A good day with a Javelina...

[Dale53]

Well, I cannot tell you a big tale about being charged by a ferocious Javelina but in the spirit of, "Even a blind hog gets an occasional acorn", I want to share a target I shot this morning.

I pretty much laid off over the winter, and I am slowly getting back in shooting shape. This represents my best effort this morning, standing at 25 yards.

I was shooting my 4" S&W Model 520 (black revolver with a titanium cylinder and a Simmons Red Dot sight). I was shooting the Lee 158 gr RF bullet (WW's+2% tin) behind 4.2 grs of Bullseye in .38 Special cases. This is a nice comfortable load suitable for general target and edible small game. By the way - that double is actually a triple...

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/JavelinaTarget.jpg

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/DalesPistolsRevolvers4Selects-0375.jpg

Dale53

[9.3X62AL]

NICE TARGET!

That's the first S&W Model 520 I've seen pictured, other than company ad copy. Your target shows that it can shoot, for certain--what are your overall impressions of the revolver?

[Bass Ackward]

The devil made me do it!

[Dale53]

Al;
The Model 520 is finished very well, in every respect. It's the only revolver I have, that has "issue" wood grips. I have long fingers and normally require a covered back strap. I confess, that these are rather appealing and I am a bit loath to replace them with Pachmayrs. I haven't shot any heavy loads in this, as yet, but the grips feel VERY comfortable.

Our club Ransom Rest base is being revised so I don't have any Ransome Rest experiences to relate. I will say this, EVERY shot is "on call". The revolver seems to shoot VERY well with most everything I have put in it. Keep in mind, however, that I have not shot this one very much, as yet.

The stock springs are pretty heavy and I WILL be replacing them with a set of Jerry Miculek springs (I LIKE his matched spring set for Smith revolvers). The action is smooth but heavier than I prefer.

The seven shot titanium cylinder is supposed to reduce effort in starting the double action "trigger stroke" and reduce the cylinder momentum when slamming into the cylinder lock. I have not yet formulated a response to that claim.

It has an internal lock, if that bothers you (doesn't bother me).

Bass Ackward;
Apparently, I missed something in your post. Now, I am intrigued. If you don't want to go public with it, PM me (I promise not to tell):veryconfu

Dale53

[Jack Stanley]

Nice !! ..... Ham samiches anyone ? ;-):kidding:

Jack

[Mk42gunner]

Dale,

Those are the reddest grips I have ever seen on a S&W. Any idea what kind of wood they are?

Robert

[Dale53]

Robert;
I can't help you there. However, they are factory grips and I have seen similar ones on other S&W revolvers.

They are quite comfortable (this from a guy who mostly can't shoot wood grips because of a "base of thumb" problem).

Dale53

[dualsport]

You're a hell of a good shot Dale. It is a nice gun for sure, but I have a couple nice guns, that don't make me a good shot! Good job. It's good to see a humble Lee bullet producing that kind of accuracy. I like my pricey molds, the few I have, but I have a cabinet full of Lee molds. I guess if it fits it fits, the gun doesn't know how much the mold costs. I am curious what the 158s are sized to, and if you've tried the .358-125RF? I got a 6 cavity for the same purposes as your 158, targets and light work. Now I've just read an article by Ed Harris saying he doesn't like the light bullets in a .38 Special because the bearing surface is too short.

[Bret4207]

Uncle Dale, I hate you.:mrgreen: Every time you post a pic like that I just get a case of the jealousies that make me ashamed of my self!!! Not only can you shoot rings around me and everyone else I've ever seen, but you have really good taste in guns too. And you're not even afraid to stick a sighting aid on a gun.:drinks:

Woe is me, doomed to feelings of inadequacy for eternity!:violin::roll:

[Dale53]

Bret4207;
I don't believe for a minute that you have feelings of inadequacy - you're just trying to be nice to a fat, old man!. For that, I thank you, my friend.:mrgreen:

The reason for the Red Dot is that I am pretty much "blind in one eye and can't see out the other". I am right handed, and use my left eye to shoot with (glaucoma in my shooting eye). However, I found that I adapted pretty quick to using the "off" eye. With the aid of flip up shooter glasses, I can still do pretty well with iron sights (still using my off eye) but I have to really work with irons. With Red Dots, it is pure pleasure - just put the dot where you want to hit and release the trigger without disturbing the aim - simple and effective.

