festus1

Michael, Keep the revolver stuff coming!! Enjoyed the show and putting faces with people. I liked the left handed reload demo and Randy's inerview.

IDPA ESR = 165 power factor, only 6 rounds loaded in the gun, moon clips OK, 4" barrel max IDPA SSR = 125 power factor, only 6 rounds loaded in the gun, speed loaders only, 4" barrel max USPSA = moon clips or speed loaders OK, only 6 rounds to be fired before a reload, 125 minor OR 165 major power factor (scored differently), any length barrel that the gun model was made with If you shoot steel or ICORE, 7 & 8 round guns are OK with any length barrel that the gun model was made with, moon clips are OK (and the Power factor is 125 I think) I have a 4 inch 625 and it works great for all of the above. If I had to pick 1 gun to do it all, that would be it. A longer barrel would be nicer in all but IDPA, but the 4" does work OK. I have a lot of arthritis and I get along better with the 625 and major loads than a 686. You can even use speed loaders and 45 AR ammo for SSR if your gun is light enough.

I have a 7 shot L frame that is cut for moons. Anyone else have one of those? I had a 6 shot L frame cut for moons a few years ago but sold it because of the clips being very loose and hard to load fast. The comp III's were faster. On the other hand the 7 shot L frame moons are VERY tight. The cases do not move. At all. Only remington and federal brass works and then I have to use needle nose plyers to load them. Except for the extra case length for me they are almost just as fast as loading a 625. Very different than the L frame 6 round moons. I can't speak to the K frame clips. The L frame 7 shot clips are thinner than the 45 moons but I only have lost 2 to bending in the last several years. The 7 shot L frame cut for moons would only be practical for ICORE competition though.

+1 to that! I love my Ti. I have never shot against Jerry so I don't know if my Ti cylinder will propel me even 1 % point nearer him, but I am getting some Titanium in a hip joint replacement this fall, so I guess I'll have those 2 things going for me if we ever meet in a match.

I am still in for 1 N round. Thanks, Chris

I'm in for a set of round butt N frame if it is in the $50 or so range. Chris

"I think I'm already a houshold name...@#$@Randy! Is my gun ready yet???!!! Spouses also curse my name when they see the "Randy Lee" in their husband's check register." Randy, I' love to come----especially if you promise to bring some of my guns so I can shoot em! I am getting a hip replacement in late Oct. so it depends on the date. I think it is a great thing! Chris I thought "Apex" was a home improvement mail-order warehouse?????

That's the "un-atainable" 627 8shot with the 6.5" barrel, there about as scarce as 5" 610's There is of course the serial number "1" out of the 200 that were made that is still available from Lew Horton - for a pretty stiff price. I found one new at a pawn shop - talk about a needle in a hay stack. Chris

Awsome!! My favorite times are spent shooting with my sons too. However, the one that shoots the most with me discovered 1911s last year. Oh well. Chris

Great!!!!!! Finally an ICORE match in my back yard. No travel excuses now. Chris

Here is a pic of what I'd like to see. It is the sight from Warren Tactical for Glocks. Chris

Dave, That is a stock LPA sight that Randy put on. The notch is quite narrow and not very deep. For close targets it is great but for longer distances I would like to be able to see some daylight on the sides of the front sight. The front is .125 wide and the fiber op dot fills up the notch. I have a .100 wide fiber optic on a 1911 and that width coupled with the longer sight radius gives a great sight picture - plenty of light on the sides of the front sight. I think that the blade that Randy is working on will be a big improvement. Here is a pic of the rear of the LPA.

Randy Lee has LPA sights for revolvers. I have one on my 625 and am very pleased with it. I had a Millet on it before. Randy is working on a wider deeper notch blade for it which I think will make it even better. Here is a pic. Chris

A local gunsmith uses S&B ammo to test for "duty action job" reliability. He says they are the hardest. So he says. Chris

A little bit off topic, but this is how I got my K-22. In 1964 when I was in 2nd grade an older gentleman from the Quad Cities came out to our farm to go coon hunting. I don't remember how he knew my folks. He called the next morning (coon hunting is done at night with dogs and a lot of chewing tobacco) and told my Dad that his revolver fell out of his holster and to be on the look out for it - somewhere along the 1 1/2 miles of Eliza Creek that flowed through our farm. Well, about 3 weeks later my Dad was hooking on a corn wagon to the tractor and when he bent down to put the pin in the hitch - there laid the revolver. When he called the owner he was informed by the wife that the man had a heart attack and died the previous week and that she did not want the gun back. A gunsmith cleaned it up and reblued it and it turned out pretty nice. My Dad gave it to me after I graduated from 8th grade. The mindset was a little different then. True story. Chris

