Setting up a 627 for USPSA, what do you guys recommend...

[mcb]

Out of curiosity what dies are you guys using to load Short and "Medium" Colt? I suspect you can use 38/357 for Long Colt given they are so close in length. Dillon does not list 38 Colt dies of any type.

[seanc]

Out of curiosity what dies are you guys using to load Short and "Medium" Colt? I suspect you can use 38/357 for Long Colt given they are so close in length. Dillon does not list 38 Colt dies of any type.

I use the dillon 38 special dies for long colts, the seater and crimper are pretty low, but still plenty of room for the lock nut to stay on top.

You can do short colts with the 38 spec dies as well, but the lock nut might need to go on the bottom instead of the top.

[pskys2]

Out of curiosity what dies are you guys using to load Short and "Medium" Colt? I suspect you can use 38/357 for Long Colt given they are so close in length. Dillon does not list 38 Colt dies of any type.

I've not tried it yet as I just now am getting set up. But you can use the following Dillon stuff 9mm Powder Drop Tube, 9mm Bullet Seating Die, 9mm Taper Crimp Die and of course the .38 Special Sizing Dies will work fine. If you want to Roll Crimp the rounds Lee makes a set with Roll Crimp Dies.

Until I decide on the crimp, I'm just going to swap in the 9mm inserts to my .357 Tool Head and go from there. Bigger issue is What Bullet and Powder mix to use!

[Ty Hamby]

I use a .38 special Dillon decap-size, 9mm seat, hybrid Lee factory crimp die. My hybrid FCD is a .38special FCD body with the taper crimp 9mm insert. This is my short and long colt setup. I do not roll crimp any of my icore ammo. Mostly because I don't use the cannelure on bullets that have them. Most all my bullets are missing cannelures.

[mcb]

Alright guys first match with the new S&W 627 happened this weekend. I declared Limited-10 Minor with the 627 since I had to use my Cup Challenge holster while waiting for my Blade-Tech to show up. I manages to win L-10 with it as a B-Class shooter against ten other B C and U classified shooters (several seniors and super seniors in there). Unfortunately I got 1st and DFL with my 625 in Revolver since all the other revolver shooters failed to show up.

The match was a good mix of arrays so I did not see any real advantage to 6 or 8 shots. That said my Hit-Factors were better with my 625 (except the classifier [4 Bill Drill] that I tanked in Revolver) but my reloads were really slow with my 627. Those big flat nose 125gr JHP did not want to go into the cylinder after the timer went beep.

None-the-less I really enjoyed shooting both at the match. At this point I am not sure 8-Minor is going to have a huge advantage over 6-major especially if stages are design to not favor one or the other with lots of 6 or 8 shot arrays. It seems if you use targets that can be engage from more than one spot you can really make a stage 6/8 shot neutral. I really had fun solving the stage for 6-shot and then saw how much different I had to solve it when I had 8-shots.

Now to go order some round nose bullets.

If your interested here is a video of me shooting the match with both guns:

[Carmoney]

At this point I am not sure 8-Minor is going to have a huge advantage over 6-major especially if stages are design to not favor one or the other with lots of 6 or 8 shot arrays. It seems if you use targets that can be engage from more than one spot you can really make a stage 6/8 shot neutral. I really had fun solving the stage for 6-shot and then saw how much different I had to solve it when I had 8-shots.

Everybody should read this section of mcb's post several times, and let it sink in.

[Guest]

I use a .38 special Dillon decap-size, 9mm seat, hybrid Lee factory crimp die. My hybrid FCD is a .38special FCD body with the taper crimp 9mm insert. This is my short and long colt setup. I do not roll crimp any of my icore ammo. Mostly because I don't use the cannelure on bullets that have them. Most all my bullets are missing cannelures.

Did you have to buy a .38 special and a 9mm FCD to disassemble and make this or were you able to just buy the taper crimp insert only? I'd like to get a .38 special FCD, but like you don't really want to run the roll crimp.

Thanks.

[Ty Hamby]

Did you have to buy a .38 special and a 9mm FCD to disassemble and make this or were you able to just buy the taper crimp insert only? I'd like to get a .38 special FCD, but like you don't really want to run the roll crimp.

Thanks.

That's just how I did it. I didn't put much thought or effort into it. Call Lee, just be sure to get it all from one spot, cause once you pay shipping separately for a $4. (.est) insert you just spent the same money and a lot of wasted time. The die cant be more than $15 bucks, just order it. You need one and consider the other one a throw away.

[Guest]

Thanks for the response. Yeah, the shipping is what gets ya! Getting a .38 special and 9mm FCD and making one is probably the easiest and cheapest. I think that Lee will make you whatever you want, but it is probably more expensive then just buying two.

I'm going to explore the .38 minimum format a little (.38 minimum? really need to get a better name for that wildcat. Maybe something like .38 Awesome ).

I discovered a forgotten box of about 1k of brand new midway brass .38 special brass from the early 90's, and it fits the moonclips I have pretty good. I figure I'll trim 60 or so down to .38 super length and do a little load development and live fire trials to see if it is worth trimming the rest. I did 8 and put them in a moon clip and they sure do spit out of the cylinder better than .38 specials.