The bullets I use in the .38/.357 are mostly two - the H&G #251 double ended wadcutter and the Lee 158 gr RF. I have a six cavity H&G mould (iron and weighs nearly five pounds!) that really rolls the bullets out, but is so heavy that I can only cast about an hour. In that time, however, I end up with twenty pounds of finished bullets (over 900 bullets).

The Lee six cavity RF also allows me to cast excellent bullets, quickly.

Both bullets are sized .358" and the alloy is WW's + 2% tin. I was surprised how clean the holes are from the RF bullet - it's nearly as good in that category as the wadcutter.

I shoot the wadcutters faster than most try to do. I currently use 3.5 grs of Bullseye (or equivalent) behind the #251 W/C in .38 Special cases. The Lee RF gets 4.2 grs of Bullseye or equivalent. Both of these loads are mild and make excellent target bullets to the "long line" (fifty yards) and also do very well in the field (some would say superior) as edible small game loads. I don't do near as much hunting now as I used to, but have an excellent memory of the results in the field. Even when bird hunting, a good handgun carried crossdraw to avoid interference with the shotgun will allow you to pick up sitting rabbits (both cotton tails and snow shoe rabbits).

A good handgun also works extremely well on a crippled grouse (break a wing on a grouse, and he can run like a deer on the ground and will keep ahead of you until he gets into a briar thicket that you would need a bulldozer to get him out of). However, they will allow you to get close enough, without running, to allow you to clip their heads off with a pistol. I never did like shooting them on the ground with a shotgun - too much chance of ruining them for the table. You will also impress your hunting buddies when you do this. Its really no great trick as you are close enough that it is comparatively easy.

If the bullets are a good design and fit the cylinder throats, they will shoot whether they come from a custom mould (I have a bunch) or a Lee six cavity (have a bunch of those, also).

Thanks for the kind words, fellows. I will hit age 75 on June 4 and it is good for these old ears to hear kind words.

FWIW
Dale53

[9.3X62AL]

Dale--

Judging by that target, I think the Ransom Rest would be superfluous. Those are factory grips? Nice.

[Dale53]

Al;
I admit to buying this revolver a bit on a whim. A good friend got it in a trade and something about it just struck me a being desirable. I am glad I did. I suspect that it'll be here for a LONG time.

The Red Dot sight has another advantage - it is not subject to "short barrel syndrome" (lesser sighting accuracy than long barrels with iron sights). The 520 holds extremely well in spite of it's limited barrel length (compared to 6" and longer).

Holsters can be a problem with a Red Dot, but I think I will make a Kydex one for this revolver.

Dale53

[dualsport]

Dale--

Judging by that target, I think the Ransom Rest would be superfluous. Those are factory grips? Nice.

I agree, that wood is beautiful, really sets off the gun. The only thing I have that's that pretty is a M19 6". I'm going to take the ugly Pachmyrs off and put the original S&W Goncalos Alves back on. (I have no idea what Goncalos Alves means!) but they sure are pretty, nice figure, little striping. They are pretty good sized wood grips. I'm also lusting for the Ruger factory fake ivory grip for my .32SSM. May not be practical, I don't know, but they look great to me. More pictures Dale, please. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Bret4207]

75! 75 he says!!!! Dang Dale, you just gotta rub salt in the wound, don'tcha. Gotta mean streak a mile wide, that guy!:mrgreen:


Well, an early happy B-day to ya then. :drinks:I hope in 25 years when I hit 75, if I make it that far, I'll still be shooting.:holysheep

[Dale53]

Bret;
I shoot every day as if it might be my last but hope I can still shoot well for at least ten more years.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I celebrated our Fiftieth Anniversary. My three children with their families were here for a week or so. I challenged the guys to the "McGee Anniversary World Championship Pistol Match". My two sons and my son-in-law (two of them have a military back ground) all shoot well. Of course, I trained my sons well. They were shooting and winning in IPSC when they were 12 and 14 competing against some of the best shooters in the country. It was a grand match and the old man edged them out "by a whisker"...

My kids are scattered around the country and don't often get together in a bunch, so it was an especially sweet occasion.

Dale53

[Bret4207]

Sounds like a darn nice time Dale.

[9.3X62AL]

Sounds like a darn nice time Dale.

No doubt, sir!

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Hey! That's some mighty fine shooting!

You need to enter into the 2010 Cast Postal Match! (linky below!) To show us young'uns how it's done! (Wow I thought I was old!):bigsmyl2:


[smilie=s: