Vaquero shoots low!?

[hot chili powder]

My 44mag Vaquero with 3.75" barrel shoots nearly dead on @ 10 yds with a 6 o'clock hold and 5 grs of Titegroup under a 240 gr SWC Lasercast lead bullet.......this same load, when shooting @ an 8" gong @ 25 yds, must be held approx 8" low of the gong to get hits. Does the short barrel cause the high shots due to barrel flip? Should I just increase amount of powder till I can hold @ 6 o'clock on the gong? This gun has fixed sights so increase in powder seems best option, or switch to Unique? I want to shoot light loads out of this gun as it has birdshead grip......really a fun gun to shoot......what you guys think?

 

[Crunchy Frog]

I would suggest a heavier bullet but you are already shooting the standard weight bullet for the cartridge. You could experiment with some different loads very easily. The other option, of course, is to file down your front sight. I'd probably ask a couple of other experienced shooters to put the gun on paper first, just to eliminate my own shooting technique as a cause.

 

[J-Bar]

If you have to aim 8 inches below the target, your gun shoots high at 25 yards, not low. The title of your thread is misleading.

If a gun is zeroed at 10 yards then the bullet is angling upwards towards the line of sight pretty sharply. Any bullet will ideally cross the sighting line at two points; a close one as it rises above the line of sight and then one farther away after the bullet’s trajectory has peaked and the bullet is falling. It appears that with your load the bullet’s trajectory is still rising at 25 yards. If you file the front sight down things get worse! You always move the rear sight, NOT the front sight in the direction you want the bullet to move. You want the bullet to move DOWN at 25 yards. To accomplish this with a change in sights you would have to lower the rear sight, or increase the height of the front sight.

Heavier bullets tend to shoot higher than lighter bullets because of muzzle flip. In my opinion you should experiment with lighter bullets and less powder to bring point of impact closer to point of aim at 25 yards. Or live with Kentucky windage. Don't file the sight.

 

[Saddlebag Preacher]

I've studied the single action Colt and Remington type revolvers for years as a western living historian and reenactor and the old timers used to say to "hit 'em in the breadbasket, aim for the belt buckle." Most had front blades set tall and you adjusted POI with a file. I saw an article once where Bat Masterson specifically ordered a SAA from Colt with sight with a different height than the standard. A lot of the repros and Rugers seem to be set for the SASS crowd who shoot with low powered loads and at very close ranges.

 

[RealGun]

My guns and reloads are regulated to perform best at 15 yards, sometimes posted at 50 feet. I have a few that do shoot lower with a lighter bullet. I know you are going after gong hits, but at 25 yards you might be better off with just the lighter bullet and figuring where to aim. A larger paper target to capture the grouping can help with that.

 

[sabbfan]

I would try some 180 grain bullets and see where that gets you, they have shot lower than the 240 and 300’s in my SRH

 

[CraigC]

You're shooting high, not low. Your load is a mousefart, need more velocity. I use 4.0gr Titegroup in my .44Colt Open Top.

 

[RealGun]

I would try some 180 grain bullets and see where that gets you, they have shot lower than the 240 and 300’s in my SRH

In lead 44, I believe 200 gr would be more common to find and would correspond to common reload data. I would not require hard cast at the velocities of "light loads", but as high as Brinell 15 works okay for me.

 

[hot chili powder]

Yes.....I screwed up, no pun intended, the Vaquero shot high not low. So using lighter bullets should make it shoot lower, I'll try some 200 gr & 180 gr with Titegroup or Unique.....just want to be on @ 25 yds with 6 o'clock hold on 8' gong, Would bullet profile make any difference (SWC or RN)?

 

[J-Bar]

Would bullet profile make any difference (SWC or RN)?

I suspect not, at least at that short range. If you were trying to lob shots a couple of hundred yards, the difference in velocity due to the differing profiles would likely be significant.

But this is something that can be determined by experimentation. Just like most everything else!