Shootin' Low
Howdy craig,
BigRed touched on something that might be a player. It might be your technique, and it might be the way the barrel fits. The only way to check it is to have another shooter...one who is known for his abilities...to try the
gun and see if it shoots low for him too...OR HER! (Sorry Tamara)
The barrel in a 1911 doesn't sit parallel to the slide axis, but rather on a slight downward tilt...about one degree or so. If yours is tilted a little
lower at the muzzle than specified, it will throw the shots low. One
sign is off-center firing pin hits.
The problem can be solved by making the front sight shorter, or the rear
sight taller. If you decide to file the front sight, you'll have to keep it
flat and square on top. The easy way to do it is to lay the front sight
on a mill file with the file arranged to cut when the slide is pulled toward
you...The file will only cut one way. Keep the rear sight flat on a sheet of
glass, and be careful not to let the slide tilt to one side while you cut.
It will be a trial and error operation. Take 2-3 strokes and target the
gun from a rest against a control group that yiu fire before altering the
sight. When you get close...withing about 2 inches...shoot a target
from your normal offhand stance and see where you are on the target,
then get it down to one stroke at a time and shoot. 3-shot groups
will make it go faster and save ammo. Remember to throw the first shot
away. The gun will probably throw the first shot out of the group, and
it won't give you an accurate indication of where the gun is shooting.
Touch up the front sight with cold blue after thoroughly degreasing it
and getting it warm in an oven. When the color is dark enough, stop the
rusting process with oil. Reshape the sight to the contour that you want with a flat miniature file by drawing the file sideways on the sight with
short, even strokes to "sculpt" the shape that you want.
Hope this helps. Luck to ya!
Tuner