[Wagonburner]

I too have embraced the 8 shot minor wheel gun variant,and I am really having fun.i was lucky enough to acquire 38 short brass and put the 38 size die in and followed by the 9 seat and crimp.the Berrys 9mm 124 thick plated hollow bottom bullets are .356 and have been very consistent with good groups at 17 to 20 .im using my 9mm load data with my Autocomp powder because if have a bunch.the crimp is tight to help the entry to the cylinder . I am dropping 5 grains below the 124 with a federal primer and a PF of 128, the 627 has the ridge back spring replaced as well as the short fire pin,I also removed the detent ball that was up front of the cylinder for lock up.i bought the .025 moon clips and have excellent results. Thanks USPSA for getting the 8 shot issue off the talking stage and got it in the game,I will also add 6 shot major 8 shot minor is all that is required in the USPSA Revo division, it needed fixing and they fixed it.

[ed_henry]

I bought a 327trr8 just for USPSA. Haven't shot a wheel gun in 20 years. I think after Area 8 I will shoot this for a while.

[Guest]

So, since this thread is about setting up a 627 i have a question about triggers.

I have a box stock 627pc that hasn't seen much use and was thinking of putting a spring kit into it to smooth out the trigger pull. I have looked at JM's kit, brownells, and wilson's but am not sure if anyone has any opinions on which is better. Not expecting a super slick custom trigger job, but am thinking that a spring kit might get me a little smoother DA pull. At some point I might get it worked over, but for now just looking to make it a little better.

What say ye?

[alecmc]

So, since this thread is about setting up a 627 i have a question about triggers.

I have a box stock 627pc that hasn't seen much use and was thinking of putting a spring kit into it to smooth out the trigger pull. I have looked at JM's kit, brownells, and wilson's but am not sure if anyone has any opinions on which is better. Not expecting a super slick custom trigger job, but am thinking that a spring kit might get me a little smoother DA pull. At some point I might get it worked over, but for now just looking to make it a little better.

What say ye?

I like the JM spring kit. have them in most my revolvers....and Wolff --- Not much experience with brownells or wilson springs.

[toothguy]

So, since this thread is about setting up a 627 i have a question about triggers.

I have a box stock 627pc that hasn't seen much use and was thinking of putting a spring kit into it to smooth out the trigger pull. I have looked at JM's kit, brownells, and wilson's but am not sure if anyone has any opinions on which is better. Not expecting a super slick custom trigger job, but am thinking that a spring kit might get me a little smoother DA pull. At some point I might get it worked over, but for now just looking to make it a little better.

What say ye?

I like the JM spring kit. have them in most my revolvers....and Wolff --- Not much experience with brownells or wilson springs.

I like the JM hammer spring but the return spring in the kit is a little heavy for me, I'm guessing about 14lb, so I use the 11lb Wolf return spring instead.

[practical_man]

So, since this thread is about setting up a 627 i have a question about triggers.

I have a box stock 627pc that hasn't seen much use and was thinking of putting a spring kit into it to smooth out the trigger pull. I have looked at JM's kit, brownells, and wilson's but am not sure if anyone has any opinions on which is better. Not expecting a super slick custom trigger job, but am thinking that a spring kit might get me a little smoother DA pull. At some point I might get it worked over, but for now just looking to make it a little better.

What say ye?

I like the JM spring kit. have them in most my revolvers....and Wolff --- Not much experience with brownells or wilson springs.

I like the JM hammer spring but the return spring in the kit is a little heavy for me, I'm guessing about 14lb, so I use the 11lb Wolf return spring instead.

I like the 11 or 12 pound Wolff rebound slide spring. Weight depends on what primer and whether hammer is lightened or not.

I use the factory mainspring and put more of a bend in it at both top and bottom. Works great for me.

And Toolguy''s trick of the 8-32 x 1/2 inch setsscrew to replace mainspring screw.

I wish I could afford to have warren do all my work. He knows ALL the tricks to make revos run. Someday...if I win the lottery.

-john

[Guest]

That is all good info, thanks!

I like to order from Brownells so I may get the JM kit and some different rebound springs to try. The 8-32 set screw idea is good, too. I will probably run this in a couple of steel matches first to see if I can hit anything with it, then work up to shooting it in USPSA L-10 after getting a load developed. All fun stuff!

I have a couple old revolvers (including a 625-3) that were worked over in the Bill Davis shop that was in Sacramento (closed now). The triggers are very smooth with a consistent feel and will light off winchester/tula/fed primers with no problem, but probably not as light a pull as what the revo trigger specialists are doing now. The box stock 627pc actually has a decently smooth/not gritty trigger, but it seems like the pull weight isn't consistent throughout the trigger stroke (if that makes sense). Hoping some spring tweaking will help that.

[Guest]

I finally got around to installing a Bang (Miculek) revolver spring kit my 627.

It made a huge difference and the trigger feels much, much better with a consistent pull and smooth hammer fall.

Currently it is adjusted for somewhere between 6.5 and 7.0 pounds for DA pull. I played with the rebound spring and after trying Wolff 11, 12, 13, and 14 lb springs settled on the rebound spring that came with the Bang kit. The Bang kit rebound spring seems to be only slightly stronger than the 12 pound Wolff spring. Also, I replaced the mainspring tension screw with a ½ inch 8-32 set screw (Mcmaster 99553A226). Had to shorten the set screw some so it didn’t stand proud of the grip, but it makes adjustment of the mainspring easy. Will probably make adjustments after shooting it a while, but it feels really good now and seems like a good place to start.

Next step is to do a modest hammer bobbing.

On a side note - One thing I was surprised with was the total lack of lubrication on any of the lockworks when I opened it up. I bought it used a few years ago from a casual shooter and doubt it has been opened up previously. I think that in this case just oiling the gun’s trigger works helped a lot, too.

Thanks for all the info, Guys.

[apf383]

Wow Alec... that picture is definitely worth a thousand words.

You ain't 'lying. That photo made my decision easy!