The Rose City IDPA Championship 2018

My First Tier 2 Match

I've shot more than my fair share of IDPA matches over the past few years, so it's about time for me to shoot a sanctioned match. As luck would have it, several of the local shooters worked together to put on a match in Tyler, TX so I didn't even have to travel! This was a lucky break as the travel expenses have deterred me from shooting anything but local matches. 

As a wheel gunner, I elected to shoot in the Revolver Division. IDPA's Revolver is divided into two categories; Stock and Enhanced. I typically shoot in the REV - S division with 115 power factor .38 Special ammunition and speed loaders. The REV - Enhanced division allows for a moon clips as long as the rounds meet the higher power factor of 155. Most factory .45ACP that isn't loaded light, but the shooter I borrowed this revolver from was happy to load up some rounds for both practice sessions and the match.

The eight stage event was held at Rose City Flying Clays on July 13-14, 2018. As the match was held on one large bay, the participants were divided into four squads, with a morning and afternoon shoot each day. I chose the Friday morning squad. The arrival time was early, but I figured that was better to get up before dawn than shoot in the heat. I arrived at the range that morning and after a detailed safety brief, we were ready to shoot! 
 

Match Revolver

Before we get to the individual stages, I wanted to discuss my rig for the match. The revolver I competed with was a Smith & Wesson 625 JM. It features an Apex Tactical Evolution IV Hammer and an Apex Extended Firing Pin resulting in a trigger pull between six (6) and seven (7) pounds. The 625 is chambered in .45ACP and while there is a more felt recoil, the Hogue X-frame Tamer grips cushion the recoil. I wish Hogue manufactured a version with no finger grooves, because I hate those grooves. 

I've mentioned before that I am very fond of moon clips and believe that all revolvers should be cut this way. This is especially true with the big round-nose bullets. The full moon clips load and unload incredibly fast compared to speed loaders. Even with the high power factor that is required to use moon clips, this was a lot of fun to run at my first sanctioned match. Now onto the stages!

Should I Stay or Should I Go

Stage One of the match required three shots per target from behind the fault line. There were three levels of priority which required targets to be engaged  from near to far. As the Smith & Wesson 625 cylinder only holds six rounds, I reloaded after engaging every two targets. This was a great warm up stage! Even with a misfire, my total time was 27.41 seconds with no points down. My overall placement was 52nd out of 72 shooters.

  

A 1000 Things to Remember

Stage Two was the standards stage. Targets were engaged in priority from near to far behind a designated fault line with each target receiving only one round. Between each fault line shooters were required to swap from freestyle at ten yards, strong hand only at seven yards,  and weak hand only at five yards. This was challenging, but I was only seven (7) points down with a total time of 50.58 seconds. My overall placement was 42nd of 72 shooters.

Law Breakers

Stage Three required one shot to the body and one shot to the head on each target. The first target array went well, but a misfire on the second array threw off my game a bit. That makes two misfires at this match after just three stages. Luckily, the round went off the second time under the hammer. I was only two (2) points down with a total time of 36.48 seconds. My overall placement was 53rd of 72 shooters.
 

Drop Tubby and Run

Stage Four began with shooters carrying a stuffed giraffe, named Tubby, that must be returned to his tub after engaging three targets. Many shooters elected to hold Tubby by his tail while shooting and drop him into his tub on the way to the next position. We were warned that Tubby was a delicate giraffe and could potentially bounce out of his tub. Those that aggressively released Tubby had to retrieve him from the mud before gently placing him in the tub. Tubby cooperated for me and I finished the stage only two (2) points down with a total time of 29.41 seconds. My overall placement was 44th of 72 shooters.
 

Steel Deal

Stage Five did not require the first array to be shot strong hand only, but the drop turner target moved quickly when the rope was pulled. At that distance, I figured strong hand only made the most sense. This turned out to be a good strategy and several shooters followed a similar plan. At the final position, a mover slide along a cable. I may have been trying to hard to avoid the no shoot because my shoots were on the far edge of the target. My second to last shot was another misfire. That makes three light strikes. I finished with seven (7) points down with a total time of 34.80 seconds. My overall placement was 57th of 72 shooters.

