matteekay

Thanks for the reply! I've been doing some reading since I posted and I found the issue with HBWC's having their skirts blown apart (tee-hee) at velocities over 800. That explains why the loads seem so conservative. I know a few people loading the DEWC's VERY hot. I'll probably be more conservative, but it sounds like I shouldn't be too afraid of that max if it's coming from a HBWC (and I'm still within SAAMI).

Agreed. Am I backwards, though? I thought HWBC would mean more volume and less pressure, so I should be stepping down for DEBBWC. Or is it just because Trail Boss is SO slow?

I gotcha, #358091, running 2.9 to 3.3 grains of 700X. The low side of that should actually work well. Now comes the hard part - getting 700X to meter correctly through Lee gear, lol. EDIT: Found two more tidbits in my sheets of load data. IMR says 3.5gr of 700X max for a 148gr LBBWC, good for 850 fps, and Lee/Hogdon says 2.5gr max for 804 for a "148gr Wad Cutter". Can't anyone agree on anything?

Yeah, that doesn't actually help any as the HBWC is the data I'm leery of (again, cartridge volume). I do have a Lyman manual and they have a similar bullet; I'll wind up using that if no one has any recommendations.

Howdy! I have a box of coated lead 148gr DBBWC (double bevel-base wadcutters... whew!) that have been sitting under my bench for a while because I can't find good load data. There's plenty out there for the hollow-base wadcutters, but I didn't want to use that data as the case volume won't be the same. I'd load these up for bowling pin shooting so probably somewhere in the 800-900 range using .38 Special cases. Does anyone have a load they like for these? Powders on-hand are 700X, Autocomp, and Trail Boss, but I can always grab something else.

Well, that went... interesting, lol. The vertical "stop" pins pull right out. This lets you rotate the knob all the way around and the ball detent and spring just pop out. The pin that goes in the knob, however, must be glued or something as it crushed and broke without giving a millimeter when I attempted to pull it. If you're trying to do dumb things like me, you could probably cut the pin, pull the knob, then drill out the pin hole and put in a new one (or tap it for something threaded like a set screw).

Ick, sorry, didn't realize that photo would be gigantic.

Hey all, Has anyone ever taken one of these guys apart? I want to try modifying the knob and it would be easier if it wasn't still attached to the loader. Thanks!

I chuckled pretty hard at that. Maybe he meant a clip? *ducks*

Okay, awesome. Thank you! Now I need to shoot another match to drop that 20% that's still getting factored in, lol. Looks like the online calculator was WAY off on this one (they had it at a 35%, USPSA is over 50%).

I think I found the answer by poking around my previous matches on the website. The "Class Percentage" numbers on previous match classifiers are the same as the values present on my classification screen (where they show you your rank), so they must be compared against all other shooters in the division.

Howdy everyone! I'm viewing the scores of my most recent USPSA match online and I'm having some trouble with one of the categories. What does "Class Percentage" show? I'm D-ranked (working on it, I hope) and I scored a 52.28% Class Percentage on this classifier. Does that mean I'm 52.28% of D-ranked shooters (boo), or is it against all Revolver-division shooters (yay)? I've been doing this for almost a year and the scoring still messes me up sometimes...

Update! Hogue is making me a set of rubber big butts based on my hand tracing. I'll post up once I have them.

I may go that route again. I had them make me grips for my 10-7 but they're smooth. I'm trying to run the 627 fairly fast so I don't think the smooth wood will give me enough purchase - I didn't think to ask about checkering. I'm also wondering if they'll customize the rubber big butts? Time to send an email. Yeah, playing with the grooved set I had last night, my ring finger kept trying to grab above the ridge it sits below. I don't think it's worth pursuing; I'll just get something smooth.

It's funny, but I bet there is a regionality to what we do. There's a lot of 627 shooters in my group and they all shoot the same load - hell, a bunch of them reload on the same press - and so they cause more 627's to spawn (ie, me). I bet if there were predominantly 929's they too would cause more to appear.

Howdy! I'm back to grip shopping now that I've picked up a 627. Having smallish hands, grips with finger grooves never really work out (my 10-7 has smooth Hogue Big Butts). However, I was interested in the "top finger groove" version they make: My thinking is that the one groove may be enough to stabilize the grip during reloads (I reload weak-handed) and shooting without my hand feeling like it's in the wrong place due to the lower grooves. Has anyone tried these? Any thoughts? It looks like they also used to do them with a big butt. My other thought is to get rubber big butts and sand off the lower groove.

And here it is... The PC was a hair over $200 more than the Pro so I went for it. The 5" barrel should be more than enough for my bottom-feeding self for a while, I really liked the gold bead sight, and the wood stocks (surprisingly) fit my hand well. The trigger was about 10.5# from the factory and decently smooth; better than most non-PC guns I've tried but nowhere near as good as my 30-year old tuned 10-7. Sights were just a hair low but dead-on otherwise. So far it's running a Wilson Combat mainspring, trimmed 12# return spring, and Apex extended firing pin without issue. I was (politely) goaded into using it for ICORE yesterday and shot okay for my first time out with it. But, boy, the extra 2 rounds really do help.

Walked right into that one.

Well, hoping 5" is enough...

Welp, order placed. Thank you for the advice everyone! I'm starting soon, I swear! Lol.

A lot of people seem to cite the titanium cylinder as a main draw - does it make that big of a difference?

That helps! Kinda. It's mostly people slagging on the 929 and then you bought one, lol. How have you liked yours one year in? What work did you do? At the very least, I've ruled out the TRR8. So that's something!

What moon clips are you using? I know certain brands of clip like certain brands of ammo more than others. Also, what's your spring setup like?

Agreed. Thank you!

I've decided the time is right to pick up an 8-shooter for ICORE/USPSA. After doing lots of research, I'm kinda more lost than ever. So I look to you, fellow spinny-gun shooters, for help. Here are the considerations: 8 shot (duh) Able to be tuned for competition while still firing factory Federal ammo as I'm not reloading yet Eventually able to be tuned super-light once I start reloading The problem is, I think everything I'm looking at will fit the bill. All the threads I've turned up while searching here and on the S&W boards yield opinions on these guns in isolation but few-to-none are straight up comparisons. So, here are the options! S&W 627 Pro Series: This is the least-expensive option. It's obviously a proven platform that can be worked over to make it a great shooter (as many have done it) but there's nothing longer than a 5" barrel right now and I might spend so much tuning it that I should just buy a PC gun. S&W 929 Performance Center: This is the dark horse. I know some people run these, and run these well, but I don't know how well it would do shooting factory ammo as it seems like everyone is feeding them custom hand-loads. It'd be nice if it could work, though, as 9mm is so cheap and readily available. These seem to have the worst triggers from the factory (including the ones I've handled) so there's probably considerable cost there. S&W 627 Performance Center: Again, the 627 is tried and true. Is it worth the $200-$300 more for a PC gun and the 5" barrel, though? It leaves less money for tuning after the fact but maybe it would need less. S&W 327 TRR8 Performance Center: Okay, so not gonna lie - I love how this gun looks. I also own a Rhino, so there you go, lol. Anyhow, this is the most expensive option, but the people who run these seem to think that they're amazing shooters right out of the box. If I could just throw in the Apex firing pin and some springs it may net out to mot much more than the other options. The scandium frame makes me a little nervous even though it'll only see .38 Special. So there it is. Any and all help appreciated!