New to me 625-4 200 or 230 gr LRN ?

[Boats]

625 shooters

Posted some time ago about buying a 625-3 3 inch. Lots of good advice from you guys on how to get it up and running. Have enjoyed shooting it in club BUG matches and went through the IDPA classifier with it ending up MM ESR. About 180 without trying too hard, for me that's not bad. Way the gun sets up is good for carry with boot grips but match shooting put a set of Hogues on. Am loading it down somewhat 200 gr LRN and 3.9 Clays. Don't think it will make the power factor @ 3.9 marginaly makes it with 4.2, boost the charge to 4.2 it gets hard to handle with the small grips. It's a great carry gun using Don Humes slide while waiting out a Milt Sparks order. Not a great gun for club IDPA matches due the small grip.

Anyway was at my gunsmiths yesterday and saw a 625-4 4 inch traded in from one of our club members. Price was right, knew the guns owner, my gunsmith is a revolver specialist and checked it out. Action has been smoothed and cylinders already chamfered. He said nothing wrong with it and if anything comes up he will fix No Charge So I bought it. Already have all the Moonclip gear and experience in hand.

This one I am going to order out kydex from Comp tac and shoot matches. I need 25 or so seconds to make SS and expect I can get half that out of reloads and draws plus a bit better hits on Stage III. I do want to make the power factor, Perhaps boost the 200 grs RN with more Clays, my 3 inch 4.2 load was just over so expect the 4 inch barrel will make Power OK. But what about the 3.9 charge pushing 230's 230's would have the advantage of keeping the loaded cartridges separate easy.

Any advice on which way to go 200's fast or 230's slower appreciated. If the advice is 230 need to get some and go to work with the chronograph.

Boats

[Ray R.]

Either the 200 or 230 will work fine so long as they do not have a shoulder or driving band. You do not want anything in the way of the cartridges simply falling freely into the chambers. A smooth rounded (read: roundnose) profile from bullet nose past the beginning of the cartrige case is the way to go. Be sure to taper crimp.

Here's some starting points:

230 cast roundnose;

4.3 gr. Bullseye

4.9 gr. WW 231

4.1 gr. Clays

200 cast roundnose;

4.8 gr. Bullseye

4.7 gr. Red Dot

4.2 gr. Clays

Hope this helps.

[Boats]

Ray it does help, Thinking about that 4.2 Clays 200 Gr load, It ought to make major. 4.1 Clays 230 should too but I expect will recoil a fair amount more than the 200 gr.

My 1911's only shoot 200 gr SWC's at comfortably over 850 FPS Am looking for a good reason to use the 230's in revolvers but can't find one.

Boats

Edited April 25, 2009 by Boats

[Alwaystryin]

I just got back from a chrono session with a 625 4in. I was hoping for 168 PF or so.

4.2 clays 200 grain lead avg 743 fps- 148 pf

4.2 clays 230 fmj avg 774 - 178 PF

OAL 1.230 for both

I feel like goldilocks too cold and too hot.

Edited April 26, 2009 by Alwaystryin

[ihatepickles]

As folks are posting load data for the revolver, please post what you're using for OAL.

[Boats]

Alwaystryin,

That's interesting, the crono will tell the story for sure sometimes very different from load manuals. It seems from data you can get 900 fps out of the 200's and my 5 inch 1911's make 850 fps pretty easy. If the revolver will not get that kind of velocity then 230's are the only way to go.

Am going to crono some 200's this week, no sense in buying a big box of 230's and wasting my valuable primers if the 200 gr RN will get 900 feet.

Boats

Edited April 26, 2009 by Boats

[Boats]

Cronoed the 625-4 By the way it's a 5 inch. Have to do something about that

200 GR LRN Remington 2 1/2 primers 70 degree ambient temp 10 ft to the screen

4.0 clays 12 rds 762 av no shot equaled the PF.

4.2 clays 12 rds 828 av 6 shots made the PF 6 did not

4.4 clays 12 rds 834 av 12 shots made the PF 3 did not

Some manuals give 4.4 as max. It's probably not a max load but considering how close to the PF it is I am going to say 230's are a better choice.

Boats

[Carmoney]

By the way it's a 5 inch. Have to do something about that.

Whatever you do, don't cut off the barrel. They're not making 5" 625s anymore, and they're getting tough to find.