In the Std Catalog of S&W 2nd ed. under 625 - quote: "The authors are quite befuddled by varying information surrounding the introduction of this model." They go on to list the mysteries. There were a lot of short run variations. 48 of the 625-5 were made with blue cyls and stainless frames. There are no known 625-1's. Some of the dash 2's were marked "Model of 1988" and some were marked "Model of 1999". There doesn't apear to be any reference to a square butt in any of the variations listed but in the engineering and product changes list states that in 1995 -1996 the square butt configuration was deleted. My 625 V Comp is a dash 6 w/ no internal lock and it has the floating frame mounted firing pin. The floating frame mounted firing pin is listed as being a change beginning with the dash 7's. All very interesting - but I must get off to work. Chris

That's awsome Mike. I like that 6 1/2 inch barrel. One of my boys has shot matches with me for the last 3 years and that is the best part of the sport for me. He just turned 16 and has improved a whole lot more than I have over the last 3 years. Enjoy beating Sam while you still can - it probably won't last. Chris

Here it is here. You did guess correctly Mikey - it was Marianne. Quite and artist. http://www.parkcitiestactical.com/album/00...03/IMG_1761.JPG http://www.parkcitiestactical.com/album/00...03/IMG_1769.JPG

I am the cannibal - I bought a 325 and swapped cylinders with my 625 V-Comp in order to get a Ti cyl. That was before S&W sold the TI cylinders by themselves, or so they told me so. The 325 with the unfluted stainless steel cyl was great to shoot!! If I had the $ and (even more so) the need I would have kept it. It was IMHO perfect. Still very light for carry but the steel cylinder added just enough weight to make shooting defense ammo not too unpleasant. The action was - shamefull. I just got my 66 with a 2 1/2 inch barrel back from Apex (Randy Lee) and it has a buttery smooth 6 lb action which sets off everything I put in it. Going from the unfluted cyl in the 625 V-Comp to the Ti was amazing. The lack of torque makes it very worth while in my opinion. (The 4.5 lb or so action doesn't hurt either). Good luck in your pruchases. Chris I'm going to swap out the TI cylinder on my 325pd and try it before I find a source and buy another one. I don't know how I would use the unfulted cylinder in my 325 pd because it would defeat the idea of the 325 pd. but hopefully I will find out if it's worth itthe extra expenses. I have already had a trigger job, longer firing pin, hammer bob done and I'm now waiting for my fiber opitic front sight conversion back from Pinnacle-Guns.com. I already have Hogue wood grips that I like but I would like to change over to the Big Butt Hogue when I see one that I like. I hope it will ultimately be the best revo I have. I love 45 acp, both bottom feeders and revo's. I am contemplating getting a 627 V-comp to shot Icore but as I said, I'm just getting into the competition shooting aspect of the sport and have to browseto see what everyone else has and their likes and dislikes. I do like nice things that work right. Jeff

I just received my 66-5 with a 2 1/2 inch barrel back from Randy Lee last Friday. It is a carry gun. It came back with a 6 lb. even trigger pull. Over the weekend we put about 250 rounds of assorted factory ammo thru it with no problems including 50 rounds of Sellier and Bellot which I have been told has one of the hardest primers of any factory ammo. I just bought a new 586 carry comp made in 2000 and shot it along with the 66. It has not made its pilgrimage to Randy's work bench yet so the trigger pull is quite heavy. The 66 was much much easier to shoot quickly and accurately with. If I had to choose which I'd want to bet my life on in a high pressure situation it would definitely be the 66. Chris

Are you thinking an N frame? What kind of holster would you use for an 8 3/8 inch barrel? Chris

Thanks Doug. When I get my 627 back from Randy Lee I am going to try out both short and long colts. Thanks, Chris Mike, I rechecked the IDPA rulebook and it states the SSR must use .38 cliber and larger ammo - so .38 short colt would be legal as long as it made PF.

Gary, I was looking for N frame speed loaders about a year ago and found this company in Australia. I got a 625 for ESR so I did not pursue it any farther. Chris http://www.sportingguns.com.au/UsedGuns/speedLoader.html

Wow, the LO5 - talk about sandbagging!!!

Mike, You just have to remember to dump all of your short colt brass in your pockets!! Where do you find load data for your short colts? Chris