First Freeper Postal Match Results!

Freerepublic ^ | 4/28/02 | NY.SS-Bar9

[NY.SS-Bar9]

Here are the scores:

	0.22								CF
	Slow	X	Timed	X	Rapid	X	TOTAL .22		Slow	X	Timed	X	Rapid	X	TOTAL CF
M1911	87	1	83	0	74	0	244	1	75	0	57	0	76	0	208	0	452
CTdonath2	90	0	73	2	76	1	239	3	79	2	68	1	58	1	205	4	444
5madman2	89	1	90	0	91	1	270	2	83	0	85	1	77	0	245	1	515
umgud	100	1	94	2	83	0	277	3	98	4	87	0	78	0	263	4	540
Cap&Ball	69	0	73	0	72	0	214	0	60	0	64	0	60	0	184	0	398
Shooter 2.5	98	4	92	2	83	1	273	7	98	5	87	1	87	0	272	6	545
Freedomlover	81	2	89	0	81	1	251	3	75	0	78	1	83	0	236	1	487
Barnacle	79	0	81	1	82	0	242	1	82	2	54	0	17	0	153	2	395
Ibbryn	0	0	79	1	78	0	157	1	82	0	75	0	43	0	200	0	357
Mrs. Ibbrryn	82	1	82	1	79	0	243	2	93	1	72	0	61	0	226	1	469
Chookter	94	4	93	1	94	2	281	7	83	0	76	0	77	0	236	0	517
NY.SS-Bar9	96	1	91	4	93	1	280	6	85	2	91	1	80	1	256	4	536
Average	80.4	1.3	85.0	1.2	82.2	0.6	247.6	3.0	82.8	1.3	74.5	0.4	66.4	0.2	223.7	1.9	471.3
High aggregate score
Shooter2.5	545
High Rimfire aggregate
Chookter	281
High centerfire aggregate
Shooter2.5	272
High single target
umgud	100

[NY.SS-Bar9]

What a long, strange trip it's been...

After four months, we finally have the results.

I will leave it to each of you to add whatever commentary you feel appropriate

Thanks to all for participating. I had a great time doing this.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I am a little short on time at the moment, I will add more information this evening - I wanted to get this posted ASAP.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

Almost forgot...

I did place first in one category: smallest group - with a 2-3/4" group on my slow fire .22 target.

UMGUD gets honorable mention with a 3-1/8" group on his .22 slow fire.

Shooter2.5 had the smallest centerfire group with a 4" group on his slow fire target.

[Shooter 2.5]

Thanks for all the help in hosting the fun, NY. The Timed and Rapids were interesting. I hope it didn't cost you a lot in time and money. It was nice finding out that I had a little problem with my reloads that this match was able to expose. Now all I have to do is burn up about two thousand rounds that have the poor powder amounts.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

Late last year, I decided to join a local range. I had been heavily involved in competitive shooting until I got married / bought a house / had a couple of kids... you all know the story.

I was itching to get into a match to see if I could still shoot straight. Remebering NRA postal matches from high school, I immediately thought that FR would be a good place to find like-minded souls lookin' to do some shootin'.

I was right, quite a few expressed interest and I had to turn several away. After a few mis-steps, the participants finally got their targets.

I shot the match on a windy day that had the target holders spinning in their stands. For the .22, I used a Ruger MkII 6-7/8" SS fairly stock except for the grips and a target trigger.. For centerfire, I used a S&W 6" L Frame 586 in .38 - again stock except for trigger and grips. Ammo was S&B wadcutters and Federal match .22's.

I was not especiallly happy with my scores, but considering that I last shot in a match 10 years ago (with younger eyes), I'll take what I got.

What we have here are 16 winners, everyone got to go out and improve their marksmanship, have fun, and learn a little about their abilities.

Congratulations to Shooter, umgud, 5madman and chookter on their outstanding performance.

If I get any more targets, I will post the revised list, but I am sure most of you were as anxious as I was to see where you stood.

Thanks again to all !

[CapandBall]

Thanks for putting this togeather Bar9. I learned a lot. I'd be interested to know what types of firearms & ammo folks used. Myself;

Center fire:
Ruger Blackhawk 7 1/2" barrel .45LC SSA
255 grain hand cast (wheel weights) semi-wadcutter.
7.4 grains Unique smokeless powder

Rimfire:
S&W model 22A 5 1/2" barrel
Federal 22LR JHP

[umgud]

I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. For rimfire I used a Magnum Research Mountain Eagle 6" semi-auto. It is too light for offhand shooting but is pretty accurate. For CF, I used a .357 Ruger BlackHawk, 5 1/2" shooting 38 spl semi-wadcutters. I was happy with this until I had to shoot rapidfire, which is tough with a sa cowboy gun. I think this style match needs single action semi-autos. Maybe a long-slide 1911 and a Ruger like yours. There is a world of difference between offhand and benchrest. I practice offhand because I hunt a lot with a handgun, but I've never had to do it like this.

