VanMan1961

I had read a few threads claiming that the 929 was produced with the same tools as 38/357 revolvers, so I decided to slug my 929. \ \ All throats were consistent at .357 and the barrel was .356. Guess I better switch from the 9mm 147gr projectiles I've been using for reloads.

with the US dollar exchange rate strengthening over the last couple of years, that's not surprising. It's a pretty solid revolver. If I was shooting and reloading 38/357, it would be fun to pick up one of their 3500 series revolvers. Their stainless ones are pretty good looking, and I wouldn't have to worry about the expensive moon clips. Still, it would be just a range toy as I would not compete with a revolver that doesn't use moon clips, and there is a general lack of accessories like holsters, front/rear sight upgrades, extended cylinder releases ...... Also, while the crane feels pretty solid now, it's just a little too thin for my comfort. Not sure how it would stand up to a couple of years of practices/competition.

update - was going over my new toy yesterday and found a couple of problems. Ejector star is not properly fitted so a loaded moon clip won't fully insert. Barrel is not correctly indexed, and rear sight is adjusted all the way to the right to compensate. There's some pics of it in this thread Still love the 929 as a competition platform. Just wish S&W would improve their QA, especially for something from their "Performance Center".

hah - problem #2 the barrel is not correctly indexed. The worst part is that they must have realized this at the factory because the rear sight is adjusted all the way to the right. I guess I could live with this if I really had to, but it's a backup gun and we are heading in to the off season. I'm going to send it in for warranty service before I even first a single shot.

I just got in my 2nd 929 yesterday and a fully loaded moon clip will not seat properly. Rechecked that loaded moon clip in my other 929 and a moon clip checker, and it works fine. On closer inspection, it appears there are burs on the extractor star that are causing the problem. It's only a 5 min fix for me to do, and small in comparison to all the other tuning & tweaking I'm going to do. BUT it does indicate a lack of final QA at the S&W factory. I'm looking through the box right now to see if there's an "inspected by" tag so I could send some feedback to S&W. Here's a pic of the extractor. It's just oversized and needs to be ground down so it does not stick out into the cylinder bores

good point. I just checked some of my revolvers, the firing pins all bottom out below the frame.

as GMM50 pointed out above, wouldn't the dimensions of the side cut be just as important? You could be .495 OAL, but if your side cut is off by .005, you will have reduced your effective firing pin length by .005", It would be tough to measure without a jig though.

here's what the internals looked like. I put in a lighter main spring and with a bit of polishing got it down to ~2lb SA / 8lb DA trigger pull. I think it was over 12lb DA trigger pull when I first got it.

Project Alpha revolvers are pretty good, I got this one about 2 years ago. Quality is a little better than Ruger, not quite as good as S&W. This one is chambered in 9mm, the only problem is moon clips are really expensive at $10-12 Cdn each. That's way too much considering the revolver coast ~$500cdn at the time. I understand TK custom will produce moon clips for it at ~$7/each. I've since moved on S&W's, but it was handy learning how to slick up a trigger on this one, and it's still a fun range toy.

Just received my 2nd 929. I forgot how rough these were fresh out of the factory! Just as well I love to tinker

Is the " CA-drop-test version" what comes standard in my 929? It's magnetic so I know it's not titanium. I didn't S&W Ti factory firing pin on Brownells. Any idea where I could pick one up?

good point. Here's the firing pin from my 929 on the left and the C&S extended firing pin on the right.

Thanks, good to know. Maybe I'll try reprofiling it and test it again during the off season. Also itching to install an Apex hammer too, but I'll rerun the firing pin test first so all other parameters are the same. Damn, tinkering with revolvers is addictive

Right, the hollow firing pin comes standard on the 929's. Along with uncle Jerry's signature on the side plate

I think the profile of the point of the firing pin makes a bigger difference than standard vs extended length. I did some testing with my 929 with the stock vs C&S extended firing pin. Below is a pic of the two for comparison. The stock 929 firing pin on the left is chamfered to a fairly pointy profile. The C&S extended firing is fairly blunt. I tested various primers (cases resized and primed only - no power or projectile). I gradually increased the trigger pull weight by adjusting the strain screw until I could get 2 full moonclips to fire off. Trigger pull weight measured with a Lyman electronic trigger pull gauge (avg of 5 pulls). The stock S&W firing pin required 7-12oz LESS force. If I get the time and can confirm that the C&S firing pin is through-hardened rather than case hardened, I may try reprofiling the point and do some more testing. Note, the stock S&W firing pin is from their "Performance Center" revolver. The firing pins on some of my other S&W revolvers appear to be more blunt.

Probably depends on what powder he's using. I witnessed an unfortunate gun kaboom a couple of weekends ago and decided to do some testing. The bottom row is an empty case, Titegroup @ 3.4gr, a double charge, and a triple charge The top row is an empty case, VV N320 @3.5gr, and a double charge. All cases are Winchester 9mm, sized and primed. These are the loads I use with a 147gr projectile to make 132pf. Being able to easily spot a double charge is just one of the reasons I've switched to N320 from Titegroup.

I've got one the K22 X-Trim and a couple of X-Caliburs as well. The K22 X-Trim has the same frame and Eliason sights as the X-Calibur, so it makes for some cheap practice and very convenient when I can't pick up my brass. Mine is a 1st generation, and a little picky on ammo. It cycles very reliable with Blazer, Minimag, M22 and Federal 510. The newer generation of K22 X-Trims have a slightly lighter slide and revised dual recoil spring setup, so probably a little less picky on ammo. Accuracy is great with the fixed barrel. Not quite as accurate my other fixed barre & fixed sight .22 target pistols, but I can still group ~1" at 10m.

what crimp die are people using? I was using a Dillon crimp die set for a very firm crimp @ .374", and still getting some bullet creep. After firing off 7 rounds, the projectile of the 8th round has crept out so the COL is now 1.145" instead of the 1.100" I load to. I'm still using my semi-auto load of 3.5gr N320 @ 1.100 with a CCI #500 primer, and will be developing a load for my 929. Will need to up my powder charge to at least 3.6 and use Federal primers. I'm thinking of switching to a Lee factory resizing and crimp dies to see if I can get a more secure crimp. I've heard of using roll crimp dies when reloading 45acp for 625's, but I couldn't find a roll crimp die in 9mm and could not find any 9mm projectiles with a cannelure or crimp groove. So what are other folks using to get a good crimp when reloading for your 929's?

Thanks for the tip, just called them. They only have them in stainless steel so a little more expensive @ $7.50 each. Eli said he may do 15-20% discount for a bulk order of 100 though.

I found the trigger bar was a little snug against the polymer frame on both my X-Cals. Did a bit of stoning to debur the sharp edges and polishing. Also a light polish to the DA contact points on the hammer and trigger bar. Dropped SA/DA pulls from 3lb 4oz / 9lb 3oz to 2lbs 6oz / 7lb 8oz and eliminated that little hump at the bottom of the DA trigger pull. Also switched to the steel mag base plates, and added a 1/8" rubber pad to the botto of them because I was breaking the retaining flange off the mag body after multiple drops on concrete floors.