Service Revolver
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JRV
LenV
John Dervis
Dr.Bill
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Service Revolver
It seems the most talked about revolvers for the SR match is some variant of the S&W K-38 aka Model 14.
Any specific places or people to check out to find one?
Any things to look for?
Also, what modern production revolver would be a good choice? It seems most of the magazine tests have fairly dismal groups at 50 yards.
Ruger GP-100? S&W 686?
Yes, I have seen the pricey foreign ones too!
Thanks for any suggestions!
Any specific places or people to check out to find one?
Any things to look for?
Also, what modern production revolver would be a good choice? It seems most of the magazine tests have fairly dismal groups at 50 yards.
Ruger GP-100? S&W 686?
Yes, I have seen the pricey foreign ones too!
Thanks for any suggestions!
Dr.Bill- Posts : 43
Join date : 2023-02-25
Location : Scottsdale, AZ
Re: Service Revolver
Boards like this are a good place to ask. You’ll be able to ask questions and request pictures a little easier than on one of the auction sights. Many of us have guns we don’t use all that much and it might be time to let it go. I have 14-3 that I will be selling but haven’t gotten around to listing it just yet. A wanted ad usually pushes me over the edge .
Let me know if want to look at mine or place an ad in the For Sale / Wanted section and see what’s out there.
Good luck.
John
Let me know if want to look at mine or place an ad in the For Sale / Wanted section and see what’s out there.
Good luck.
John
John Dervis- Posts : 516
Join date : 2012-08-29
Age : 55
Location : Sheridan, Il.
Dr.Bill likes this post
Re: Service Revolver
Take a look at the 586. They often get skipped over but perfect for SR.
LenV- Posts : 4739
Join date : 2014-01-24
Age : 74
Location : Oregon
Outthere and 10sandxs like this post
Re: Service Revolver
The guns you see at matches are there for a reason—popularity indicates suitability. You will see a lot of Smiths (14s, 586/686s, 27s, 28s) because they have decent factory sights, the triggers clean up well with very little work, and the actions like to stay in time (and are not hard to keep in time).
I wouldn’t put much stock into magazine reviews. Most revolvers need a little testing for 50 yards—chamber charge holes are not bored identically, so one or two specific chambers usually shoot best. That takes time and ammo to determine.
The preferences in a revolver mostly come down to grip and trigger preference. How do you shoot sustained fire—SA or DA? Big or small hands? Long or short fingers?
I’ve never felt a GP100 trigger that inspired confidence, even with shims and lightened springs. Very stagy and overtravel-y.
If you shoot DA at all, a lightly tuned Smith in the right frame size for your hands is a perfect tool. The sights are better than anything Colt ever installed (besides factory Elliasons, if you can find them). The added bonus is the action is not trying to kill itself in DA like an unmodified Colt E/I frame.
I shoot SAO. I have tried full-target Smiths, but always found the guns to be shifty with fast thumbcocking. Colts, for my hands, have a better grip angle relative to their hammers. The triggers (personal opinion) are inferior to the Smiths due to internal geometry, but my short line scores are more consistent because of a better connection to the revolver.
I wouldn’t put much stock into magazine reviews. Most revolvers need a little testing for 50 yards—chamber charge holes are not bored identically, so one or two specific chambers usually shoot best. That takes time and ammo to determine.
The preferences in a revolver mostly come down to grip and trigger preference. How do you shoot sustained fire—SA or DA? Big or small hands? Long or short fingers?
I’ve never felt a GP100 trigger that inspired confidence, even with shims and lightened springs. Very stagy and overtravel-y.
If you shoot DA at all, a lightly tuned Smith in the right frame size for your hands is a perfect tool. The sights are better than anything Colt ever installed (besides factory Elliasons, if you can find them). The added bonus is the action is not trying to kill itself in DA like an unmodified Colt E/I frame.
I shoot SAO. I have tried full-target Smiths, but always found the guns to be shifty with fast thumbcocking. Colts, for my hands, have a better grip angle relative to their hammers. The triggers (personal opinion) are inferior to the Smiths due to internal geometry, but my short line scores are more consistent because of a better connection to the revolver.
Last edited by JRV on 9/27/2024, 10:36 am; edited 1 time in total
JRV- Posts : 179
Join date : 2022-04-03
brand-new likes this post
Re: Service Revolver
that makes so much sense to me....i purchased what i could afford that looked very nice, and it is pretty nice but it doesn't instill confidence or at least as much confidence as i'd hoped had i chosen a platform that fit my hand like a glove.
brand-new- Posts : 126
Join date : 2022-01-12
Re: Service Revolver
I too seek a M14. I am in California. You can add over $100 to the price of any gun due to fees. I am hesitant to by a revolver sight unseen because of those fees. I have eyes on a minty M14 but the owner is not selling yet.
