Championship .38 Spl Revolver — 11 Years Old and Still Winning

Editor’s Note: Sometimes proven old designs are just as good as the latest technology. In the capable hands of Robert Vadasz, the scratched and well-used 11-year-old Smith & Wesson revolver shown below has won three PPC National Championships and the 2011 National Police Shooting Championship (multiple guns used). Here’s a profile of a great shooter and his trusty old wheelgun.

Story by Lars Dalseide, for The NRA Blog
When I first approached U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Vadasz about profiling the guns he used to win the 2011 National Police Shooting Championship — his third in four years — he had just completed the final stage of the Revolver 1500 Match. A match that he won with a score of 1490-117X. A match in which he used his Bob Jones PPC revolver.

“It’s a .38 Special Smith & Wesson,” said Vadasz. “My Bob Jones PPC revolver. The very first competition gun that I ever had built … probably back in 2000″. Fitted with Hogue Monogrip, the .38 hasn’t been tinkered with since the day it arrived. “Exact same gun,” said Vadasz. “It’s never been worked on. It’s never been changed. I won all three of my PPC National Championships with this gun. It’s real special to me.”

In a 2001 NRA Law Enforcement Division Newsletter, gunsmith Bob Jones talked about his work on PPC pistols: “I started working on pistols in the Navy, and it kind of stuck — it was something I really enjoyed doing,” said Bob, thinking back to his days as a Naval armorer who tinkered with .45s.

Bob’s typical modifications to a Smith & Wesson revolver include fitting a Shilen barrel, bobbing the hammer (cutting off the cocking spur), adding an Aristocrat Sight Rib, tuning and smoothing the trigger, and installing a trigger stop. The Shilen barrel increases accuracy, adds some additional weight for stability, and its increased size (and surface area) helps with heat dissipation.