash of brass I use. I've been slowly gathering .45 brass since 1987, and I only throw it away when it splits halfway down!

I just couldn't decide whether I wanted to support Cliff or Lisa in their effort to raise funds for this very important and worthy cause.......

Yep--definitely the dreaded floating hand syndrome! This is exactly what we were talking about on the other thread--on some guns the floating hand works fine, but on others it causes crazy glitchiness (of just the sort ihocky2 describes) that are difficult or impossible to resolve without replacing the hand. The late '80s were not good years for S&W.

I think it's unlikely that the issues are caused by moisture infiltration. I've shot plenty of matches in the rain with my moonclips hanging right out there, including a couple of Nationals in Tulsa that required us to literally flop down into puddles of standing water to shoot prone, and I've never had a misfire at a major match. And when I get home from a rainy match, I toss all the unused moonclips (if there are any!) into a box to use again. I think primers are pretty much self-sealing, except for perhaps being totally immersed for a length of time (which might be an issue with military ammo--hence the sealer). Smokeless powder is extremely non-hygroscopic and it's doubtful that moisture would be an issue there either. Besides, with damp powder you would be likely to get some squibs mixed in. I think it's more likely something to do with your gun set-up, or even more likely something to do with your primer seating habits. Primers should be seated firmly, below flush and starting to flatten out, but not crushed to the point that you can see the anvil. If you're relying on a machine to seat your primers, you might want to use a hand-priming tool instead--much more consistent and reliable.

Looks like the Sunday AM flight starts at 8 and shoots until 10:30 or 11, and the "PM" flight starts at 10:30 and finishes around 1:30.

Ah....my old friend Skip Chambers returns to the forum. Do a search for lots of information on this topic. If the cylinder stop and cylinder stop spring have been replaced, the likely cause is peening to the notches on the cylinder. If you look very closely at the little ramps that lead into the cylinder stop notches, there will probably be little built-up lips of peened metal right at the bottom of each ramp. Those little lips will cause the cylinder stop to literally jump over the notches. Use a round ceramic stone or a small cratex tip on a Dremel tool and get rid of those little lips, and you should be fine. To help prevent the peening from returning, be careful not to slam the cylinder closed any harder than necessary. We have observed that the guys who have had the most trouble with this peening are the guys who do a lot of dry-fire and reload practice, with a full-on palm slam to close the cylinder every time.

That's right, you wouldn't need another trigger. In fact, I would say you'll be just fine with the floating hand. If the action feels good, you might as well leave it in there. The floating hand will function perfectly fine. The only reason we don't like them is that sometimes they can add a crazy glitch to the DA pull. On the other hand, sometimes they're fine just how they are, and it sounds like yours is one of those.

Hmmmmmm....sounds like it could be. The floating hand will be a (ahem) female part that pivots on a fixed pin that is pressed into the trigger. It can be removed by simply lining up the hole and pulling it off the head of the pin. Sometimes the floating hands tune up fine and there is no problem if they do. On the other hand, if there's a stagey glitch in the action after the cylinder stop locks into its notch, you will probably need to replace it. The floating hand was only used for a couple years in the late '80s. But S&W is known for using up any old parts they find laying around, so none of the rules are absolute.

But in reality, for ESR division you're better off with a 625. Anything making major from a 4" L-frame is going to create fairly snappy recoil. The 625 shooting major is going to feel noticeably softer. And it will reload quicker.

Yes. Look at the time matrix attached to post #29 above for details.

You could probably use maple syrup, too, but seriously--why not stick with consistent predictable products that are specifically made for the task? Just do blue.

Sure you're not looking at #5 Granny? #3 is clearly a no-shoot-C. It doesn't have to intrude, all it has to do is touch the perf.