I Surrender...Nevermind

Stage Six was going relatively well until my second reload. I struggled with the moon clip for a few seconds before it seated in the cylinder. This ate up time and moved me way down the list. Upon further inspection, the case mouth had a burr that hung up on the cylinder. I must have missed this when loading that round into the moon clip. At least it wasn't another misfire. I finished one (1) point down with a total time of 35.41 seconds. My overall placement was 71st of 72 shooters. This was my worst stage.
 

Car-Motion

This stage featured for a car prop. We don't usually have vehicles on the range, so I thought that was pretty neat. When making ready for the stage, the moon clip would not seat in the cylinder. I remember the previous stage and rather than forcing it, I swapped to another moon. The first array went well, but the reload was a disaster. After fiddling with it for a few seconds, I chunked it rather than stowing it. Leaving live rounds is a procedural penalty, but my time was so poor the match director didn't give me one. If you listen, you can hear another shooter comment on the misfires that day. Further inspection revealed a split case, so I'm glad it didn't chamber. I finished one (1) point down with a total time of 39.87 seconds. My overall placement was 69th of 72 shooters.  
 

Too Much Junk in the Trunk 

Stage Eight featured an unloaded start and required shooters to stow any ammunition they needed before proceeding. I figured that I would bring the third reload just in case the ammunition decided not to cooperate once again. Thankfully, everything loaded correctly. I tried to leave the first position before engaging the third target and crowded cover after my reload. I was pretty tired at this point. I finished one (1) point down with a total time of 38.08 seconds. My overall placement was 50th of 72 shooters.

Conclusions

 

I finished the match just as it started to warm up around on Friday afternoon. It was a very early morning, but I was glad that I completed the match before the heat of the day. Dinner and a small award ceremony was scheduled for Saturday evening after the conclusion of the match. After a decent burger, I went into the clubhouse for the ceremony. It was a bit warm, but I got to chat with other shooters about their performance on the stages.

Despite the competition (myself), I managed to take home a nice plaque as the 2018 Revolver Division Champion! I don't know if I really deserved a trophy as the only shooter in my division, but it is proudly displayed in my office. I enjoyed my first sanctioned IDPA match and plan to shoot a sanctioned match or two next season. I really hope that this event happens again next year! 

One final note. While receiving my award at the ceremony Saturday evening, another shooter said that several folks planned to join me in the Revolver Division for the 2019 season. This is pretty exciting news! Competing against other revolver shooters is a welcome change. We'll see how many are up to the challenge!

As always, if you have any suggestions for future posts or would like to share your experience on the current topic please post below!

Red Dot Sight Revolver Project: Overview

Over the past few decades, red dot sights have become smaller, more reliable, and less cost prohibitive. These advances have resulted in many shooters mounting these optics on the slides of handguns. Whether for recreational, competitive, or defensive use, it appears that miniaturized red dot sights on handguns are the way of the future. Many major manufacturers now offer optic ready platforms. A brief search of the topic reveals that the majority of handguns equipped with optics are automatics. But what about red dot optics mounted on revolvers?

• Are red dot sights compatible with revolvers?

• What optics and mounts are currently available for revolvers?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages to optic equipped revolvers over iron sighted models?

• How do optic equipped revolvers and automatics compare when tested side by side?

  

In order to answer these questions, Revolvers Only will be embarking on a new series of posts called the Red Dot Sight Revolver Project!

The RDSR Project will test & evaluate several popular red dot sights and showcase available mounting options. The data collected will be used to make direct comparisons between both iron sight and red dot sight handguns (RDSH). Most importantly, the data will be used to make comparisons between red dot sight automatics (RDSA) and red dot sight revolvers (RDSR).

Goals

First, the project will attempt to inform shooters that red dot sights can be mounted easily and inexpensively on many modern revolvers.

Second, the project will attempt to test and evaluate several popular red dot sights available on the market.

Third, the project will attempt to highlight some of the advantages an optic equipped handgun has over an iron sighted handgun.

Fourth, the project will attempt compare and contrast Red Dot Sight Revolvers (RDSR) with Red Dot Sight Automatics (RDSA).

