Revolver fixed sight question

redwood

I have an American Western Arms Peacekeeper in .357 with a 4&5/8" barrel. It consistantly shoots low and to the left. With 38 special loads in 100gr. &148gr. SWC bullets it shoots 8-9" low and 3.5" to the left. With .357 mag 158gr. JSP it shoots 7-8" low and 3.5" to the left. I'm centering the front sight in the notch; leveling the front sight with the top of the rear notch; and using a straight across the center of the bullseye hold. (as opposed to a 6 o'clock hold) Any suggestions??? Should I file down the front sight and try to tap the sight to one side??? I wouldn't mind only shooting 148gr. SWC 38 special loads - is just a plinking around the farm gun... Thanks in advance...

---

luger01

Let me guess, you're right handed and you're shooting with your right hand. The low part is due to the fact that single action revolvers have, by design, front sights higher than needed. This is so the owner may adjust it to whatever load they plan to use. Your front sight needs to be filed down - a little at a time. I'd compromise on the elevation so my .357s were a bit high and the .38s were a bit low, then use some judicous sighting to hit the target.The left part is most likely due to the shooter, not the gun. Try shooting from a rest (sandbag). See if the gun still shoots left, or if it's your technique. This is very common among shooters. Also, try shooting left handed - does the bullet end up to the right?If the gun really shoots left, then the barrel needs to be screwed in or out slightly - to move the front sight to the right or left. This is the accepted way to sight in a SAA.I agree - find a good gunsmith who can work with you to set things right. Or trade your fixed sight revolver for an adjustable sight model and solve your problem easily.[This message has been edited by luger01 (edited 12-26-2001).]

redwood

Thanks Luger 01. I'll try it off a rest and have a buddy try it as well. I've owned @ 10 .357's over the years and been shooting for @ 25 years (I also shoot several semi autos) but this is my 1st single action. Fortuantly, there is a good smith in the area... thanks guys...

luger01

Redwood,Well, I certainly stand corrected. If you've been shooting that long, you need a good smith to turn the barrel slightly. Don't want to mar the barrel and need to make sure the ejector functions OK.Gunsmithing a SAA is a bit of an art, that many 'smiths don't have a handle on anymore. I took a class in Cowboy gunsmithing a few years ago. Learned a lot, but they are still trickier to work on than a 1911 (for me). You might want to check out the SASS web pages for gunsmiths that specialize in SAAs. Or if there's a SASS club around you, visit a competition and the folks will be happy to point you to a gunsmith they trust with their equipment. Cowboy Action shooting seems to attract a super friendly bunch of folks. Great fun, too!

v35

You didnt say what range you were shooting at but the front blade clearly has to come down. From your numbers you could progressively trim down the sight to be 1/2" off point of aim for both 38 & 357 and that's not bad. I would take care of the windage problem first because if you bent the blade or rotate the barrel the blade height will change. You may find that in turning the barrel enough to bring the sight in, the ejector housing wont be properly seated and will look bad. In this case your options are to bend the blade, remount the sight, bend the barrel or replace the barrel.

bsebast

v35 mentioned that you didn't specify the range you had sighted in at. If it was 20-25 yards, hitting 3-1/2" to the side is not much. To correct for that, it will require very little sight adjustment--probably less than 1/4th the thickness of the front sight blade. Adjust for the shooting low first, then address the side problem.