ASM 1851 navy hitting high

[eggwelder]

took above mentioned handgun out to the range.
25 gr of 3F with a RB.
at 10-15 yards it was hitting 6 inches high. at 25 yds around 10-12 inches high.
at 50- it was at least 20 inches over the aiming point. had to aim at the ground in front of the target to even register on my smallish 24x24 inch target frame.

what are these things sighted in at?

it has a bead for a front sight that does not appear to have been filed down, and the ball seems to lose some omphf when it does hit the target at 50. will go thru double 2x4 but just leave a dent in the plywood backing.
have not shot for groups really, just trying to figure out what to do with this revolver to bring it down to a somewhat "normal" aimed it POI.

 

[hawkeye2]

A taller front sight. What you are experiencing is normal for a repro C&B revolver. Your load should be close to giving the best group. 20 grains seems to work best for me.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Story I heard is Colt revolvers are made to shoot people so are regulated for 70 yards so from point blank to too far for pistol work you just hold center and get a hit. They aren‘t meant to be target guns or to hit a nickel at 20 yards. We shoot them now that way but Sam was building a weapon not a plinker.

 

[necchi]

What you are experiencing is normal for a repro C&B revolver.

That's the truth.
These things where made for war and to kill a man.
I think the early military training with revolvers was to point at a mans belt and you'd hit him somewhere above that.
That's simply what they were designed to do in the mid 19th century.

The marksmen, sharpshooter and later the western romance of "gunfighter", where men that simply had the knack of knowing were the gun shoots

 

[eggwelder]

makes sense with where the balls impact the target. maybe i`ll make a man sized target and see how it works on that.

 

[bigstick6017555]

If your base pin is to short and you are excessively over tightening the wedge, this also can add to shooting high

 

[Winchester97]

Nearly all my C&B revolvers have shot way high. A few I have filed a dovetail in and installed a brass blade front sight, others that I prefer not to alter just get held low.

 

[n.h.schmidt]

Every or nearly so ASM or euroarms colt clone I have used or looked at has a too short arbor . This gives you a angled up barrel.Some times it's really bad.This can be fixed but it can be a lot of work too.I have a 1851 Euroarms like that. I had to add a washer to the arbor to bottom out. I also had to reduce the barrel lug by .020 to get the up angle reduced. This then needed a new wedge that I had to make. It would sure be nice if things were made right from the start.

 

[Desperate Lee]

Pietta's are pretty good at fitting the barrel, arbor, and wedge. Uberti's always have a short arbor. Cylinder alignment are better on Uberti than on Pietta. Now Pietta is getting better fit on everything. My $0.02 worth.
DL

 

[jimairwin]

took above mentioned handgun out to the range.
25 gr of 3F with a RB.
at 10-15 yards it was hitting 6 inches high. at 25 yds around 10-12 inches high.
at 50- it was at least 20 inches over the aiming point. had to aim at the ground in front of the target to even register on my smallish 24x24 inch target frame.

what are these things sighted in at?

it has a bead for a front sight that does not appear to have been filed down, and the ball seems to lose some omphf when it does hit the target at 50. will go thru double 2x4 but just leave a dent in the plywood backing.
have not shot for groups really, just trying to figure out what to do with this revolver to bring it down to a somewhat "normal" aimed it POI.

NORMAL, AUTHENTIC SIGHTING WAS & IS "AIM FOR BELLY, HIT 'EM IN THE CHEST."

 

[Bighorserider]

Blackie on YouTube has videos on how modify the hammer (rear sight)to shoot to point of aim.

 

[BadDaditood]

I’ve always heard “aim at the horse to hit the rider”

 

[Bad Karma]

Blackie on YouTube has videos on how modify the hammer (rear sight)to shoot to point of aim.

in the case of the 1851 it’s easy to make a taller front sight from a small brass screw with the threaded portion and head cut off or a bit of brass rod if you have that. The 1860 sight can be replaced with a replacement made for the 1871 open top. VTIGUNPARTS has these for Pietta or Uberti. Drive the old one out drive the new one in and you be hitting point of aim at 25 yards. No cutting or grinding required unless you have to adjust windage.

 

[FishDFly]

Drop your powder charge to 18 grains. Grip the pistol as high as you can, where the cocked hammer hits the web of your hand.

This will bring down the point of impact down. Low hand placement of the grip will cause it to shoot high.