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AzShooter

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I've been shooting Revolvers for competition for the last 40 years and have done pretty well.  I love the feeling of shooting the revolver, the comradery and the joy of beating a few auto shooters along the way.  Recently I've suffered from a few ailments that have really put my shooting back many years.  No matter how I tried I just couldn't be competitive anymore and that was straining my enjoyment of shooting.

 

I finally decided to sell my Center fire revolvers and picked up a .22 so I could keep shooting and seeing friends at the range.  I still have my 617 for when I want to shoot the revolver again but I'm really starting to enjoy Steel Challenge matches with my Ruger 22/45 Lite.  

 

No more having to load moon clips before the match and emptying them afterwards.  No more loading ( although I enjoyed it  for years )  I sold the same guy my gun, my Dillon 650 and all my reloading equipment.  Now, I just go on the internet when I need ammo and get my favorite variety of .22s.

 

It's only been 3 months with the auto but I really enjoy it.  My gun functions very well and I haven't had a malfunction in the past two matches.  My times are improving and I'm more motivated to practice.

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Today was our club's Steel Challenge  Match and it was a great day for me. I bested my time by 25 seconds and improved on 6 of the stages.  Still have to work on Outer Limits and Pendulum. I still need work on Smoke and Hope.  I tried a different order and kept missing target two.  I'll have to go back to my old plan of attack. 

I'm getting my confidence back and willing to try to go faster.   After watching one of TGO's videos about not worrying about aiming and just holding the gun tight and pull the trigger straight back,  I've been able to tighten up my shots.  Funny, I learned this from Rob Leatham years ago at one of his classes. 

Met some new people from the web at the match and saw some old friends I haven't seen in 10 years.  Great bunch of guys and gals.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been shooting CCI Mini Mags and Blazers because both work real well in my Mark IV 22/45 LIte.  They are accurate and very reliable.  The  Blazers are good but sure do smoke a lot.  I can really tell the compensator is working when I use them.

 

Today I wanted to test  some Aquila Standard Velocity (SV)  and CCI SV ammo.  In the past I was getting a number of failure to eject because  there wasn't enough power in the cartridges to force the bolt back all the way.  I installed a Volquartsen recoil spring kit with the lightest spring in the gun today and surprise, surprise, all the SV ammo worked great.  I only had one failure to eject out of 400 rounds.

 

Groups were a little better with SV ammo.  I  still haven't decided to use it for matches because I use Mini Mags and I know they work.  All I need to do is replace the spring when I want to go to the different ammo.  Takes about 2 minutes and the switch is done.

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I have to pop up and say thanks for this post.  I have been having some issues with my 22/45 MKIII with a certain batch of ammo.  It seems to be slightly underpowdered and thought about springs like I would with my centerfire guns but didn't know these existed. I know the answer is to change ammo but I have quite a bit of it and figured if I could get a lighter spring I might be able to get it to work. So now that I know this exists I have some options.

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Tried it again today with CCI SV ammo, Aguila Standard, Wolf Match Extra and  Ely Match Pistol.   All shot  with no failures to eject or feed shooting 400 rounds.  All  I  did was put the Volquartsen  lightest spring on the Guide Rod Assembly and there are no more jams. 
 
The gun shoots a lot softer with the lighter ammo and I'm able to keep my dot on target between shots.  I know this will help with transitions for the Steel Challenge matches. 
 
Accuracy is much better with Ely Match Pistol and the Wolf Match Extra.  Fortunately I have lots of it in stock.  Thought I wasn't  going to be able to use it in the 22/45.
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  • 4 weeks later...

I think my gun had match nerves yesterday.  I've fired thousands of rounds with my new trigger setup without a hitch in practice.  At the match I had a number of failures to reset.  Seems like the set screw backed out even though I used blue Loctite on it.  After a few stages it  worked back to the proper location and no more problems.  My times really suffered in the beginning but got better on the last three stages. It was locking up no matter how far I pulled my finger off the trigger but would reset when I racked the slide.

 

Today I'm going  to clean it up and then reloctite it after using alcohol to clean it .

 

Finally hit 100 degrees at the match.  I could feel the effects of the heat by the last two stages.  I put on a Slap Towel.  You pour water on it and then put it on and the temps feel at least 20 degrees cooler.  Really helped get my core back to a good temperature.

 

Not a lot of people at the match this weekend.  Squads ranged from 8 to 3 people.  Too many or not enough. This helped slow down the match and kept  us in the sun a lot longer than necessary. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Today was a good day at the range with my Ruger Mark IV 22/45 and my S&W 617. 

