What do people use for comp revolver shooting?

My understanding is that most of them will buy their guns over-the-counter and then send them to a specialty 'smith like our own Goon to slick them up and make them reliable.

I bought mine from Long Hunter's in Texas. I don't think they offer the <gloat>full customs</gloat> any more but they do still appear to be offering worked-over guns for competition.

I have shot club matches and territorial matches with my stock piettas.

There's different kinds of competition with different requirements for the types of guns that can be used.
There are and have been some more expensive competition models made to higher spec's.
There's an older Spanish Remington that's popular in Europe that was made by Santa Barbara.
One THR member had a custom .36 revolver that had the chambers sleeved and was rebarreled that he used at Friendship national shoots.
I don't know if people use the Rogers & Spencer for competition but it's known for being an accurate gun.

Then there's this FWB model from 2013:

Hege has Remington Maximum revolvers in stock

These are the top-quality guns. Sight them in, maybe get the trigger weight increased, and shoot the 10-ring out. Around $1700 delivered. Made by Feinwerkbau, actually (and you can get spare parts from FWB). When I was doing Arms Inspection at last year's World Championships, probably 90% of the replica revolvers were these guns. It's why they are nearly impossible to find used in this country...the shooters who have them are more likely to part with an arm or leg.
No, I'm not a dealer. Yes, you have to order directly from Hege in Germany.--->>> https://www.n-ssa.net/vbforum/showt...s-in-stock?s=e6694e1efda1878f1019cad2cd66fd40

We shoot revolvers in North South Skirmish Association competition, both in team and individual bullseye.

As for the revolvers being shot, well that is all over the map. Our group only allows revolvers (or repops thereof) documented having been used during the War so you'll see everything from the common 1858s to Colts to Rogers&Spencer to Starrs to even LeMats. They are almost always NOT stock. We have a couple guys in the association who work over revolvers and a gun can get a new barrel, the forcing cones reprofiled, the cylinders rebored or honed, the internal springs replaced with quality ones. The issues with most stock repops are they aren't machined "quite" right. Often the cylinder is undersized to the bore. The cylinder chambers don't quite line up with the barrel. The triggers can be awful for target work. The rifling on a repop is usually straight twist. A rebarrel can get gain twist rifling. That doesn't mean a stock one is unsafe, just if you're going to compete, you want the gun to be the best it can be so your skill is the deciding factor.

That said, you don't often see anyone shooting a Colt. There are some folks shooting them, but the rear sight being on the hammer isn't conducive to accuracy hence most guns are top strap types. If I had to put a qualifier on it, I'd say the 1858 and Rogers&Spencer are most common.

SASS cowboy action matches see lots of fixed sighted Ruger Old Armies in Frontiersman (percussion) category. Some competitors can do well with Colt style open tops and Remington 1858s, but the majority of National and World Champions use ROAs. I have never seen top competitors use any percussion revolver that had not been “tuned” for the sport.

when you include uberit colts and remingtons in not that good you are not informed of their quality. sorry but they are very quality made. my cattleman 45 long colt is better made than a 70/s real colt. ive had both and got rid of the real colt.

The BP matches that I attended were mostly long gun competition. They did hold one category of revolver shooting, no restrictions.

I won every match I entered with my stock Ruger Old Army.

Catman42 said:

when you include uberit colts and remingtons in not that good you are not informed of their quality. sorry but they are very quality made. my cattleman 45 long colt is better made than a 70/s real colt. ive had both and got rid of the real colt.

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Not when you're doing target accuracy work. They all need some help. That's not to say they aren't functional and safe, just that the level of machining and finishing required for competition would make the retail price up in the nose bleed area.

Pedersoli builds their Remington using an Uberti frame.
Notice that Pedersoli previously made an R&S target model.

Remington Pattern "Pedersoli Target"
.44 Caliber Percussion $1,045.00 --->>> http://www.cherrys.com/ped_pist.htm

After the success obtained in the target shooting with Rogers & Spencer “Pedersoli” Target model and under specific requirements from shooters, we introduced this new target revolver, produced on the Remington model. The materials used are of the best quality, enhancing the ballistic characteristics of the barrel, of the cylinder and of the trigger set mechanism. The gun has been expressly “customized” by our crafts-workers and shooters, with the purpose to give the gun a good functionality with the very first use. The non-reflecting barrel, the anti-wear cylinder and the rifling twist have been designed to give the shooter the best chance.

This Pietta 1858 was built for serious competition.
It has progressive rifling and uses a .457 round ball due to the larger chambers.