Do not buy a Colt. I have found only one person who seems competent to work on them. I got an Officers' Model with heavy barrel. It is badly out of time. It can not be returned. The previouls owner probably did not know. Probably.... IT also had cold blue touch ups. It was sold at a collector price. The one gunsmith that sounds competent currently has back trouble. There are shipping headaches. Also The adjustable front sight is not legal for some competitions. Despite the lore IMHO it is an antiquated and fragile design and not suitable for a lot of use.
Do not buy a Colt. I have found only one person who seems competent to work on them. I got an Officers' Model with heavy barrel. It is badly out of time. It can not be returned. The previouls owner probably did not know. Probably.... IT also had cold blue touch ups. It was sold at a collector price. The one gunsmith that sounds competent currently has back trouble. There are shipping headaches. Also The adjustable front sight is not legal for some competitions. Despite the lore IMHO it is an antiquated and fragile design and not suitable for a lot of use.
Scota4570- Posts : 65
Join date : 2019-10-22
Re: Service Revolver
Don't overlook s&w 15's. I think they are a little easier to find a deal on than 14s,
Merick- Posts : 446
Join date : 2015-08-13
Location : Kansas
Re: Service Revolver
Interesting information regarding the old Colt revolvers...some of them are very attractive.
My hands beckon for a larger frame...so perhaps the 20 series SW revolvers?
For those of you who might be interested. We have many additional costs that other states likely do not have, making our purchases rather dear.
I recently checked with our FFL as i was looking at an old C&R revolver on GunBroker.
The C&R revolver i found started out at something like 500 dollars (ultimately it went for a lot more but let's just stick with $500 for this example).
We of course you must add apx. 50 dollars for shipping
then we have some $37 for DROS
Must not forget then transfer fee of $100
then of course there's the lovely 11% tax on top of the usual 8 percent sales tax
That 500 dollar bargain C&R revolver now ends up costing a whopping $782 dollars.
Most of the time you also have to add $10 for a new cable trigger lock (even if you have plenty already).
So now it's $792 dollars for a $500 revolver.....well above what i can reasonably afford at this time.
My hands beckon for a larger frame...so perhaps the 20 series SW revolvers?
For those of you who might be interested. We have many additional costs that other states likely do not have, making our purchases rather dear.
I recently checked with our FFL as i was looking at an old C&R revolver on GunBroker.
The C&R revolver i found started out at something like 500 dollars (ultimately it went for a lot more but let's just stick with $500 for this example).
We of course you must add apx. 50 dollars for shipping
then we have some $37 for DROS
Must not forget then transfer fee of $100
then of course there's the lovely 11% tax on top of the usual 8 percent sales tax
That 500 dollar bargain C&R revolver now ends up costing a whopping $782 dollars.
Most of the time you also have to add $10 for a new cable trigger lock (even if you have plenty already).
So now it's $792 dollars for a $500 revolver.....well above what i can reasonably afford at this time.
Last edited by brand-new on 10/8/2024, 2:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
brand-new- Posts : 126
Join date : 2022-01-12
Re: Service Revolver
Scota4570 wrote:I too seek a M14. I am in California. You can add over $100 to the price of any gun due to fees. I am hesitant to by a revolver sight unseen because of those fees. I have eyes on a minty M14 but the owner is not selling yet.
Do not buy a Colt. I have found only one person who seems competent to work on them. I got an Officers' Model with heavy barrel. It is badly out of time. It can not be returned. The previous owner probably did not know. Probably.... IT also had cold blue touch ups. It was sold at a collector price. The one gunsmith that sounds competent currently has back trouble. There are shipping headaches. Also The adjustable front sight is not legal for some competitions. Despite the lore IMHO it is an antiquated and fragile design and not suitable for a lot of use.
Sorry to hear you had a bad buying experience with a Colt, but in case you hadn't tried working on it, E/I frame Colts (Officer's Model Target, Officer's Model Match, Pythons) are dead simple inside. The hand assembly does all the timing work and is also the wear part that causes lazy cylinder rotation eventually. In almost all the Colts I've shot, the hand was the culprit for timing issues. Chamber and bore alignment is up to the cylinder bolt, and those issues are rarer than hand wear, but I've also seen them. Replacement factory and repro parts are available. Time, elbow grease, and files/stones will get your gun locking like brand new.
Mechanically, the Colts have less going on inside than the Smiths. Not as easy to tune as a result, but way easier to work on. They're also pretty robust if you shoot them the way revolvers were shot 100 years ago (DA is only there for emergencies). The "bank vault lockup" is the culprit: the hand is pushed against the cylinder star by the trigger, which is trying to rotate against the cylinder as the cylinder bolt stops rotation. Shoot double action, and you're pushing movable metal (the hand) against unmoving metal (the star) with 8-10 lbs of finger pressure as the gun is going off. Shoot single action, and you're only using 2-3 lbs of pressure to get the same lockup.
