Lyman .54

[Flint50]

It shoots a little low and to he right at 50 yds. I know to shave the front sight to bring it up, but how do I get her to shoot more to the left? Right now its about 2 inches to the right consistently.

 

[rabjr]

Not sure how the rear sights are on those but always move the rear site in the direction you want the bullet to move. If it's a dove tail slot just tap it to the left a tad and try it.

 

[AZ-Robert]

FORS -- front opposite, rear same.

If you want to move the bullet's impact to the left you can either move the front sight to the right or the rear sight to the left. Just tap the sight to move it in the dovetail in the desired direction. Use a brass drift if you have it, or get a wooden dowel if you don't have a drift. Put the drift / dowel down on the dovetailed part of the sight, not up at the top, and whack it with a hammer until it moves.

If, for some reason, you end up driving the sight all the way out of the dovetail, use your drift or a punch to peen the dovetail in the barrel a little tighter (fold the edges down a bit) and put the sight back in.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Before moving the front sight( or rear sight in its dovetail) put a witness mark on the sight, using a scratch awl, so that you know where the sight is located before you tap it with a drift pin. That way, if you push it the wrong way( It happens!) you can return it.

The line needs to be on both the sight base, and on the barrel, but it doesn't need to be deep, or wide. Just enough to be seen, in good light, so you can find it if needed. The witness mark will also help you judge how far you have moved a sight. If and when you find the correct sight placement to center your shots, make a new witness mark, so you know where that placement is located if the sight is ever bumped and moved off that mark.

 

Paul,

My plainsman will be the next to played with soon. It has fixed rear sight. If let's say you had a 2 inch move to the left to put your shots in the black,how much nudge would you give the rear sight? I would think it would be just smallest of adjustments to the left. Small steps.1/64th inch nudge?
Thanks,
Jay

 

[BrownBear]

I bet it's not even 1/64" to get 2" of movement on the target. I'd be more inclined to move the front sight though, unless the front sight had already been moved as far as possible. The reason being, I'm pretty specific on how I want that rear sight aligned to my head position when I'm nestled into the stock, and moving the front sight has less impact on that. Small difference in your plans, but something to think about.

Someone earlier suggested scribing index marks in both the barrel and the sight base. Whether you are moving the front or rear one, that really helps for making very small adjustments. You just can't keep track of small movements well without some those two reference points. I keep a small brass punch in my range box and use that to drift sights.

 

Brownbear,

Now I have an idea just how small the nudges should be once the marks are made.SMALL! JUST NOTICEABLE.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[silverfox]

Flint when you make your marks do it with a #2 lead pencil until you get sighted in then make a new mark with a small chisel. Mark both front and rear after your sighted. That way if either get bumped you can return them to their correct position.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu can calculate how much movement you need to move either front or rear sight if you know the distance between the front and rear sight, and the distance to the target. Convert yardage to inches. If you are shooting at 50 yards, the distance is 1800 inches.

I believe the formula would be, then, 2/1800 Divided by D = X( where D = distance between sights ). X is the number you are seeking. If I have that equation wrong, I am sure that someone will correct me. With open sights, I have only resorted to using the formula once, and usually just use a trial and error method of adjusting the sight. The movement needed is so small that its hardly worth remembering the formula and running it. I don't think I have ever managed to remember to take a pocket calculator with me to the range! And, while I can do this long hand, I have grown lazy in my old age!

Whatever the movement, it is very small. Maybe the width of a pencil mark. We are talking hundredths of an inch, if that.

If you have ever sighted in a scope on a rifle, most scope adjustments are in 1/4" clicks, or minute of angle. The small tubed, cheap .22 scopes are in 1/2" clicks.

It doesn't take much movement to move the POI one inch( 4 clicks) on a scope at 100 yards. At 50 yards it will take 8 clicks to move the sight one inch, and 16 clicks to move it 2 inches. However, even 16 clicks is not a lot of movement. The same goes with peep sights, and adjustable open sights.