Revolvers: 7; Semi-Auto's: 5. My newest toy.

[Nick_C_S]

Just picked this up today. It's a new Model 67. Nothing sexy - just your basic 38. But it is new, and it is a Smith & Wesson. Regardless, getting a new gun always puts a smile on my face. I put the Hogue bantam grips on it as soon as I got it home.

I'm going to use it for IDPA work. Its underlying purpose is to take the wear and tear of extensive practice off my 28-year-old, prized 686. This gun is going to get a lot of rounds through it. A lot.

I like revolvers. They're leading: 7 to 5 lol.

[Whirlwind06]

Looks great love my 38s! My revolver to auto count is 11 to 2

[MrBorland]

Excellent choice.

Originally Posted by Nick_C_S

I'm going to use it for IDPA work. Its underlying purpose is to take the wear and tear of extensive practice off my 28-year-old, prized 686. This gun is going to get a lot of rounds through it. A lot.

+1. In addition to the round count, competition's just plain hard on revolvers. Funny enough, I used my new 686 when I started IDPA largely for the same reason, but it proved to be so reliable despite the beating, it became the gun I'd rely on most, and the prized guns ended up getting shot very little.

I have about 70k rounds through that first 686, and I noticed that while it's still accurate, it lost it's guild-edged accuracy at about 60k rounds. Probably barrel wear. Other wise, it's still reliable and has held up to some very hard shooting very well.

The good thing about newer S&W revolvers used in competition, is that if anything does break, it's generally an easy drop-in fix. I usually bring a backup gun anyway, but I also carry an extra firing pin, yoke screw, hammer bock, and some extra fiber optic in my range bag.

[bedbugbilly]

OMG! It has the infamous IL!! Run chicken little, run . . . the sky is falling!

Congrats on your new Smith! That's a mighty nice looking handgun! I have a feeling that you are really going to enjoy shooting that one! Enjoy and let us know how you like it. It looks like it would just "melt into your hands"!

[Leejack]

Nice Smith, congrats!

[Nick_C_S]

Took it to the range this morning. After sighting it in, the bullets would go right where I pointed them, every time. It's extremely tight and accurate and will serve its purpose well. The trigger is a bit gritty (I've had worse) but it's getting a trigger job very soon anyway. In the mean time, I'm taking it to IDPA next Saturday, just as it is. Should be interesting.

P.S. I sight in guns just by shooting it, standing, double-action. I could never sight in a gun worth a darn via bench rest. I'd always end up "fine tuning" it based on normal double-action shooting afterward anyway. So I don't even mess with the bench rest method anymore. To me, it's pointless. Do other people sight in guns the same way? Or am I the odd one? Just curious.

[MrBorland]

I've never used a bench to sight in my handguns, preferring instead to do it as I'll be shooting - standing, unsupported.

Since it'll be getting a trigger job, consider chamfering the charge holes as well. It's pretty much standard on any match wheelgun. Installation of a fiber optic front sight is another nicety.

[jglsprings]

Just picked this up today. It's a new Model 67. Nothing sexy - just your basic 38.

I think they are one of the sexiest S&W revolvers ever made.

[guruatbol]

They were our duty weapon. We fire crap loads of rounds through them and they just kept going!

Nice score!

Mel

[Nick_C_S]

Since it'll be getting a trigger job, consider chamfering the charge holes as well.

Absolutely Mr Bornland. The chamfered charge holes are more important than the trigger job. Especially for me, because I'm dead set on using double-ended wadcutter bullets - and they don't speedload well.

Installation of a fiber optic front sight is another nicety.

Indeed it is. I'd like some guidance on this. I've never used anything but the stock red ramp (which works fairly well IMO), but want to go fiber optic. I just don't know where to start - what brands, sizes, colors, etc. I did notice that my new 67's front sight is pinned; so it looks like it would be a fairly easy modification. The front sight on my older Smiths are part of the barrel - you'd have to grind them off.

jglsprings: I saw your OP. Your M67 is definitely a sexy gun. It's beautiful. So nice, I'd be reluctant to shoot it.

