MWP

Thank you. Fun match, reminded me of the pasa stages a little bit. I don’t think the Ruger is up to 929 standards, yet. But I do think it’s closer than any other gun has ever been. And I also think it’s good enough that it’s an option of someone didn’t want the smith. I want to go into it with an open mind and no preconceived outcomes though.

929 street prices are all over the place. I’d imagine once the Ruger is out and about it will be too. I’m more interested is seeing the competitive differences between the two at speed. I sent probably 150 rounds down range in both a borrowed Redhawk and a super GP in 38, and the quick impressions I got weren’t far off Smith capability.

I just won one at nationals. Going to get it cleaned up and see how it compares to the 929.

It is. I went from BMT to the TK tools. I was wearing out the plastic “top” of the BMT once a year, and I think it’s harder on the moons as well.

What tool are using to load the .040s?

I haven’t seen any head spacing issues with 929s. What info did you find on that?

I’m using a 38 super die with decapping pin first, then a 9mm to get neck tension back. Hornady flare die is much easier to adjust than letting the powder do the flaring. Hornady seating does help keep things lined up sooner and is really easy to adjust.

TK stainless .040

I have never roll sized my brass. Federal in 929s, all once fired when I get it. Plenty of it has seen over 10 loadings. Is it the brass sizing or the brass to clip fit that’s failing? Do you have a moon clip checker to see if it will clear that?

1/16” solid pin 1/16” drill bit Install front site in gun. Use drill press to drill halfway through front sight base and front sight. Flip gun over and repeat. Install solid roll pin with hammer and punch. Use clear 2 part epoxy to seal both sides of roll pin. If you’re still worried about it, install 2 of them.

Sorry, Alec said it best. Mid ports or a proper comp have more usefulness I believe than muzzle ports. Of course, the load needs to match the choice of holes.

The R8 is a fine gun. If you like a lighter gun, then by all means shoot the R8. The scandium revolvers from Smith didn’t seem to stand up as well to heavy competition use compared to stainless guns. Like Alec above, I also had a 327, mine was the JM, which is even lighter than the R8s, and personally I found it too light to shoot minor as comfortably as a steel gun. I know everyone says that lighter guns transition faster, and technically in a scientific sense they do, but I have yet to see anyone prove that at the range. What I do find useful for the lighter gun, especially in steel challenge, is the repetitive movement of drawing the gun in practice doesn’t take as much toll on the shoulder and elbow as a full weight gun does. You can port the barrel on the R8, but porting does almost nothing. Looks cool though. But the gun can’t go backwards to stock, and it’s difficult to sell that gun one day if you aren’t committed to it. I say shoot the R8 for a season or two and compare it to the 627. See what you like and don’t like. I think everyone I know ends up using the R8 for steel challenge and has 627s for minor and major loads.

Buy it, mail it to me so I can install a carbon barrel on it. I don’t know why but I’ve been wanting to build someone one- it would be really close to breaking 2lbs.

It’s not hard to chamfer by hand with a dremel. Don’t touch the ejector.

No.

Alaska airlines has a 50lb weight limit.

I have not. Even with heavy loads.

A proper compensator, not holes, will make a difference on power factors at ICORE levels. I didn’t believe it either until I built some. S&W doesn’t currently make a compensator for any revolvers that I know of. To fit a Comp that would work, the barrel would need to be threaded. Most people would just be better off cleaning up the crown on a factory barrel or completely changing the barrel to be able to use proven designs.

Well, when you nail a reload that’s in the 1.3s or less, you nail it, it doesn’t matter if it’s 6 rounds or 8. A lot more goes into that speed than just throwing a moon and closing the gun. For example, the way the moon hits the cylinder has to do with the way the fingers grasp it, which makes it way back to how the moon is oriented on the belt, and also if it is spun on the post or exactly in the proper position to hit the cylinder before it even enters the hand. An average, repeatable number would have to be used. But, reload speed isn’t what separates 6v8 on the score card, it’s simply the sheer amount of reloads. I still think separate power factor scoring in icore is a bad decision.

I haven’t tried that, I’ll throw some grip tape up there and see how it feels. I’m fortunate to have large hands, so it really helps with grabbing the gun hard. I don’t do it on semi autos, but it is a popular grips for some.

I never meant for my grip to be that way, but in my quest to get as high as I could on the gun, my left hand somehow ended up with a finger up there. It has more to do with supporting how high my right hand is. I can say that for me, if I rotate my left hand so my index finger is under the trigger guard, muzzle rise is much more pronounced. Turns out I can’t shoot a gun with my standard grips and a full hammer spur anymore- the hammer just stops when it hits the webbing of my hand. A by product of getting really high on the gun.

Grip the gun higher.

Correct, some of the blued ones are.

TK stainless clips are EDM cut, not stamped.

I used to agree with that statement. By ~.10ish. Now I think it’s even. I think some form of tests are in order.