Picked Up A 629-6 PC Comp Hunter RANGE Results & Scope choice post 27

[ultratec00]

When I was looking, it came down to the comp hunter or stealth hunter. Went with the comp hunter strictly because of weight. I liked the stealth hunter but it had some ounces on the comp hunter. Primary purpose is whitetail. Load of choice is the Hornady 200 XTP pushing around 1400. Recoil is very manageable, good accuracy, and great action. No complaints other than a canted barrel which will be fixed at some time.

 

[cladd1]

I purchased one of these revolvers in December of last year and mounted a Leupold 2X scope on it and will use it for deer hunting here in Illinois.

 

[75Vette]

I purchased one of these revolvers in December of last year and mounted a Leupold 2X scope on it and will use it for deer hunting here in Illinois.

Cladd, Looks good! What rings are you using?

 

[cladd1]

Burris Signature with plastic inserts which prevent ring marks.

 

[sw282]

I purchased one of these revolvers in December of last year and mounted a Leupold 2X scope on it and will use it for deer hunting here in Illinois.

I also have a 2X Leupold on my Light Hunter.. My factory mount

and rings differ slightly tho. Making my Leupold sit slightly lower.

Were l limited to ONE optic for ALL handgun shooting it would be

the Leupold 2X EER scope.. There are NO equals. Regardless of $

 

[richcory]

Man that Hunter looks good

Cory

 

[75Vette]

Decided On Which Optics To Use

After a little hunting around and several questions I picked a reliable optic for the Comp Hunter. I tossed the red dot idea (even though I've had pretty good luck with them) and chose a Leupold M8 2X EER pistol scope. I get a clearer sight picture at distance with the crosshairs compared to the dot but it sure does show up your wobble!! The extra weight plays in too but I'll get accustomed to it. I took it to my indoor range today and zeroed it in at 25 yards. I'll be stretching it out soon. Here's today's results.




Bagged (with my cheesy bags) when I felt I got close enough to zero.



Free Standing



And if you're wondering, the PBR was reward for AFTER shooting!!

 

[SLT223]

Free Standing



And if you're wondering, the PBR was reward for AFTER shooting!!

That's awesome! I gotta tell ya, your threads do a good job of illustrating the potential of optics on some of these guns. I do believe you have helped me spend some money once again with this thread

 

[75Vette]

Always glad to help!!!

 

[jaymoore]

Looking good, but Kdiver58 (and I, as well in tests) was getting some vertical stringing with his .357s using HS6 until he upped the charge weight some. Has been working well since.

As is, looks good enough to massacre a flock of steel Chickens! (Might be making some "dance" with hits in the feet...)

 

[75Vette]

Looking good, but Kdiver58 (and I, as well in tests) was getting some vertical stringing with his .357s using HS6 until he upped the charge weight some. Has been working well since.

As is, looks good enough to massacre a flock of steel Chickens! (Might be making some "dance" with hits in the feet...)

I have been playing with the HS6 the last month or so and did up the powder level slightly. With no chrono all I can go by is the Lyman Data and it's telling me I'm throwing the lead at appx 975 fps. I am getting a small amount of unburned powder on the bench and did notice a slight vertical stringing. That's the last thing I need since that's been my biggest struggle trying to knock down the steel critters. I was hesitant to go much faster after the bullet shredding I experienced last season so I'll probably go back to the CFE-P for now.

 

[jaymoore]

I only chrono loads very occasionally any more. Mostly because I don't care how fast the bullets fly, just that they all arrive at the same spot on the target, more or less. And don't beat me up too much! Interestingly enough, when I was using .44 loads from the books, they pretty much did as advertised, anyway. Doesn't work that well with rifles, usually!

Kdiver58 had his chrono out so some of the IMR4198 swaged lead bullet loads were run through not long ago. 1000 fps, ES in the single digits! Not economical, nor free from unburned powder (and how!), but haven't had to clean a bore in a couple of years and the accuracy is better than anything else I've tried using non-jacketed projectiles. Misses are either operator or maybe dinged bullet bases. (Generally I regulate to the "2nds" box about 15-20% of the swaged bullets (more cast!) I buy. It's that "go-no go" selection that haunts. "Is this one good enough???"....)

