Humidity is crazy right now in Nashville.  It is making life “thick” for us.  I wanted to remind all of you to take care of your firearms, reloading equipment etc.  It is very easy to wipe a metal surface down with some light oil and it will go a long way towards keeping your gear good.

I say this to remind me as well, because I had a J-Frame I neglected about 4 years ago when we moved to Nashville, and it looks like cancer took it.  The gun is still serviceable, but it makes me sick to look at it.  It is the only gun that I have with a deformity.  I keep it because it is sentimental for LE days.  Cancer and all it is still special to me.

For many years Ruger produced a line of revolver that ended in 6: Speed 6, Security 6, Service 6.  They were the precursor to the GP100 and Sp101.

As usual with Ruger, they are rock solid.  In some ways, they are a little easier to get inside of than the modern revolvers.   They only drawback for custom work is that they do not use a coil spring for the trigger return spring.  This makes tuning the trigger a little harder, but replacement spring kits are available from Brownells.

A quick look at Gunbroker shows many of these guns available for a very reasonable price.  If you are looking for a ranch gun, home defense revolver, or simply want a full size revolver for plinking these fit the bill.   A watchful eye could probably find one or two for sale at the local gun show for a decent price right now.

By the way, the stainless models look great bead blasted! $100

Trigger Jobs-$100

This past week I delivered a Smith&Wesson 640 Pro series to a customer that had requested the Package for the gun.  The gun shown from the S&W website has dovetailed sights which may be a new feature as his did not have these.  We removed the front sight and put the Big Dot from XS in its place.

These guns come ready for moon clips which aids in faster loading, but they also still allow the gun to be fired traditionally.  They are heavier than the Airlites, but not so heavy that you wouldn’t like it.

These guns are great candidates for a work up for CCW.  When the trigger pull is smoothed and the old front sight ramp replaced they are great shooters.  With the Badger Grips installed full house .357 magnum was no problem.  If you are a Smith&Wesson fan, you might want to give these a look.

One of our customers asked us to clear up a few terms used for modifications on revolvers.

Crowning the barrel-the crown of your barrel is beveled edge at the muzzle end of the barrel.  Most are cut to 11 degrees.  You would need your crown recut if you had dings in the beveled edge.  The crown plays a large role in accuracy.  Most of the time the crown is fine.

Chamfering the cylinder-Chamfering the cylinder is when you break the edge of each of the chambers on the cylinder.  The chambers are then polished to remove all cutting marks.  This aids in smoother reloads.

Moon Clips-Many revolver shooters prefer moon clips for their guns.  Moon clips aid in the reloading time of the revolver.  If you have ever seen Jerry Miculek shoot you know what I mean.  He uses them.

Moon clips are useful, but they will not allow you to shoot the revolver traditionally anymore.  The extractor will not work.  Unless. . . you have the mod done like S&W is doing with the Pro series of revolvers.  Then you can use either.

I recently had the opportunity to put a Big Dot on a S&W J-Frame.  Same sight as the Ruger SP101, and same process for installation.  Your gun is a candidate if it is a newer J-Frame with the pinned front sight, otherwise the gun would have to milled to accept it, and blued refinished.  Probably not feasible if you don’t have the pinned sight.

At 25 yards it was no trouble for me to hit pie plates at our local range.  The sight sits very well on the gun and makes it point more naturally for me.  I always feel like I am dipping the barrel down to align the sights on revolvers.  With the Big Dot I just put the sight centered in the notch and put the Big Dot on the target.

This is a great improvement for smaller S&W that don’t offer much in the way of a sight picture.  If you can improve your accuracy with your daily carry gun, you have given yourself one more advantage.  Especially with the smaller revolvers which are much more difficult to shoot accurately.  Sight installed is $100.

Dave asked a great question that I have never thought about addressing on the blog concerning holster fit issues when using Big Dot’s on a Ruger SP101.  Our experience has been that this isn’t an issue.  While they are a big front sight, they are not so big as to cause holster fit issues in most cases.  Since we started doing the conversion several years ago, we haven’t had anyone inform us of an issue.

In fact, we install almost as many of these sights on Glocks as we do the SP 101′s, and the experience has been the same.  They seem to work out just fine.

I would like to hear from some of you on this subject.  If you have been using Big Dots on your SP 101′s and have good holster that works for you, post it in the comments.  Also, if you are aware of any holsters not suited for this combo, let us know that as well.

