practical_man

I bought the Alchin to use with holosun 509. The Alchin mount doesn’t offset the down angle machined into the Holosun base. I had to shim the base .030 to get it to zero at 25 yards.

Toolguy is right…just run what ya got for a while. For Tyros like me, experience pays more dividends than optimized equipment. Toolguy knows of what he speaks. He’s the inventor of the Mover Sight Base you often see on Bianchi Open Guns. He’s an all around good guy too!

Glad it’s working for you. I’ve made a note of it in the event I need to replace my ancient tools from Brownells (purchased long ago and delicately cared for.) It’s been ages since I shot a PPC match. They’re great fun.

@Joe4d some have suggested Titegroup. I tried it and didn’t like it because it burns so darned hot. Literally difficult to manipulate the cylinder during a long field course. As i read the ICORE rules you can use your 7 shooter in limited or open. That’s of course a disadvantage that may or may kot matter to you. I only shoot L6 or Classic. Mostly because my 627 is a little hinky yet and I’m trying to get the ratchet smoothed out. The old 586 I shoot in ICORE is smooth as butter. Goes well with my slow as molasses technique

Ingenious. Great job and an inspiration.

@Cuz Caveat: Our 10/22s are older production. New receivers might be different. The aluminum barrel band does add stability between the barreled action and the stock. Yes, you can remove it. Probably without much trouble. If yours is a plastic stock model I wouldn’t worry a bit about removing the barrel band. Here’s what we did with wood stock carbines. Remove barrel band. Drill a 1/4” hole in back of receiver (allows cleaning from chamber to bore and provides a port for second hold down). Place a brass round head #10 wood screw inside aft end of stock so the hole in yhe receiver sit over the screw. That anchors the receiver in a second point. Lastly, glass bed the receiver and first 3 inches of barrel into the stock. It’s all easier to do than to type out.

@Joe4d I went down the road of compensator and douglass barrel. Wasted money and effort for me. Wish i would have kept the4” slab side barrel. I say spend your money on something else.

I’ve been using 231 and HP-38 for decades because it’s good enough across the calibers I shoot. Works in .38 mid range loads, 9mm, 45, etc. There is some lot to lot variance. It is dirty at low charge weights. Not what I would call massive fouling, but enough that I sometimes brush out the gunk between stages.

I don’t really know why. Both are iron sights. My theory is that I worried less about perfect alignment on the short gun.

@Squirrel45 I started shooting ICORE last year after a very long period of not competing at all. I shot a 6” L frame and a 2” K Frame. My scores were generally better with the 2” K frame. Not always, but usually. YMMV

@Steve in Allentown PA PM me. I may have what you need in my parts bin. K frame stainless frame screws. -john

@Squirrel45 Have you checked ejector rod run out? Also, is the proximal end of the crane actually square to the axis?

Bench The hammer pin had to be squared to the frame. That level maintenance is above my comfort level so I sent it out to a pro

Bench i had a similar issue. In my case the hammer stud was not completely square with the frame. That angle caused the hammer to rub on the right side of frame. Being feint of heart I had to consult a pro to make the adjustment. It runs fine now and hammer looks centered in the frame. YMMV.

First, pattern your shotgun on a pattern board. See where it’s hitting from a snap shot. Chances are you’ll need to make some minor changes to the stock to get the POI you want. Second, keep your head on the stock. You may be missing because you’re looking for the bird to break. This would put you behind and below the bird. Skeet has always been better practice for me to get on target. YMMV. There’s a gun mounted camera in the market that’s supposed to help diagnose misses. Can’t recall the name right now.

My experience bears this out. My 617 works much better after reaming. I have a seldom used 317 that might benefit from reaming too. As to ammunition, I like CCI SV, Blazer, and minimags. Generally in that order. Varies from lot to lot. I’ve had some Federal automatch that does very well and some that does poorly.

@eboggs re: springs the stock mainspring is a superb part. A little bend here and there will help tune it to your liking. rebound slide spring is balanced to match the main spring. Wolff makes a good package to try out which one you like best, varying from 11 pounds up to stock weight. Brownells and others sell them. I like the 13# rebound spring when set up for factory ammunition. as always, a little judicious polish when parts rub together is helpful to smooth things out. A lot of dry fire can accomplish the same effect.

@perttime I bought some a few years ago when VZ was all the rage. I do not like them at all. I’ve gone back to Hogue conversion grips for my N frame.

It’s a small job to mill off the front sight and install a DX-style base. That would allow you to swap front sights easily. I had this done to my 586 some years ago. It was money well spent. @Toolguy did a fine job with the work.

@Couch-Commando enjoy your new revolver. Hope to see it at the next match.

@Couch-Commando Dave offers some pretty good advice. I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand. I like blue steel and walnut too. It’s what I grew up with back in the days when all police carried a Model 19 in a leather holster. Time change. I still enjoy the older revolvers. For competition it’s hard to beat stainless guns that you can easily source repair parts. @Toolguy makes a very versatile and secure rig. I have one that I use with K, L, and N frame revolvers interchangeably. It’s the only holster I have that will accommodate tube style optics or a Wichita rib (yeah, I’m showing my age). Anyway, let me know if you want to try out the holster. I’ll happily loan it to you.

@Couch-Commando @Toolguy is the local guy to talk to about moon clips and cylinder relief for the big bores. He’s been shooting the 44s and 45s a long time in silhouette, pins, and such. I just tool the plunge into Limited 6. I listened to everyones advice and bought moon clips from TKCustom. They’re decent for 38 special mixed headstamp brass. No complaints. TK clips are head and shoulders above the Ranch Products clips and whatever S&W sends in the blue box. On barrel length. I’m a fan of the odd inch lengths. I really like a 3” K frame for convenient carry. My hunting revolver is a 5” 629. It’s more accurate than I can hold using 240 grain bullets. Long ago I owned a 5” 625. I like the way it balanced and transitioned, but I’m old and slow. That said, I shoot ICORE with 6” and 2” barrel .38 special revolvers. To sum up, I don’t think barrel length matters all that much for normal humans of average skill. Longer sight radius definitely helps with precision and making power factor with less powder. PF won’t be an issue if you stick with 44. My best advice if you’re buying another revolver is to get what the best shooters are using. Seems that most are using 627s or 629s. If I were buying a new revolver for ICORE I would get a 5 or 6 inch 627 because they’re available and I’m fairly set on 38 Special after decades of messing around with the caliber. A 629 would be good too, if you can find one. like others have said, get what you really want and shoot the heck out of it. If you rationalize any other decision you won’t be happy about it for long. Hope to see you at the next Mill Creek match.

I loved the 140grain version of the China Camp bullet. Worked great in the lever gun. Who is making them these days?

@wanttolearn I’ve had good results from the Bayou 160 round nose at moderate velocity. They group well at 25 yards. I also like the Bayou 135 Wadcutter for PPC loads where one doesn’t need to as load fast. For 50 yard accuracy I get better results with a decent JHP bullet. XTP are always good performers in my guns but pricey. Zero JHP and Precision Delta JHP have also been good, tho occasionally difficult to source .357’diameter.

Great problem solving!