Testing Procedures

In order to evaluate red dot optics on both revolvers and automatics, data will be collected during the testing process using four drills. The Bill Drill will be shot once using each firearm; this will largely serve as warm up for each handgun. The Box Drill, Three Twenty Five Drill, and Reload Drill will be attempted three times. The average of those three will provide an overall score per drill. All of this data will be used to compare the performance of each platform.

Before any red dot sight testing occurs, each handgun will undergo these same drills with iron sights. The results from those drills will serve as the control data, or baseline, to which the optic equipped pistols will be compared. After the iron versus optic comparison, the evaluation of each handgun and associated red dot sight will begin. A comparison of overall scores will determine which RDSH performed the drills in the shortest amount of time. As the project continues, readers are encouraged to make their own comparisons between optics to help determine which best meets their needs.

Target & Scoring

    

The target selected for the testing procedure is the current (2018) IDPA target. The target is marked with perforations to indicate scoring zones. Scoring is as follows:

• Hits in both the center of the body and head add zero second to the raw time.
• Hits just outside the center of the body and head add one second each in penalty time to the raw time.
• Hits toward the edge of the body add three seconds each in penalty time to the raw time.
• Complete misses add five seconds each to the the raw time.

Data Tables
   

Data will be recorded and displayed on tables for each drill.  Below are definitions of the terms listed on the tables:

Draw - time between the holster and first shot

2nd, 3rd, etc. - time between each shot during the drill

Raw Time - time after the final shot of the drill has been fired

Penalty Time - time added to Raw Time for any hits outside the center portions of the target

Total Time - Raw Time plus Penalty Time 

Overall Score - the average of three Total Times of each drill

Courses of Fire

There were two challenges in selecting the courses of fire:

1) Limited cylinder capacity - Drills need to be neutral to get accurate data, so one handgun could not be given advantage over another. The limited cylinder capacity of revolvers mandates that six round neutral drills be used, limiting the options available.

2) Distance limitations - Many argue that red dot sights are slower than iron sights a close distances. To get as accurate of data as possible, a variety of distances were chosen: three (3), seven (7), twelve (12), and twenty five (25) yards. This will help determine if iron sights are indeed better for close shooting.

  

  

Reload drill note: Automatics and revolvers reload differently, and that makes it difficult to compare. To create some level of balance, the automatics will be loaded with one round in the chamber and an empty magazine. From slide lock, the shooter will reload with a new magazine loaded to six rounds. Similarly, both revolvers will be loaded with one live round in the cylinder. The shooter will perform a reload with a full speed loader or moon clip.

Results

At the end of each testing cycle, conclusions will be drawn regarding the performance of the each optic on both automatic and revolver platforms. These comparisons should produce valuable information to aid the consumer in selecting the best possible handgun/sight combination.

Final Thoughts

I hope that you are just as excited for the the Red Dot Sight Revolver Project as I am! After shooting red dot sights in Open Division for the past year, I am excited to compare frame mounted red dot sights to slide mounted optics. I plan to compete in a few matches shooting the two optic equipped platforms back to back.

This will not be a short series as new optics rotate into the project and life events occur (my wedding is less than three months away). Product reviews and match recaps will be still be regular features on Revolvers Only. In case you miss a post, a new tab has been added to the home page. This page features direct links to each RDSRP post, more general information about the project, and links to the websites of industry sponsors. RDSRP would not be possible without support from these sponsors, so please visit their websites and check out their products! 

As always, if you have any suggestions for future posts or would like to share your experience on the current topic please post below!

Taylor's & Company Short Stroke Smoke Wagon

Taylor's & Company

Taylor's & Company is dedicated to producing historically accurate replicas of firearms designed between the mid nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth century. As an importer, quality control is taken very seriously and every firearm is inspected before it leaves the facility. I am a huge fan of these single action revolver and Taylor's was kind enough to send a Short Stroke Smoke Wagon out for testing & evaluation. The model requested for review (Item Number 556202) features a five and a half inch (5.5") barrel and is chambered in .45 Long Colt. 
 

Smoke Wagon

The Smoke Wagon line of revolvers is likely named after a line in the film Tombstone (1993). During an argument, Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russel) challenges Johnny Taylor (Billy Bob Thorton) to draw his revolver referring to it as a smoke wagon. These models have a deep blued finish with a case-hardened frame. This firearm also comes with a short stroke action and a low profile hammer spur for faster manipulation. Rather than selecting traditional smooth side stock, the Smoke Wagon's stocks feature deep checkering that provides a bit more control and comfort during use. The rear sight notch has been widened to allows for a better sight picture. While none of these updates are period correct, they improve the handling of a classic design. 

