I feel I were in your position I would consider a Smith 627. You get 8 shots of 38/357 in a big heavy revolver that helps absorb recoil. I have both a 625 and a 627PC and for me, the 627 is clearly the better gun.
I got hit in the leg with a 45 slug at a pin match once. It didn't draw blood, but it hit hard! Another time, a shooter got his safety glasses broken and had a minor injury to his face. Another guy had a bullet hit his new Honda.
The low gap trail at MMSF makes a nice leisurely overnighter. It's about 12 miles with lots of camping opportunities. Best of all, it is a loop, so you end up at your car!
I have tried a few loads with Clays and 9mm. Never could find a load that was accurate. I like slower powders for 9mm. Have been using WSF the last few years with great results.
Honestly, I like pretty much all modern powder steels. But there are differences that make certain steels better or worse for certain purposes.
For example, in an EDC knife, I like to have a very sharp blade with decent corrosion resistance. I like a steel that is relatively easy to sharpen so...
Here is a reground Para 2 that I have in Cruwear.
My only experience with cruwear is with this knife which has a much thinner edge than the manix (0.009 behind the edge vs 0.025 for the manix). I like the steel. Edge holding is way below Maximet but it sharpens up very easy, takes an...
I have a spyderco mule team in Maximet. To me, it's like a super hard version of M4, but it doesn't take quite as aggressive of an edge. Edge holding is very good... but seems a little below s110v and 10v to me. Then again I haven't had the knife long... those are just my first impressions...
One thing you can do to lighten the pull is bend the mainspring... it is easy to do and you don't even need to take the side plate off if you are careful. Check out YouTube. There are videos showing how to do this.
I am not sure this helps due to the drive time, but there are some matches at Edgar County Sportsmans Club and Clark County Conservation Club, both in Illinois. These are money matches but the stakes aren't high. Last time I shot Edgar County I think I paid $24 to shoot all divisions (and came...