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Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith, now edited

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North Country Gal
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Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith, now edited

Post by North Country Gal » Sun Jul 30, 2017 7:44 pm

I've had a great week with the Contenders, shooting some of my best ever offhand groups, but I did take some time to shoot an excellent, gently used S&W target 357 revolver which we got at a good price. Groups with the Smith were not as good as with the Contenders (Contenders are a world of their own), but the groups with the new Smith were no slouch and fall in the more normal range for handgun work, so are at last believable. I am comfortable with sharing them.

This very gently used S&W revolver is one we financed by selling off our set of 45 Colt single actions. Those USFA Colts were purebred cowboy action tuned guns and I just didn't feel that my style of shooting could do them justice. An action shooter I am not and though the guns were decently accurate, they just didn't lend themselves to punching paper. That, and they were just too expensive to shoot, now that we no longer reload. (45 Colt factory ammo is very expensive.)

This S&W 686 Competitor, though, is very much a gun designed with an old bullseye shooter like me in mind. It's pure target gun all the way and, also, we can afford to shoot 357. Did not care for the factory rubber grips for target work, so changed them out for wooden Hogue's, which I much prefer.
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What makes this Smith an awesome bullseye gun? For one, it's a Performance Center model with an outstanding SA and DA trigger and butter smooth trigger. For another, the barrel features a system of removable weights that allow you to change the weight and the balance of the gun to suit. For yet another, it features an outstanding LPA rear target sight that makes the otherwise good standard S&W rear sights look crude.
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Very comfortable and easy to shoot 357.
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Another feature on the 686 Comp is that barrel mount scope rail. I don't care much for barrel mount scope rails because they can be fussy about the kind of handgun scopes that can be used, but those barrel mount rails are ideal for a red dot, such as this Bushnell Trophy. A red dot on a revolver like this makes it even easier to shoot and it can tighten up those 50 yard groups.
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Yup, pure target revolver. :)
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Last edited by North Country Gal on Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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RanchRoper
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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith

Post by RanchRoper » Sun Jul 30, 2017 7:56 pm

Curse of the photobucket strikes again....

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North Country Gal
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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith

Post by North Country Gal » Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:10 pm

Ooops. Forgot about that. Will try to edit.

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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith

Post by JEBar » Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:24 pm

North Country Gal wrote:Ooops. Forgot about that. Will try to edit.
should you need help with the edit, please let me know

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RanchRoper
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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith

Post by RanchRoper » Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:30 pm

The funny part is, we don't need to see your targets to wish they were ours...

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North Country Gal
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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith

Post by North Country Gal » Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:34 pm

Think I got it. Thanks, guys.

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BrokenolMarine
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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith, now edited

Post by BrokenolMarine » Sun Jul 30, 2017 10:51 pm

Nice groups.
I need to drag my PPC gun out and see if I can remember how it works.... :roll:
I haven't had it out of the safe in two years, unless I was reaching for something behind it. :cry:
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by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.

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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith, now edited

Post by ditto1958 » Mon Jul 31, 2017 7:50 am

Very nice, NCG. Can't beat Smith & Wesson DA revolvers when it comes to excellent triggers for target shooting.

Les

Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith, now edited

Post by Les » Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:08 am

That is a beautiful looking revolver, NCG, and it shoots as good as it looks! Image

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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith, now edited

Post by RanchRoper » Mon Jul 31, 2017 3:09 pm

50 yds off hand open sights is impressive with a revolver no matter what make. I'll have to try that sometime.
Some serious target work NCG.

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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith, now edited

Post by Jdl447 » Mon Jul 31, 2017 11:24 pm

I just started shooting a handgun this spring,a Ruger 357 Blackhawk. Thing is I can hit things.
Like a clay target or the end of a soda can on the bank at 25 yards or so,but shooting at paper eludes me.
When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king. The palace becomes a circus.

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North Country Gal
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Re: Cowgirl Corner: working out with a target Smith, now edited

Post by North Country Gal » Tue Aug 01, 2017 11:29 am

Good for you, Jdl. Shooting bullseye/paper punching is different, so just a matter of practice. In fact, shooting a handgun well, regardless of the targets used, is always about practice. There are no shortcuts and no exceptions, but for me, that is a positive, not a negative. Keeps me shooting and always going back for another try and I've been shooting these guns since I was a youngster. Still my favorite gun after all these years.

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