Sight Filing ?

[steve b]

Just got my NM Vaquero .44spec, Sheriffs model. Never had to regulate fixed type sights before. How best ? Need to do what I can, load-wise first though. steve b

 

[Snake45]

FIRST thing you need to do is decide on your preferred load, and the range at which you want to sight that load in. Then you need to shoot that load at that distance and see where you are. It's possible (though not likely) that you won't need any adjustment at all.

 

[EVR]

Monkey with the loads to get them to shoot to the sights first.

Or...pick a performance goal, get a load to meet it and then zero the gun.

Then, stick with that load. If you are going to keep the gun for a long time, pick a bullet and powder that has been around a long time, not a combination that might be discontinued next month...

Reducing the height of the front sight will cause shots to land higher. LOWER the front sight to RAISE the Point of Impact.

File a LITTLE, shoot. File, shoot.

Remember, once you lay the mill bastard on the sight, the Collectors will whine that you have ruined the gun...

...but you will have a gun that SHOOTS where it is looking.

And that is what guns are supposed to do.

 

[DanChamberlain]

Lighter bullets will generally strike lower than heavier bullets with the same velocity due to greater recoil force as the bullet travels down bore. Faster velocities with the same bullet weight will generally strike lower than slower velocities with the same bullet weight.

Lots to consider.

Dan

 

[Snake45]

Lighter bullets will generally strike lower than heavier bullets with the same velocity due to greater recoil force as the bullet travels down bore. Faster velocities with the same bullet weight will generally strike lower than slower velocities with the same bullet weight.

Lots to consider.

Dan

All true. And with this goes the fact that vertical impact can and will be affected by shooting stance/position and how tight YOU grip the gun. This is why no one else can sight it in for you. :wink:

 

[don44]

Lighter bullets will generally strike lower than heavier bullets with the same velocity due to greater recoil force as the bullet travels down bore. Faster velocities with the same bullet weight will generally strike lower than slower velocities with the same bullet weight.

Lots to consider.

Dan

All true. And with this goes the fact that vertical impact can and will be affected by shooting stance/position and how tight YOU grip the gun. This is why no one else can sight it in for you. :wink:

+1

 

[BearStopper]

I have owned two fixed sight guns that shot to the left considerably and thats why I stick with adjustables now.

 

[Dale53]

A number of years ago I was shooting a lot of BPCR Silhouette. Some venues started offering side matches with black powder revolvers. Requirements specified fixed sights. I bought a 4 5/8" Ruger Vaquero. The sights shot perfectly for windage but shot low. However, there was plenty of metal for the front sight.

I settled on my load, the filed the front sight over three different range sessions to make sure I didn't over do the "adjustment".

It shot perfectly on point of aim at 25 yards with my specified load when finished.

I later sold the gun for a premium to a DEALER (he knew the gun was regulated and by good fortune it was regulated for him).

I replaced it with a 5½" barreled Bisley Vaquero. It shot my specified load dead on at 25 yards. Talk about being LUCKY! I won many matches with that revolver and learned a great deal about the .45 Colt black powder revolver - I gained great respect for that load. The U.S. Army sure knew what they were doing in 1873...

Dale53

 

[REP1954]

Just got my NM Vaquero .44spec, Sheriffs model. Never had to regulate fixed type sights before. How best ? Need to do what I can, load-wise first though. steve b

Steve heres a process I use and it has worked quite well for me for years. If you are adjusting fixed sights for elevation and making the adjustments to the front sight you need to remove material from the top of the front sight to bring the point of impact upward and add material to lower the point of impact. I always do this at the work bench holding the gun barrel protected in a vise. If you measure the distance of your sight distance in inchs and divide that into the distance you want to sight into at in inchs it will give you a factor that you can use to determine how much to remove or add to the front sight. So if your sight plane distance is 8" and your sighting in for 25yds.(900") you would have 900" devided by 8" which would give you a factor of 112.5. If your gun is off 3" low then you would take 3"/112.5= .0266" from the top of your front sight. If your windage is off you would use the same formula but move the front sight to the right if your shooting to the left by either turning the barrel or bending the front sight both best done by a gunsmith. If you want to make windage adjustments using the rear sight notch then it must be widened by moving one side of the notch in the direction the point of impact needs to move. The problem with using the rear notch is you must remove twice the amount from one side of the notch because you center the front sight in the rear sight . This process of changing the rear sight can leave you with an extra wide notch that you might not want. But doing this at the bench allows you to have better control over the filing opperation and keep from slipping and messing up your barrel with unwanted gouges.

 

[andyo5]

I noticed that my Uberti tends to shoot low and a bit left when shot off sandbags, but when I shoot it offhand it seems to be right on at 20 yards. This confused me until I read "Big Bore Sixguns" by John Taffin, who reported that this is often the case with single action army guns and clones. He advises also to use the tip of the trigger finger to release the trigger rather than the way I was doing it. I find that when I follow this advice my Uberti and I can ring the 50 yard gongs most of the time. So I probably will not be filing the sight on the Uberti.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

I have owned two fixed sight guns that shot to the left considerably and thats why I stick with adjustables now.

......John Taffin, who reported that this is often the case with single action army guns and clones. He advises also to use the tip of the trigger finger to release the trigger rather than the way I was doing it.

Both of these statements have the same theme running through them. ANY pistol will tend to shoot to the left if shot by a righty with 'too much finger on the trigger'. The most comfortable and most obvious way to pull a trigger is to place the trigger in the crease behind the knuckle of the trigger finger. While this is the most comfortable, and the most natural it is not the best technique.

Whether you subscribe to squeezing the trigger, or pulling the trigger, the physical fact is that we really cannot do anything more with our fingers than to curl them. That's all you can do. But if we curl our trigger finger with the trigger in the crease behind the first knuckle, that will tend to rotate the pistol to the left as we pull the trigger. By placing the trigger on the pad below the fingernail, we shift the axis of rotation and it is easier to pull straighter back as the trigger is pulled. It's that simple. The straighter back you pull, the less you will tend to rotate the gun as you pull the trigger.

Poor trigger technique can always be corrected by adjusting the rear sights. Just about every used pistol I have ever bought that had adjustable sights had the rear sight cranked over to the right to compensate for pulling the shots to the left. With fixed sights, by placing the trigger on the pad of the trigger finger, you can pull the trigger straighter back and the gun will shoot straighter without pulling the shots to the left. Obviously, all this is reversed for lefty shooters.

As I said, this is not the most natural way to pull a trigger, but with practice it can become second nature.

 

[FORGIVEN]

Thanks Driftwood. You explained it perfectly. As soon as it warms up, I'm gonna go practice this!

 

[steve b]

Just hit the print button on this. So I can read at leisure, and again anytime later. Thanks all. steve b