The Log:
Unless otherwise noted, all rounds listed will be +P.
28 AUG 07 – Sighting in of 3 different types of +P ammo.
18 rds of Winchester 110 gr JHP (X38S6PH), Lot # 93TH48
36 rds of Federal 125gr Nyclad HP (N38N), Lot # 15A-8629
18 rds of Georgia Arms 158 gr LSWCHP (G38E), Lot # 04190750
Total Rds for this session: 72
Total Rds (running total): 72
Notes: Gun looks fine. GA ammo very smoky and messy.
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1 SEP 07
I was asked to measure and log the cylinder window and B/C gap so here are the numbers.
Horizontal (TOP): 1.818”
Horizontal (BOT): 1.818” (one side measured .001-.002” less)
Vertical (F): 1.477”
Vertical (B): 1.477” (one side measured .001” less)
B/C gap: 0.007” (I could get the .008” feeler in if I pressed the cylinder back).
Notes: Please remember, these measurements were taken after the gun was 72 rounds into the test. Also, this gun was cleaned on this date. The cylinder and yoke were removed for cleaning (and measurement of the cylinder window) which included the use of JB’s bore cleaning in the barrel only.
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20 SEP 07
9 rds of Winchester 110 gr JHP (X38S6PH), Lot # 93TH48
33 rds of Georgia Arms 158 gr LSWCHP (G38E), Lot # 04190750
Total Rds for this session: 42
Total Rds (running total): 114
Notes: Gun looks fine. GA ammo very smoky and messy, but their “package” of 50 rds had 51 rounds in it.
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4 OCT 07
8 rds of Winchester 110 gr JHP (X38S6PH), Lot # 93TH48
28 rds of Georgia Arms 158 gr LSWCHP (G38E), Lot # 04190750
24 rds of Winchester 125 gr JHP (X38S7PH), Lot # 10XE80
50 rds of Remington/UMC 125 gr JHP (L38S2(B))* Lot # C24E BOI
* I believe the “B” designates a “bulk (100 rd) pack.”
Total Rds for this session: 110
Total Rds (running total): 224
Notes:
1) Under a magnifying glass, I still can’t see anything that looks like a crack anywhere on the frame.
2) The cylinder release screw loosened during this shooting session. I will use blue Locktite on it during the next cleaning/maintenance.
3) To shoot this many rounds, I had to sports tape the back strap, sports tape the web of my shooting hand and sports tape the trigger during the session. (If I ever find the guy who decided to put a serrated trigger on this gun, I’ll crack the frame on M12 during the beating this guy is going to get.)
4) Despite all the tape, I’ll still managed to get blisters and lose some skin in the following places, top of trigger finger, bottom of trigger finger, and the web of my shooting (right) hand. With this, I will probably change the grip to something that provides full coverage of the back strap. I’ll annotate the grip details soon after I change it out.
5) The gun seemed to like the UMC stuff. I even managed to shoot something that looked like a group with it.
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5 OCT 07
As more or less a continuation of yesterday’s activities, here are some more notes.
1) Cleaned subject gun this evening. As part of the cleaning process, I removed the cylinder and yoke. I also removed the thumb piece and thumb piece screw for cleaning and reassembly using blue Locktite. After cleaning, I again examined the gun using a magnifying glass and light. No cracks are visible, even under mild magnification.
2) Replaced boot grip with a Pachmayr Compac Decelerator. This grip wraps 360 degrees around the grip frame and will hopefully provide the shooter with a bit more protection.
3) As per note 1), I reassembled the thumb piece using blue Locktite.
4) I checked the B/C gap and again it measured 0.007”. This is the same number I got the last time (at round # 72). However, I read in Jerry Huhnhausen’s manual, “The S&W Revolver: A Shop Manual,” that this gap might be a bit large. With that, I will probably stop perform such a rigorous cleaning of the front face of the cylinder in a effort to close up this B/C gap a bit.
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25 OCT 07
22 rds of Georgia Arms 158 gr LSWCHP (G38E), Lot # 04190750
50 rds of Winchester 125 gr JHP (X38S7PH), Lot # 10XE80
50 rds of Remington/UMC 125 gr JHP (L38S2(B))* Lot # C24E BOI
* I believe the “B” designates a “bulk (100 rd) pack.”
