Ok folks

Here's a few general pistol questions.
I bought a 45 cal percussion pistol from one of the guys In my rendezvou group. It had a bead sight in front, I had a dovetail cut in it and a blade put in. Should I keep filing the blade down until I hit paper?
2. The barrel says Dikar Spain.
And a sn.
Looking for a replacement trigger, I hate the one that's on there.
Any ideas?

Where is it hitting? High or low? Have you worked up a load for it? Most of us try to work up a load before major adjustments to the sights unless they are way off. You would file down the front sight if it is hitting way low.

It's not even hitting the paper and I use splatter targets

buckleymarka56 said:

It's not even hitting the paper and I use splatter targets

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How’s your groups?
First get your groups, then adjust sights

buckleymarka56 said:

It's not even hitting the paper and I use splatter targets

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Get a huge piece of cardboard like a refrigerator box to shoot at and start from there. No further than 25 yards to start. Use a bench and sandbags.

Front sight adjustment= the higher the front sight the lower it shoots. If it shoots too low file the sight until it raises the POI to where you want it. From sight windage= move the front sight in the opposite direction you want your impact to move. If you’re shoot left more the front sight to the right and vise versa.

Rear sight. Move the rear sight in the same direction you want your POI to move to. If you are shooting to the left and want your impact to move to the right then move the rear sight to the right and vise versa. If you are shooting too high then lower the rear sight. If you are shooting low then raise the rear sight.

I'll try that on Friday at the rendezvou, since I'm going day early

Shoot a big piece of cardboard or into a bank from close up like 10 or 15 feet to see where the round is impacting. 25 yards is too far. Don't file anything until you see how far off the point of impact is in relation to the point of aim. Then you can get an idea of what you need to do to bring the sights back on line.

Hawk54 said:

Shoot a big piece of cardboard or into a bank from close up like 10 or 15 feet to see where the round is impacting. 25 yards is too far. Don't file anything until you see how far off the point of impact is in relation to the point of aim. Then you can get an idea of what you need to do to bring the sights back on line.

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I agree with Hawk. I think 25 yards is too far for new sights. I'd start at 15 feet, see where you are, adjust, shoot again, then move out.

I'm going to move this to the handgun section.

buckleymarka56 said:

Looking for a replacement trigger, I hate the one that's on there.
Any ideas?

Click to expand...

There's a screw in the locks tumbler that'll help that trigger.

Yeah, I was gonna say look for a set screw on the tumbler for Spanish locks. See if you can't get the trigger pull acceptable so you can get some actual groups before worrying about the sights. If it has the set screw, screw it in so that it protrudes into the sear area until the trigger is light enough to shoot but still engages the sear reliably.

absolutly bench it. 25yrds is fine if you have a big enough piece of cardboard but 20yrds will also work. too close and you wont get as much usefull information. without benching you will not learn anything usefull.

nick_1 said:

absolutly bench it. 25yrds is fine if you have a big enough piece of cardboard but 20yrds will also work. too close and you wont get as much usefull information. without benching you will not learn anything usefull.

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Kinda off topic... but my good friend is a Math Major and takes the distance between the sights and extrapolates the adjustment needed to get dead on at 25 yards. It looks way too complicated to me.

buckleymarka56 said:

Here's a few general pistol questions.
I bought a 45 cal percussion pistol from one of the guys In my rendezvou group. It had a bead sight in front, I had a dovetail cut in it and a blade put in. Should I keep filing the blade down until I hit paper?
2. The barrel says Dikar Spain.
And a sn.
Looking for a replacement trigger, I hate the one that's on there.
Any ideas?

Click to expand...

Btw, based on how deep your rear sight is cut and you asking about a tall front sight I'm guessing your hitting WAAY low.
You can always plug a rear sight notch with JB Weld, I've seen many competition guns adjusted that way.

Kansas Jake said:

Where is it hitting? High or low? Have you worked up a load for it? Most of us try to work up a load before major adjustments to the sights unless they are way off. You would file down the front sight if it is hitting way low.

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I took it to the range. Sights darn close. Trigger was giving me some issues. It looks afu, compared to the one on my Kentucky pistol. Should look the same. Ordered one from Dixie gun works.

And be careful not to get the sear adjustment screw set too light or you'll be unpleasantly surprised.

Eterry. it would be awesome to be able to get on paper that way. save a bunch of ammo. i have never owned a bore sight and don't even know if they work for muzzeloaders but I have often thought that I should own a bore sight.

nick_1 said:

Eterry. it would be awesome to be able to get on paper that way. save a bunch of ammo. i have never owned a bore sight and don't even know if they work for muzzeloaders but I have often thought that I should own a bore sight.

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I'm telling you, start at no more than 30 feet. Use a large piece of cardboard, ie. a dryer container from a big box store, or go to the Post Office and snag a few large flat rate boxes. They're free!!

I've been where you are. A sheet of printer paper is less than worthless here.
Be sure you use some kind of rest, remove as much human error as possible. If your not hitting the box anywhere move it closer.

I've never wasted time and money on a borelight. Based on the picture of rear sight, I still say you're hitting way low.

I typically use a bench rest and a big piece of cardboard.

I generally start shooting a new handgun at 7 yards.... so 21 feet. Unless it is a hunting pistol, you will generally not engage targets further than that with a handgun... and most handguns (with most shooters) will not group that well at any range beyond that anyway. Most inexpensive percussion revolvers and muzzleloading pistols will shoot quite high and need a higher front sight. Good luck finding a new trigger to your liking. Most likely it won't be available.