The other big news here is that Mrs. Ibbryn whooped Mr. Ibbryn in all categories except one. We know who's struttin in that home for a while.

[Shooter 2.5]

Smith and Wesson 22A with Winchester Super X. Springfield Armory Trophy Match with PMC 230 Grain hardball.

[ctdonath2]

Ruger Mark II and Glock 26. I didn't practice or warm up properly, wanting to see "cold" results. Could have done better with the .22; the short-barreled Glock doesn't like 25 yards.

[ctdonath2]

Thank you for doing this!

[NY.SS-Bar9]

BTTT

[Cogadh na Sith]

Thanks!

It was really really fun!--and gave me an excuse to take off work early and head to the range.

Lotta good shooters here. I'm happy to have finished in the middle of the pack with some really good shooters!

[Cogadh na Sith]

Oh, I shot the rimfire with a Ruger mkII 22/45 with a bull barrel and Federal ammo.

I shot the centerfire with a Magnum Research mkVII .44 mag Desert Eagle shooting PMC ammo--240gr jhp.

Man, I love the Desert Eagle--it's a handful, but very satisfying to shoot and capable of very fine accuracy.

[5Madman2]

Thanks for putting this together and all the work you did. I plan to break out of my solid middle position on the next one. (Probably to the rear of the pack, the way my practices have been going)

[5Madman2]

Since we're putting up the weapons-Glock 22 with a lovely (Sarcastic sneer) 12 pd NY trigger and a Ruger MkII with a 6 inch barrel

[Shooter 2.5]

Just out of curiosity, what happened to OKSooner, Wallace212, and Retired Navy? Wallace was even writing about hosting a rifle match. I hope they're still Freeping.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I am still waiting for the return of their targets. At least two had indicated that they intended to shoot the match and return the targets, but as of the cut-off date, I had nothing.

I did not want to keep eveyone in suspense waiting for targets that may never arrive, so I went ahead and posted the scores.

I will amend the scoring to include any late returns as they arrive.

[Shooter 2.5]

I guess the game of life got in the way. The only thing that stops me from going to the range is a weird electrical short in the vehicle that allows me to get down through the rocks and mud of the range. I think I fixed it today but I don't want to be down to the range lease by myself which happens a lot because I go in the morning. The lease has only 100 people listed. Last time, I walked a half hour to get to a phone and by the time I walked back, there was someone at the gate. All I had to do was wait one more hour. I ordered a new toy and it should be here Wednesday night. If I can figure out how to post, I'll do a vanity.

[CapandBall]

Hey Shooter, the more I compare and contrast our S&W 22's, the more I feel the need to ask what/where/how did yours come to look like it does, and what mods were made internal, if any?

It's a great gun, my score is purely the shooters fault. The only thing I'm less than thrilled about with it is the take-down. Why did you choose it?

[NY.SS-Bar9]

My "Tools"

[Shooter 2.5]

To tell the truth, I thought all the 22A's looked like that until I saw your model at a gunshow a couple of weeks ago. I bought it that way and to me, the grips are a little too big. Since I'm left handed and they are ambidextrous I was happy with them. I bought it because it was time to retire my Colt Woodsman Match Target and I liked the idea that the barrel removal was so simple and I could clean from the breech. My friend had just bought a High Standard and I saw this one an hour later. I wasn't interested in a collector's piece and this follows the High Standard design. The price wasn't outrageous. I think it was $236 or something like that.

[Shooter 2.5]

I noticed you like custom grips. What is the revolver and what is the medalion on the grip?

[umgud]

Did you shoot rapid fire in DA or SA mode with the Smith? I'm no good in DA mode, and SA in rapid fire is a real feat With a SA only, such as mine and Cap&Ball's BlackHawks, I had to master a "thumbshooting" technique. It ain't real accurate. Thanks for all your effort. If we ever do this again, I suspect it won't be quite as onerous. BTW, nice tools.

[Shooter 2.5]

Oops! I read your earlier post. Smith 586 it is. Certainly are a lot of Smiths and Rugers.

[let freedom sing]

Postal match-- is that some kind of a freudian slip? (pistol)

[wardaddy]

Congrats.

[wardaddy]

Hey Cap....is that Old Army originally a BP with an aftermarket 45LC cylinder? I'm thinking about getting one of those cylinders for my Old Army stainless.

Good shooting.

