Who has had to adjust the sights on a new gun?

[bdjansen]

I find myself having to adjust the sight on my CPO 228. I have been tapping it over with a hammer a little.

The gun shoots three inches to the left at 40-50 feet. The sights were centered. Now I have moved the rear one over .02-.04 of an inch. So now they are not centered. And that tells me that the gun does not shoot straight if I need to move the rear sights out of center to have it be on target.

So what could be causing my gun to shoot left? Every part is spotless.

When I field strip it I notice that the barrel is not rock solid in the slide. You can move it side to side a little. Is it supposed to be unmovable? I have never field stripped another SIG before.

Any help would be great. I really like everything else about this gun but I can't fall in love with something that doesn't shoot straight.

 

[Kevin108]

I had to move my 1911 GI sites about a 16th"

 

[shooter1]

Too much finger in the trigger guard? A mechanical rest is the only way to tell for sure.
str1

 

[RyanM]

Try shooting with your other hand. It may be the gun, though. Which probably isn't a problem My Swiss K-31 rifle, when I got it, had the front sight driven to one side as far as it could possibly go. Shoots fine. Best I've been able to do so far is about a 3" group at 100 yards, but I'm a terrible shot, and was also using Wolf ammo.

 

[bdjansen]

No, I'm a good shot. I have shot it off a bench and had the "good shot" guy at the range shoot it as well. And I had no problems with the 229 I rented before I bought this gun (the reason I bought the 228 is because I shot so well with the 229).

 

[gudel]

okay so you're a good shot. But it's a used gun. Probably the previous owner adjusted it to compensate for his shooting. So changed it back.

CPO = Preowned = Previously loved, or whatever it is the marketing people call it, it's used

 

[fastbolt]

I've had to drift/adjust the occasional set of pistol sights upon occasion.

I generally try and determine if its the shooter (including me ) or the particular ammunition being used, though, before I start moving sights around.

There's a reason they make sight pushers, you know. I was originally trained in the brass drift punch & ball peen hammer era ... and I've become spoiled using sight pushers nowadays.

 

[JDGray]

As long as the gun groups well, just move the sight so POA is POI Sometimes the frt sight is off a bit, and short of centering it, the back will be off. My G19s rear sight is moved to the right, no big deal

 

[dleong]

Adjusting Sights On New Gun

Every one of my dozen CZ pistols has shot exactly to the point of aim right out of the box; I've never had to adjust the sights on them--though I've had a couple on which the rear sights worked loose with use, but that doesn't count.

Can't say the same for my other pistols, which have required varying degrees of adjustment. Windage corrections are easy enough to make by drifting the rear sight, but elevation corrections are a nuisance as it requires installing a sight of a different height or (in the case of the manufacturer not having sights of varying heights available for a particular model) milling down the front and/or rear sight.

Some examples:

1. The 40 S&W Baby Eagle I purchased new a few years back shot a full 12" high and 5" right at 25 yards right out of the box, and had me wondering if the manufacturer even bothered to regulate the sights during the test firing. I corrected for windage by drifting the rear sight left and lived with the elevation discrepancy, until just a few weeks ago when I installed an LPA adjustable rear sight on it.

2. My Springfield Mil-Spec 1911 had always shot about 4" low at 25 yards. Corrected by installing an adjustable rear sight.

3. Beretta 92FS. Shot slightly left at 25 yards, corrected by installing an adjustable rear sight.

4. FN HP-DA. Shot left and low out of the box. Corrected by drifting the rear sight right a smidge and milling down the front sight, as FN didn't have rear sights of vayring heights for the gun.

5. Sig Pro SP2340. Windage was spot-on but shot a little low. Corrected by installing the next taller rear sight available for that gun.

It's gotten to the point where I wouldn't consider buying a pistol unless it came with fully adjustable sights, or had aftermarket ones available for it.

 

[RNB65]

I used to have a Sig 228 that shot consistently to the left. I never did get it adjusted before I sold it. All my other semi-autos shoot pretty much where I'm pointing them. My CZ SP01 with fixed night sights is amazingly accurate.

 

[bdjansen]

I'll give it some more time at the range and see if I can get the sights lined up. But it bothers me. Maybe I'll trade it for a CZ. My brother has a CZ75 in .40 cal that is a great gun. And that P-01 looks really nice as well.

 

[jkomp316]

does a .22 pistol with an adjustible sight count? if so, my S&W 617 shot low and to the right out of the box.

 

[ranger335v]

All firearms, and especially handguns, have a simularity with women; how you hold them makes big differences in how they respond.

Changing your grip/trigger technique will likely move your impact right or left.

Changing the load (bullet weight and velocity) will move impact up and down.

 

[SWMAN]

I've had to adjust the sights on Sigs and Berettas and a Colt 1911, usually at or greater than 15 yards. Also, depends on the range your shooting at. Closer the target, the less you need to adjust the sights.

 

[GRIZ22]

When the agency I worked for started issuing Glocks nearly everyone of them had to have the rear sight pushed to the right. This was adjusting the sight for several hundred shooters so it just wasn't me.

I find due to how I hold the gun and the way I use my finger on the trigger I have to adjust most sights to the right a bit.

Best I've been able to do so far is about a 3" group at 100 yards, but I'm a terrible shot, and was also using Wolf ammo.


I'm not a fantastic shot but I get 2" @ 100 in my K31 and Wolf. Using Swiss ammo I get 1 1/2". You're not doing all that bad.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Even shooting off sandbags
I suspect my eyesight is not the same as the eyesight
of whoever does the initial zero at any of the factories.

 

[sfmittels]

I purchased a new P229 Elite in .40 a few months ago. It grouped beautifully, but 1" right at 7 yards. I asked the gunsmith about it at the store/indoor range where I bought it, and the young punk just blew me off with a comment about my jerking the trigger.

The next day, I returned with four guns and fired each onto the same target, at four different aiming points. I got four tight groups, only one of which wasn't centered (guess which one?).

I showed my target to the other gunsmith at the shop, and he took the P229 into the back. Five minutes later, he came out and said he put a micrometer on the sights; indeed, the front sight was slightly out of spec. He adjusted it, and I proceeded to shoot a perfectly centered tiny group. So don't assume it's you.

Because I own five SIGs, last week, I took the plunge and sprang for a SIG sight pusher (MGW brand - not cheap at $100, but much less than the one SIG sells). This is a well-made tool, and I've made small adjustments to three of my SIGs. I'm a happy camper now. If only I could get rid of all my angst for only $100!

 

[bluto]

Egads bdjansen!

Hang in there! I have 6 Sigs including my fabulous P228 and I've had to adjust the sights on most of them. I've even replaced a couple. Love that Sig sight pusher!

They all shoot straight. I just had to adjust the sights so that POA = POI. No biggie. You don't have to sell it!

P228's are notoriously accurate. They shoot straight. And the barrel doesn't have to be super tight in the frame when disassembled. As long as they lock up in battery. My P226 Navy's are pretty loose but they shoot like lasers. It'd be a shame to sell it. But I'd bet it won't take you long. They are much sought after.

Here's a before and after on my P228. The sights needed adjustment but I sure wouldn't say it didn't shoot straight.

 

[obxned]

Maybe it's because I am left-handed, but I don't remember a pistol that didn't require adjusting the sights. When I've owned ones with fixed rear sights, I had to adjust my hold.