aerosigns

Mike, I am sending my REVOLVER entry form in for April WI shoot today. My son is still figuring if he working or off that weekend. If off he plans to also attend with his REVOLVER. I think that I am going to request shooting on Sunday so that if I have to work on Saturday, I can drive up after work. If I get in early enough on Saturday, I plan to drive out to the range and watch/help/meet everyone. How about yourself? I will be putting my August information in soon. Perhaps the WI guys should rename their shoot the WI Cylinder Shoot !!! : Jim

OKTX, I have a 6" 6 shot 686, and I just purchased a 5" 625. If you just want to have fun shooting at the occasional match or tin can, you can't ask for a better gun than the 686. I have had mine for almost 20 years now. It loves me and I love it. The 686 feels good, looks good, shoots fantastic. Easy to find accessories and holsters at reasonable prices. The 625 I just bought because I feel it will be more competetive in USPSA. I also didn't want to spend the money to have my 686 cut for full moons and still be shooting minor. One thing about the 625 that I have quickly found. HOLSTERS. I can get a holster for a 4 inch L or N frame for $20. The cheapest one I have found for the 5 inch is $60. In the end you just have to be sure what you want to do with it, and decide if you feel like your having a good time when you shoot it. If in doubt buy them both. Good Luck, Jim

Hopalong, Tell me more about this Black Majik Spring Kit. Who carries it and how much fitting does it take to install? I have already ordered J. Miculeks video on trigger jobs. I am an AR-15 armorer so I just need to learn a new trick or two. I was scheduled to go to the S&W armorers school this month, but got pushed back due to work load. Dang it. But when I do get to go, they told me that I can bring along one S&W gun with me to work on while I am in school. Also, I am trying to find a holster that will fit my 5" barrel. Other than CR speed & Blade-tec that's all I can find. Thanks, Jim

Thanks guys. Now I have been shooting for some time now, and agree with everything your saying about practice. And yes I am planning / hoping to go to the Nationals also. But I am looking for more of an order to accomplish gunsmithing items. I am looking to people who already have the 625 for this purpose (USPSA). I am talking in general for the model, And not necessarily based on my gun. Did you get more from chamfering the cylinder, or polishing the cylinder? Changing the front sight to gold dot or F/O, and was that more important than changing the grip, or chamfering the cylinder? That kind of thing. Maybe someone has had some work done, and then realized that they shouldn't have done some items ala carte, when it would have been included when they had other work done. Hopefully this explains my line of question. Jim

I just bought a S&W Model 625 w/ 5" barrel. If all goes well I plan shoot this gun throughout the year, and to take it to the Area 5 match in August. I know what things there are to modify or improve on. However, others have more experience with this particular model, and which modifications give you more bang for your buck. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) If you had to do it on a budget and over time, what would you do in what order. The idea is to come up with a logical progession that constantly improves the weapon, without duplicating efforts. I don't mind being the pointy end of the spear on this one. I know that if I am wondering, there are probably others with the same question. Thanks to everyone. Jim Model_625.BMP

Cep, As a Range Master I can tell you these guys have really given you some of the best tips. Dry fire a lot, use dummy rounds inserted randomly, fire a lighter gun for awhile airsoft, or .22, just practice a lot. One area that I have not seen covered is hearing protection. I have had some students flinch because they were afraid and jumping from the noise. The best answer I have for that is to wear double hearing protection. Wear a pair of the inexpensive foam earplugs in your ears. Then over that wear the best Ear Muffs you can get for noise reduction. I have seen this really improve some shooters with a pronounced flinch. A couple of small things that have helped others, without having seen you shoot: You may be over gripping. Are you trying to crush the gun? Try gripping the gun with the middle, ring and little fingers of both hands. Relax the index finger on both hands. While one side of your brain is gripping with the 'bottom' three fingers, use the other half of your brain to slowly squeeze the trigger. Sometimes while gripping like this place your strong hand trigger finger on the trigger. Then place your weak hand trigger finger on the end of your strong fingernail. Then slowly squeeze the trigger with both fingers 50-50. When you become more experienced and gain confidence the flinch should diminish until gone for good. I hope this helps. Good luck and keep practicing. Jim

