ICORE Meandering

[Stephanie B]

I'm shooting an ICORE match soon. So now comes the pondering of which gun do I shoot: K-frame, L-frame or N-frame. They all have great triggers. I have everything I need for all of them (holsters, speedloaders).

The quibble is that I have one 686, so bringing a spare gun means switching everything out. For a K, I'd shoot either a 66 or a 15, with the other as a spare. I have two 28s, because of revolver dain bramage.

I do have a Security Six, which I was halfway tempted to bring to a match last year that was sponsored by Ruger. The trigger. though, doesn't compare with the comparable K-frames; the idea of shooting a match with a crappier trigger is not appealing. This particular match doesn't have a snubbie division, I'm not bringing my Python.

Decisions, decisions....

[JonInWA]

Shoot the one you want, and do the best with. If you're worried about potential breakdowns with the Smiths, just use the Security Six...

Best, Jon

[APS-PF]

I found my K frames a bit easier to reload compared to my 4" CS-1 686 with the COMP3 loaders I used. For some reason they would just go in smoother. Also the lighter K frame was quicker on transitions. When I went from my usual 3" M66 to a 6" M19 I won most of the local matches instead of finishing top 3 every time. It was a lot of fun unfortunately the club stopped hosting them.

[fatdog]

I would go with the one you shoot (and reload since that is critical) the best in those courses of fire, without regard for the break down/back up consideration.

In terms of timers and targets don't lie, I have always been able to turn in a better performance with an N frame .357 S&W than any other revolver I have owned. Just me, not saying it should be true for anyone else.

20 years ago it took a M28-2 and lots of practice for me to earn an EX card in IDPA SSR division.

But those same guns come in last in the category of something I am willing to strap on and head out the door with. I have never carried one other than in matches.

[jtcarm]

I’ve gathered from your posts K-frames are what you use the most, so I’d go with it.

The only reasons to go N-frame are to run moons or higher capacity. Yeah, the N-frame mitigates recoil, but I think that’s more that offset by the weight and higher bore axis.

[Archer1440]

I shot my first ICORE match a couple weeks ago, with one of my 4" Pythons. What I learned was:

1. All that DA work pays off when you shoot your striker gun the following week. Fun.

2. Do NOT expect to remember where extra speed loaders are on your person in the middle of a stage, if you haven't practiced retrieving said extra speed loaders from your non-standard carry locations. I kept going to my usual two DeSantis loader carriers at 1 o'clock, which didn't work all that well after the second reload. THEN I remembered about the 333 carrier at 4 o'clock. This happened in half the stages. It was educational, trying to reload on the move. Fun!

3. Shooting the match with full power .357 will make a couple people complain about noise, but some will express respect. And the steel leaves no doubt when you hit it. It wasn't particularly fast compared to the guys shooting 8-shot moon clipped 100 grain 9mm 2-grains-of-Titegroup mouse loads, but it sure was fun!!

4. Comp II's are way better for me than HKS-PY's under match pressure.

5. I did not even come close to threatening to darken any of the podium steps, but it was about as much fun with a gun as you can have.

6. If something's gonna come loose from your gun, it will happen in the match. Yeah, 120 rounds will shake a non-Loctited Wilson front sight screw loose. (found that gold-bead blade, thankfully).

7. All those reloads and the precision-weighted scoring did a lot to enhance my confidence carrying a revolver when I choose to. The Python ran like a scalded cat.

It was a very refreshing change from my usual USPSA/SCSA CO games, and for some reason, I found the revolver crowd was extremely welcoming and good to shoot with.

And did I mention, it was fun? I'm definitely gonna do it again. With a pair of 333's up front.

[jtcarm]

It would be fun to shoot a match where everyone doesn’t look at you like a bug in a jar.

[Stephanie B]

It would be fun to shoot a match where everyone doesn’t look at you like a bug in a jar.

Yeah, no kidding. I shot a few USPSA matchs where I was the only one with a revolver. One guy was implying, that I was slowing down the flow of the match, because it took me nearly twice as long to shoot a stage. I told him that if he didn’t like that, I was going to show up to the next match with an 1858 Remington.

[Stephanie B]

I just received an email: They called off the match due to the weather forecast.

[03RN]

Yeah, no kidding. I shot a few USPSA matchs where I was the only one with a revolver. One guy was implying, that I was slowing down the flow of the match, because it took me nearly twice as long to shoot a stage. I told him that if he didn’t like that, I was going to show up to the next match with an 1858 Remington.

Really? I get the exact opposite. When I shoot an auto guys are like " aw man, I love watching you shoot the revolver"

Next match I'm not sure what I'm shooting either. I want to shoot my 625 but I don't have a good holster for competitions.