Officially Old

[Green Frog]

Well, I went out to the range Wednesday to shoot my Model 16-3 recreation and my little snub I frame 32 HE. Much to my surprise I very quickly began to notice wear and tear on the pad of my right thumb from the process of firing single action. Fifty or so rounds was about all I could stand. I guess I'll have to start with a bandaid or some other protection on my thumb so I can get in a full day of shooting! Getting old is not for sissies!

Froggie

 

[brucev]

Duck tape last longer and works better. Bandaid abrades and fails quickly. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[moosedog]

You're not too old. You're just not shooting enough. You need to build up a callous.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Single action?

What's that?

More than five years ago I went solely to double action only.

Problem solved. Made me better, too.

 

[Peak53]

I like to wear a batting glove, especially for the larger calibers.

 

[Green Frog]

It is a target revolver and I was trying to shoot it with one hand at a standard sized target. I had wadcutter bullets with cat sneeze loads... it just seemed like I should shoot it single action. I shot the little snub DA (mostly) but that may have been because I shot the K-32 first and my thumb was sore! Even as I type this two days later, my thumb pad still feels sore and kinda itchy. I've gone back and compared the hammer spur to those on my 1948 vintage K-22 and K-38 and the checkering is a lot more aggressive. If I needed a little wood rasp I'd be all set!
Froggie

 

[Green Frog]

I just compared them again. The checkering on the hammer spur of my 14-3 turned 16-3 homage is very aggressive!!. The earlier K Masterpieces had narrower spurs and even with my sore thumb, I feel texture but not the same painful bed-of-nails sensation I get from the .375" hammer spur on the newer "K-32" build. I also notice the action is much stiffer when compared side by side with the earlier guns. Now I'm thinking about either an action job using original parts and cutting down the points of the hammer spur checkering or starting over with a fresh set of fire control parts and doing some serious smoothing up all around. Now that I think on it, I've never handled a K-frame Target Model with this kind of hammer and trigger feel.

I guess since I'm building this K-32 homage not to fool anyone but to satisfy my own desires, some sort of action job (and smoothing up the hammer) just makes sense. I may be overthinking this.

Froggie

 

[DGNY]

Many of us are interested in your projects. Thank you for keeping us posted.

 

[Green Frog]

Thanks for your compliment DGNY. This Forum gives me the opportunity to "think out loud" to/with a large circle of "friends". In many cases a random idea stirs up readers and the discussion goes on and on. Sometimes, like my recent "Idle Speculation" thread the topic is well received and goes on for a while, but is just ideas, not meant to be carried out.

In a couple of cases such as Project 616 and the faux Model 16-3 recreation that gave rise to this thread, the topic actually comes to fruition and a project comes to life. With help (or perhaps evil influence) from my fellow enthusiasts here, some interesting projects have actually gotten beyond the talking stage, and with discussion from others who have similar but different experiences, plans and plots are hatched.

I hope this will continue to be as pleasant as it is now.

Green Frog

 

[Old cop]

I keep masking tape in my range bag for a variety of uses. One of which is putting some on my trigger finger when shooting the LCP.

 

[Casual Smith Nut]

It's true some of the narrow hammers out there can have aggressive checkering. When they're under decent spring tension they can definitely make you adjust what part of your thumb you're using after a while of SA shooting… slight left or slight right part of the thumb.

Maybe move cinder blocks one-handed or work on your thumb picking when playing guitar?

 

[Model19man]

One of the TV stations has a commercial where they refer to people my age as "elderly". It's hard to get used to. The senior citizen discounts are not worth it. But probably better than the alternative.

 

[StrawHat]

Froggie,

I agree with the idea of tape, BUT, not on your thumb or trigger finger! Put it on the hammer or the trigger. It cushions the abrasive nests and allows you to continue shooting. Many of my triggers are smooth or polished smooth. Hammers? I shoot double action so…

The main thing is keep shooting.

That what doesn't kill us, makes us older.

Kevin

 

[jcelect]

Well, I went out to the range Wednesday to shoot my Model 16-3 recreation and my little snub I frame 32 HE. Much to my surprise I very quickly began to notice wear and tear on the pad of my right thumb from the process of firing single action. Fifty or so rounds was about all I could stand. I guess I'll have to start with a bandaid or some other protection on my thumb so I can get in a full day of shooting! Getting old is not for sissies!

Froggie

You do have two thumbs, don't you? ! ? ! ? They would go with the two 632s you have!
jcelect

 

[Green Frog]

You do have two thumbs, don't you? ! ? ! ? They would go with the two 632s you have!
jcelect

No 632s yet, but I did finally get a 631. Its hammer checkering isn't all that aggressive thank goodness. In fact, as I've gone through my small arsenal of Smiths and this old -3 is the only one with wood rasp grade checkering.

Froggie