Adjustable Sight Consistency

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mljones1947

Bearcat
Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
19
Location
Missouri
Background: New shooter with used NM Single Six, adjustable sights, no idea if they were at the factory setting (25 yards) when I bought it. Shooting 22LR, started at 7 yards, adjusted elevation to compensate for tendency to shoot low. (I needed all the help that I could get!) Now moving to 15 yards, shooting high, as expected. (22LR bullets rise for the first whatever number of yards, right?) Planning to re-adjust elevation for 15 yards. Do the same at 25 yards if I can get reasonably accurate at 15 yards.

Question: Does the rear sight elevation on Ruger revolvers consistently return to it's former state when you adjust it n clicks in one direction, then n clicks back to it's original setting? In other words, is it "tight" or "sloppy?" I've heard reports that some guns can be pretty inconsistent.

Thanks.
 

flatgate

Hawkeye
Joined
Jun 18, 2001
Messages
6,784
Location
Star Valley, WY
The Ruger rear sight is not a precision "target" sight. The"repeatability" isn't as fine as you are requesting. The aftermarket does make sights with "finer" clicks. Millett is the first brand that comes to mind.

Click Here.

I have their rear sights on a couple of my shooters and have nothing but good things to report.

JMHO,

flatgate
 

DGW1949

Hunter
Joined
Apr 10, 2005
Messages
3,918
Location
Texas
A well made "target" sight has repeatable clicks. Most mass produced sights don't.

It'll help to record how many clicks "up" from zero it takes to center any certain load at whatever distance. After that, you'll get better results when re-adjusting by always going from down to up, than by just randomly going up and down.

Hope that makes sense.

DGW
 

Snake45

Hawkeye
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Mar 14, 2009
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+4020
mljones1947":3tajzqnk said:
(22LR bullets rise for the first whatever number of yards, right?)
Not really, but explaining it would take too long. :?
 

22/45 Fan

Hunter
Joined
Dec 8, 2001
Messages
2,123
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Center the point of impact at 25 yards and leave the sights alone after that. The gun will shoot slightly low at 7 yards because the line of sight is above the line of bore but the off-set will be minor. Don't plan to change the sight setting at intermediate distances as it should not be necessary.

And Snake45 is correct, bullets never rise above the line of the bore but explaining trajectory is a long discussion and requires some diagrams to make it clear.
 

Snake45

Hawkeye
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+4020
22/45 Fan":2uzsllfp said:
Center the point of impact at 25 yards and leave the sights alone after that. The gun will shoot slightly low at 7 yards because the line of sight is above the line of bore but the off-set will be minor. Don't plan to change the sight setting at intermediate distances as it should not be necessary.
This is excellent advice.
 

mljones1947

Bearcat
Joined
Oct 28, 2009
Messages
19
Location
Missouri
Thanks guys for the sight advice.

I've been looking at ballistic data, on Federal's site for example, but I obviously misunderstood the curves. Is there a good on-line explanation on how to read them?
 

Rodfac

Blackhawk
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Messages
691
Location
Kentucky
While prefer adjustable sights for their convenience when using a variety of bullet weights in center fire handguns, their usefulness with a .22 is somewhat limited. Generally I set them for 25 yds, as previously mentioned by another responder. For me, an inch high at 25 yds is good. On game or target use, it allows me to make hits.

For target use, here in KY, we've had a bumper crop of walnuts. Placed on fence posts, they're a great target and give instant feed back on hits. Another good source of "instant feedback" targets is a bag of charcoal briquettes...the cheapest ones you can find. Out at 15 yds, they're a demanding target and give a satisfying puff of black dust when hit...no need to clean up either...they're 100% bio-degradable.

Regards, Rodfac
 
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