At any rate, finding what works at 100 or 200 yards is the big drama. 25 yards is good for culling out the terrible loads but often not much more.

 

[ultratec00]

Check and see what the parallax is for the scope. A large percentage are set at 100 yards, which really isn't the best for the average distance most revolvers tend to be used at. There are a few that are set at 50 yards, but not many. From my experience, FOV is critical when mounting a scope on a handgun. The more the better. Helps acquire, and get on, a target quicker.

 

[C J]

Red dots are for different purposes than most scopes even if we're talking 2X scopes. Red dots are supposed to make it easier to pick up a target in a hurry. Shooting tiny groups isn't what they do. But I have a couple of red dots on guns (including my M&P Sport) and I like both of them. One has a 50,000 battery life so basically you can leave it turned on for 5 years or so. And I didn't pay a fortune for it either. It was around $175. It's a Primary Arms Advanced. I also have a Vortex which is on my AR.

BTW does anyone have good experience comparing the PC models with the regular S&W revolvers? My 629-2 shoots pretty good. I saw a guy shooting a 629 really well once. I can hit a gallon jug at about 175 yards most of the time. That's with the iron sights and rested to the side against a pole. At least I could when I was shooting a lot more. I haven't had a good place to shoot for about 5 years now.

 

[jaymoore]

...BTW does anyone have good experience comparing the PC models with the regular S&W revolvers?....

I can't tell the difference. So much so that none of my various PC .44s are currently used for competition. Currently running a 629-6 Classic 8 3/8" (post DX production), with another getting prepped and a third used as a test mule. (It's been Magna Ported, so out of spec, rules-wise.) Also, running two 10 5/8" 29-3s, but they need quite a lot of special loading "magic" to shoot well.

The MIM gutted revolvers generally have the better trigger pulls, BTW. Certainly better throat dimensions, and smaller chambered than many of my older .44s. So much so, I have to be wary about shooting my competition loads in other guns, lest they have dramas after being reloaded and brought back into the 629-6 shooting complement. (And that's even using TWO Lee FCDs. One at the initial sizing operation (with crimping portion removed) and another for crimping duties.

 

[75Vette]

I can't tell the difference. So much so that none of my various PC .44s are currently used for competition. Currently running a 629-6 Classic 8 3/8" (post DX production), with another getting prepped and a third used as a test mule. (It's been Magna Ported, so out of spec, rules-wise.) Also, running two 10 5/8" 29-3s, but they need quite a lot of special loading "magic" to shoot well.

The MIM gutted revolvers generally have the better trigger pulls, BTW. Certainly better throat dimensions, and smaller chambered than many of my older .44s. So much so, I have to be wary about shooting my competition loads in other guns, lest they have dramas after being reloaded and brought back into the 629-6 shooting complement. (And that's even using TWO Lee FCDs. One at the initial sizing operation (with crimping portion removed) and another for crimping duties.

J, love the new avatar!! As far as the differences between the PCs and standard production there's no real difference besides the rails, magnaporting, compensators & snazzy looks. Anything 629-4 and later will have the tighter cylinder throats and as you mentioned, the mim triggers are plenty smooth. I believe the 44 Magnum Hunter has the Walther rifling which sure can't hurt in accuracy. If someone wanted an accurate shooter and didn't want to pay for the extra doo dahs, the newer 629s would more than serve their purpose.

 

[sw282]

After a little hunting around and several questions I picked a reliable optic for the Comp Hunter. I tossed the red dot idea (even though I've had pretty good luck with them) and chose a Leupold M8 2X EER pistol scope. I get a clearer sight picture at distance with the crosshairs compared to the dot but it sure does show up your wobble!! The extra weight plays in too but I'll get accustomed to it. I took it to my indoor range today and zeroed it in at 25 yards. I'll be stretching it out soon. Here's today's results.




Bagged (with my cheesy bags) when I felt I got close enough to zero.



Free Standing



And if you're wondering, the PBR was reward for AFTER shooting!!

Amazing groups like that would give you a score of at least

''FORTY-TWO'' first Saturday in June