Rainy IHMSA Match. October Fun with Revolvers

[jaymoore]

Rain and possibly football kept some folk away, but those who did show up seemed to have a good day shooting and eating! Way too much food.... Managed my first 30 with the 625 in Field Pistol, Any Sights (PAS).

Cleaned all five rams on first string! Got flustered and missed one on the second go.

The final happy tally, even if chickens refuse to all go down:

Cast bullets and the .45 Colt go well together, no?

International Class shooter in the same PAS category. .22 Hornet single shot versus the .45 in a wheelgun. We both had a good day.

Somebody else had a good run on the rams!:

Revolver in full recoil. Hot loads not needed for 100yd knockdown with heavy bullets.

He shoots basically the same .44 load as I out of the iron sight Field Pistol production class revolver:

Swaged lead bullets, moving slow. Accurate, but followthrough is critical! And everything else, too. You can't force a good shot. Shot a 24 with the 29-3, three off last month's score, but about average for it. If the nut behind the trigger would do his part- every time- it would do better...

 

[4barrel]

I like the range set up. Good score. What load in the 625?

 

[Hang-Fire Hank]

Jay: I wish Field Pistol was available when I shot IHMSA 81-84. The 150yd. Turkeys were hell back then. Would have loved to shoot my 8 3/8" model 57, but quickly found out my TC Contender in 7TCU was a better choice. Good Luck!

Hank M.

 

[jaymoore]

I like the range set up. Good score. What load in the 625?

Almost max charge of WW231 over some variety of 200 H&G LSWC bullet. Looks like the new HiTek coated version without lube groove is the best but I've a few thousand old style to use first! So that's what was used here.

The couple who run the match do the range caretaking and construction. They are most hospitable, so much so that they won the Steve Riddle Memorial trophy this year. Many times they don't even get to shoot at their own match! Fortunately they usually can make a trip to another match held in state a few weeks later.

It seems the only way to find a S&W that really shoots in factory stock format is to do it the hard way. By buying and shooting! What in theory should be best can be easily overshadowed by little things like the crispness of the hammer release, spring balance- so there's minimal vibration after hammer fall, etc. .45 Colt chambers tend to run large mostly due to SAAMI specs, so you wouldn't immediately consider this caliber as "inherently accurate", but it surely seems easier to me to make it shoot well than many other chamberings!

 

[sw282]

Sure did on the RAMS Jay !!! And in S&W Blue w/629 Magnum Hunter too

 

[sw282]

l have been shooting the 629 Magnum Hunter pictured above for a couple of years now and am really fortunate to live where l do.. From the Augusta Ga area l can shoot 3 Silh matches a month. 200 Meter matches in Lincolnton Ga and Patrick SC..100 Meter w/Jay in Gainesville..
The Gainesville match is a more realistic format to practice with the hunting revolver l am shooting.

 

[sw dan]

field pistol

nice range with resettable targets, whats not to like. very green in your area, what state? thanks..sw dan

 

[jaymoore]

Jay: I wish Field Pistol was available when I shot IHMSA 81-84. The 150yd. Turkeys were hell back then. Would have loved to shoot my 8 3/8" model 57, but quickly found out my TC Contender in 7TCU was a better choice. Good Luck!

Hank M.

I have a friend who is campaigning a 8 3/8" P&R Model 57 in Field Pistol, as well as an AFS 586 with the same length barrel. He just got a match leg to the next higher class in PAS (Field Pistol Any Sights) using a reddot atop a 6" Model 57.

What with it's large throats, it seems the AFS 29s never did all that well in Big Bore, but it can be dealt with fairly effectively with less powerful loads which works well at the reduced ranges found in Field Pistol.