[MrBorland]

Originally Posted by Nick_C_S

I'm dead set on using double-ended wadcutter bullets - and they don't speedload well.

I gotta ask why you're deadset on WCs? A plain ol' round nose bullet is the way to go. Even a semiwadcutter is slow to reload.

Originally Posted by Nick_C_S

I'd like some guidance on this. I've never used anything but the stock red ramp (which works fairly well IMO), but want to go fiber optic. I just don't know where to start - what brands, sizes, colors, etc. I did notice that my new 67's front sight is pinned; so it looks like it would be a fairly easy modification. The front sight on my older Smiths are part of the barrel - you'd have to grind them off.

Relatively speaking, pinned sights are easy to replace, but unless you really know what you're doing, it's still a job for a gunsmith. The pin, for instance is 0.055", but a 1/16" punch is what most do-it-yourselfers have and assume is correct, getting themselves off to a bad start, and damaging the gun to boot.

Anyhow, you'd want to replace the red ramp with a fiber optic of the same height, and usually the same width, though some find a little narrower front sight is more to their liking. Check out HiViz and SDM

[Nick_C_S]

I gotta ask why you're deadset on WCs?

I suppose the answer is kind of obvious: Because I like the nice, clean, sharp, perfectly round hole they make in the cardboard IDPA target. They slap steel pretty hard too.

[Nick_C_S]

I shot the new piece today at IDPA. It went well. For some reason I tended to shoot it high. But the gun itself performed flawlessly.

Now it's time to send it off to get it tricked out.

Chamfer charge holes; trigger work; & a fiber optic front sight.

[MrBorland]

Good news on your 1st outing.

One other recommendation I'd offer is to not go very light (say, under 7.5lbs) on the DA trigger pull. For one thing, if you leave the hammer spur, the SA trigger can end up unconscionably light.

But more to the point, überlight DA triggers can be temperamental, and one of the secrets to doing well with a revolver in competition is dead-nuts, no-excuses 100% reliability. Fast splits just aren't nearly as important as doing the fundamentals well (i.e. getting your hits), reliability and moving efficiently.

I wrote something up on another forum about this and pasted the link below in case you're interested.


http://revo-nation.com/forum/technic...ith-a-revolver

EDIT: ok, one more recommendation: Chamfer the cylinder part of the charge holes, but not the ejector star. Maybe take the sharp edge off the star, but a chamfer on the star itself greatly increases the chances of getting a case stuck under the ejector during a reload. If you're fast, it'll "only" take you 20-30 seconds to clear. And yes, the timer will be running while you're clearing it.

[Viper99]

jglsprings,
That is beautiful. Awesome condition, congrats.

[jglsprings]

Nick_C_S...

jglsprings: I saw your OP. Your M67 is definitely a sexy gun. It's beautiful. So nice, I'd be reluctant to shoot it....

Viper99...
jglsprings,
That is beautiful. Awesome condition, congrats.

Before...


This gun cam from an armored car company (if I remember correctly). It was $278.00 and DAO. I also got a model 15 with it. I bought hammers to replace the DAO for both, but the 67 was such a great pull I put it back. The "after" picture, above, is right after I cleaned it up - but these guns get shot a lot - and the stainless cleans up easy.

Most people that I get to train start out with this gun. Simple - easy to use - shoots like a dream.

67s and 15s have a "shadow" following that would surprise you! If you keep that new one you will be giving it to your grand children.

[Nick_C_S]

One other recommendation I'd offer is to not go very light (say, under 7.5lbs) on the DA trigger pull.

Indeed Mr Borland. I kind of like a little weight to the trigger pull. Smoothness is much more important than a light pull.

And the extractor star won't be chamfered.

[Nick_C_S]

67s and 15s have a "shadow" following that would surprise you! If you keep that new one you will be giving it to your grand children.

