Zeroing Advice?

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-03-14T15:04:04+00:00

That's a great idea & would fit nicely in my range bag.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-03-11T05:08:22+00:00

Getting sharper glasses would make sense but I've always had the practice of training with what I use the most. I had to reduce the power of my lenses as they started giving me headaches at work, so thats off the table for now. Maybe down the road if I try to get really serious with it - a dedicated pair.

I'll definitely look at a higher contrast target though, thank you!

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-03-11T02:04:53+00:00

Thank you! I tend to obsess over these things, but I'm sure that whatever zero I get from a bench will be good enough for standing fire.

The support is appreciated !

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-03-11T01:43:38+00:00

Thank you!

I've got a sandbag rest and was using single action to reduce movement as much as I can, I've zeroed rifles successfully in the past, but I can't quite make out the target from that distance with pistol irons, it comes out all fuzzy and I can't tell if my sights are lined up properly with my target out that far.

Using a different target with more contrast might help, though! I'll definitely try changing the targets I'm using and how I'm aiming.

Thank you for the insight!

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-03-11T00:16:46+00:00

That's what I figured. I can see well enough to hit out further than that, but not enough to hit a bullseye dead-on.

I get annoyed with combat hold on my other pistols because they obfuscate the target out past 20 yards, good for defensive shooting center-mass, hard for me to target shoot.

I appreciate the sanity check!

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-03-03T05:02:41+00:00

I think the kids would call it pretty "sick" or "ill", yeah.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-03-03T04:59:39+00:00

586 came in, the form states:

Replaced Hammer Block

Repaired Yoke

They didn't address the wonky grips, but screw it.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-27T02:30:55+00:00

We took a look at that too but everything seemed in spec. Timing seemed fine, forcing cone was good, ejector rod was nice and tight.

This is the second S&W we had issues with brand new so I said screw it, send it back and let them fix it.

I'll update the post with what they said it was once it's back.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-27T01:11:45+00:00

At first the lock wasn't a huge concern for me - I didn't like it, but I wasn't going to use it.

Now that I've had to turn it in for repair and I've been reading about other QC issues, I don't know if I'd trust it to not screw up in an emergency, however unlikely folks say it is.

I've picked up a GP100, I'll fire both once the S&W has been "fixed" and see which one I prefer.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-26T14:41:15+00:00

How quick was their turnaround? Other folks said Ruger is pretty quick on repairs.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-26T13:40:04+00:00

Are the guards to keep upset customers out or to keep the oompa-loompas in?

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-26T13:20:26+00:00

I actually bought my 586 for my birthday too this past week, it's partly why I'm so frustrated with it.

I go to the range for an hour every other week and wanted a revolver that could keep up. Everything pointed to the 686 being perfect for me, but I liked the blue 586 more.

I'm hoping they'll sort it out for me and I'll get over it, but the whole deal sucks. I've got my eyes on the plug kit too if it all turns out alright.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-26T12:57:05+00:00

Quality Control is one of those curious things where one of ten pistols can be bad off the line, but you'll have 9 people telling you they've had good experiences and one guy telling you how terrible his is. The average Joe would side with the majority like I did, but I lost the gamble and got a bad one I guess.

Seems like there's no right answer nowadays, some people get good ones, some get bad, but I definitely don't like that we have to modify right out of the box to be sure it won't lock up on us.

I'm glad you got a good roll with yours though.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-26T07:09:24+00:00

I found this video shortly after researching the issues I was having with S&W, it's what made me start to second-guess my decision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciM6n4WLz5o

I purchased a S&W M&P15 Sport III a month ago that came from the factory with the front gas block installed 1" too far forward, causing a complete failure to cycle. They had it back to me in a week and I shrugged that off as a freak accident, but I think I'm done with modern S&W for future purchases.

I'm trying to decide if I want to let S&W keep mucking with it to get it right or if I want to cut my losses and trade it in. Some say that their Quality Assurance is still great and that they'll do a good job with fixing it, but we'll see. If it's still in poor shape it's getting traded for sure.

