Need front sight advice changing front sight on 1860 army

[horsetrader]

Have a Pietta 1860 Army ( round barrel) with a brass front sight. Gun shoots way to high - filing down notch in hammer is no option... and approx 4 inch left at 25 yr. I was thinking of installing a dovetail front sight but am concerned with the barrel thickness or lack of it. Also would it look o.k.? What other options would I have? Also is the front pressed in or solderd? ( How to remove?)
Thanks and Happy Easter!

 

[paulvallandigham]

The originals were made so that the balls were zeroed at 75 yards! That's right- 75 yards. That is why the replica shoots so high. You will need to put a higher front sight on the revolver if you want to shoot it. The front Bead will usually screw out, or come out. If you look inside the muzzle, there will either be a hole under the front sight, or a dimple where the metal between the bore and the bottom of the sight post is so thin, that pressure from firing the gun has made a shallow dimple on the inside of the bore.

Take a look at Brownells, Dixie, and other suppliers. You should be able to find a taller front sight to put on the gun.

 

[BadHorse]

lol,,,learn to aim low, way easier that anything else. my 3rd model dragoon does the same thing, and you adjust really fast

 

[fitter]

You shoud be able to knock it out of its slot with a small punch. You need to make a higher blade and put it back in. TOTW sells a cast front sight for .10 that does work, order a couple of them. I made one for an Uberti 1860 and it worked well. Don't know if the Pietta is soldered in or not, but the Uberti was easy to change. Probably about the same.

 

[fitter]

1860 Army has a blade in a milled slot not a bead.

 

[Stophel]

I see no reason why the sight on the hammer cannot be cut (ground) down. In fact, I believe I have a book on percussion pistol shooting where the author recommends just that. :wink:

If you want to change the front sight, I think I would consider just getting one of the sights made for round fowler barrels, and solder it in place.

 

[fitter]

Its not that hard to make a correct, higher front sight.

 

[Stophel]

Yeah, but can you secure it back in that staked-in slot? :idunno:

 

[fitter]

Yeah, you can either by restaking it or as I started doing just flux and flow in a little solder.1/8" sheet brass is just about perfect for making these. If you leave it fat and high you can file it to adjust POI. I have done several of these on 1860 Ubertis and you can really get the sights dialed in this way. Probably easier than starting out with the low front sight. A lot of the cowboy shooters like to have this mod. done to their guns.Havn't done a Pietta yet, but I would think it would be about the same procedure.The Ubertis, as Smokin 50 will attest to are real tack drivers when you get the right load and the sights set up right. By leaving the sight blank you can easily adjust windage by filing.When sighted in you can finish filing it back to the shape of the original sight.