> Hello, I was wondering what kind of gun you shoot, what holster you use,
> and where the best place to get them would be. I was also told to get a
> six shot because if you use an 8 shot in USPSA now you're not in
> Revolver class. Is that correct? Thanks for any help.
>
Sorry about the delay...
OK, do you get front sight? There were a few revolver articles a couple of months ago that might help. That said...
I use a hogue pwerspeed holster converted for less than 50 cents to take my 625--there's a picture of it in front sight. NOT IDPA legal, but I don't play that game anyway. Legal everywhere else that I'm aware of. I use the old Denny's moon clip carriers, now becoming available several places, including Tom Kilhofer's web site at
www.moonclips.com
Eight shots are legal in USPSA/IPSC, but you can only *shoot* six. Eight shots may use all eight shots in production, limited-10, limited, and open divisions, but not revolver. You can only LOAD six in an eight shot at IDPA, which is a big issue, since you've gotta align the cylinder during reloads. ICORE allows all revolvers to compete, alhtough the course design is *supposed* to stay six-round neutral. Still, the eight shot has a tremendous advantage in this game, which assigns additional time for marginal hits on the target--being able to make them up without a reload helps a bunch. The advantage gets bigger on steel stages. USPSA rules require that the .357 eight shots use .357 brass for major, not .38 special, and that slows reloads significantly.
Stay away from any gun with muzzle porting. Any porting/compensation, regardless of source, makes you an open gun in all organizations. Most USPSA clubs I've been to will let ported revolvers shoot in revolver class, but big matches or a change in club administration could make you illegal--as could a protest from another, non-ported revolver shooter.
Speedloaders are a fine solution to reloading--I've seen some VERY fast reloads done with them. Contrary to popular belief, the advantage fo moonclips does not come on the reload--it arrives during the unload, since all the cases are together as a unit, they cannot hang up on those inside chambers near the frame.
Reloads are the name of the game for the USPSA/IPSC revovler shooter. Today's rulebook dictates 8-round arrays, and this is not likely to change. Is it really a problem? Depends on course design. Eight shot arrays from boxes only are no fun, but at least now the field is level and you're only competing against other six-shots and not the eight shots, which would have an insurmountable equipment advantage here. Field courses are another matter entirely. Stop looking at the arrays and look at the course. Can you put "extra" rounds from the early reload that the first eight-round array requires on an array (or two) further along and thus reduce those arrays to six-rounds? Look for unconventional ways to run the course which may allow you to divide six into eight evenly.
Get your cylinder chamfered, no matter what method of reloading you use, and practice, practice, practice some more. Always practice reloads on a shot-to-shot basis, meaning, you "fire" the last shot, do the reload, acquire the next target, and "fire" the next shot. ALWAYS CHECK UMPTEEN TIMES PLUS ONE THAT YOU'RE USING DUMMY OR SNAPCAP AMMUNITION!! I highly recommend loading the revolver with spent brass while practicing the reload, so that you can practice that all-important ejection stroke. Start SLOW--make it perfect--then you can add speed. A really good revolver reload runs two seconds or better, shot-to-shot.
Hope this helps!
Steve