 

Two weeks ago I noticed that my compensator was filled with lead and I had to clean it.  I tried “Wipe Out” that I got from Brownells to clean the comp.  It worked like a charm.  After about an hour of sitting I could scrape all the lead out.  

 

I thought this would help my groups but to my surprise they went from 3 inches at 25 yards  to 10 inches.  To see what was wrong I determined I had to take my compensator off and check the muzzle.  It was caked with the Wipe Out.

 

I cleaned it up using my MPro-7 and a brass brush.  Now the muzzle is squeaky clean.  I also decided to recut the crown to 11 degrees and see if that would help the groups.

 

Today I started at 25 yards with Eley Pistol Match and saw a big difference.  What would only group 3 inches before now gave me a great group 1 inch in  diameter.  I was shooting from a heavy bag rest which was very steady.

 

CCI Mini Mags and Standard Velocity also produce good groups of 1.5 inches each.

 

The 617 needed a little work. I had to increase my trigger pull  from just under 7 lbs double action to just under 8 lbs to get 100 per cent reliability.  Using Federal HV and Federal Auto Match The gun functioned flawlessly through 100 rounds of each.  Groups were also nice at 1 ½ inches at 25 yards from the same heavy bag rest. 

 

The 617 still would skip a round or two out of 100 using CCI MM or SV ammo.  Fortunately I have a good supply of Federal Ammo for the 617.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Quote

 

Well, it looks like I'm going to be without my Ruger Mark IV for a little bit because of the recall.  My gun doesn't show the effect of not putting on the safety all the way.  I guess people that don't understand simple safety rules need lawyers to make their guns function  correctly.

 

In the interim I'll be shooting my S&W 617 for Steel Challenge Matches.  I've had a lot of work done to it, tuning and setting it up with an Apex Hammer for a lighter trigger pull.  It now sits at just over 7 lbs.  I also had the chambers reamed so that ammo doesn't get stuck when reloading.  When Apex starts accepting revolver work I'll send it to them for their magic.  Glad that they are now only a few miles away.

 

My trigger is smooth but I've had a difficult time finding ammo that would be 100% reliable.  Things that work perfect in my Mark IV only give me about  90 % reliability in the 617 so the hunt of testing ammo went on.

 

Fortunately I've now found two brands of ammo that work.  They have 100 % ignition and are clean enough that I don't have to scrub the cylinders between each stage.  Federal Gold Match HV and Federal AutoMatch fit the bill.  I have lots of CCI Mini Mags that are great in the Ruger but don't all fire in the Smith.  Wish they would have forked out.  I have a case of them.

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5 hours ago, AzShooter said:

  I guess people that don't understand simple safety rules need lawyers to make their guns function  correctly.

 

 

Sadly true.  This is the "ouch, coffee hot!" generation.

And here I am sending my 1911 in to disable half the "safety" :)

 

I'm enjoying your range log, its a refreshing change 

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  • 1 month later...

Sent in the Mark IV since I ended up with a new problem.   The 22/45 lite has a very light barrel mounted inside the receiver.   The barrel came loose while cleaning it with my bronze brush and the breach came out.  This caused a number of failure to extracts and I ended up having to rack the slide  during the last match about 6 times.  Ruger gave me an RA number and Fed Ex label to send it back on their dime.  I brought it to my LGS and had them ship it for me.  Easier than my going to Fed Ex facility.

 

Since I had upgraded the trigger with a Volquartsen Trigger KIt, I had to remove those parts before sending it in.  Customer Service told me I could send it in with the parts in a plastic bag so that I wouldn't have to reassemble it.  They have to take it apart anyway for the recall do to the safety not working properly.  All Mark IVs have been recalled.

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  • 3 months later...

I put 1000 rounds a week through my Ruger Mark IV 22/45 lite this month trying to improve on my SCSA scores.  It's all been on paper because I have no access to steel except during the match.  I also managed to get a little dry fire practice in and I think I own this match.  It's been a long year coming back.  I started at about 300 seconds and have shot in the 170s the last two matches.  I'm 5 % away from making B class.  For me  that's a big improvement.  Between my Parkinsons and being in a wheelchair I think I've had a vast amount of improvement.  Sunday I'm going to improve my 5 - to- Go stage by at least 8 seconds.   I've been averaging in the high 6's and with my new practice for first shot on target and transitions I know I'll take that much off.  

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I was prepared mentally for a great match. Had some super times for me but ended up not doing well do to a lot of jams.  I  had two magazines fail on me.   Unfortunately I tried each one more then once before I used my backups.  The backups worked fine and my scores on the remaining stages improved.  Today I am going to clean the offending magazines and oil them but I'm  going to use all my backups for the next month to see how they work.  Fortunately I have14 mags for my Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite.

