1858 Remington 5.5 in. barrel shoots low

[happybrew]

So I bought a Pietta replica 1858 Remington New Model Army revolver a couple of years ago. I finally had time to take it out and shoot it last week. It shoots very low. I had to get within five feet to hit the coffee can I was using as a target, and it hit at the bottom of it when I aimed center mass. When I got home, after cleaning it, I took a straight edge to the sights. They ware way off. The bottom of the rear sight groove aligns with the bottom of the curve of the post for the front sight blade. That's not right. The top of the rear sight would likely align with the stop of the curve for the post of the front sight blade.

Is there something different about the sight picture for this revolver that I don't know about? It seems that I would need to align the front sight above the rear sight to hit my target. In effect, the bottom of the front sight blade would need to be at the top of the rear sight groove. This is not a problem that's amenable to simply filing a bit off top of the front sight to bring the sight picture on target.

Any suggestions to fix this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

happybrew

 

[BowerR64]

Thats the same problem i have with all of mine. I read that they are all setup for 100 yards.

Why some one would need to shoot an old black powder pistol at 100 yards is beyond me. To me 50 is pushing it, 15-25 is more like it.

With mine the remingtons are all to tall they all shoot low, the colts are all to short and they all shoot to high.

I dont mind the remingtons thats just a matter of filing down the sight, the colts you have to add to them to get them where you need.

 

[rcoolbaugh]

I just got one with an 8" barrel .... it is within 1" of aim point at 10 - 15 yards.

 

[swathdiver]

The sights were regulated at 75-100 yards for the cavalry. They wanted to engage horses and men at that distance because on horseback, the next shot would be mere feet.

 

[[email protected]]

BowerR64

They have 100 yd pistol matches at the Nationals at Friendship Indiana. Matter
Of fact the wife won it! Her 10 shot group was about 10 inches. This is shot
With one hand un-supporting. Her score was 78 on the NRA pistol target.

 

[snakeman]

^NICE!

 

[Old Iron]

I would think a pistol sighted in for 75-100 yards would shoot HIGH at close range instead of LOW.

 

[Missionary]

Greetings
One thing for sure.. If that Remington is low at 5 yards there is no way it will be anything close at 100 yards.
What is the load you are shooting ? A round ball with 30 grains will exit far faster with hardly any barrel rise than a conical with 25 grains.
You can file the notch of the hammer deeper. But I would be looking at lower that front sight some.
Mike in Peru

 

[Old Iron]

Quote: "Greetings
One thing for sure.. If that Remington is low at 5 yards there is no way it will be anything close at 100 yards.
What is the load you are shooting ? A round ball with 30 grains will exit far faster with hardly any barrel rise than a conical with 25 grains.
You can file the notch of the hammer deeper. But I would be looking at lower that front sight some.
Mike in Peru"

I agree Mike,... I sight my pistols in at 25 yards, once I've found a load they group well with.

 

[[email protected]]

You arm chair experts are really going to have this poor boy really confused.
Why on earth would he want to file on his hammer??? If his revolver is shooting
Low, why on earth would he want to file his rear sight "lower" ??? It's no wonder
My blood pressure raises when I read such nonsense.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Yours and mine.

Seriously, folks. Let's go back to basic sight adjustment. You move the rear sight in the direction you want the bullets to move. Move the front sight OPPOSITE to the direction you want the bullets to move.

He's shooting low. This means either lowering the rear sight, or raising the front sight.

Now, on a Remington, the rear sight is the groove milled in the topstrap. In principle, you align the top of the front sight blade with the top of that groove, just like Patridge sights. Then start working with the powder charge. Lighter usually works better.

 

[Fred West]

He's shooting low. This means either lowering the rear sight, or raising the front sight.

Isn't it the other way round?

 

[woodnbow]

It's not that confusing... Pietta's use a relatively tall front sight compared to original revolvers. It's not uncommon for them to shoot low but it is done give you enough material to "sight in" your pistol.


Use a single cut file and remove material from the front (Forget all about the rear!) sight. Gently... you don't need to take much. Best to do this at the bench with powder ball and caps at the ready. File a few strokes, load and shoot. File a few more strokes, load and shoot. Remember, this is like getting a haircut, it's easy to take too much, damned hard to put it back...

 

[Old Iron]

Quote:
He's shooting low. This means either lowering the rear sight, or raising the front sight.
Isn't it the other way round?

Yes Fred,..... it's the other way round, he has to LOWER the front sight which in turn RAISES the muzzle of the barrel to make the pistol shoot HIGHER.

 

[goon]

To raise elevation, you either need to RAISE THE REAR sight or LOWER THE FRONT sight.

Trust me on this. I'm not a professional, but I play one on TV.
Actually, I've done this before on both handguns and rifles. All you need to fix the elevation with your Remington is a file and some patience.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

To the original poster: I suspect your load is too light if the gun is shooting low.

ALL revolver front sights have blades that are too tall if you take a straight edge and spy along the top of the sights and compare it to the bore. That is because the muzzle starts rising in recoil before the bullet leaves the barrel. So to offset that, front sights are purposely made too tall to depress the bore before the shot, so the bullet will fly true when it emerges from the barrel. When shooting a new revolver for the first time, it is best to start with a really big piece of paper, rather than a small target like a can, to determine where the gun is actually shooting.

When I bought this EuroArms Remington brand spanky new in 1975 it originally had a much shorter front sight. And it always shot high. A few years ago when I decided to buy a conversion cylinder for it I had a much taller Uberti front sight installed. That is the sight that you see on it now.





With the taller sight it shoots right where I want it when I shoot 45 Schofields out of it.

 

[Tinpan58]

My experience is colts shot high probably because the 75 yrd thing. Remington's shoot low, I have 5 pietta Remington's all shoot low, take a small file next time you go shooting and take a very small amount off the front sight at a time. I did it over several trips, I would suggest giving yourself a sight picture you can play around with unless you are going to use rb with one load only, because changing the load changes poi, conicals will shoot higher, if you put a conversion cylinder in depending on the round you use may shoot even higher. Start with the target like at 10 or 12 yards then move it back like to 15-20 and so on, just take your time and it will be fine.

 

[BowerR64]

They have 100 yd pistol matches at the Nationals at Friendship Indiana. Matter
Of fact the wife won it! Her 10 shot group was about 10 inches. This is shot
With one hand un-supporting. Her score was 78 on the NRA pistol target.

That doesnt surprise me, EVERYONE shoots better then i do.

Even with one eye closed i see t targets at anything over 25 yards. In order to even hit the paper at 100 yards ide need a scope.

This is an 8" barrel black powder .44 right? 100 yards?