Sanzo

ugh. maybe I should have wiped the gun down before I posted those.

Grip Width 1.210" at it's widest (right at the screw hole) Grip Depth (at the base) 3.320"

Morning all The grips have held up very well, I have at least 10K rounds through my 929 and 4-5K each with my TRR8, and 986, I use them on all my guns except my 44s (and for rooster, I use pachmayr diamond pro on those) in regards to the screw, I never had any issues with mine, except one had a lower locking pin hole that was too tight and some genius thought it would be a good idea to put a screw driver through the male end of the screw hole to "knock" the two panels apart. this dislodged the nut. I pushed it back in and added a little gorilla glue and never was a problem again. (also never tried taking the grips apart that way again either. #1 the grips are cut very close to the actual frame dimensions. they fit nice and snug. #2 there are two 'locking' pins one where at the base of the revolver frame using the existing pin from smith, and one up near the trigger guard which just keeps the two panels locked up. #3 there is a third 'guide' pin that sits just at the top of the cut out in the grip of the gun. this pin is movable and you set it for the correct hole to mate up cleanly to your gun. one other cool benefit is if you do the round 2 square conversion grips, the overall size is big enough that you can remove a little material from the inside of the grip and it will easily fit your square but grips as well. use this on my m25 and my m15 Downside - while they are comfortable to shoot minor loads with, they get uncomfortable quickly for major loads. I wouldn't want to spend a full match shooting 165 pf loads through one, but for a 100 round range trip. no biggie. I'll take a couple of pictures later and post them up. must say I'm a big fan.

I know I tend to be the weird one here. At the mesquite match I was one of two folks not using hogue grips. But take a second to check out VZ grips. I use their alien or their tactical diamond texture and it feels really good in the hand. Doesnt absorb as much recoil as a rubber grip, but it distributes it well and gives you a very nice grip texture for week hand reloads.

My rig is a speed-beez (Comp-tac) for my revolver holster. I tried double alpha holster, but it was picky about which gun I used, and some holstered "safer" than others. Nothing says confidence like being unable holster the gun after a stage while people look at you like you are nots. I use Double Alpha moonclip holders... does create a few issues #1 6 vs 8 specific. I have two belts, one for my 6 shooters, and one for my 8 #2 Length specific. the 8 shot, will hold 9mm, 38 shorts through Specials, the 6 shot will hold .45acp, 44 russian, and 10 mm, it won't hold 44 specials #3 Cost is more, especially if you setup two belts. #4 Different moons have different carbon content making them more magnetic. Blue steel moons are held A LOT firmer than stainless (I prefer stainless) #5 if you have dunlap syndrom (I'm recovering from this) they can be a little close to the body. I get around this by mounting them left of my navel and working around to the left (I load weak handed) That being said. I'm very happy with them, they hold the moons firmly, easy to load during a "all moons on the barrel" stage. holds the moonclips in the same position, so when you reach down, you know you are going to index the moonclips in the same way every time. I have tried the speed beez rack and the north mountain. but I'll stick with the Double Alpha

you asked roger what his load was? he used those a lot for bowling pins

Is it wrong that I think the bottom one is damn sexy?

I've reloaded 38 short on my 1050 and havent had many issues with it. Station 1 38 special size die Station 2 Expander F (9mm) it doesnt do much, but the D 38 size expander doesnt contact the short case Station 3 Priming! Station 4 Dillon universal pistol die Station 5 Bullet feeder Station 6 9mm bullet seating die (dillon) Station 7 9mm taper crimp die (dillon) I've used the short colt dies from lee and they work great, but the 9mm seating and crimping worked just as well and seemed to run smoother in my press I've switched to my 929 almost exclusively, but was playing with 38 mid colts for awhile (same setup as above) and was very happy with those. I've been shooting USPSA for 3 years now and revolver 'almost' exclusively for 2 of those years. Everyone has their own tricks and things that work well for them. Try them! but don't re-invent the wheel(gun) if you don't need to. I've spent hours and hours, chopping up 38 special brass to every possible length to try some hair-brained idea I've had to make myself faster or better. I've tried so many different guns, calibers, rigs, moonclips, case sizes, case brands, projectile weights, powders, praying to the god of wheelguns, and grips (huge problem for me). Nothing beats spending some time on the range, becoming comfortable with your gun, how it points, how the recoil feels. take a set amount of time, make a shopping list as you say above, and start there. the recipes we all use (for the most part) are on these forums. then go shoot! accuracy is your first step, speed is your second. keep walking forward alternating the two and just enjoy it. This is a game, have fun. And welcome to shooting revolver. we may not be the fastest division, but we certainly are the nicest (and have the best looking guns)

one thing I struggled with on mine is that the plate would not be completely in position as the primer started to rise. This caused a primer in every 20-30 to either crush, or get inserted off center. See attached picture. Dillon had me make two adjustments...... If your shellplate moves as the toolhead is coming down. you may want to adjust that a little bit first. (Screw is behind the powder check station on the back left side of the press) Also, make sure the primer ram is flat prior to to the downstroke. Remove the shell plate and take a look to see that the ram is flush (or slightly below flush) with the bushing around it. there is a small hex head near by to make that adjusment

I use TK .040 but have tried the .035 clips as well. I only run Sig 9mm brass in mine. picked up 1600 rounds of it from ToddKS here on the forum and another 700-800 from Cabelas. very happy with it and after probably 10 reloads, I've only had one split case. Sig Brass, Federal 100 primers, N320 or 231, and blue Bullets .358 147gr projectiles. In the Starline moons, the sig brass is quite rigid.

I use TK stainless for my 929 moons and TK Blue for 327 moonclips. There is a significant difference in the strength of the magnets. The blue clips have a higher carbon content so the magnet is stronger. highly recommend the stainless ones for the DAA moonclip holders

I’ll try not to take the underlining personal. Freaking aggies ive been going through a long list of Greif with a 625 (model of 1989) I picked up. Getting it to fire from single mode was easy. Everything else was awful. Cylinder wouldn’t rotate well, Hand was binding in the slot, and while tk moonclips worked, they only worked it the logo was facing the cylinder. Bought some Wilson combat moons and it was even worse. Couldn’t even close the cylinder. I’m really funny about my brass and have a thing for sig sauer brass in my revos. Nothing worked gave it to 357454 for a week and he brought it back Sunday with much cussing, swearing, and a “be glad I don’t charge by the hour”! It’s definitely better, but I’m worried this will be my albatross gun. I keep eyeing the 610 as it’s possible L6 replacement so it hurts me in the feels to hear both of you are having a hard time with them.

Mark, Have you tried different moonclips?

Thanks for Posting this Pat. I wonder how many of us (me especially) suffer from the "I can't afford to miss" and spend too much time lining up the perfect shot. I know when I do shoot limited that my scores are WWWAAAYYYY better, and I believe that having a near bottomless magazine helps me get around that mindset. It's certainly food for thought. I appreciate you posting your thoughts here. ** now if only my reloads were 2 seconds **

as one of 357454's 2 shooters I would say ..... probably