Sounds like you have an Officer's Model Target with the adjustable front sight. I have a couple. I think the later Match (fixed Patridge front with a fully adjustable rear) is a superior setup for this game, but the OMT should be just fine for CMP Service Revolver and NRA Centerfire matches. The NRA Distinguished Revolver rules are the only ones that forbid adjustable front sights.
JRV- Posts : 179
Join date : 2022-04-03
brand-new likes this post
Re: Service Revolver
This season I shot a Smith 14 for Service Revolver.
Previously for revolver matches I have shot a Smith 586, Smith 27, Ruger GP100. All would perform if you were willing to put in the work to learn how to shoot a revolver. Specifically for CMP Service Revolver a 25-2 in 45 acp would be a fun option, as would a Model 19.
Side note for my friends in California, in some sage words of advice that my grandfather gave my Dad and uncle when they were living in California and complaining about the cons of living there, "If you don't like it, move". Yep a very tough love statement, but it gets old listening to the same gripes and complaints over and over.
Previously for revolver matches I have shot a Smith 586, Smith 27, Ruger GP100. All would perform if you were willing to put in the work to learn how to shoot a revolver. Specifically for CMP Service Revolver a 25-2 in 45 acp would be a fun option, as would a Model 19.
Side note for my friends in California, in some sage words of advice that my grandfather gave my Dad and uncle when they were living in California and complaining about the cons of living there, "If you don't like it, move". Yep a very tough love statement, but it gets old listening to the same gripes and complaints over and over.
chiz1180- Posts : 1456
Join date : 2019-05-29
Location : Ohio
Dr.Bill likes this post
Re: Service Revolver
"Sorry to hear you had a bad buying experience with a Colt,............"
"Stuff" happens.
The cylinder is over rotating to a greater or lesser amount on each chamber. The hand is pushing it past. I could shorten the hand. But then the lockup will be sloppy. Also the star is also not the same on every chamber.
I have thought it out quite a bit. In order to know that the chamber is dead straight with the bore is not easy.
I think I will need to make up some chamber plugs with precise holes in the center. Those holes would accept pins that fit in a bore diameter spud. By making different diameter pins I could know how far off each chamber is.
Then what? IF they are not all the same the notches are not properly located. IT it is just plain sloppy, and it will be, then the locking bolt and or frame is worn. I'd need to fit a new bolt.
The only place that seems to have NOS bolt is Jack First.
The whole process and reinvention of the wheel and associated tooling makes my head spin. And, I do this kind of work for fun.
How closely aligned does the chamber need to be aligned with the barrel? I seems to me it needs to be near perfect or you will get gas blow by.
The local "45 builder" has been gunsmithing for 40 years and he turned it down flat.
The best solution seems to be to buy a clean M14 and spend my time on the range.
"Stuff" happens.
The cylinder is over rotating to a greater or lesser amount on each chamber. The hand is pushing it past. I could shorten the hand. But then the lockup will be sloppy. Also the star is also not the same on every chamber.
I have thought it out quite a bit. In order to know that the chamber is dead straight with the bore is not easy.
I think I will need to make up some chamber plugs with precise holes in the center. Those holes would accept pins that fit in a bore diameter spud. By making different diameter pins I could know how far off each chamber is.
Then what? IF they are not all the same the notches are not properly located. IT it is just plain sloppy, and it will be, then the locking bolt and or frame is worn. I'd need to fit a new bolt.
The only place that seems to have NOS bolt is Jack First.
The whole process and reinvention of the wheel and associated tooling makes my head spin. And, I do this kind of work for fun.
How closely aligned does the chamber need to be aligned with the barrel? I seems to me it needs to be near perfect or you will get gas blow by.
The local "45 builder" has been gunsmithing for 40 years and he turned it down flat.
The best solution seems to be to buy a clean M14 and spend my time on the range.
Scota4570- Posts : 65
Join date : 2019-10-22
Re: Service Revolver
A new Python might be an option as well. A few people have said good things about the work of https://www.heffronprecision.com/ on the Colt forum. The Stainless Steel ones are CA compliant. Good luck with your search.
troystaten- Posts : 816
Join date : 2012-04-19
brand-new likes this post
Re: Service Revolver
Interesting website for Heffron Precision, they’re booked through early 2027
Will refer back in the future…one never knows, might be worth a call
Thank you
Will refer back in the future…one never knows, might be worth a call
Thank you
brand-new- Posts : 126
Join date : 2022-01-12
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