I tend to be asked "Why wouldn't you just get a 357?." It's one of those "if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand" things. Part of its charm is that it's a 38 Special.

I don't sell my guns. So the grandchildren will enjoy them sometime down the road. (Years ago, I did sell two of my guns to family members. A year or two later, being overwhelmed with seller's remorse, I ended up buying them both back.)

[MrBorland]

Though he's shooting CDP now, Craig Buckland is the reigning IDPA SSR World Champion. His wheelgun of choice is the Model 67. You done good.

[Nick_C_S]

I've been shooting IDPA since Oct '12. And until last Saturday, I just pulled my bone-stock 686 4"bbl out of the safe for the task. And it does quite well - it shoots better than I do, lets just say. I got it new on 6/6/86 (yes, a 686, received on 6/6/86 ). At the time, I was a long barrel shooter (my go-to gun was a 686 w/ 8-3/8" bbl), but my new 4" quickly became my favorite gun - and still is to this day.

I have a lot of rounds through my 4" 686 and the top strap has a pretty extensive flame cut progressing. Once I noticed the flame cut, I decided that I absolutely must get a dedicated IDPA revolver to take the workload off my prized revolver - ASAP.

I needed a 6-shot 38, 4"bbl, adjustable sights. And it could be by any manufacturer - as long as it was Smith & Wesson So the Model 67 it was.

For IDPA, the 686 recoils less, so follow up shots are faster. But the 67 - being lighter - is quicker to move from target to target. I think the latter has more overall net benefit. So I think I done good too

[Sevens]

I have a lot of rounds through my 4" 686 and the top strap has a pretty extensive flame cut progressing.

A lot of .357 Magnum shooting over many years? Or are you actually seeing flame cutting on an L-frame from a heavy volume of .38 Special loads while shooting IDPA?

I just can't imagine that any volume of .38 Special would do that, but I'm here to learn.

[Nick_C_S]

A lot of .357 Magnum shooting over many years? Or are you actually seeing flame cutting on an L-frame from a heavy volume of .38 Special loads while shooting IDPA?

My 28 year old 686 has seen a lot of full-power, light-bullet, slow-powder rounds. All the factors for flame cutting. (A practice I stopped doing years ago; and I find just silly these days - because it is. These days, I've moved to heavier bullets with medium speed propellants, that are much more "balanced" and better suited for the gun.)

Most likely, shooting IDPA power factor rounds (148g DEWC, 2.9g Bullseye) and the like, adds little to the flame cutting on the top strap.

But I'm not taking any chances. It's not the IDPA round itself that concerns me. It's the sheer volume of rounds being fired to stay in practice.

It's my favorite gun and I now consider it to be in a well-deserved state of semi-retirement. That said however, life is short, so I will still enjoy shooting it several times a year. It will outlive me

[Nick_C_S]

Okay, the Model 67 pic'd in the OP, has been sent off for trigger action work, charge hole chamfering, and a fiber optic front sight installed.

It should take about 8 to 10 weeks

[MrBorland]

Originally Posted by Nick_C_S

It should take about 8 to 10 weeks

Yowzer No one locally available to do the work?

Originally Posted by Nick_C_S

It's not the IDPA round itself that concerns me. It's the sheer volume of rounds being fired to stay in practice.

I have about 70k rounds through my 686, most of them "IDPA rounds", and haven't noted any flame cutting.

Flame cutting aside, though, competition can generally be tough on revolvers, which itself is a valid reason to use your 67 to prevent additional wear and tear on your 686.

[Nick_C_S]

I looked around here locally a little bit. But just didn't feel like putting in the effort. I know a couple people who sent theirs to Apex, and they seemed happy with the work. So I did the same.

Flame cutting aside, though, competition can generally be tough on revolvers, which itself is a valid reason to use your 67 to prevent additional wear and tear on your 686.

Yes. Exactly. That's as big of a factor as any. Lots of factors pointed to it being obvious that I needed a dedicated competition revolver.