Conventional Pistol (Bullseye) revolvers

[SS686]

I've been shooting my 686 at a local pistol league for about a month now and getting better with either times (speedloading) or precision each week. I'm thinking of maybe trying the bullseye competition later this summer if not sooner. The thing is I want to use all revolvers. I know this might be a disadvantage but I just enjoy the revolver shooting more at this point in time. I will start out with my ruger mk III for the .22 portion and use my 686 for the .32 or greater portion. I just put a deposit on a new 625 JM. It's a 4" barrel.

Here's my question or two. Do you guys think the accuracy difference between a 4" 625 and 5" is enough for me to wait on the purchase and wait till I find a 5"? I just put the deposit down, so I have 24 hours to take it back I believe, or at least apply it to another firearm. I want to start practicing with the 625 soon, so I thought I should just get it while it was there and the price is around $700 so I thought that's a decent price for the JM model. For you guys who use revolvers for Bullseye, do you think I should wait?

The other question is I'm thinking of maybe buying a 617 6" as well, at some point in the future. It would replace my ruger. I've heard mixed reviews of the 617's accuracy, but mostly good. Any opinions on that? Are there any of you who shoot all revolver?

Thanks in advance!

Curtis

 

[SS686]

I've been shooting my 686 at a local pistol league for about a month now and getting better with either times (speedloading) or precision each week. I'm thinking of maybe trying the bullseye competition later this summer if not sooner. The thing is I want to use all revolvers. I know this might be a disadvantage but I just enjoy the revolver shooting more at this point in time. I will start out with my ruger mk III for the .22 portion and use my 686 for the .32 or greater portion. I just put a deposit on a new 625 JM. It's a 4" barrel.

Here's my question or two. Do you guys think the accuracy difference between a 4" 625 and 5" is enough for me to wait on the purchase and wait till I find a 5"? I just put the deposit down, so I have 24 hours to take it back I believe, or at least apply it to another firearm. I want to start practicing with the 625 soon, so I thought I should just get it while it was there and the price is around $700 so I thought that's a decent price for the JM model. For you guys who use revolvers for Bullseye, do you think I should wait?

The other question is I'm thinking of maybe buying a 617 6" as well, at some point in the future. It would replace my ruger. I've heard mixed reviews of the 617's accuracy, but mostly good. Any opinions on that? Are there any of you who shoot all revolver?

Thanks in advance!

Curtis

 

[Bullseye Smith]

SS I shoot revolvers in bullseye, a 32 and a 617. The five inch will help alot over the four. You will enjoy the action from shooting a revolver. People around you will be tore up if you start knocking at thier back door on score. My 32 will shoot right with the $1000 dollar jobs that are inported. Here is my 10/32 that I built.

 

[Dale53]

I have not done a serious accuracy assessment (say, ten, ten shot groups at 50 yards in a Ransom Rest with my 1911 match gun vs my two 625's.

However, I have been getting EXCELLENT results at 25 and fifty yards with my revolvers. I am 73 and it is no longer fun (if it ever was) chasing brass. I firmly believe that my revolvers are every bit as accurate as my autos (and they are custom built match guns and shoot EXTREMELY well).

This is more typical than not:

My JM Special 4" (625-8)shoots as well as my 5"
625-6. I have Red Dots on both and really cannot make up my mind which shoots best. It is really a tie.

I shoot a home cast H&G #130 or a Saeco #68 ahead of 4.0 grs of Bullseye or equivalent at both 25 and 50 yards.

There is no doubt a distinct advantage in NRA Bullseye with the auto. Self cocking IS an advantage. However, the advantage does NOT lie in accuracy. I actually shoot the revolver better in slow fire and about the same in timed fire. However, my rapid fire scores are a bit better with the auto.

I get much more enjoyment out of revolvers and DON'T HAVE TO PICK UP THAT STINKING BRASS!!

I no longer compete and just shoot for my own enjoyment and no doubt, that colors my attitude but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

P.S. Just so there is no confusion - the targets above were shot at 25 yards, standing, slow fire.

Dale53

 

[Revolver King]

If you are going to use a red dot like us old guys do the 4" will work fine for you. But if you plan on shooting open sights then I would highly recommend the 5" for the extra sight radius.

 

[Dale53]

revolver_king;
Absolute fact! I may actually be a bit better with my Red Dot 4" compared to my Red Dot 5" but that would NOT apply if they had iron sights.

In fact, when I was shooting Black powder side matches with fixed sighted revolvers at BPCR Silhouette matches, I traded in my 4 5/8" Vaquero for a 5½" Bisley Vaquero and had INSTANT better results. Both revolvers were equally accurate off a rest but there was a definite difference when shooting standing.

Dale53

 

[stevieboy]

I can't speak to the 4" vs. the 5" issue on the 625, but I can tell you that a 6" 617 is probably as accurate as a revolver gets. Not quite as accurate as my wife's 41, but it's pretty close. I fired mine yesterday and I was having no difficulty getting 1" groups offhand at 15 yards. My 617 is an older version (in fact, it's a no-dash) 6-shooter. I can't comment on whether the newer, 10-shot versions perform as well.