Besides, a 5" barrel is a better choice for most competitive disciplines anyway.

[Boats]

Carmoney

You are right the 5 inch is much better for most work. Problem is my best chance to shoot matches is my home indoor club who holds 2 IDPA and one Icore match per month. If I shoot the 625 in the IDPA it needs to be shorter. Our ICORE is not very competitive. Most people shoot it with what they have just for fun. Nothing wrong with that but not very intresting.

Frankly would much rather shoot another disipline forget about all the senearo trick stage and cover issues but with no competion nearby IDPA is what I am left with. Anyway I can't get the barrel cut until late fall so have some time to make up my mind on what to do. For the price of gunsmithing could buy a K frame 38 for IDPA instead

Boats

[Tom E]

Carmoney

You are right the 5 inch is much better for most work. Problem is my best chance to shoot matches is my home indoor club who holds 2 IDPA and one Icore match per month. If I shoot the 625 in the IDPA it needs to be shorter. Our ICORE is not very competitive. Most people shoot it with what they have just for fun. Nothing wrong with that but not very intresting.

Frankly would much rather shoot another disipline forget about all the senearo trick stage and cover issues but with no competion nearby IDPA is what I am left with. Anyway I can't get the barrel cut until late fall so have some time to make up my mind on what to do. For the price of gunsmithing could buy a K frame 38 for IDPA instead

Boats

With a K frame you can use comp III speedloader and not have to shoot major like with moonclips. 4" 625 barrels are available. If you want a 4" a barrel swap makes more sense than cutting your non replaceable 5".

[earplug]

I had a Chrono guy at a match tell be that 4.7 grains of WST and a 200 grain lead bullet will make a nice major load.

It worked for my four inch 625 with some excess. I have swiitched to Clays and home cast 226 bullets due my percieved happier feeling with heavy bullets and Clays. I have kept some of the Hotter WST loads for home defense use as they burned real clean and had little muzzle flash.

You might try and find someone with some WST and see if you can try some.

[Boats]

Tom

Were would I get a 4 inch barrel, how much does one cost ? That could be a good solution.

Boats

Thx Earplug. Will ask around and see if I can borrow a few charges of WST to test. Like you I think Clays and 230's is going to settle as best though.

Edited May 7, 2009 by Boats

[Tom E]

Tom

Were would I get a 4 inch barrel, how much does one cost ? That could be a good solution.

Boats

Thx Earplug. Will ask around and see if I can borrow a few charges of WST to test. Like you I think Clays and 230's is going to settle as best though.

S&W, they will do the barrel R&R pretty reasonably and send you back the original barrel with the gun.

[pskys2]

Pros and Cons of 200 vs 230:

200 will have a flatter trajectory, at 50 yds and under it's pretty moot though.

200 will have a quicker/harsher recoil, not anything that is real obvious though.

230 will have a recoil that isn't as sharp, it seems to help track the front sight better for some.

230 are much more prevelant and virtually all makers have a RN version.

My take has to test both for accuracy and whichever gives you the best is what you need to use. Or if it can work in more than one gun, and one gun prefers it, then use that. Or whichever is cheapest in your area.

Most use a 230 RN in Revovler, but Cliff Walsh has used the Plated 200 grain RN from Ranier with good success.

FWIW my 1911 loves the 200 grain H&G 68, but since the groups aren't much worse with a 230 and that works, and is easiest to obtain, in my Revolver that's what I've been using.

[Boats]

My two curent and past couple of 1911's all use the H&G 68 200 SWC. These revolvers are different though what with moon clip loading and all.

Thinking would could work and be practical given one 3 inch with boot grips that does not need to meet the PF and another 5 inch that does need to meet a PF is use the same charge both guns about 4.0 of Clays and two different bullets, 200 & 230 LRN. Easier set up for the press and measure and could tell one load from the other visually/

Buying some 230's this weekend.

Boats

[Boats]

Tom

That was a very good tip. S&W said about 200 bucks and give me my 5 inch barrel back, which I could sell to defray the expense. Plus not cutting up a perfectly good gun.

Still going to shoot it a few months 5 inch. Don't plan to get into revolvers match shooting serious until after this fall.

Boats

Edited May 8, 2009 by Boats