Ruger flattop Blackhawk sights to one side.

[Bazoo]

My NM flattop Blackhawk rear sight needs to be adjusted to the far right to hit point of aim. It’s just a bit too far for my taste. I don’t trust Ruger to correct this as I’ve had them do shoddy work on repairs recently.

So I’m thinking on it. It’s not so bad that I notice it when shooting but bad enough I notice it when looking at the gun.

The original rear sight had a blade with a .115 notch. I replaced it with a standard blade with a .125 wide notch. That isn’t quite enough sometimes for my eyes.

I’m thinking about opening my the .115 notch up, only on the left side, which will bring poa and poi closer. My question is, how out of center can the notch be in the blade before it’s distracting vs the whole blade be off center in the base? Anyone have experience?

 

[243winxb]

I would look for this type of rear sight.
https://parts.bowenclassicarms.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

 

[Bazoo]

I’ve considered the rough country sight for its reputation. Honestly I don’t like the way it looks though. I may consider it still though and grow to love it.

I did modify my .115 sight. I opened it up to .142. More light on either side helps me center it. After making some mock sights from paper I decided it needed the notch opened on the right side to better center the blade in the base but keep the same setting. Anyways. I ain’t tested it yet but it is much easier to see and it doesn’t show with the notch being off center nearly as much as with the blade being so far off.

It’s definitely a step in the right direction for my eyes.

 

[BBBBill]

The old cure was to smack the barrel with a babbitt bar. That was a standard part of a revolver smith's tool kit.

 

[.38 Special]

Ruger has an on-again-off-again habit of sending out guns with the barrel screwed in too far (or occasionally not far enough), which causes both the issue the OP is experiencing, as well as the front sight appearing "crooked" in the rear notch. The proper fix is to have the barrel turned just a hair, which is no real trick.

I personally have occasionally filed a rear sight notch, but even if I couldn't see any imperfections, it still would bother me until I fixed the underlying problem. That probably is just a personality quirk, but there you go.

 

[Bazoo]

I have a keen eye and I can’t see the front sight being off. It’s very minor. I do want to have the barrel turned. It would need to be turned slightly tighter. But right now I want a patch job until I can both find a gunsmith I’d trust and the money to have work done.

I also am experimenting with notch widths to compensate for aging eyes.

 

[Jim Watson]

I have an eyetalian single action that was pretty far off. The rear sight was a period V notch, so FLG squared it with a bias to the right AND tweaked the barrel in its threads. The rear sight change is not obvious, but the lean of the front blade is visible. Shoots where it looks now, though. My Colt did not need any such mucking about.

 

[EMC45]

I too have a Super BH 7.5 in .44M and the rear sight is cranked all the way over. I traded for it used and centered the sight after I gave it a good cleaning and all the rounds I actually fired were way off. I put it right back where it was and it shoots well. Too bad Ruger lets them out like this from time to time.

 

[WrongHanded]

I would look for this type of rear sight. View attachment 1069173
https://parts.bowenclassicarms.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

Bowen has some great rear sights....on their website. But after trying for over a year to get one I had ordered for my .41 mag BH, I gave up.

I have three: A non-locking target version, a Rough Country with white outline, and another with the target style blade. They're great sights. I just found actually acquiring them very difficult. Maybe things have improved over the past few years....but considering the past few years, I kinda doubt it.

 

[WrongHanded]

OP, to address your issue:

Ruger seems to be far less concerned about clocking the barrels correctly on revolvers with adjustable sights. I'd guess they know they have a certain number of degrees to play with and so take advantage of that. It's hard to say whether customer service would address it or not. If it were a fixed sight model I'd assume they'd make a solid effort.

So the question you have to ask yourself it, can you live with it as is?

 

[Bazoo]

I think I can live with it with my modifications. I’ve been living with it for a while, as it wasn’t real bad.

I did one other thing in my tinkering. I shortened the little point on the bottom of the blade that the adjustment screw rests against. Causing the screw to not protrude as much. I think aesthetically that caused me more bother than the blade being off center.

 

[mkl]

For what its worth, I have a Bowen 5-shot conversion that started life as a red hawk. Bowen determined the barrel was 1 1/2 degrees over rotated which was why the sight picture always bothered me as being way off center. They turned the barrel back as it should have been and all was perfect.

In case you are curious, it was a 44 mag red hawk converted to a 5-shot super 45 Colt. Unbelievable quality.

 

[.38 Special]

Bowen has some great rear sights....on their website. But after trying for over a year to get one I had ordered for my .41 mag BH, I gave up.

I have three: A non-locking target version, a Rough Country with white outline, and another with the target style blade. They're great sights. I just found actually acquiring them very difficult. Maybe things have improved over the past few years....but considering the past few years, I kinda doubt it.

I ordered one online a few years ago and by the time they actually had it in stock I'd forgotten the whole thing. The phone rang and the guy said "Hey, we've got these now if you still want one" and I had no idea what he was talking about.

 

[.38 Special]

I do want to have the barrel turned. It would need to be turned slightly tighter. But right now I want a patch job until I can both find a gunsmith I’d trust and the money to have work done.

What, you don't own a vise and a pipe wrench?

Just for what it is worth, I once filed a significant amount out of a rear notch for exactly that reason, and it was extremely noticeable - except when actually sighting. Focused hard on the front sight, nothing else is really visible. If you don't think you'll be bothered by the knowledge that it is asymmetrical, I don't think you'll be bothered while you're shooting it.

 

[BBBBill]

Ruger has an on-again-off-again habit of sending out guns with the barrel screwed in too far (or occasionally not far enough)...

S&W has been worse in my experience, particularly since they quit pinning the barrels. I've seen it on all frame sizes, but the L frames seem to suffer the most.

 

[243winxb]

I opened it up to .142.

I made a front sight thinner on a Ruger MK1 5.5" for shooting ISU rapid fire. 5 shots in 4 seconds.

Didnt help accuracy. But always good to try. Buying a new front sight or rear blade, no big deal.

A well used windage adjustment on the mk1 may not hold zero after many years. The spring pushes blade to the right, if parts are worn.