Filing the Sight Groove on Colt Hammers

[Marc Adamchek]

To bring down the POI on the Colt replicas a lot of people advise filing the groove in the trigger to deepen and widen it a bit so that they have more room to move with the front bead.

To those who have done that, what method would you recommend? Would you use a dremel or would that be too aggressive? What kind of file would/did you use?

 

[hawkeye2]

Filing a grove in the trigger will be kinda hard to see when you have your finger on it. :grin: Use a needle file (Swiss file), they come in different cross sections so you can choose one that nearly matches the existing notch or cut a rectangular notch. Everyone ought to own a set and they aren't very expensive even for quality ones. I'm partial to a rectangular notch myself but way before I started filing on the hammer I would put a new taller and possibly wider front sight on the gun.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I think that they were talking about filing down the notch in the hammer. I think raising the front sight would be the first step. Front sights are considerably cheaper than the hammer if you go too far on deepening the notch in the hammer.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Well, yes, that is what I meant by filing the groove, i.e. filing the existing notch. It is common practice to do this, that is why I was soliciting those who have actually done it, not those who hadn't but had thoughts or opinions on it. But thanks anyway.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Have to agree with ole Grenadier here...nor going to be a lot of deepening before you hit the hammer face. Filing in the notch was more to lateral adjusment adn clear up sight picture than lowering POI. Dixie does or did carry a very thin based sight that could be dovetailed into most revolver barrels. Any thin based sight would work. I neer bothered...just shot it enough to get a god mental fix on how far to aim low at different ranges...be surprised how well that works.

 

[hawkeye2]

Well I have actually done it but only to clean up the notch for a better sight picture or to move the point of impact laterally. I can say from experience with raising front sights that you will be in trouble long before you file the notch deep enough to bring you on at 25 yards with target loads.

 

[Tom Compton]

IIRC the sight picture and POI of the originals were to allow a center of mass hit while aiming at the opponent's belt buckle. This was to give the shooter a better field of view and if the opponent was further out still take him out of action.

For practical use now either learning the hold, raising the front sight or adjusting the load would be appropriate.
TC

 

[smoothshooter]

I have filed on the hammer on three of my guns, and touched one of them up a little more last week.
I only recommend minor filing on the hammer notch such as deepening and widening the notch a little for a better sight picture with a small round needle file.

Slow is the way to go here.

You will save yourself a lot of trouble and frustration by having a taller blade front sight dovetailed into the barrel.

If you file down the tip of the hammer nose, as opposed to widening or deepening
the groove, you are lowering your line of sight - which means you can get this line of sight so low that you pick up any glare or heat waves coming off of the barrel which will mess up your sight picture.

Get the new front sight, make your adjustments on the front end, and be done with it.

 

[dickydalton]

Well, I am sorry to inform you that I used a dremel to widen/deepen the hammer on my 2nd Gen. 1851 Colt and it works very well. :idunno:

 

[dickydalton]

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Well, it looks like a combination of things, done at a slow pace, is the way to go. I had no idea of the common availability of a thin front sight that can be easily obtained AND easily dovetailed at the end of the line, so to speak. And the careful dremel job by Mr Dalton looks like the resulting sight picture must be wonderfully clear AND one that allows more flexibility in the POI dept.

I think the main reason I latched onto adjusting the sight picture by going at it from the rear notch has been influenced by the youtube videos by Mike Belliveau. He's mentioned this procedure more than once in his various productions, but I can't recall one time where he advised a new front sight by showing an example of one that he's done.

Anyway, many thanks to all who contributed their excellent viewpoints on this common situation with replica revolvers. As one member mentioned, getting used to mentally adjusting your sight picture by aiming low becomes "natural" after a time. While this is true, to a degree, and is something we all have had to do it still doesn't beat a handgun that shoots right where you point it, ultimately. Just my opinion, of course.

postscript: I just looked at those photos submitted by Dicky Dalton again. Really nice job, Dicky!!

 

[smoothshooter]

Hey, if it worked, I can't argue with success!

 

[m-g willy]

I too used a dremel,, but I cut my notch square and also reshaped the front sight by shaving the sides flat.
From the side my front sight still looks like a cone ,,but from the rear it looks like a square post.
It is sighted in to be dead on at 25 yards and has replaced my S&W 17 as my small game gun.

 

[Pete G]

I have used the Dremmel with the cutoff wheel to deepen the notch and then needle files to square it up and make it wider. Once you get the point of aim centered laterally you can start working on the top edge of the hammer to lower the point of impact some, but there is usually not enough there to make a large adjustment.

 

[Heelerau]

Mate, all my cap and balls have had taller front sights added very simple to do, and more adjustment than cutting the hammer notch. I have also opened up the hammer notch on my Colts to improve the sight picture.
A lot of lateral error can be the way you are holding the pistol. I Have a tendency to shoot to the left, and have adjusted my grip and use the tip of my trigger finger only and slide it back against the trigger floor plate to try and ensure that the tip of my finger comes straight back. This has brought my point of impact back towards centre although I still have to aim off some, but no where near as much as before.

Cheers

Heelerau

 

[wb78963]

All but my pair of Capt. Schaeffer replicas have a dovetailed front sight and a squared hammer slot. All have been fiddled and filed to center the point of impact at 10 yards.
I could not cut into the engraving on the Capt Schaeffers that would be sacrilege but with a careful sigh picture they work OK at 10 yards and even on a 12" square at 30 yards...usually (sometimes)
WB