perttime

"competing for the wins! " Not really We are different persons in many ways. I've found that if I start taking a hobby or sport seriously or even, god forbid, running stuff for others ... it becomes a chore - and there's a good chance that I'll quit. For some time at least. So, I try to remain laid back and have fun as an "also ran". Back in 1996 when nobody else had a clue either, I placed 24th out of 91 at our National 3-Gun Champinships. More recently I shot an IPSC match using my 6 shot revolver. It was great fun and I was amazed that I wasn't last in Combined results. I'm thinking of doing the same thing at our upcoming local Level 2 match. And I don't expect to win anything. I've seen the WSBs, and mostly there's reasonable ways to break down the stages for a 6-shooter. Mostly....

No. 60. I suppose being able to compare classifier scores within the country is a valid point. During "the season", most active Finnish (or European) shooters have a Level 2 or 3 IPSC Match every weekend, within 2 or 3 hours driving. So you will go against the national top guys'n girls quite frequently. Many also cross borders and see how they do against a more international crowd. To see how you really do in a bigger picture, you have to go to a Continental Championships or World shoot, every 2 or 3 years - and that can get costly.

I think it is culture. Like... how you do at a Match is how good you are. If you have the best score you win. If you are the best among competitors of mediocre ability, it isn't really a win. People are familiar with sport classifications by equipment or age, but few sports seem to make arbitrary classes by ability and reward the top of those classes. IPSC has a list of Classifier stages, but in my area they are rarely used. It could be different in different IPSC Regions (Countries)

Talk about classifications is quite foreign to me. In my corner of Europe, few IPSC shooters bother with them. My club has a Level 2 IPSC Handgun match coming up. There's about 150 competitors registered, including 40 "crew" who pay by working at the match. The list of competitors shows THREE (3) who have a classification. The rest are marked Unclassified.

What gun will you reload for? A gun might "prefer", or "dislike" a bullet for accuracy. I don't see how a coated bullet would be detrimental to longevity. For myself, I've gone for copper plated bullets. Possibly cleaner to use than coated ones and still less expensive than jacketed bullets.

Vihtavuori N320 should work, unless you are looking for high PF.

The madness has struck. I'm going to shoot a Match in a different Division: Press the release, open the cylinder with my left hand, dump contents into my right hand, pocket the contents, and grip the gun with my right hand again. Keep the cylinder open until RO gives more commands.

For pistols with a safety, I quite like having a "shelf". The strong hand thumb stays on top the safety lever while shooting. My hands are not large, so I tend to use the weak hand thumb for the slide release. If there's sharp edges, you should be able to blunt them with a fine file. Or dremel if you are handy with them. Even a sharpening stone. The hammer on my Ruger GP100 revolver used to draw blood from my thumb until I blunted it a bit For sight colors: whatever works. I remember an older guy painting his front sight all white, so that he could see something against a tan IPSC target. I'm still coping with all black sights.

Cheap duct tape should do it. Perhaps with chalk marks for verification. And screw the strips together if the Level and size of the match seems to warrant it. Duct tape can leave a sticky residue on the surface. Does that matter? (... In Finnish, duct tape is often called "jesus tape": it saves you in many kinds of trouble ...)

I have some N320 that is dated 2019. It has the same graphite color as the 3N37 that I have.

For IDPA, you must remember to load the 627 with 6 rounds only. "A.5.5.7 Revolvers must be loaded to the division capacity of 6 rounds in the cylinder. Higher capacity 7 and 8 round revolvers are permitted, but may only load 6 rounds."

... or that you have too low pressure to burn efficiently.

You are in Europe, so probably play by IPSC rules. There, you must have a 120gr bullet, or heavier, for Major PF. Vihtavuori tables don't have much that can help: https://www.vihtavuori.com/reloading-data/handgun-reloading/?cartridge=42 130gr FMJ with 6.8gr of 3N37 at 32.0 mm COAL might barely make Major. Maybe.

This FB page looks pretty recent and it has an Event for an upcoming Match (full already, I think): https://www.facebook.com/dvcipsc/

What load did the seller use? What about round count on the barrel? Not worn out yet?