where to start. need advice.

[WidowsSon683]

Major or minor. If minor should I go 627 or 929? Should I buy stock or try to get one already worked over. Who's a reputable company for gear?

[alecmc]

Minor is the ticket these days.

Can't go wrong with a 627, 929s are still hard to come by and have their quirks.

Though depending on barrel length, you might make your decision to wait on one or the other.

Have it worked over, trigger job, chamfered cylinder charge holes and some sights.

Pick yourself up some quality herthco moonclips and a 4 or 5 post holder from www.4wheelguns.com

Edited October 28, 2014 by alecmc

[thermobollocks]

A 627 will get you pretty far without having to dive into unobtanium 9mm territory, though the 9mm has plenty of advantages. Hearthco for moons (no question), Blade-Tech, DAA, or CR Speed for holsters, and for a moon rack, I have a GSI and know folks who use the Johnson. Both are excellent. I've not used the North Mountain, but they seem popular as well.

As for ammo, Short Colt is a bunch of fun, and with some practice bog standard .38's fine to learn, as well as for practice sessions where you don't care about reloads. A couple big things, when you start with Short Colt and 9mm data, most 9mm books do not account for a cylinder gap -- why would they? If you've got an abundance of time and want to be the coolest kid on the range, you can cut 38 special or long colt brass to about 9x23/.38 Super length as well, which has some advantages involving long/heavy bullets and powder capacity. Always remember, too, that you'll have to feed your ammo into the cylinder with your hand, so a smooth round nose is a must.

The N-frames benefit significantly from a simple spring swap, and I'd have the chambers chamfered and the hammer bobbed before worrying about slicking up the guts, though I'm pretty sure you can send one in to Randy Lee at Apex for the entire package, and unless you've got a local smith, you'd have to pay twice for shipping.

One small thing that can be overlooked in revolvers: Grips. You have WAY more choices than with autos, and if you're like me you'll probably have five sets by the time you find one that's perfect for you. Glock, you get what you get, M&Ps you have S/M/L, but with the N-frames, you get open backstrap or closed depending on hand size/trigger reach, finger grooves or no for your finger size/grip style, wood, rubber, or other, you get the idea.

Lastly, the BMT mooner has made my life so much easier on match days. It's 80 bucks, which seems silly for something not strictly necessary, but think of it like using a magazine loader for 20-round Limited mags.

[varminter22]

Here's a vote for the James Austin Moon Clip Server.