[wardaddy]

stupid me...duh...no loading lever...I should have looked a bit harder...your username got me excited. I mostly shoot primitive these days.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I fired all stages of the CF match SA. I probably would have been able to shoot DA (I installed ridiculously light springs) but I usually have enough time to get all five rounds off.

The grips are Houge on the S&W, and no-name rosewood w/thumbrest on the Ruger.

[Shooter 2.5]

Thank you. I had a lot of fun and I learned how to time my shots. The problem with the rapids didn't go away until I finally decided to just shoot like IDPA and shoot as fast as I could and line the sights up.

I'm a firm believer in competition because it forces people in scenarios that they didn't think of. I have a few friends that don't like to shoot competitively because it's too regimented. I think that's the whole idea. The scores don't lie and we have to fit ourselves into a game that we can't control. We can deal with it but it's up to the rules that we fit in. I always did like the adrenaline that kicks in afterwards. < gg >

[Shooter 2.5]

I have a friend who is teaching me about proper grips. He shoots all the big stuff in Freedom Arms guns. .454 Casulls, 475's, .500 Limbaughs. He hates rubber grips on large caliber guns because the rubber pulls the skin in recoil and can be painful. Grips shouldn't be so large that the fingers can't grip like my 22A. On my carry pistol, the rubber grips held in the moisture and caused my Stainless Ultra-Compact to pit and rust. The rubber grips were wearing out my skin underneath a t-shirt in the summer so I switched to a phony ivory set. No checkering because of the skin contact. I'm left handed so I try to stay away from thumb rests. I made a pair of bone grips for a .45 but the burnt smell in the house didn't make it worth it.

[m1911]

No pics of my toys yet, but I used a Springfield 1911A1 with 230gr LRN reloads, and the cheapest .22 I could find, a Heritage SA six-shooter with a 4" barrel. The .45 ammo was a mix of my own reloads and some I bought from a gun show. Sad to say that my own loads were pretty inconsistent, and that's what I used on the timed fire course. Switching back to the professional reloads for the rapid made a big difference.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I first tried Pachmeyer (sp?) grips on the S&W, but they had too much of a "disconnected" feeling. These grips fit my hand well and keep the gun from shifting between shots.

[Shooter 2.5]

I have Pachmeyers on my house gun but rubber has no place on a carry gun. There is also that thing about ugly guns. Rubber seems like a short cut to down to the bone ugly.

[CapandBall]

I know what you mean, I got an old 1851 Navy BP in 36 cal, I've thought of doing the conversion kit thing too.

The 45 in the photo is not mine, I found it on the web and linked to it - very close, but a little older I think. My Blackhawk looks slightly different, flatter, less sloaped under the cylinder around the trigger. I have whats called a "convertible", it comes with two cylinders, one is .45LC, the other is .45ACP. Kind of nice to be able to shoot either, but it didnt help me in this match ;')

[CapandBall]

Thanks for the explaination, I've never seen a 22A like yours, but I believe mine cost about $225. The grips on your don't look to comfy to me either, but I love what was done to you frame and it's color.

[wardaddy]

Coincidentally...I bought a .45 long colt conversion cylinder for my Old Army today....200 bucks in brushed stainless....from R&D products. They make conversions for almost all replica BP revolvers except the Walker....I think. Comes as a drop in with a firing pin butt plate. I think you can shoot any LC short of hot loads in it. They don't advise Corbon either.I can get a drop in for my Remington models in .44 Russian.....

Remember...shhh....these are non-database purchases for now. The ATF considers it personal gun manufacturing. If someone buys one from a dealer already done it has to be FFL. Once converted then of course it's "real" gun as per the 1968 GCA. As these become more popular ...I see restrictions coming. Fortunately the JBTs seem more preoccupied with black guns for now.

[Shooter 2.5]

Since we're all adults here and I can act a little childish. I ordered this thing a couple of days ago for two reasons. I liked it and Free Republic kept on having threads where someone would say something about an automatic revolver. Not the best reason for something but what the heck. It's not like it would go down in price. Lousy picture. I tried 4 times but the light outside was going bad. It's a Mateba .357 semi-automatic revolver. They even come in .454 Casull. I can't wait to try it. It even shoots from the bottom of the cylinder.

[umgud]

I did a web search for this and found several articles about it. It is billed as being extremely accurate. I saw one version with a red dot. It looked like a race gun. Is the first round double action, or can you cock it for a single action first-shot?

[Shooter 2.5]

There isn't a spur on the hammer like some of the others but I've been pulling the hammer back without it. DA for the first and SA for the rest. SA for the first if I dig in and pull the hammer back without slipping and the top part coming back and nailing me. The articles on the web mostly deal with fantasy games and the Japanese Anim, The Ghost in the Shell. I rented it yesterday and it doesn't show it very much but it was like a "Bladerunner" with Japanese nudity.