Total Rds for this session: 122
Total Rds (running total): 346
Notes:
1) First shoot with the new full wrap around Pachmayr Compac Decelerator. This helped tremendously as it wasn’t until round # 98 that I realized I was missing skin on the web of my right hand.
2) The Georgia Arms twaddle is gone and won’t be replaced. It is inexpensive, but way too dirty and smoky.
3) I really like the Remington/UMC stuff. It is reliable ammo with a hollow point bullet that could be used for self defense and is inexpensive enough (relatively speaking) that you can – and should – practice regularly with it. (Anybody got any data on how it performs out on the street?)
4) After checking the gun over with a magnifying glass, I haven’t found anything that looks like a crack nor have I experienced any symptoms of a mechanical problem with the subject gun.
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17 NOV 07
Administrative Notes:
1) Changed grip from the aforemention Pachmayr to an Uncle Mikes “Grip” (part number 59005). This grip is a full size wrap around grip that’s technically meant for a square butt (SB) K or L-frame (I think it might work on the X-frames as well), but it will also work on guns with round butts (RB).
2) I’ve acquired an additional 200 rounds of +P to include some 158 grain Lawman from Speer.
3) I’m gearing up to use this gun in an IDPA match on 12 DEC. I hope to get to the range the week after Thanksgiving to “check out the package” prior to the match.
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28 NOV 07
Ladies and Gentlemen:
we have crossed the halfway mark. I didn’t realize it until I dragged my blistered and bloody hand home and totaled up the evening’s shooting. Here’s the new data.
26 rds of Winchester 125 gr JHP (X38S7PH), Lot # 10XE80
80 rds of Winchester 125 gr JHP (X38S7PH), Lot # 62XE21
50 rds of Speer Lawman 158 gr TMJ (53750), Lot# Not on box
Total Rds for this session:
156
Total Rds (running total):
502
Notes:
1) First shoot with the Uncle Mikes’ grip installed back on 17 NOV.
2) First shoot using the Speer Lawman ammo. This “expensive +P practice ammo” is to date, my favorite ammo for the subject gun. This ammo shoots the closest yet to POA and gave me some outstanding groups fired from single action mode. Ironically, testing +P ammo through a model 12 may be the only practical thing to do with this ammo. ?
3) Most importantly, the gun looks fine, even under mild magnification. It’s quite dirty (see note 4), but nothing looks suspicious.
4) Also note from the log, that the subject gun was not cleaned from the session on 25 OCT. This makes the second session of live fire in 34 days that the gun has been involved with without cleaning.
5) Finally, after tonight’s session, I’ve given up on using the gun in an IDPA match.
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29 DEC 07
Brief update: I cleaned the subject gun today (it only took two months and a couple of shooting sessions to finally clean it). Again, I looked it over with a magnifying glass after cleaning, everything looked fine. However, I did notice that the barrel and patches appeared to have that greenish-gray look to them (probably from shooting the last of that nasty Georgia Arms fodder back in October). Because of this, I did spend some extra time cleaning the barrel using JB’s bore cleaner. The barrel looks a lot better now.
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16 JAN 08
Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you or the test. Here are the new revised numbers from tonight’s shooting session.
20 rds of Winchester 125 gr JHP (X38S7PH), Lot # 62XE21
50 rds of Speer Lawman 158 gr TMJ (53750), Lot# Not on box
50 rds of Speer Lawman 158 gr TMJ (53750), Lot# M05M3
Total Rds for this session:
120
Total Rds (running total):
622
Notes:
I wiped the gun down when I got home and looked everything over with a magnifying glass. Nothing appears to be having a problem apart from the shooter. I have another blister on my trigger finger and a swatch of skin from the web of my hand is missing. For those of you who care,
I’ll live! 
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19 JAN 08
Administrative Update: I cleaned the subject gun today in response to the shooting session from 16 JAN 08. During this routine maintenance, I removed the grips, cylinder assembly, and yoke. After cleaning and while the gun was still dissembled, I reviewed suspect areas with a magnifying glass.