What is a "Short Stroke" action?

For those unfamiliar with the single action design, the Smoke Wagon's hammer must be cocked by the shooter for each shot. In many revolvers with this type of action, the throw of the hammer is relatively long. While a normal hammer can be cocked quickly, anytime saved in the shooting process is beneficial whether on the range or in a showdown at high noon (even if this sort of thing never happened in the Old West). This is the reason that Taylor's selected this enhanced action. As a bonus, shooters with larger hands who suffer from hammer bite will enjoy this improved design.

  

Short stroke versus full stroke

The photo above is a comparison between the standard length action and a short stroke action. There is a clear difference between the two action types. With a little tinkering, gunsmiths shortened the hammer's length of travel while maintaining reliable ignition. Short stroking actions has become popular in cowboy action shooting to shave time off the clock. Milliseconds matter. I plan to shoot a few cowboy action matches in the next year or two and I see the appeal of the short stroke hammer. I'm glad Taylor's chose to include this type of action on the Smoke Wagon.

Stocks

Impressive checkering!

   

Most revolvers manufactured in the single action army pattern are equipped with smooth wooden stocks. I've found that the smooth stocks are a bit too slick when shooting heavier recoiling ammunition. I recently discovered that replacing stocks on the single action frame is a labor of love and often requires refinishing the frame. The Smoke Wagon ships with checkered wooden stocks, which provides more traction during recoil. This upgrade makes this revolver just a bit better than some of the Taylor's other offerings. There is just enough texture to maintain a good grip without being uncomfortable.

Sight Picture

The original single action army was designed with a very utilitarian sighting system. This is basically a tall front blade and a thin rear notch at the back of a trench milled into the top strap. For someone spoiled with fiber optic front sights, or red dot optics for that matter, shooting with these rudimentary sights is challenging. As my readers know, I am one of these shooters who has had access to these modern sighting systems. Red dot sights ride on many of my revolvers and almost all my handguns have fiber optics front sights installed. 

Taylor's & Company manufactures the majority of their replicas to the original specifications. Despite the temptation to make changes to the design, the company focuses on historical accuracy. The decision to widen the rear sight notch slightly on this improved model should appeal to both competitive shooters and fans of the single action design. This is a clever upgrade that further enhances the shooting experience.

Ammunition

Aguila (left), Buffalo (center), and Hornady (right)

For testing purposes, I purchased three different brands of ammunition to run through the Smoke Wagon. The first round was manufactured by Aguila Ammo (Item Number 1E454319). This is a 200 grain lead round nose flat point bullet going about 600 feet per second. The second round was made by The Buffalo Cartridge Company (SKU: BCC00017). While it is also 200 grain lead round nose flat point bullet, the velocity is a bit faster at 685 feet per second. The final round selected was Hornady Cowboy (Item Number 9115) and propels a 255 grain lead round nose flat point bullet 725 feet per second. I wanted to shoot a decent variety factory ammunition through the Smoke Wagon to test for reliability as well as shooting experience.

Shooting Impressions

Five rounds of each on a cowboy silhouette.

 

I really enjoyed shooting this replica of a historical firearm!  While I do have a bit of experience with single action guns like the Ruger Bisley and my single action army, the majority of my revolver shooting experience is with modern Smith & Wesson wheel guns in double action. The grip frame design is a bit short, but still comfortable even if my pinky finger hangs off the bottom. Due to the shape, the Smoke Wagon rolls in your hand during recoil.  This is different than what I'm used to, but Colt was on the right track when this frame shape was designed. Here are some of the targets showing the results of my ammunition testing!

  

The first rounds loaded into the cylinder were the Aguila Ammo "Cowboy Action Load." Full disclosure, this is actually the round I keep on hand for use in my single action army manufactured by another Italian firm. The lead bullet is loaded into Starline brass, but I don't recognize the primer.  

