Recent content by Japle

EAA has terrible warranty service. EXAMPLE: I have a Witness .45 that locks the slide back with rounds still in the magazine. I called and talked to their "gunsmith". With no mention by either of us about what ammo I was using, he told me that it was my fault for using hot handloads. Then he...

I bought a S&W 617 not long ago and the action was so bad and the rate of misfires so horrible that I sent it back to the factory. They fixed it, but the DA is super-heavy. From what I've read, S&W has pretty much stopped doing quality-control checks, thinking that it's cheaper to fix bad...

Shooting DA is an acquired skill, and is not easily acquired. In the pistol league I shoot in, about 1/3 of the competitors shoot revolvers and they all shoot DA, due to time constraints. Those shooters have had their guns worked over and mostly put in the time to learn the techniques of...

Nice Blackbuck, Craig! Was that in Texas? I collected mine in Argentina.

The scope shown is a 2X. My hunting load is a 180 gr XTP at 1568 fps. This load groups under 2" at 50 yds with me steering the iron sights. I haven't sighted it in with the scope yet. I plan to get to the range next Thursday. Here's the first hog I shot with the out-of-the-box gun. The...

I used my DE .44 Mag on a hog a few years ago. The hog was running flat-out across my line-of-sight at 40-50 feet and I broke the spine just behind the ear. So, I know the gun is up to the job. But now I want to shoot a hog from 50-75 yds from a stand and my 78 year old eyes aren't gonna work...

I built a 2011 a few years ago with a 6" barrel in a 5" slide, just because I think it looks cool. The extra 1" of barrel has no effect on functioning. Then I had it Cerakoted, again just for the look.

For those of you following this little saga, I took the 617 to the range this morning and fired 6 different type of ammo through it - target ammo, high velocity, subsonic and bulk stuff. The gun went BANG every time. The DA pull is pretty damn stiff, but smooth, thanks to the work I did on...

STI “Frankenstein” 9mm that I built on a SteelMaster frame with a 5” slide & 6” barrel (because I think it looks cool), BoMar-type sights. My main pistol-league gun and great for Steel Challenge.. S&W 327 .38/.357 5” 8-shot revolver. Fantastic DA trigger and super-accurate. My #2...

I have a "Mountain Gun" in .45 Colt. My standard load is a 255 gr coated Keith SWC over 5.0gr of Clays with a Federal primer. Velocity is a bit over 820fps. Soft-shooting and very accurate. With the correct placement, I'd be happy to use it anything from cottontails to deer.

I got the 617 back today. About 4 weeks, which is what I expected. It came with a sheet listing "Performed service": Adjust Mainspring weight Repair yoke Repair sear Cut forcing cone Repair extractor rod My question: If this brand-new revolver needed all that work - and I haven't checked to...

I carried an XDs .45 for a few years and was happy with it. Then I went to a 9mm Shield Plus with a dot sight. They're about the same size, but I like the 14-round capacity and the dot a little better. The XDs is a fine gun, but the out-of-the-box triggers usually need work.

When you’re new to Concealed Carry, you feel like there’s a big sign over your head that screams “GUN!!” That feeling will pass. I wear cargo shorts almost all the time and wear a tucked-in T-shirt with an unbuttoned sports shirt over the gun. I started off with Hawaiian shirts because I thought...

I bought the gun as a Christmas present to myself. My S&W collection mostly consists of 4" revolvers in .22(Kit Gun), .357 (3, 4 & 5"), 44 Mag, .45ACP and .45 Colt and I wanted the 10-shot 4" 617. Problem is, I can't find ammo that it's dependable with. I get 20-70% misfires when shooting DA...

I've kept records of all ammo I've loaded since I started in 1971. At the end of 2023 the total was over 224,000 rounds. No idea how much .22LR I've fired.