The gun also has an extra recoil spring for .38. I wrote a bunch of e-mails about it so I think I'm repeating myself.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I'm jealous !

You have a much nicer rug than I do. ;)

[Shooter 2.5]

Bath towel. < snicker >

[ctdonath2]

Amusing! Suppose somebody has to monkey with alternate designs. (BTW: the "automatic revolver" is not a new concept, though the mechanism for yours may be.) Tell us how it works, both mechanically and performance. And what it's good for.

[Shooter 2.5]

From what I can tell there is a camming action as the top part moves to the rear that pushes the pawl in order to rotate the cylinder. The hammer is cocked by the top part moving to the rear and riding over the hammer. The cylinder also doesn't have the cylinder lock cuts on the outside of the cylinder to marr the surface.

The distance from the center of the trigger to the barrel axis is incredibly short and may even be shorter than my 1911.

I read articles that report excellent accuracy. I'll have to get back to everyone on that one when I can get to the range. Maybe Thursday.

What is it good for?
I'm not going to try to answer that question.

[5Madman2]

Ahh yes, the gun we buy that has no practical purpose or use that we can justify to our wife. I am quite familiar with it. Mine is a SW K frame .357 with a six inch Bull barrel that's about as big around as a broomstick, maybe bigger, with a Bo-Mar rib sight. I couldn't think of a good reason to buy it other than I wanted the thing as soon as I saw it. Kept it in the Gun safe for a while and then the wife figured it had always been there.

It's the kind of gun that when a gang banger pulls out his Lorcin or Jennings, you pull this monster out and say, "you call that a gun? This is a gun" (A la Crocodile Dundee)

[NY.SS-Bar9]

BTTT -

This thread deserves a little more exposure.

[Shooter 2.5]

Yesterday, I went to the shooting lease despite the chance of a storm and a windy conditions. I bought a box of PMC jacketed .357 because I hadn't even looked for my reloads in months and I didn't want to use lead in the new gun.

Loading the first six, I decided to just shoot into the berm and see if it would work. I fired my first shot double action and when I was bringing the gun down to the ready position, I reached my finger to find the trigger again and I accidently fired a second shot. I wasn't even aware that I touched the trigger. I am going to have to get used to a single action trigger that is too light. Firing the last of the rounds, I opened the cylinder and found one more round that I hadn't fired. I lined up the round and pulled the trigger. Nothing. I tried three more times until I finally woke up to remember that the gun fires in the six o'clock position. I knew that and I told everyone but habits die hard.

I tried emptying the cyinder, and the rounds wouldn't come out. The ejector rod had rust and oil on it and it was very stiff. Throughout the firing, It was very hard to eject any of the rounds out of the cylinder. It cleaned up after I returned home but it didn't do me any good while I was out there.

Accuracy was wonderful. It was too bad that I wasn't doing my part. I noticed that there weren't any arrows on the sight so I left the adjustment alone until I could read the manual again. Sight adjustments are made on the front sight because of interchangeable barrels like a Dan Wesson. It was shooting low and to the right from 25 yards like the picture shows. I let my buddy shoot it and I didn't notice any movement from the top part because it was too fast. Muzzle flip wasn't bad and the other pictures captured that. I didn't notice any at all when I was firing.

I would have loved to shoot rapidly as fast as I can but I wanted to get used to it first.

Overall, it's a little top heavy, expensive and teaches habits that need training. The workmanship is outstanding, it's very accurate and feels great. If it's as fast on the next round that I think it is, a steel plate competition would be a lot of fun. The distance from the middle of the trigger to the bore is the same as a 1911, 1 1/2 inches. Reloading is a little awkward since I never learned how to do a revolver and the cylinder latch is located where it would be close to a speed loader.

I would recommend buying this if you collect firearms with the idea of owning an original. This is a true collector's piece and not a manufactured, one out of a thousand, medalioned, copy of something.

[Shooter 2.5]

Yes, I agree. I wonder if Wallace is still thinking about the rifle match?

[NY.SS-Bar9]

....still thinking about the rifle match...

Hope so, even though I would finish near the bottom of the pack.

[CapandBall]

On the subject of a rifle match, I'm off to my monthly high power rifle NM tomorrow. It is a 100 yard range, so the SR-1, SR-21, and MR-31 targets are used. I'm gonna see if they will sell enough targets so I can sponsor an FR postal High Power rifle match. I have not broken 400 yet, so I know I'll be getting my ass kicked here(again). If I can get enough targets, I'll offer entry to the participants of this pistol match first, then open it up to the rest of Free Republic.