Some folks asked me about revolvers for IDPA SSR. I'm a sharpshooter in SSR, so I'm not that great. But here's my thoughts, so take them with a grain of salt.
I prefer the Smith & Wesson K-frame (19/66) over the L-frame (686). The L-frame is a bit bigger and heavier. You don't need that extra weight for shooting .38s and the K-frame fits my hand better. I've also known several competitors with L-frames that have had their cylinders come off the gun while reloading -- apparently there is a known weakness in the design.
I think the Model 66 is a great choice for SSR. The Model 19 is the same gun, but blued. The earlier revisions of the 19/66 have the firing pin on the hammer and an integral front sight. That is, the front site is actually part of the barrel, not attached to it. Later revisions (66-5?) have a pinned front sight that can be replaced without milling the barrel. If you want to change the front sight on a gun with an integral front sight, you'll have to have a gunsmith mill the sight off the barrel. If you want to change the front sight on a pinned gun, you'll still want a gunsmith to do it for you. Different people argue about which firing pin style (hammer mounted or frame mounted) is preferable, and there seem to be competent folks on either side of that argument.
I had my Model 66 worked on by Mike Carmoney: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showforum=192
He did his basic action job on my gun, which involves chamfering the chambers, radically bobbing the hammer, and lightening the trigger pull significantly. I haven't measured my trigger pull, but it is a lot lighter than stock. If you have Carmoney work on your gun, tell him that the gun is for IDPA, and also tell him what primers you are using. I'm using Winchester small pistol primers, but I'm changing to Federal soon. Mine has been completely reliable with the Winchester small pistol primers, but I have had some problems with Winchester small magnum primers. Just for kicks, I tried to shoot defensive .357 magnums out of my Model 66 after the trigger job and only had 3 out of 6 fire. In other words, this is now just a game gun, so use it accordingly. If I had committed to using crushed Federal primers, Mike could have made the trigger a bit lighter.
I've tried Safarliand Comp II, Comp III, and JetLoader speedloaders. The Comp IIs just don't give me enough to grab hold of, so they are slower to get out of the speedloader holder. I prefer the JetLoaders over the Comp III, as the barrel of the JetLoader is a bit smaller in diameter, making it easier for me to grab. Also, the exposed spring is easier to hold onto than the slick shroud on the Comp IIIs: You can get Comp III and JetLoaders at Brownells:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=303/product/revolver_jetloader
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=12501/Product/COMP_III_SPEEDLOADER
Many revolver shooters will "Bubberize" their speedloaders, cutting them down radically to speed up reloads. I haven't done that, but I think both Gene G. and Lugnut have. Here are some instructions for how to do it:
http://www.coolcerts.com/IDPA/Modifying_Comp_III_Speedloaders.pdf
If you do "Bubberize" your speedloaders, you will find it harder to reload them without a loading block. You can get a reloading block here:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=12499/product/SAFARILAND_SPEEDLOADER_LOADING_BLOCKS
For speedloader holders, I prefer Ready Tactical. Scroll down to the bottom of the page on this link:
http://www.cpwsa.com/ready_tactical.htm
I'm using a Bladetech Kydex holster, but if I had to do it again I would probably try the Ready Tactical holster, available at the same link above. I got my Ready Tactical Speedloader holders from CPWSA, and shipping was very fast - I received them in less than 3 days.
I'm using plated 158 grain bullets loaded in .38 Spcl brass, with Winchester small pistol primers, and 3.8gr of Bullseye powder. This gives me about a 118 pf, which doesn't have a lot of recoil but is still comfortably above the 105 floor, and still enough to activate poppers. Some folks use lead bullets instead. Either way, you'll want to use round nose bullets, as wadcutters and semi-wadcutters are much slower to reload into the cylinder.
Most revolver shooters seem to be using heavier bullets. The consensus seems to be that the recoil is less with the heavier bullets. I'm not sure I'm convinced. I started out last fall using 125gr bullets, and they seemed to be lighter recoiling than my 158 gr. Of course, I think I was using mouse-fart loads with the 125s, so it probably isn't a fair comparison. In other words, I think either will work just fine.
I use a weak-hand reload (that is, I don't swap hands during the reload). Of the two master-level SSR shooters that I compete with (Gene G. and Lugnut), one uses a weak-hand reload and the other uses a strong-hand reload. Either will work. I find the weak-hand reload to be a little faster, but more risky - witness the rounds dumped at my feet on the indoor stage today. Ugh. Lugnut's strong-hand reload method is more reliable for me, but slower. This article describes different reloading techniques:
http://www.4wheelguns.com/RogerDavis/
I use an Apex Tactical rear sight on my model 66. This has a much cleaner sight picture than the stock rear sight. I like more light around my front sight, so I had Apex open up the rear sight opening to 0.140" inches (stock is 0.125"). I haven't replaced my front sight yet, so I'm still running the stock red ramp. I will end up having the front sight replaced at some point. The rear sight is not on their web site, but you can call them up to order it.
http://www.apextactical.com/
I still haven't settled on a grip that I like. I absolutely hate grips with finger grooves. Right now I'm running a wood Micuelk grip that I sanded down a bit, trying to reduce the grip circumference. It is a bit too slippery, though.
I prefer the Smith & Wesson K-frame (19/66) over the L-frame (686). The L-frame is a bit bigger and heavier. You don't need that extra weight for shooting .38s and the K-frame fits my hand better. I've also known several competitors with L-frames that have had their cylinders come off the gun while reloading -- apparently there is a known weakness in the design.
I think the Model 66 is a great choice for SSR. The Model 19 is the same gun, but blued. The earlier revisions of the 19/66 have the firing pin on the hammer and an integral front sight. That is, the front site is actually part of the barrel, not attached to it. Later revisions (66-5?) have a pinned front sight that can be replaced without milling the barrel. If you want to change the front sight on a gun with an integral front sight, you'll have to have a gunsmith mill the sight off the barrel. If you want to change the front sight on a pinned gun, you'll still want a gunsmith to do it for you. Different people argue about which firing pin style (hammer mounted or frame mounted) is preferable, and there seem to be competent folks on either side of that argument.
I had my Model 66 worked on by Mike Carmoney: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showforum=192
He did his basic action job on my gun, which involves chamfering the chambers, radically bobbing the hammer, and lightening the trigger pull significantly. I haven't measured my trigger pull, but it is a lot lighter than stock. If you have Carmoney work on your gun, tell him that the gun is for IDPA, and also tell him what primers you are using. I'm using Winchester small pistol primers, but I'm changing to Federal soon. Mine has been completely reliable with the Winchester small pistol primers, but I have had some problems with Winchester small magnum primers. Just for kicks, I tried to shoot defensive .357 magnums out of my Model 66 after the trigger job and only had 3 out of 6 fire. In other words, this is now just a game gun, so use it accordingly. If I had committed to using crushed Federal primers, Mike could have made the trigger a bit lighter.
I've tried Safarliand Comp II, Comp III, and JetLoader speedloaders. The Comp IIs just don't give me enough to grab hold of, so they are slower to get out of the speedloader holder. I prefer the JetLoaders over the Comp III, as the barrel of the JetLoader is a bit smaller in diameter, making it easier for me to grab. Also, the exposed spring is easier to hold onto than the slick shroud on the Comp IIIs: You can get Comp III and JetLoaders at Brownells:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=303/product/revolver_jetloader
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=12501/Product/COMP_III_SPEEDLOADER
Many revolver shooters will "Bubberize" their speedloaders, cutting them down radically to speed up reloads. I haven't done that, but I think both Gene G. and Lugnut have. Here are some instructions for how to do it:
http://www.coolcerts.com/IDPA/Modifying_Comp_III_Speedloaders.pdf
If you do "Bubberize" your speedloaders, you will find it harder to reload them without a loading block. You can get a reloading block here:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=12499/product/SAFARILAND_SPEEDLOADER_LOADING_BLOCKS
For speedloader holders, I prefer Ready Tactical. Scroll down to the bottom of the page on this link:
http://www.cpwsa.com/ready_tactical.htm
I'm using a Bladetech Kydex holster, but if I had to do it again I would probably try the Ready Tactical holster, available at the same link above. I got my Ready Tactical Speedloader holders from CPWSA, and shipping was very fast - I received them in less than 3 days.
I'm using plated 158 grain bullets loaded in .38 Spcl brass, with Winchester small pistol primers, and 3.8gr of Bullseye powder. This gives me about a 118 pf, which doesn't have a lot of recoil but is still comfortably above the 105 floor, and still enough to activate poppers. Some folks use lead bullets instead. Either way, you'll want to use round nose bullets, as wadcutters and semi-wadcutters are much slower to reload into the cylinder.
Most revolver shooters seem to be using heavier bullets. The consensus seems to be that the recoil is less with the heavier bullets. I'm not sure I'm convinced. I started out last fall using 125gr bullets, and they seemed to be lighter recoiling than my 158 gr. Of course, I think I was using mouse-fart loads with the 125s, so it probably isn't a fair comparison. In other words, I think either will work just fine.
I use a weak-hand reload (that is, I don't swap hands during the reload). Of the two master-level SSR shooters that I compete with (Gene G. and Lugnut), one uses a weak-hand reload and the other uses a strong-hand reload. Either will work. I find the weak-hand reload to be a little faster, but more risky - witness the rounds dumped at my feet on the indoor stage today. Ugh. Lugnut's strong-hand reload method is more reliable for me, but slower. This article describes different reloading techniques:
http://www.4wheelguns.com/RogerDavis/
I use an Apex Tactical rear sight on my model 66. This has a much cleaner sight picture than the stock rear sight. I like more light around my front sight, so I had Apex open up the rear sight opening to 0.140" inches (stock is 0.125"). I haven't replaced my front sight yet, so I'm still running the stock red ramp. I will end up having the front sight replaced at some point. The rear sight is not on their web site, but you can call them up to order it.
http://www.apextactical.com/
I still haven't settled on a grip that I like. I absolutely hate grips with finger grooves. Right now I'm running a wood Micuelk grip that I sanded down a bit, trying to reduce the grip circumference. It is a bit too slippery, though.
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