Filing fixed sights

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Bearcat
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Jul 21, 2013
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I've been doing a lot of reading and I've watched some videos by fortunecookie45lc. Some people including cookie swear up and down that once you find a load you like you file the sightsdown for proper poa/poi. I ran this by contender on this forum and he made sense that once I set it for 15yds that's it. Do any of you have input or exp. With this or should I just learn where to hold? Also has anyone done less than 15yds? Thank you in advance.
 
Here's my two cents worth: once you file the sights for a specific load, you're done. You can't (realistically) add steel back to the sights if you decide to try your hand at 25, 50, 75 and 100 yards. If you decide on a new bullet, powder, or whatever, you have severely limited your options. Plus, you have definitely reduced the resale value of your gun should you decide to sell it. Some folks never sell or trade a gun. I like to try new stuff every once in a while.

Personally, I would rather learn where my gun shoots with a specific load in relation to my point-of-aim. I'm sure that some will disagree; some will agree.
 
My thoughts are: If it's the gun that you carry everyday for personal protection, you may not want to have to think "Ok, I'm carrying XYZ today so I have to hold over/under XX at 15 yds". You want to be able to defend yourself without having to think, just pure reaction, put the sights for center body mass (or whatever you want) and pull the trigger. You can tailor what is in the gun, be it reloads or factory loads to have POI=POA at whatever yardage you want or practice with your carry ammo to see where it impacts and adjust your sighting as needed or have a standard load and file the front sight. Myself, I would limit it to 15 yds. If the bad guy is farther away than that and you shoot him, a DA may say, "why didn't you just run away?". Next it depends on what load you are carrying. If it's a reload, you can pretty much duplicate that load over any number of years so your POI is always the same. If it's factory ammo, will you be able to get that same exact load 1, 2, 5, 10 years down the road. If you can't then you have to research different ammo to get the same POI you had before, or do more sight work. And if your new load shoots high, you'll have to either try to build up the front sight or buy/install a new sight and file it down.

Myself, I have several guns that I might carry on any particular day or situation. I practice with them using a B-27 target (sort of a body shape) I aim at center body mass at 7 and 15 yds and see where the gun is shooting with the sights aligned. I them just remember where they are shooting and adjust as necessary to move the POI. That said, I have shot PPC and some other police type competitions in the past and that gets you in the mindset to know exactly what to do (sighting wise) in certain situations. Probably the biggest thing is to practice, practice, practice. I run across too many people that think, "Well I shot 50 rounds through my personal defense gun so I know I'm good to go." No they're not, you have to practice regularly, and at different distances, in different lighting if you really want to be able to defend yourself. I can tell you that here in PA, in the winter, when it's cold, very few people that profess that they are ready, go out in the cold to practice. They have no idea how things change when they are wearing heavy clothes, gloves, etc. Then there are the police. Police are a good bad example. Most do not practice regularly and it shows when they get into gun fights, read the articles like "Police fire 57 shots at bad guy and hit him 4 times - and the distance probably was under 50 feet.

I guess I would say, and this is just my opinion, is that if you have one self defense gun to use, prep it so that you can use it under any condition, without thinking about what you have to do. If you have more than one gun, practice with them all so you know what you have to do, with minimal thinking.
 
I usually sight my guns in for 25 yards, using a 6" diameter (approx.) and a six o'clock hold.

If I'm shooting my Blackhawk or Super Blackhawk, I set the rear sight mid-height and file the front sight until I'm centered. Done this way I have some adjustment left for changes in load or bullets.

The last thing I want to do is guess where I should aim.

Bob Wright
 
I want my point of impact right on top of the front sight, with sights aligned, at 25 yds. From the 15 yd line there is less than 1/2" difference in point of impact with that setting. For fixed sighted revolvers, I file the front sight to give me that elevation.

Windage is another bag of worms. The best way is to have Ruger or a GOOD GUNSMITH, turn the barrel to center your load. For fixed sights, I sight in for my standard load, and hold off for all others. For instance, in .45 Colt, my load is 8.0 grains of Unique behind Lyman's #454190 bullet...a 255 gr flat point when cast from wheel weights. I've filed the sights on my NV to place that load on top of the front sight at 25 yds...Rod
 
Enigma said:
I would rather learn where my gun shoots with a specific load in relation to my point-of-aim.

That is good information to have, but not always the answer.

I have a Charter Arms .44 Bulldog that would pattern OK at 7 yards (FBI crime stats say most gunfights occur at this distance). I had it Magnaported and the pattern moved to the ground halfway to the target. I had to remove about ¼" from the front sight to move the point of impact back to center of mass at 7 yards. I was using the Federal 200 grain lead SWC as my load of choice for this gun.
 
As far as personal defense is concerned, I think that just about everyone who has ever been in a gun fight will tell you that the sights were irrelevant. That is to say, it is a point and shoot situation. 8)
 
I want my point of impact right on top of the front sight, with sights aligned, at 25 yds.
Same here. If that takes filing of the front sight so be it. Windage takes the barrel to be turned (or file/shim the rear sight), you bet. When I pick up any of my revolvers, I want them to all shoot the same with a given favorite load. No guessing (or relearning) where the gun it going to shoot.
 
I neglected to mention that I was NOT thinking of a gun carried for defense purposes. My fixed-sight defense guns are all zeroed for a specific load and distance. A "range-toy," on the other hand, may not be.
 
OK, that changes my response. If it is a fixed sight gun, I would just shoot different loads and see what the POI is with the sights aligned and centered on the target at various distances and then remember the hold over or under. I just don't like doing something to my guns that I can't undo easily (filing down the front sight is not easily undoable).

Now if you are ALWAYS going to shoot the same load at the same distance, then you can customize your gun so that POI=POA.
 
My SP 101 with 3" barrel is shooting low. I will try with a bunch of loads first and then I will probably file down front sight, if most or all loads are shooting low.

Now if shooting right or left this is tougher decision, as have to file frame and there you can not put metal back on or replace frame cheaply. But with front sight should not be big problem to buy and install a replacement front sight, if you file too much or want to sell later.

I have installed tritium front sight on my smith 640, which is pinned similar to SP 101 and no really big deal.
 
Rclark said:
I want my point of impact right on top of the front sight, with sights aligned, at 25 yds.
Same here. If that takes filing of the front sight so be it. Windage takes the barrel to be turned (or file/shim the rear sight), you bet. When I pick up any of my revolvers, I want them to all shoot the same with a given favorite load. No guessing (or relearning) where the gun it going to shoot.
I certainly agree with everyone that opined as did Rclark (above.)

These things are to be used! Make 'em shoot to POA. Customize at will. Carry 'em! Use 'em!

These two (below), recently customized, WILL be carried/shot:

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