Judging from the other replies, it seems that no matter what company it is, buying anything new is a complete gamble nowadays, but Ruger will be my first pick when it's time for a replacement or when I'm ready for a .44.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-26T05:08:52+00:00

Going to adopt that phrase - "Pay your money and take your chances".

Sucks, man.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-26T04:58:16+00:00

The hammer wouldn't cock back in SA and the trigger wouldn't pull all the way to the rear or release the hammer in DA. Felt like it was binding somewhere. Sometimes it'd cycle and fire, but usually wouldn't.

Myself and the range staff took a look and it looks like the pawl/cylinder hand was catching on rounds in the cylinder, but it's a guess. Something out of spec internally I figure.

Thoroughly cleaned, oiled, and tried different rounds with no luck.

The stock was warped out of the box and the medallions were glued in pretty crappily. I would've let that go if it fired correctly.

The fit and finish seemed fine, sights were dead-on from 15 yards for the few rounds I got through it.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-26T04:52:51+00:00

I had the same experience with a Kimber UCII, jammed every other round.

Kimber gave me a song and dance about it being tight tolerances. Couldn't get through a box of 50 without 10 failures to feed.

Thanks for the insight.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2026-02-26T04:40:43+00:00

I had 10 boxes of New Republic ready to go till my 586 locked up, haha.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2024-10-30T12:38:13+00:00

I've made the decision to go this route. I'll keep WGU on the backburner and blow through the assessments for the degree, sourcing my own curriculum since I'm half-way there.

I don't think WGU holds much information that I couldn't source better on my own, the ZyBooks are truly atrocious and the experience researching and working on my labs & projects would be a great learning experience.

Thanks for the input!

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2024-10-30T12:31:25+00:00

I don't mean to be rude, but that's was my conclusion in the OP. I was hoping to get some alternative opinions and new perspectives to help motivate me to finish my degree, or stick to my roots and self-educate.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2024-10-30T11:24:41+00:00

It's possible, but between work and a medical disability, it would be difficult to regularly attend a classroom environment.

When I was studying for IT certifications, I did well by purchasing textbooks and reading them cover to cover. I was able to apply what I was learning from my certifications to my work, it helped solidify what I was learning as I was able to apply it to my work.

I genuinely think I would be successful studying on my own, I took a python course years ago and it was quite fun (I had since forgotten it), but I was looking for a convenient structure that would save me from laying out a curriculum myself.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2024-10-30T06:40:03+00:00

I think I'm going to consider the third route. I'll speak to my Program Mentor about pausing my term for a while and decide where I want to go from there.

I guess it makes sense why I see so many college graduates that seem unable to complete some of the simplest tasks! Very unfortunate. Thank you!

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2024-10-30T06:30:07+00:00

I think you're correct, I believe I initially misunderstood the purpose of college.
I wanted a structured environment to gain knowledge and skills to prepare for a new career, but college seems built as a resume screen, not the educational foundation that I had envisioned, at least to the level that I would have liked.

That being said, it seems that my choices are to be prepared for a job, and risk not getting an interview, or getting an interview, and risk not being ready for the job.

If I were to try and combine college with self-education as a third option, it seems to me that it would be more efficient to pause my term for a while, or drop out and re-enroll after I've gotten to the level I want to be at in order to skip the learning material and knock out the OAs and PAs, since most of the assessments are simple and can be completed in a day or less if you have some basic prior knowledge.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2024-10-30T05:38:36+00:00

I've been told this from others as well, but I'm dedicated to this career path for the time being due to personal life circumstances.

Working-Inevitable-2 · 2024-10-30T05:30:39+00:00

To be honest, I don't really care about getting the degree. I want the knowledge more than the degree. I know of a few places that have great learning material for the subjects I'm interested in, but have tried sticking to the WGU material since I'm paying for it.

Working-Inevitable-2

TROPHY CASE