For those that care; I use my range bag almost everyday. I am the Senior Rangemaster at a Nuclear Facility. Things I always have packed in a small bag. A small hand towel - wipes sweat, covers gun from sun or rain, wipes rain, gun rest, neck cover, elbow or knee pad, gun disassembly mat, etc., etc. Sunblock Boonie hat - can be rolled up and used on days I forget my other hat Earmuffs Earplugs - several pair in small bags Small pair of 7 power binoculars Small roll of toilet paper - lense cleaner, hankerchief, and the obvious Plastic mechanical pencil Small notebook for making notes, logging score, getting phone numbers Small cheap calculator - to check the RO's math Shooting glasses in a couple of colors - clear, yellow, green, brown the day can change. A pair of spare belt keepers - you never know what is going to come loose on race day. Toothpicks - I call them hillbilly breathright strips. Keeps me from holding my breath. Pair of mechanics gloves - Sometimes you have to do a little repair work you weren't planning on. Scoring overlays and plugs Small screwdriver - sight adjustments, tightening main springs, grips, etc. Toothbrush - cleaning crud out of gun, cleaning teeth if phone number is acquired. PopTarts - come in foil pouch, stays good for weeks, never know when munchies will hit, and the closest food is hours and miles away. Hope this helps someone. Jim

Just a quick sidebar. I guess I should clarify. My son is 25. So he will be paying full boat on his own. Mike C. - we were laughing after seeing his pictures in Front Sight. He looks to be in fine form. What we thought was funny is I have pictures of my son at that age shooting in matches, and they look identical. My son turned out well, considering the shady characters he has grown up around on the range. He started shooting Illinois Police Association combat & bullseye matches with me when he was 13. When he was 14 we placed in the top three as a team every match we shot that year. I really think the shooting sports foster a positive mental attitude in young people. Maybe one of these days we will all meet, and my son can tell your son to run while he still can. Jim

Hello, I plan to attend from the Great State of Illinois. My son might also be attending, if he can get off work. After to talking with M. Carmoney I think I will be bringing my revolver along. (Just in case the History Channel is doing a documentary.) Can anyone tell what the hardship will be in getting a spot for this shoot? I have been talking with others about the Nats, but not this shoot. What did the entry fee run for 2005? Any locals recommend the best area to look for hotels? Any areas to avoid? Looking forward to August, Jim

Excellent tip. Thanks.

Just talked to the revolver guy at Clark Custom. He said that cutting my 686 6 shot cylinder might take 2-6 weeks. They usually wait until they get a few cylinders to do, so they can make one set up. The person I talked to also recommended having the cylinder chamfered and polishing the cylinder. He felt that I would get a lot from that. He said if I didn't think the chamfer was enough, I could send it back and they would do more. "Some of them boys hawg 'em out till they kinda 'waller' in there." Sounds like a definite to do item. Jim Carr

Luke, Would you say that your reloads are faster with the moons, instead of comp III's? Did you have your cylinder polished and chamfered also? Overall, I would imagine your happy with the switch? Thanks for the reply. Jim

Thanks Dave, I have a 6 shot 686, but the information still applies. I really wondered how much the moons flop around our if they stay pretty rigid when loading. The time delay is also important. To not have my revolver for 6 months would be real bad. It would be real tough to go all summer without shooting it, and then try to go to the Nats. Thanks again. Jim Carr

Questions if anyone is still following this thread. Considering having Clark Custom convert my 686 to full moon. How much did converting to a full moon clip speed up your reloads over the use of speedloaders? How much did the chamfering and polishing of the cylinder improve reloads? If you used Clark what was the turn around time on your equipment? Thanks, Jim