If you are interested in getting your a Ruger SP101, S&W J-Frame, or Taurus trigger job, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Cutting coils isn’t always the way to go.  Cutting the coils on a factory spring may sound like a great idea, but it isn’t always the way to go.  I was taught, and still believe, that replacement springs are a better option.  With Wolff manufacturing some great spring kits, you can achieve reliable ignition with a reduced power spring kit.
• A spring kit is the answer.  If you are looking for a trigger job, you need to do a little more than a spring kit.  Spring kits reduce poundage, but they won’t help the geometry of your factory trigger.
• Toothpaste is a great $.25 trigger job.  This is kind of like a sugar pill.  You can put it in the gun, pull the trigger a thousand times and tell yourself you have a great trigger when in reality you have just pulled the trigger a thousand times.  Obviously as a gun breaks in the parts wear against each other and the bearing surfaces mate better.

The ultimate question is whether or not you want a trigger job or a better feeling trigger.  For many shooters a spring kit is all that’s required.  They can do it themselves and be perfectly happy.  That satisfies most, but not those who have ever had custom work done on their guns.  If you ever get a good trigger job, you will want that feeling on all your guns.  It is quite addictive.

I had the privilege of shooting a Ruger SP101 in .327 Federal Magnum today.  It was the first time that I had ever been around the cartridge.  The gun came in for the SP101 package, and I have to say I am really impressed.  As I was talking to the owner of the gun today, he mentioned that the lower recoil and 6th shot had sold him on the gun.  Both of those attributes make it a great cartridge to consider if you are wanting a solid revolver for CCW.

I think I have mentioned how I am a recoil sissy.  I don’t like anything magnum because I generally don’t enjoy getting pounded by the gun all day at that range.  Last time I checked, I was supposed to enjoy my days at the range, and if I am shooting anything too hot, I get slap happy on the trigger which sends my groups into shotgun pattern style.  The .327 Federal Magnum is a great hybrid for someone like me.  The recoil blast didn’t send particles flying all around me, and it didn’t deafen me either.

I love the Ruger SP101 platform because it makes shooting a 38 special a dream.  The gun was built well to absorb recoil.  It easily handles the .327.  In fact, I would love to fire this round in a scandium S&W because it would be a great combination.

As usual ammo can be a problem with anything new or a little outside the box right now, but you do have several choices.  The gun can also fire the 32 H&R Magnum and 32 Smith and Wesson Longs. So you might find some ammo hidden away in the storage bin if you have some of grandpa’s vintage firearms in your collection.  Either way you will have a good time checking out this latest offering from Federal and Ruger.

This weekend we put a Meprolight Night Sight on a Ruger SP101 for the first time.  I don’t have any pictures because the gun had been extensively modified by another gunsmith, and I didn’t want anyone to think we were projecting that work as our own.  Why the customer chose to have us do the installation was not discussed, we were just glad to have the work.

The Meprolight Night Sight is similar in form and function to the XS Big Dot Sight that we have put on SP101′s before, but there are a few differences in my opinion that might help you make a decision between the two.  The XS Big Dot is obviously a lot bigger while the Meprolight looks a little cleaner.  Both sights show up well in low light conditions, but the XS Big Dot draws your eyes right better than the Meprolight.  As far as cost the XS Big Dot runs about $10 more than the Meprolight.

If you are trying to make a decision about these two sights let me offer two opinions on the matter:

1. If you want a site that is more for a carry gun that is going to need to be ready when you use it, the XS Big Dot is the sight to get.  It just makes it so easy to see the front sight.  There is no searching for it.  If you want the ability to carry the SP101, but primarily use it for range use the Meprolight is perfect.  It will give you the best of both worlds.
2. If you like your guns to look a little cleaner, the Meprolight is definitely the way to go.  I am never really concerned with this, but I know that many of you take this into consideration when you are looking for custom modifications.  The Meprolight will not draw a lot of attention.

Hope this helps if you are looking for some night sight options for your SP101.

I spoke to the guys at XS Sights the other day and asked them when I might be able to get my hands on some Big Dots for the Judge.  I think that would make that gun go to another level.  The .410′s are making a strong play right now in the revolver market, and the Taurus Judge seems to lead the way.  I have to say that the thought of carrying the Judge makes me think I might have to get one sooner than later.

We want to start offering a package called the Chief Justice, that would include grips that look like they belong instead of the cheap looking rubber grips that come standard.  It would hopefully include the Big Dots, and a trigger job.

So here is the deal, we are offering a free trigger job to the first person that is willing to send us their Judge.  This includes adjusting springs, and polishing all the internal works.  We will supply the parts and labor.  You supply the shipping.  What we need you guys to start doing is heckling XS to make the sights.  With enough pressure they just may get moving on it.  When you write or call, tell them MCC asked you to do it.

We also want to know what you guys are putting on for grips, and what holsters you are using.  So if you have a comment, we want to hear it.

If you are the one with the Judge who wants the free trigger job email us.

UPDATE:  Congratulations to F. Gonzalez.  He is the recipient of the free Taurus trigger job.  Keep looking for more opportunities for free work as it comes available.