Revolver gunsmith for USPSA set up

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  • vvk

    Plinker
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    I have a Dan Wesson 15-2 revolver that I got in a trade for glock 22. I'd like to try it in a revolver division in USPSA. I am new to revolvers, and I don't know if I am going to like shooting revolver in a competition. So I'd like to try what I have before buying something more optimal (like 627).

    Can anybody point me to a revolver gunsmith in the Indy area that can set up a revolver for USPSA?

    Thanks in advance!
     

    vvk

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    I tried to send a pm to bosshoss, but it didn't work. One needs at least 50 posts to be able to do that. I currently have 11.

    Bosshoss, if you are reading this, please send me an email at vladkis12@gmail.com

    If anyone could forward this thread to Bosshoss on my behalf, I would greatly appreciate it!

    I need to check the gun and tune it so that it runs well. This is a more than 20 year old gun, and I don't understand anything in revolvers. The guy told me "it shoots good". This may well be the case, but I'd rather have it checked and tuned first by a gunsmith. I also would like to cut it to accept moonclips if possible.

    Thank you!
     

    throttletony

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    many others will also tell you.
    Run whatever you have for now - get a feel for competition - and then IF you want a more dedicated gun, move forward.
     

    vvk

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    Dog1, thanks a lot!

    throttletony, yes, that's what I am thinking too. I'll run what I have and see how it goes first.
     

    Bosshoss

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    Thanks for the heads up everyone.
    I will respond here as other may be interested in the reply.
    First off while I have owned and been inside a couple Dan Wesson revolvers I know nothing about them and don't work on them. I don't even know if spare parts are available. The ones I owned shot extremely well. I could chamfer the cylinder and do some polishing of the internals but don't know if any special tools are required to disassemble:dunno:.

    If this was a S&W or Ruger or even a Taurus I would agree with others shoot what you have and get a feel for revolver competition. Sometimes shooting what you have is false economy and you need to be careful. You will need a holster and the one for a Dan Wesson might be hard to find and probably won't fit a 627 if you later decide to go that way. So you will be buying another holster. You will need at least 7 or 8 speed loaders. These may or may not fit others guns so they would be hard to sell later on. S&W or Ruger or Taurus speedloaders could be sold easily later on.
    With a Dan Wesson being a somewhat scarce gun buying things that are hard to resell latter on may make using it a lot more expensive.
    USPSA puts the 6 shot guns at a big disadvantage vs the 8 shot guns. While I understand not everyone wants to invest in a more expensive gun to just try out revolver competition. I have seen several do what you are thinking about and get quickly frustrated never to return. I have seen others get hooked and love the challenge of doing something that not many can do or want to even try.

    I hate to discourage anyone from trying something with what they have but IMO you would be better off trading the Dan Wesson for a S&W and go from there. Even a fixed sight model 10 can slick up nice and be easy to find stuff for.

    If you are really wanting to try USPSA Revolver let me know and come south and I will loan you a 627 and everything you need to shoot Revolver. You can squad with me and we can help you figure out everything. You can concentrate on just shooting and not worry about equipment.

    :twocents:
     

    obijohn

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    Bosshoss has the right of it. His generous offer should not be ignored.

    That being said, any holster that covers the trigger guard would work for now. A simple uncle mike's envelope holster or something like it, $25 or so. Speed loaders for a K frame will work fine. The HKS speed loaders are cheap enough to have a go. A good belt and some speed loader carriers and you are in. I shot USPSA with a 15-2 for awhile. Gun worked just fine, in fact the cylinder release was pretty efficient for reloads. The trigger will be a bit wonky to tune compared to a S&W. Go ahead a try the DW, who knows? you may like the sport with a revolver and decide to invest in one of the "racier" models out there.
    Go shoot. Good luck. You CANNOT miss fast enough to win.
     

    vvk

    Plinker
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    Jan 5, 2016
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    If you are really wanting to try USPSA Revolver let me know and come south and I will loan you a 627 and everything you need to shoot Revolver. You can squad with me and we can help you figure out everything. You can concentrate on just shooting and not worry about equipment.

