Griz

This is another pet peeve of mine... Where are the rulings posted? If you are not on a first name basis with Tom or one of the top shooters, I don't think you have access to "insider" info and rule clarifications and could be in for surprises when you get to the Cup and discover that they don't follow the published rules in Columbia.

My only major complaint is the SA trigger pull weight on revolvers. I have a stock 629 that won't make 3.5 lbs and I bought a NIB 686+ this year that was just under 3.5 lbs. It's not a huge deal since a few seconds with a file can totally remove the SA notch and if they got cute and said it must have a SA mode, more careful file work could change the SA notch into a hook so that the SA trigger could lift test weight plus the referee. It's just really sloppy to require gunsmith work to comply with "production class" rules. A minor annoyance is that while the rules appear to be tailored for Glock (3.5lb trigger, 5.35" barrel), Glocks are technically illegal since they do not have a double action mode. (If you claim they do, lets see you snap the firing pin twice without recocking the hammer by pulling the slide back).

If you want to stick to the spirit of the rules, then shoot a Glock 34. The literal rules don't work very well for many other guns, but most non-Glocks can comply with them, though some may need a little filing to get there.

Not likely. Part of the "charm" of the Bianchi Cup is that the rules are like a box of chocolates

At this year's VA state and regional NRA AP matches, I showed up a day early, got in a good practice session with my open gun then got a solid nights rest on Friday night. I turned in a mediocre performance in the regional match on Saturday. I drank too much that night, slept poorly and shot the state on Sunday tired and mildly hungover with no practice on my metallic gun... Shot way up into the next class and set 2 national records....

For some reason, I really love playing with rimfires so this is great news! Is any more information available about the courses of fire?

Prone pad in Metallic is a big help too IMO.

Also, the brass jangling around in the case feeder is so damned loud that you know you are running low when you can hear yourself think.... I've been meaning to make a silencer for the casefeeder, maybe a box lined with dynamat or some other foam.

How do multiple gun entries work at the Bianchi Cup? The entry forms last year seemed to be geared towards one gun, but there was a "multi-gun aggregate" that was open and metallic for no extra cost as far as I could tell once I got there. Can you do other combination? Do you compete in each gun's category (say Open Master and Metallic Expert) or just in the aggregate category?

I also run the same loads in my other guns and get great accuracy. l never clean the barrels other than snaking them occasionally. When I first got this gun, I fired a few groups, was unhappy with the accuracy and checked it with the "Match" range rod and it passed through the barrel with the cylinder open, but wouldn't enter the cylinder with it closed and cocked (the Service one would). That's what prompted this thread... I have since fired another 50 rounds or so and now the Match range rod won't pass through the barrel at all, that's why I think it has to be fouling (perhaps in addition to a constriction which probably caused the rapid fouling). I had originally intended to rebarrel this gun and I'm starting to come back around to that plan. It will have to be my 2011 Cup gun if I do that.

Other than whatever they used at the factory, the only bullets this barrel has ever seen are 125gr Zero JHPs, and only about 100 of them total. The fouling that stops the range rod now is copper fouling judging by the blue sludge coming out on my patches.

I greatly appreciate their expertise and advice... I also have a couple of stickshifts and a couple of Carmonized revolvers Not impossible, but it is a brand new revolver, so it would have to have come from S&W that way. The only work on it has been a trigger job and I had the cylinder cut for moons (did this before test firing it... smart...) I sat down last night to determine exactly which way the cylinder is out of alignment and discovered that I had some fouling in the throat that stopped the range rod before it could reach the cylinder... I didn't expect that since I've fired only 50 rounds or so since I originally checked it with the range rod. I noticed when I was cleaning it with a jag and patch that the bore feels a little tighter in the area where it threads into the frame... I wonder if that is just the fouling or if S&W over-torqued the barrel.

Guess what game I'm shooting I need at least 3"@50 yards, ideally much less. I'm using a 627PC in open class right now that will do that, and I have an old 8-3/8" 686 with metallic sights that will do it. I'm trying to move down to a L-frame for my open gun, but the new 686+ that I bought for the purpose can only do about 6"@50... This is the one that won't pass the Match range rod. No idea if fixing that will fix the accuracy problem but it's the first thing I see to attack.

I adjust mine by folding up a piece of paper and stuffing it under the piece that the primer punch contacts. I shoot revolvers that absolutely will not set off a primer that isn't fully seated and have not had any problems (other than running out of Federal primers and trying to use CCI).

Since the timing seemed OK, I just assumed that it was out of alignment up and down, not side to side! I didn't even bother to figure out if it was high or low because I didn't have a clue what could be done about it. Thanks for opening my eyes and re-teaching me the old lesson about "assumptions".

I have a set of "range rods" from Brownells for checking barrel to cylinder alignment. The "Match" rod passes smoothly into the cylinder on most of my guns, but I have one 686 that will only pass the "Service" rod. The Match rod clunks into the edge of the cylinder and won't go in. I also don't get the accuracy I'd like out of this gun. How do you adjust the barrel to cylinder alignment? I have Kuhnhausen's manuals, but he only mentions checking it, doesn't say anything about fixing it.

Have you ever shot the Bianchi Cup? "No" = 1st time shooter.

Kevin Thanks. Brian already started pouring fuel on the fire. His 686 is at my house at the moment Bob, I think you picked the wrong one... Mine only came with speedloaders and a holster. Kevin's 686 comes with a horse blanket and a set of spurs!

Don't feel too secure, you can still roll the gun out "backwards". I left my cell phone in my pocket once, when I bent over to get something out of my bag, the cell phone pushed the barrel forward, which cased the gun to cam out of the SpeedSec backwards.

I don't care what the rule is, all I care about is that it is clear and in writing so that we know what the rules are before going to the considerable expense of participating in the Bianchi Cup. If it is a safety issue, then surely the rules committee addressed it and I have no reason to bitch. One of the fundamental problems with NRA AP is how difficult it is to find information about it. Unwritten rules only exacerbate that problem.

I have a big problem with unwritten rules. They need to either put it in the rule book or not. Unwritten rules that you find out about right before the big match are extremely unprofessional and only serve to dampen enthusiasim. Why play a game with rules that can change on one person's whim when there are plenty of other games with clear rules? This barricade issue was brought up with Tom for the rules committee to consider. I assume that they considered it and we can take the latest revision of the rule book to be the authority on the issue, no creative "interpretation" required. I'm bringing my pitchfork and torch to Columbia though just in case. Alan550 also brought up a list of inconsistant rules. I certainly hope those were addressed as well.... I set 2 records in Bluefield this year.

So the metallic/production barricade rule is still "the gun may not touch the barricade" and has not been changed to "the competitor may not grasp the barricade"?

Nothing beats moonclips For bottomfeeders, I found it too tedious to mark each one individually, so I just ripped the guts out of a marker, swirled it around in a big box of brass and called it good.

I have watched a lot of revolver shooters as I try to learn something and I have yet to see a High Master shoot one single action... I call that a clue I did try cocking it at 50 yards and found that after shooting the rest of the course of fire double action, trying to shoot one position with a different trigger pull was a disaster.