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  • 1 month later...

Finally got my backup gun ready.  It's a Ruger Mark III Hunter with a Tactical Solutions 5.5 inch barrel, Tandemkross internal parts and TK Game Changer Pro Comp, TK Victory Trigger and Halo Bolt Racker.

 

It shoots everything I try in it including Eley Match and Wolf MT.  Surprisingly it like CCI Blazer very well equaling Mini MaGS.

 

 

Tandemized Mark III.jpg

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I've been shooting it for the past two weeks with no problems.  Temperatures have been in the 60s and 70s and the gun was flawless.
Sunday we had our Steel Challenge Match and I was anxious to shoot for the first time with this build.  Heck, it's been working so well with over 2000 rounds through it without a jam.  It became a Jam-O-Matic Sunday.  Every stage and almost every magazine.
I was shooting the the Revolver Squad and got nothing but comments that I should have brought my 617.  The revos just don't seem to jam.
Today I went to the local indoor range to test the gun and my magazines.  No problems.  Temps were again in the 70s and it was nice inside. 
I think I need to find a new oil for cold weather, like we are going to have any more cold weather here this year, Ha Ha Ha.  ( It's Phoenix BTW.
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Sorry to hear about your match problems...  that can sure be disappointing.

 

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Ultima-Lube-II-Lite-Oil-4-oz-Bottle/productinfo/621-4/

 

I shoot two Ruger .22 pistols in Steel Challenge and find that they like a lot of oil, but they like a thin oil...  I use Wilson Combat Ultima-Lube II Lite oils...  The thinnest (linked above) for my .22 Rugers and the heaviest for my center fire pistols...

 

I always lube the bolt during cleaning and before I start a Steel Challenge match...

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We had the same weather conditions today so I was anxious to test the gun out. I took all of my magazines and shot each one to see if anything would jam. I had one magazine that had three jams. Another one had one jam. All of the rest (8) ram flawlessly.

I even ran 50 rounds of Wolf MT and they all worked. Love shooting that SV Target ammo. There is no kick compared to the massive recoil of the Blazer .22s (LOL) .

The major difference is I took my time and really cleaned the gun. I noticed I had a lot of buildup under the extractor and got in there with a pick a baby whipes and got all the carbon out. I lubed the gun with Rem Oil today and everything worked.

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15 minutes ago, AzShooter said:

We had the same weather conditions today so I was anxious to test the gun out. I took all of my magazines and shot each one to see if anything would jam. I had one magazine that had three jams. Another one had one jam. All of the rest (8) ram flawlessly.

I even ran 50 rounds of Wolf MT and they all worked. Love shooting that SV Target ammo. There is no kick compared to the massive recoil of the Blazer .22s (LOL) .

The major difference is I took my time and really cleaned the gun. I noticed I had a lot of buildup under the extractor and got in there with a pick a baby whipes and got all the carbon out. I lubed the gun with Rem Oil today and everything worked.

I was wondering.if you have done the recommended magazine modifications by TandemKross? My 22/45 does not like to strip a round out of the mag if the bolt is closed, was wondering if the mods fix that.

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Yes, I tuned all my magazines as per Tandemkross. It helped with stripping the first round from the magazine.  I tested by shooting two rounds from a magazine and then loading a new one.  It worked.

 

I was having the same problem as you and wanted to clear it up today.  I tried everything to cause a jam but only had two magazines malfunction.  Those are going to get the new Volquartsen button on them for a slicker slide.

 

I'm also going to get a bottle scrubber so I can get into the magazine and clean them.

 

Edited by AzShooter
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Glad you got everything working...  RemOil is a lite oil...  No need to buy anything else...

 

I clean my magazines before every match...  I shoot CCI standard velocity and they buildup wax on the inside of the magazines...  I clean it off with a long Q-tip and some carbon cleaner or alcohol...

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  • 3 months later...

Temperature was just under 100 degrees today but really put me out.  I had a devil of a time shooting the last 3 stages of our Steel Challenge match.  I was overheated to the point of having Heat Stroke.  I guess I'm getting too old to go out in the heat and compete.

 

I drank 5 bottles of cold water throughout the morning and still needed to rehydrate once I got home.  Unloading the car I had to sit in the garage for about 30 minutes before I could stand back up and walk into the house.

 

I made the decision to postpone my match shooting until Sept or Oct when the weather should be better.  Indoor shooting will be my Summer practice now.

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It is already getting hot this year in Florida...  I imagine it's hotter in Arizona...  Good to drink a lot of water...  I alternate between Gatorade and water...  not sure if that helps... 

 

Glad you are taking care of yourself!

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