FieldGradeCo
New Member
Hi!
I'm a longtime lurker on the forum especially for the picture-heavy, lightweight-rifle threads. I live in the Salt Lake area and I am an avid shooter, cyclist, mountain biker, backpacker, skier and budding adult onset hunter (First big game license at 30 years old). I have really appreciated the insight from the experienced forum members as well as the willingness to help out new comers. Right now my only "hunting" rifle is a Montana Rifle Company X2 in 6.5 creedmoor with a boat anchor masquerading as a Leupold MkIV 4.5-14x50 w/ a TMR reticle.
I shot .22's and shotguns as a kid growing up in the foothills of Utah County and got into shooting in earnest after I enlisted (US Army 2006-2012). I learned to love the TA31F ACOG, became an armorer as an additional duty and shot USPSA for in various divisions until I landed in single stack and revolver. That brings me to the second half of my title-project for school.
Although I have an undergrad and graduate degree already, I don't love it. It pays well (Healthcare Data Science/Applications) but I'm really an analogue nerd who loves motorcycles, road bikes, mechanical watches and revolvers. It started with a Smith and Wesson 686 that was good but could have been better so I began shipped it out for action and barrel work. I repeated this a few times and then realized I felt comfortable with the mechanics involved and started buying gunsmithing tools and shop manuals instead of paying for handgun shipping both ways (ouch). I've since amassed my own collection and I've done work for myself and friends on wheel guns. That collided with another aspect of life: my never ending class taking.
I love learning and I enjoy college (I'm also a high school drop out, go figure). After finishing grad school, I decided to do something I'd always wanted to do and take machining and CNC classes. I also enrolled in some business courses. One of the courses is a Lean Startup Business class for veterans. The faculty and classmate are wonderful. A portion of the class requires us to find strangers who are users of something we feel we could do better, break into, or disrupt. It's not "I'm selling X" it's more "is there a need for a better X or better way to do X". Because it's a state school and a class for veterans, I was given the green lighted to work with the revolver market.
My own itch/consumer pain: on any bone stock revolver, I install easily visible sights, perform an action job to lighten and smooth the double action pullswap revolver stocks (grips). On my last 2 factory Smith's, I've recut the forcing crown to get along better with hard cast and recrowned the muzzle.
So, here I am! I'll be digging into threads about hunters who carry revolvers, asking people what they use and why they use it, if any of you wish there was something from the factory, etc.
Thanks in advance for the knowledge and experience on the forum! The adventures shared here from Alaska and across the globe are truly spectacular. I am sure that if nothing else, i'll learn from the postings here and be better for it.
-Stephen
I'm a longtime lurker on the forum especially for the picture-heavy, lightweight-rifle threads. I live in the Salt Lake area and I am an avid shooter, cyclist, mountain biker, backpacker, skier and budding adult onset hunter (First big game license at 30 years old). I have really appreciated the insight from the experienced forum members as well as the willingness to help out new comers. Right now my only "hunting" rifle is a Montana Rifle Company X2 in 6.5 creedmoor with a boat anchor masquerading as a Leupold MkIV 4.5-14x50 w/ a TMR reticle.
I shot .22's and shotguns as a kid growing up in the foothills of Utah County and got into shooting in earnest after I enlisted (US Army 2006-2012). I learned to love the TA31F ACOG, became an armorer as an additional duty and shot USPSA for in various divisions until I landed in single stack and revolver. That brings me to the second half of my title-project for school.
Although I have an undergrad and graduate degree already, I don't love it. It pays well (Healthcare Data Science/Applications) but I'm really an analogue nerd who loves motorcycles, road bikes, mechanical watches and revolvers. It started with a Smith and Wesson 686 that was good but could have been better so I began shipped it out for action and barrel work. I repeated this a few times and then realized I felt comfortable with the mechanics involved and started buying gunsmithing tools and shop manuals instead of paying for handgun shipping both ways (ouch). I've since amassed my own collection and I've done work for myself and friends on wheel guns. That collided with another aspect of life: my never ending class taking.
I love learning and I enjoy college (I'm also a high school drop out, go figure). After finishing grad school, I decided to do something I'd always wanted to do and take machining and CNC classes. I also enrolled in some business courses. One of the courses is a Lean Startup Business class for veterans. The faculty and classmate are wonderful. A portion of the class requires us to find strangers who are users of something we feel we could do better, break into, or disrupt. It's not "I'm selling X" it's more "is there a need for a better X or better way to do X". Because it's a state school and a class for veterans, I was given the green lighted to work with the revolver market.
My own itch/consumer pain: on any bone stock revolver, I install easily visible sights, perform an action job to lighten and smooth the double action pullswap revolver stocks (grips). On my last 2 factory Smith's, I've recut the forcing crown to get along better with hard cast and recrowned the muzzle.
So, here I am! I'll be digging into threads about hunters who carry revolvers, asking people what they use and why they use it, if any of you wish there was something from the factory, etc.
Thanks in advance for the knowledge and experience on the forum! The adventures shared here from Alaska and across the globe are truly spectacular. I am sure that if nothing else, i'll learn from the postings here and be better for it.
-Stephen
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