No cracks or suspicious abrasions were observed. Expect for noticing that the blued steel and the blackened alloy frame appear to be farther from each others hue then I’ve ever noticed before, everything appears to look and operate as it is supposed to.
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24 JAN 08
With tonight’s session, I’ve managed to fire 270 rounds in two sessions within 8 days. Here’s the break down by ammo type.
50 rds of Speer Lawman 158 gr TMJ (53750), Lot# Not on box
100 rds of Remington/UMC 125 gr JHP (L38S2(B))* Lot # D17J A01
* I believe the “B” designates a “bulk (100 rd) pack.”
Total Rds for this session:
150
Total Rds (running total):
772
Notes:
1) The subject gun looks fine. I had to clean it up a bit with some oil and a rag in order to look it over with a magnifying glass.
2) Tonight’s session was NOT without any drama. Somewhere during the 5th cylinder full (rounds 647 – 652), there was a slight problem while using the Rem/UMC ammo. At first, I was having problems getting the cylinder closed, but after rotating the cylinder a bit, it shut. However, I could not get the cylinder to turn using the trigger or by manually cocking the hammer. Obviously, something was hung up. Long story short, I ended up firing these six rounds chambered as singles or pairs. One of the rounds appeared to be dragging on the blast shield, but not as bad as when all six chambers were loaded. After firing these six rounds, I chambered all the brass and “dry fired” the gun. The suspect brass worked fine and the session continued with no additional problems.
3) Ironically, having fired the gun in a session just eight days ago, the areas on my shooting hand were still calloused, as opposed to being an open sore. I still used some sports tape, but during tonight’s session, I didn’t lose anymore skin or subject myself to any kind of blood-letting.
4) I am out of +P ammo, but there’s a gun show in town on February 8th. My hope is to acquire the last of the ammo needed to finish this test. This fact, combined with a change of jobs over the same gun show weekend should lower your expectations that you’ll see another entry in here before, let’s say, February 15th.
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27 JAN 08
Administrative Update: I cleaned the subject gun from the 24 JAN 08 shooting session. This was just a standard maintenance. I removed the grips, cylinder assembly, and yoke. After cleaning, I reviewed suspect areas with a magnifying glass.
No cracks or suspicious abrasions were observed. The gun appears to be chugging along just fine. I’ll also note that I purchased another 100 rounds of the 158 gr Lawman yesterday (1/27).
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8 FEB 08
A short 100 rd session today shot between out-processing my current job and attending the
Capital Gun Show in Chantilly, VA. I anticipate finishing the test with one more range session.
100 rds of Speer Lawman 158 gr TMJ (53750), Lot# Not on box
Total Rds for this session:
100
Total Rds (running total):
872
Notes:
1) The gun looks fine.
2) At one point in the shooting session I thought the gun’s accuracy was going away which lead me to suspect that there might be something wrong with the gun. However, after firing a couple of cylinders in single action, I concluded that the shooter was the source of the inaccuracy, NOT the gun (maybe the ammo).
3) At the gun show, I purchased the final boxes of ammo needed to complete this 1,000 round test. This included one box each of Speer 135 gr Gold Dot; Federal 125 gr JHP; and CCI Blazer 125 gr TMJ.
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9 FEB 08
Administrative Update: I cleaned the subject gun from the 8 FEB 08 shooting session. This was just a standard maintenance. I removed the grips, cylinder assembly, and yoke. After cleaning, I reviewed suspect areas with a magnifying glass.
No cracks or suspicious abrasions were observed. The gun appears to be chugging along just fine.
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14 MAR 08
We are done. The test concluded tonight when we crossed the 1,000 rd mark. The final tally was 1,022 rds. Here’s the numbers for tonight’s session:
50 rds of Speer LE 135 gr GDHP (53921), Lot# D 18 N 32
50 rds of CCI Blazer 125 gr TMJ (3518), Lot# J15L6
50 rds of Federal Classic 125 gr JHP (38E), Lot# 12 V5Z9
Total Rds for this session:
150
Total Rds (running total):
1022
Notes:
1) The gun looks fine.
2) The 1,000th round was a one of the Federal Classic rounds.
3) I really tore up my hand this time, blistering and then removing a swatch of skin from the palm of my shooting hand.