Pietta Remington Army "Shooters" Revolver
Price $995.00 --->>> https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index...21/product_name/RH0135+Pietta+Remington+Army+"Shooters"+Revolver

Don't forget black powder in cartridges. A lot of CAS competitors shoot BPC guns. For revolvers the Colt SAA and it's many reproductions kind of rule but there's good representation for the open top cartridge conversions, usually paired with an 1860 Henry or 1866 Golden Boy rifle. Colt style strap pistols are generally backed up with a 1873 Winchester. All shooting black powder cartridges.

Dave

For SASS matches where I'm shooting Frontiersman, I use a pair of 2ndGen Colt BP 1861 Navies; or a pair of Navy Arms Frontiersman 1851 Navies; or a pair of Leech and Rigdon Uberti clones. When I'm shooting Frontier Cartridge, I use a pair of Man With No Name 1851 Navy Conversions; or a pair of Richards Mason Conversions in .38 special. All of them have had some measure of 'Tuning'

Occasionally I'll shoot Frontier Cartridge with 3rd Generation Colt SAAs in 45 colt or Uberti Cattlemen in 44-40

Best description I've heard of SASS is "cowboy 3gun"

Regardless, open top revolvers generally aren't competitive in accuracy or precision shooting which SASS generally isn't so you will see a good representation of those types there. In N-SSA, we have an accuracy component against the clock and there are very few open tops on the competitive teams. Different kind of shooting, different kinds of guns.

As posted earlier, look at the cost of a "competition" revolver. A stock one is much much less.

Dave T said:

Don't forget black powder in cartridges. A lot of CAS competitors shoot BPC guns. For revolvers the Colt SAA and it's many reproductions kind of rule but there's good representation for the open top cartridge conversions, usually paired with an 1860 Henry or 1866 Golden Boy rifle. Colt style strap pistols are generally backed up with a 1873 Winchester. All shooting black powder cartridges.

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Howdy

That's right. Most of the guys I know in CAS who shoot Black Powder put it in our cartridges. A few use Cap & Ball, but most use cartridges. I got my first Black Powder Cap & Ball revolver in 1968, but I've only actually brought a pair of Pietta 1860 Armies to a match once. Too many cap failures and cap jams, plus to be honest it is so much simpler to throw cartridges in the cylinder than it is to fuss with loose powder and ball that I have not taken them to another match since. Yes, there is a modification that can be done to prevent caps from falling down inside the works, but it is so much easier to just use cartridges that I have not bothered with that mod. The only real advantage to C&B is if you don't have any ammo loaded up you can just bring powder, caps, and ball and load when you're there. But we have to use cartridges in our rifles and shotguns anyway, so it is so much simpler for me to shoot cartridges in all three.

My usual Main Match pistols is this pair of 2nd Gen Colts chambered for 45 Colt. They have had a little bit of work done to them to slick them up, but not a whole lot.






They make plenty of smoke.






A few times a year I will take this pair of antique Smith and Wesson New Model Number Threes. The one on the left has not had any work done to it, other than wear and tear it is just the same as when it left the factory in 1896. The nickel plated one was factory refinished in 1965, bringing it back to the appearance it had when it left the factory in 1882, but nothing has been done to slick it up. This pair is chambered for 44 Russian, the most common chambering for this model.






Once a year or so I will take along my Merwin Hulbert Pocket Army. No modification has been done to it, it is just like it left the factory around 1880 or so, except for about 140 years of wear and tear.






The Merwin is chambered for 44-40, so it puts out a good deal of smoke.






My Main Match rifle is my 1860 Iron Frame Henry made by Uberti. Also chambered for 44-40, it has had a couple of minor modifications to make it a little bit friendlier to shoot than bone stock.






It puts out a pretty fair cloud of smoke.






My main match shotgun is this lovely little old Stevens 12 gauge hammer double. Somebody cut down the barrels to 24" before I owned it, so it is open choked now. Other than that it is just as it left the factory sometime around 1908.






It too is no slouch in the smoke department.

It really depends on what type of competitive shooting you want to do. If you want to shoot international-style MLAIC-sanctioned matches, you need to shoot originals or faithful reproductions of muzzle-loading revolvers. I shoot an original 1858 and a Pedersoli Target reproduction. The latter has the best trigger I've ever felt in a revolver (I also shoot ISSF and use Manhurin MR32 and MR38 for those disciplines, so I have experience with some of the best triggers in the business).

Figure out what kind of shooting you want to do before making a purchase. Many "repro's" are not faithful enough to be eligible for MLAIC competition.

my open top uberti colts are tuned to very very tight groups at 20 yards. they point better than the saa colt or cones their of. they point faster and are deadly accurate. both the 38 specials and 45 long colts i have. i have about every about every uberti conversion made and the open tops are the best for shooting fast and on target. feel better in the hand also.