The ICORE revolver

As you may or may not know, I’ve started shooting ICORE (International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts) and in so doing have spent a decent amount of time immersed in the ICORE rulebook.  One of the neat things that I’ve learned from the ICORE rulebook is the minimum caliber requirement, which is a revolver in .32 or larger.  That’s right, it says .32, not .38/9mm, which is the standard for most of the other shooting sports.

Additionally, ICORE does not have a major/minor power factor.  All ammo is required to meet a power factor of 120 (bullet weight*velocity/1000) to be legal to compete, which means that in theory you could hot rod a .32 Magnum or .32-20 (if you feel like rolling old school) to meet the PF, or you could shoot the new .327 Federal Magnum, although you’d have to make do with a 3 inch barrel.

Another interesting difference between ICORE and other shooting sports such as USPSA or IDPA is the rule about reloading.  Both USPSA and IDPA require that revolver shooters reload after six shots, regardless of the actual capacity of their revolvers.  That means that a guy shooting an S&W 627 (which is an eight shot wheelgun) in IDPA or USPSA is going to lose the advantage of those two additional rounds.  Not so in ICORE, where you simply reload when you need to, whether it’s after 6, 7, or 8 shots doesn’t matter.

After that, I had an idea, a terrible, dark idea.  If one were to design the gamiest of gamer guns for ICORE, it would probably be an 8 shot .327 Federal revolver with a six inch barrel firing .32 S&W Long that have been loaded hot enough to meet power factor.  Such a revolver does not exist, and it’s probably a good thing at that, because it is an abomination.  You could even put a titanium cylinder in it to get a faster lock time!  Oh, and it would of course be ported and fitted with a red dot sight so that it would compete in Open division.

In all seriousness though, you should give ICORE a try.  I recently ordered a 4 inch 625 in .45 ACP for it.  While it’s not the perfect ICORE gun, I can also shoot in in USPSA, IDPA, and even three gun if I’m feeling sporty; so it is a good gun to own if you want to shoot the same gun across multiple disciplines.