 

[RightWinger]

If you plan to shoot open sight, I would go with the 5 inch, just for the increased sight radius, and the additional weight might help with recoil a tad. Barrel length has nothing to do with accuracy, just velocity and sight radius.

 

[SS686]

Originally posted by Bullseye Smith:
SS I shoot revolvers in bullseye, a 32 and a 617. The five inch will help alot over the four. You will enjoy the action from shooting a revolver. People around you will be tore up if you start knocking at thier back door on score. My 32 will shoot right with the $1000 dollar jobs that are inported. Here is my 10/32 that I built.

John, thanks for the info. I'll keep an eye out for the 5". I might go ahead and buy the 625JM and then see what comes up, but I'll tell you it's hard to find anything decent at a decent price these days, so I may play it safe and get started. Then I can slowly look around and find a good priced 625 5" that is either new or used in great condition.

Curtis

 

[SS686]

Dale,

I'm going to be shooting open sights for a while since my belief is that until I get good enough on open sights, I shouldn't be using anything else. It seems that lots of people recommend that, so I'm going to stick with it. I'll look around for the 5" but it's encouraging to hear from you and others that aside from open sights, either should suffice. Thanks for the helpful info!

Curtis

Originally posted by Dale53:
I have not done a serious accuracy assessment (say, ten, ten shot groups at 50 yards in a Ransom Rest with my 1911 match gun vs my two 625's.

However, I have been getting EXCELLENT results at 25 and fifty yards with my revolvers. I am 73 and it is no longer fun (if it ever was) chasing brass. I firmly believe that my revolvers are every bit as accurate as my autos (and they are custom built match guns and shoot EXTREMELY well).

My JM Special 4" (625-8)shoots as well as my 5"
625-6. I have Red Dots on both and really cannot make up my mind which shoots best. It is really a tie.

I shoot a home cast H&G #130 or a Saeco #68 ahead of 4.0 grs of Bullseye or equivalent at both 25 and 50 yards.

There is no doubt a distinct advantage in NRA Bullseye with the auto. Self cocking IS an advantage. However, the advantage does NOT lie in accuracy. I actually shoot the revolver better in slow fire and about the same in timed fire. However, my rapid fire scores are a bit better with the auto.

I get much more enjoyment out of revolvers and DON'T HAVE TO PICK UP THAT STINKING BRASS!!

I no longer compete and just shoot for my own enjoyment and no doubt, that colors my attitude but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

P.S. Just so there is no confusion - the targets above were shot at 25 yards, standing, slow fire.

Dale53

 

[SS686]

I'm definitely shooting ope sights for a while. Maybe a few years I would think. As I said in another reply, I just want to get good at open sights first. I'm not able to practice as much as some, but I am averaging once a week for now. Most of the time I get out two to three times, but every once in a while I have to travel for work and I might be gone 3 weeks without shooting. Thanks for the info!

Curtis

Originally posted by Revolver_King:
If you are going to use a red dot like us old guys do the 4" will work fine for you. But if you plan on shooting open sights then I would highly recommend the 5" for the extra sight radius.

 

[SS686]

Dale,

I forgot to mention, yes, I love being able to easily get my brass back. I've just started collecting all my brass as I'm hoping to get into reloading by the end of this year, if not sooner.

Also, I just do this for fun too. I'm very competitive, but I do realize that I can only put in say 5-10 hours a week in shooting or just dry firing and there are guys out there that are going to be better because they can put in at least twice that and they might have talent to boot. Either way, it's fun and that's the main thing, otherwise, what's the point eh?

Curtis

Originally posted by Dale53:


I get much more enjoyment out of revolvers and DON'T HAVE TO PICK UP THAT STINKING BRASS!!

I no longer compete and just shoot for my own enjoyment and no doubt, that colors my attitude but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Dale53

 

[SS686]

Stevieboy,

thanks for your opinion on the 617. I'm looking forward to getting one of these. I love my Ruger, but I have a feeling if I got the 617, I would enjoy the .22 shooting even that much more. Hopefully, the newer ones are just as good as the earlier ones.

Curtis

Originally posted by stevieboy:
I can't speak to the 4" vs. the 5" issue on the 625, but I can tell you that a 6" 617 is probably as accurate as a revolver gets. Not quite as accurate as my wife's 41, but it's pretty close. I fired mine yesterday and I was having no difficulty getting 1" groups offhand at 15 yards. My 617 is an older version (in fact, it's a no-dash) 6-shooter. I can't comment on whether the newer, 10-shot versions perform as well.

 

[SS686]

Rightwinger,

thanks for the input. It looks like all of you agree to go with the longer one for sight radius. I think I'm going to pick up the 625JM anyways and then start looking for a 625 with the 5 or 5 1/4" barrel. I would normally wait and just purchase one, but it's getting so hard to find these guns right now. Of course this time next year we might have an abundance of them, but I have a feeling that it's going to be tight for a while, so I'll at least get started and luckily the 625JM is a great gun, so even if I don't find a longer barrel anytime soon, I can still practice and compete. Thanks for the help!

Curtis

Originally posted by RightWinger:
If you plan to shoot open sight, I would go with the 5 inch, just for the increased sight radius, and the additional weight might help with recoil a tad. Barrel length has nothing to do with accuracy, just velocity and sight radius.