Idpa Revolver Setup

[Richie]

My girlfriend wants to get into shooting revolvers in local IDPA matches next year. She has *asked* me to buy a revolver to shoot with her. ( I just hate that ) Anyways, looking to shoot in the SSR class with her, and she currently shoots a Taurus 66ss4 which has been a GREAT piece for target shooting so far. It's a 7 shot cylinder and after calling Taurus to have a 6 shot cylinder converted they very quickly told me they will not do it, nor sell the parts to do the conversion.... So now i'm looking at revolvers and wondered what were the advantages over various Smith's you see people using in SSR? I want something I can put a fiber optic on the front, to keep atleast the sight picture very close to my "bottomfeeders" . I appreciate all the help and information you guys (and girls) can offer!

-Richie

[redmist10]

686, Model 10, 586 - for SSR.

625 for ESR

Keep the Taurus for fun and home defense.

It's really a personal preference. There are a lot of six shots out there that will fit the mold.

Use the search function - there's lots of good information in here.

PS - welcome to wheelgunning!

Edited October 20, 2006 by redmist10

[hopalong]

Richie,

I'll see if I can't get Stephanie Luttrell to answer your question. She is quite proficient with a wheelgun, and started her competitive career with one in IDPA.

My suggestion would be a 686 or 586 or a nice model 10.

SAM

[Bill Nesbitt]

Hi Richie,

If you want a fiber optic front sight then you should consider a S&W with a pinned front sight. That will be the easiest to change. Probably a 686 or a 66 would be a good choice. Is the Taurus the same size as a K-Frame?

In the meantime you can use the 7 shot Taurus in IDPA but you are only allowed to load 6 shots.

Where do you shoot IDPA? There are several of us that shoot revolver in eastern Ohio and at Weirton WV. Beallsville in Ohio will be shooting on the first Sunday through the winter if you want to come over and try some of our guns.

I have a couple of model 10's that a local gunsmith dovetailed a fiber optic front sight on for me.

Always happy to have more revolver shooters.

[revchuck]

Richie - If you just GOTS to have that fiber optic front sight, that limits the revolvers you can use to adjustable sight ones, and you have to check to make sure that the front sight is pinned in, not forged as a piece of the barrel. Look for a S&W M19 or M66. Those are K frames, about the same size as the Taurus. The pins are usually polished with the rest of the gun, rather than installed after the gun is polished, so they can be really hard to see.

If you don't mind having a gunsmith work on it, you can get a fixed sight gun and have the front sight ground off and a FO dovetailed in. I did that with a tritium sight on a M13.

Unless your lady has relatively strong arms, I'd recommend against an L frame due to the underlug. It's not like she'll be fighting a bunch of recoil, anyway.

[Bill Nesbitt]

Here is a picture of the dovetail front sight on my model 10.

[luttrell625]

Hi Richie,

My name is Stephanie and I got into handgun competition a few years ago. I am not exactly an imposing figure, so I understand the need for a gun that a beginner shooter, espicially a female one, can shoot and enjoy. The Smith model 686 is what I started out on, and is really tough to beat. My husband has recently become quite proficient on the little Smith model 67, though, which is a frame size down from the 686, and might be better suited to a woman with very small hands who still needs a 6 round gun. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to get her some good instruction either from yourself or someone else (couples don't always work best for this) and start thigs out at a comfortable level. I shoot a 45 revolver now in competition and love it, but would not have been confident starting out on it. Keep us posted on how things go.

[Richie]

Thanks everyone for your input!!! I truly appreciate it. Bill, I'll PM you about names of the clubs you shoot at and hopefully meet up with you guys at one of the upcoming matches!

Thanks again,

Richie

[Bill Nesbitt]

Hi Richie,

I'll look forward to hearing from you. Tell your girlfriend that my wife shoots so there will be other women shooting the matches.

[RePete]

At the moment I'm using 2 686's for IDPA. A 4" and a 2 1/2" (which I used yesterday).

Get a round butt model and Pachmyer/Hogue grips whichever fit better.

Practice with the speedloaders (I'm using Comp 2's)

FWIW the load I'm using is 4.3gr Bullseye with e 158gr LSWC and it makes about 130 PF.

I have just purchased a newsed 625 and am just waiting for the transfer to come through.

Good luck to the GF.

RePete.

[Delta Mike]

Hello,

I shoot a 686 with a 4 inch barrel. I installed an SDM fiber optic sight on it..no problem. You could do the work yourself if you have a drill press.

My wife shoots this gun with me for fun, and she is not much of a gun person (yet) but she really enjoys this gun. She can get her hands around it, and the recoil is manageable for her. I shoot 158 gr lead roundnose over 3.5 gr. of titegroup at about 130 pf.

Take care,

DM

[MichiganShootist]

If you can still find one (since they are out of production) a S & W model 66 - 4 makes a great SSR gun. I bought mine last spring (a new one) so that I could move my aging model 66 -1 into a back up gun role.

I added Millet rear adjustable sights to get a bigger blade with a Bo-Mar looking picture and a SDM fiber optic in the front. The factory rubber grips suit me fine and it shoots very well.