Does anyone have any experience with converting 686's to full moon. I have seen several sights, including Clark who do the conversion. Allows you to single rounds, still use speedloaders, and use full moon clips. One sight talked about that you had to 'wiggle' the rounds to go in. I have that already. Does anyone have real experience with them though. Also, are there any other roto-shooters that shoot .38 spl for USPSA. I find that some of the Pepper-poppers won't go down unless I head shoot them. I have to believe that I have as much knock down power as a 9mm. Thanks Jim

My son are talking about it. I am leaning heavily towards shooting my revolver for the Nationals. He only shoots revolver. We are just wondering how we will compete against 'Full Moon' shooters. Both of us have L Frames. He has a 4" 6 shot 686. I have a 6" 6 shot 686. One reason is that I have carried that gun on duty when I was a cop, and competed with it for 19 years now. I recently shot a match with my 1911, and then reshot with my 686 (I like guns with numbers). I was 22 seconds faster overall with my 686. So much for paying a lot of money to go fast with the 1911. Can anyone recommend a GOOD gunsmith to do some mods on 686's.

Doug, Where are you located? Is your range Indoors, Outdoors? Jim

OK, the info for when the Rev / 10 Nats is really posted. It says that the Waiting list is May 1, and the Slot Deadline is May 12. So is there anyone with experience who can tell me when I can or should send in for the waiting list? I have heard some people talk about sending in their waiting list info by FedEx overnight. I guess you have to game this as much as some shoots? Does it matter about class. If possible I would like to go for both L-10 and Rev. But I will go with what gets me in.

My son and I would both attend, as long as it doesn't conflict with any major USPSA matches in the same area. (Nats, Area 5, Single Stack Classic) We are located just North of the Quad Cities. If any of the stages were USPSA Classifiers that would help to double dip on the shoot. I think most of the ideas you had here sound good. 6 shooters should not get disadvantaged. I also like the idea of something extra for non-full moon shooters. I will follow the thread if you come up with anything. Jim Carr

Hi Kim, First - Thanks for the work that you do on this. I'm sure the pay isn't enough to retire on. Second - My whole goal this year is to try and get to the Nationals. I don't have a club closer to me than 90 miles. I live in the Quad Cities (you might know where that is if you live in I-away) and there isn't a club in the area. Even if I joined one of the clubs I travel to, I know that they aren't going to give one of their slots to me, instead of a regular local member. My only hope is the waiting list. I am planning on going to the A-5 match in Wisconsin, but that is probably only going to be a few weeks before the Nats. Kind of hard to plan on that option. I shoot both Revolver and L-10. Is it possible to shoot in more than one class at the Nationals? Am I better off choosing one or the other? Should I get on the waiting list for both classes and see if either one is lucky? There isn't a lot of guidance in this area on the USPSA website. Thanks for any help. Jim

I checked on the layout, and it looks the same. As shown the targets would only be 4 foot in front of the shooter, and 12 foot to the sides. As it is shown, that even seems to come VERY close to 180. The RO would have to be pretty snappy. This will be an indoor range, and I figure that puts you firing directly at the side walls. The drawing doesn't designate any foul lines. So I must assume that we will go as you said. Did you stay seated or stand? I will be shooting both L-10 and Revolver. I find in practice the L-10 doesn't matter, but the Revolver is a little easier to reload standing. If you don't know what a Revolver is, watch the History Channel. They show them there sometimes. For now in my practice though I will assume that the shooter is able to stand still and shoot. Thanks again for the quick answer

Okay, I will play on this one, if anyone is still following the thread. Please tell me exactly how you shot this one. If I have to shoot through the port, my thought was to go to the left hand side kneeling. Then rotate right to left through the targets. I haven't seen or shot this one, and I have it coming up as a classifier in Jan. Thanks.

I have a question for everyone about CM 03-16. How did you run the course. I have this one coming up in January, and am concerned about the outside targets. They seem very flat to the shooter and requiring a lot of lateral movement. I am fairly new at this game, and this is my first time with a seated obstacle. I am shooting this in L-10 and Revolver. Thanks.