My previous experience with this ammunition lead me to believe it would be the lightest recoiling round of the bunch. This ammo is something that you can shoot all day through the Smoke Wagon and I ended up shooting two boxes during the testing process.

The Buffalo Cartridge Company produces a product line designed for cowboy action shooting called "Outlaw." Buffalo is affiliated with the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) as of 2017, so I figured what better round to test in a revolver ideal for cowboy action shooting!

Buffalo claims to use only "high grade components" and I believe it. Presentation matters as much as performance to some shooters and this ammunition receives top marks in both categories. These rounds look very pretty out of the box. While recoil is slightly higher than the Aguila Ammo, this ammo loaded lightly enough that you should be able to shoot an entire match without issue. I'll be picking up a case when I need to restock!

   

The Hornady round tested was also marketed as a lighter cowboy load. Compared to the other two rounds, this recoiled the hardest of the three. It actually surprised me after firing two very mild offerings back to back. All that being said, Hornady Cowboy was still very was manageable. The higher velocity bullet resulted in the projectile striking slightly higher on the target. I didn't save any of the targets I shot at the 25 yard mark, but the bullets were impacting closer to the center at that range. 

Conclusions

All told, I fired 190 rounds through this wheel gun and enjoyed every minute! My parent's generation grew up watching westerns. I didn't. Instead, one of my first encounters with the single action army revolver was in the video game franchise Metal Gear Solid on the Sony PlayStation. A key character named Revolver Ocelot wields a pair of single actions, often spinning them in dramatic fashion, in several of the games. Ever since this gaming experience I've wanted to own a similar model.

There is another variation of the Short Stroke Smoke Wagon, known as the Short Stroke Gunfighter, that features an extended grip frame and similarly checkered wooden stocks.  I hope to test this model and it's unique grip in the future as well. Special thanks to Ashley of Taylor's & Co. and Steve of Evatt Marketing Group for making this review a reality. Please visit the Taylor's & Company website to view all of their product offerings. I hope to review a more models from Taylor's large catalog of firearms soon! 

As always, if you have any suggestions for future posts or would like to share your experience on the current topic please post below!

ICORE Southern Regional Revolver Championship 2018

Per the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) website, the organization "serves the international community to promote action shooting competition with revolvers." As a wheel gun enthusiast, ICORE seems like the perfect league for me to see how I stack up against other revolvers shooters. There are several divisions allowing all configuration of wheel guns of to compete on a level playing field. Unfortunately there are no clubs in my immediate area, with the closest being about three and a half hours away. By shear happenstance, I stumbled upon a match less than two hours away. 
 

Neat!

The Southern Regional Revolver Championship was scheduled for June 23rd, 2018 in Princeton, Louisiana on Shootout Lane. For those unfamiliar, that is home base for Jerry Miculek who is arguably the best revolver shooter on the planet. I decided to register in Open Division because of my fondness for red dot sights on revolvers. I even have family in the area that I don't get to visit very often, so I didn't have to worry about a hotel. (Thanks Phillip!) I was excited to finally shoot an ICORE match!

My Revolver

The revolver I chose to compete with at the match is a Smith & Wesson 929. This is an eight shot 9mm revolver with a six  inch barrel and removable compensator. This revolver was built to Jerry's specifications and the revolver sports his name on the side plate. My fiancé presented me with this awesome engagement present and I took it to the range in the factory configuration to break it in. After a lot of research, I purchased several parts to make this gun race ready and built a rig that would work in both USPSA and ICORE matches. My last post went into detail about the revolver rigs I encountered at the match, but here is a brief rundown my gear (with links):

Smith & Wesson 929

C-More RTS2
Allchin Mount
Apex Tactical Evolution Hammer and Extended Firing Pin 

TK Custom Moon Clips

Hogue Extended Cylinder Release (Short)

Hogue Big Butt Grips (no finger grooves) 

Speed Beez USPSA Legal Speed Rig 

Speed Beez Moon Clip Belt Rack 8 Post 

Tuff Surefit Competition Belt

I was placed in Squad C with nine other shooters, several  were also running S&W 929s in the Open Division. I am often shooting by myself at local matches as there are very few revolvers shooters, so shooting against other wheel gunners is a nice change. This squad was full of seasoned shooters who were happy to discuss similar participation issues, gear choices, and stage strategy. Here are my videos of the eight stages at the 2018 Southern Regional Revolver Championship!

