Adjusting front sight?

I was lookin at my pedersoli 54 and I just noticed my front,blade, sight is moved over past center on my top flat. It's a used rifle and I was told the owner before me knew what he was doing.I havin't shot the rifle yet,should I leave it and go see where it hits on paper or go ahead and center it and then go?? I've looked and it doesn't looked like the dovetail has been bumped or anything.I'm not even sure how to move it.Put a piece of cloth over the long side of the dovetail and lightly tap it over until the blade is centered?? I do not want to scar my rifle up. I cant imagine the blade should be right of center to b accurate,could it?? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Jesse

Go shoot it off a bench and see where it is hitting. If the guy before you had it there to hit his targets, chances are good you will be close.

Shoot it a few different distances to see if one is more accurate than the other. Then you should be able to make any adjustments that fit your needs afterwards.

Good luck.

Outdoorman

I'll try shootin it first then.
thank you

Jesse

I disagree with the others. I would center it. You need to start from scratch in the way you are going to shoot the gun. Not the way the previous owner did it. Whether he knew what he was doing or not is irrelevant to you. Start from the beginning. :thumbsup:

But you need a brass drift to move it back to center not a piece of cloth!. :wink:

Why move anything until after you have fired the rifle? It just may be the orginal owner moved the sights to where they are for a reason. If they are off when you shoot it you can still move them as needed.

I'm with ebiggs on centering the sight and starting from scratch. It's unusual for a rifle sighted in by one person to be dead on when fired by another.

I figured to have to adjust the sights a little for me. Its pretty far right of center and I can't imagine it needs to be that far over. Maybe,I'm don't know. I was gonna fire it today but the wind is blow hard,OKLAHOMA!!! lol But anyway,what is a brass drift and what does it look like?? I was talkin about puttin a piece of cloth over it,so as not to scar anything,and lightly tappin it with a small hammer. I appreciate everone's help greatly!

Jesse

hanshi said:

I'm with ebiggs on centering the sight and starting from scratch. It's unusual for a rifle sighted in by one person to be dead on when fired by another.

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if the rifle is sighted in by a shooter that has good body mechanics, it should shoot a similar group for another shooter with proper body mechanics

I say shoot first move the sight if it needs it. He is gonna feel silly if he moves it, shoots it then discovers it needs to be moved back to where it was.

what is a brass drift and what does it look like??

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Any solid peice of brass will do, a brass rod or even a small bar. The deal is Brass is softer than steel so you can wack steel pretty hard with a brass punch or "drift" or small brass hammer and not scar or mark the steel.
Something of that order is common fair for the gunsmith/hobbyists tool box.
You can buy one cheap enough; http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1041/1/TOOL-KEY-B
Many Hobby shops have brass rod for cheap too, or an old brass key as a "buffer" between the hammer and sight

I was talkin about puttin a piece of cloth over it,so as not to scar anything,and lightly tappin it with a small hammer,,

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That works too, but most times the hammer will cut through the fabric and leave a dent,
use it lightlty and you should be OK,,
Just use common sence care, :wink:

what is a brass drift and what does it look like??

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Just any ole hunka brass you can whack on. Usually a brass rod about 1/4" or 3/8" in diameter, often ground to a small flat or round end.

necchi said:

what is a brass drift and what does it look like??

Click to expand...

Any solid peice of brass will do, a brass rod or even a small bar. The deal is Brass is softer than steel so you can wack steel pretty hard with a brass punch or "drift" or small brass hammer and not scar or mark the steel.
Something of that order is common fair for the gunsmith/hobbyists tool box.
You can buy one cheap enough; http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1041/1/TOOL-KEY-B
Many Hobby shops have brass rod for cheap too, or an old brass key as a "buffer" between the hammer and sight

I was talkin about puttin a piece of cloth over it,so as not to scar anything,and lightly tappin it with a small hammer,,

Click to expand...

That works too, but most times the hammer will cut through the fabric and leave a dent,
use it lightlty and you should be OK,,
Just use common sence care, :wink:

Click to expand...

This information was very timely - I was just about to post asking for this help. I usually use wood as a punch but I just ordered this drift punch. I'll see which I prefer.

It seems, at the end of a build, I'm always grabbing a piece of hardwood to initially install the sights. Works fine, but for target work I suggest a piece of smooth metal, as it gets quite a workout. I have my favorite piece of aluminum in my shooting box. Bill

I've been gone for the weekend. Y'alls info has been very helpful and I really appreciate it! I got to fire it and it shot pretty well. It wasn't that far off but I have some work to do on it yet.
Thank you,
Jesse

Fun huh

:grin: A blast,literally!! I love it

I know it is a bug to see a front sight off to one side but usually it is drifted there for a reason as no one would purposely leave it that way as it shows up like sore thumb when you sight down the barrel.
It usually is because a rifle bore had been bored off center with the out side or had a curve in it. Both are quite common with muzzle loading barrels and need to be considered when mounting so the curve or bend can be orientated vertically.
I finished a Rolling block rifle chambered in 38-55 for Black powder use and although accurate shot off to one side a bit at 100 yards. I couldn't detect a bend or curved in the bore but I'm quite sure it had one and was the cause of the bullet impact slightly to the side.
I have seen several muzzle loading barrels with curved bores and the flats where straight on all sides.
A good sight drift is sold by Brownells and has a delrin insert along with brass. Brass and aluminum will both leave marks on browned steel. Brass will also bend sight steel and dovetail corners with no trouble. A steel drift with a delrin insert will not mar or bend steel at all. MD

Good info and that helps me alot in understanding why the sight is set so far off to the right.
Thank you,
Jesse

OK, I'm still needing some help. I ordered the drift punch discussed above. It's thicker than the depth of the dove tail and wider than the top of the dove tail, so it can't be used lengthwise to drive the sight all the way out. I tried using it on end and chipped the punch. The sight is very tight and not moving out. I'm driving it left to right. Is this correct or should it be driven right to left? What else can be suggested for removing my sight?

You may want to apply a bit of heat to the barrel and sight in case there is some loc-tite in the bottom of the dovetail. Check for a sight base pin or set screw before you start drifting! You won't hurt it with a propane torch as you can't get it hot enough to anneal that much steel mass with a propane hand torch.
When sights are stubborn for me I use the brass insert with a piece of target paper on the blade base.
Sights now days usually will drift in either direction. I put mine in a padded vise jaw as close to the dovetail as I can get without interference and use the brass drift with a ball peen hammer to start it and them switch to the delrin insert.MD

I successfully replaced my sight today. The problem was simply that I am a "newbie" to longrifles and was just hesitant when things didn't work "right" on my first attempt. The solution was to simply drive the sight in the opposite direction, from right to left. Putting a caliper to it after it had been removed showed it to be slightly narrower on the right side.