    :twocents:

    Hi Hossboss, thank you for your detailed response and generous offer! Are you located at Patoka Lake? This is 145 miles from Carmel. Not so easy to drop by, to say the least, if that is where you live. But that's a great place in the middle of Hoosier national forest.

    It seems that I made a mistake trading glock 22 for a dan wesson revolver. I'll try to trade it for something S&W, but since they are not popular this may not be easy. On the other hands it gets great reviews and appears to be very durable with full power 357 magnum loads.
     

    vvk

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    Bosshoss has the right of it. His generous offer should not be ignored.

    That being said, any holster that covers the trigger guard would work for now. A simple uncle mike's envelope holster or something like it, $25 or so. Speed loaders for a K frame will work fine. The HKS speed loaders are cheap enough to have a go. A good belt and some speed loader carriers and you are in. I shot USPSA with a 15-2 for awhile. Gun worked just fine, in fact the cylinder release was pretty efficient for reloads. The trigger will be a bit wonky to tune compared to a S&W. Go ahead a try the DW, who knows? you may like the sport with a revolver and decide to invest in one of the "racier" models out there.
    Go shoot. Good luck. You CANNOT miss fast enough to win.

    Thank you for your reply, obijohn! I am glad to hear from a person with first hand experience shooting 15-2 dan wesson in competitions. Initially I was puzzled by the cylinder release location since this means that I cannot release it with my right hand while grabbing simultaneously the speedloader with my left hand. It seems that I need to use both hands to release the switch. But if you say this works well, this is great to know! Any tips on tuning the trigger? Not much information is available in the net for this gun.
     

    obijohn

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    Thank you for your reply, obijohn! I am glad to hear from a person with first hand experience shooting 15-2 dan wesson in competitions. Initially I was puzzled by the cylinder release location since this means that I cannot release it with my right hand while grabbing simultaneously the speedloader with my left hand. It seems that I need to use both hands to release the switch. But if you say this works well, this is great to know! Any tips on tuning the trigger? Not much information is available in the net for this gun.

    The only tips I can give you is to have what's already there polished. The trigger may still be a bit heavy, but should be smoother.

    I would like to hear about your reloading technique. I am having trouble visualizing manipulating your revolver with your right hand while grabbing the speed loader with your left and this being an effective process. I've seen it done with moon clips, but with speed loaders, holding the revolver in your left and controlling the rotation of the cylinder with your middle fingers while manipulating the speed loader with your right is what works for me. Either way takes a lot of repitition to ingrain the procedural memory of the act.
     

    vvk

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    To be honest, the reload technique I described is just what I thought it should be based on my semi auto experience. So I have to flip the gun up side down and put it in my left hand? That is the only it seems to me that I can use my right hand for inserting the speed loader into the cylinder.
     

    Bosshoss

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    Hi Hossboss, thank you for your detailed response and generous offer! Are you located at Patoka Lake? This is 145 miles from Carmel. Not so easy to drop by, to say the least, if that is where you live. But that's a great place in the middle of Hoosier national forest.

    It seems that I made a mistake trading glock 22 for a dan wesson revolver. I'll try to trade it for something S&W, but since they are not popular this may not be easy. On the other hands it gets great reviews and appears to be very durable with full power 357 magnum loads.

    NO you didn't make a mistake. You traded plastic for a steel wheelgun. That is never a mistake.:):
     

    Bosshoss

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    The Dan Wesson cylinder release is good for someone doing what is called a strong hand reload. Which is what Obijohn is doing.
    I would guess that 75% of competition revolver shooters use a weak hand reload. This make the more traditional cylinder release location better than the front mounted Dan Wesson.

    Obijohn said k frame speedloaders work on the 15 Dan Wesson. I would get comp II or comp III safariland speedloaders they release with just a push instead of a twist like the HK's.

    And yes LOTS and LOTS of practice (dry fire) doing reloads.

    vvk I was trying to emphasis that by the rules USPSA is more friendly to 8 shot guns(and all autos). Lots of us shot 6 shot guns under the old rules and we had to be creative breaking down the stages and had to have a good memory. Keep that in mind when you try the game. A 6 shot speedloader gun is by far the hardest way to try USPSA. KUDOS for even thinking about doing it.

    Let me know if any questions?
     
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