Stage One

Summer Run was the highest round count of the match with 34 scored rounds. As the video show, I shot T1 - T6 very slowly. I notice I drop my revolver between each position, while other shooters kept their guns up and in their line of sight. I need to work on doing the same. The reloads between each position were fine, but I can definitely use a lot more practice here as well. Run and gun stages are fun, but I'm glad there were only two high round count stages. I finished 6th in my division in 23rd place overall!

Stage Two

In Your Face was a classifier stage and I believe most of the squad had shot it before. I decided to shoot the middle array on the move, and while it felt a lot faster in my head it may have been better to just stop in the middle section. Shooters had the option of moving from Box A to Box B (left to right) or from Box B to Box A (right to left). To my knowledge I was the only one who moved right to left in my squad, because I'm a lefty, but I could be wrong. I finished 5th in my division in 25th place overall!

Stage Three

Summer Steel was an all steel plate stage. Although there are almost double the amount of plates, it is still similar to something you might find in Steel Challenge. The stage  required three strings of fire. The sum of the three strings was your total time. Again, shooters had the option of moving from Box A to Box B (left to right) or from Box B to Box A (right to left). This stage was really fun and I didn't need too many make up shots. I guess attending a handful of steel matches has payed off. I finished 5th in my division in 24th place overall!

Stage Four

Summer Swinging was my second best finish! Everyone discovered there was a spot a few steps from the start position where both steel poppers could be hit and activate the swingers. The swingers had me worried until I reached the ports. By the time I engaged them, both were moving slowly enough that tracking the dot on paper wasn't too difficult. I finished 4th in my division in 22nd place overall!

Stage Five

Summer Ports was the final stage of the day for Squad C. Each port framed a pair of paper targets with a plate rack centered on the range. Shooters were to engage both paper targets and one steel plate through each port. I felt this was my best stage of the day except for the bobble on the fourth port. I put the dot on the paper, then to the corresponding plate, and then quickly back to the paper. I guess I couldn't decide what to shoot first. I felt like I would earn a penalty for engaging out of order which is why I went back to the paper. Despite this hiccup, I finished 5th in my division in 18th  place overall!

Stage Six

Summer Clash was the first stage my squad shot. My first stage is usually pretty abysmal, but I had a solid make up on the third array with decent reloads. It was also in the shade with a breeze. It may have only been eight in the morning when we were shooting this stage, but it was already humid. I finished 7th in my division in 25th place overall!

Stage Seven

Summer Reach was a limited stage with a mandatory reload after the sixth shot before the final six rounds could be fired. This was also an X count stage with each X hit removing one second from the raw time. My last shot was the only C zone hit, which was a bit of a bummer. Upon further inspection, seven (7) of the twelve (12) shots were in the X rings. This really helped shave down my time. I finished 6th in my division in 22nd place overall!

Stage Eight

Summer Fire turned out to be my best stage of the match. I find this a little funny because I was dreading the weak hand portion! Joe also gave me a bit of advice to start at the far array and work inward, rather than starting close and working out. I'm glad I listened because it stopped me from my planned draw and transitioning the revolver to my support hand. I finished 4th in my division and 16th place overall!

Conclusions

This was my first sanctioned match and it was a great experience. Annette Aysen and her team put together a challenging combination of stages. I ended up shooting about fairly accurately with 7 Xs, 139 As, 5 Bs, and 1 C scored. The time management really impressed me as our squad shot eight stages in about five hours. Many of the local matches I attend are five to seven stages and often take about this many hours. I hope this match becomes an annual event that I can attend!

I don't think my first match could have been better. Everyone was just happy to be there and helped me with all of my questions. Although my experience is limited to one match, ICORE appears to be is a fantastic sport. If you are a fan of revolvers, you owe it to yourself to shoot a match. Over the past couple of months, I've been trying to drum up enough interest in my neck of the woods to start a club. After chatting with some of the fellow shooters, I have thought of a few ideas to encourage participation at my home range. Hopefully there will be more revolvers shooters to compete with soon!

As always, if you have any suggestions for future posts or would like to share your experience on the current topic please post below!