Zouave Shoots high right 6 inches

[jbide]

My 58 caliber Zouave shoots high and right 6 inches at 50 yards shooting 35 grains of 2 F and modern minneys bullets. Any idea on what needs to be done to the fixed sights to get it on center? Jim in SE Iowa

 

Adjusting your sights is Purdy basic, you move the rear sights the direction you want your bullet to move and opposite with the front sights.

With the sight radius on your rifle you will move your sights .015th'' for every one inch of bullet movement, six inches would be .090''. :results:

 

Roaddog how'd you figure 1/15th inch"? You gotta secret squirrel formula you is hangin' on to an' not sharin' wid yer buds???? Huh?
Anyway you can't move the back sights on a Zouave for windage. T'aint't made ta be moved.
Front sight neither.
To bring it down you gotta make the front sight taller, or rear sight lower.
No easy way with a Zouave.
You could get some scrape steel, or even brass about the same thickness as the rear leaf on the "Z" gun and make a ndw rear ishgt, drill the peep hole and see if you guessed lucky.
I've done that. I was NOT lucky.

 

My ruler don't have a 1/15th mark!! :hmm:

 

Try shooting at least the service load, perhaps the POI will change. If the gun is shooting the groups you want, by all means, stop experimenting there (I can't- gotta be someting better) and move or make new sights that will allow you to sight it in. Barrels can be bent(slightly - no kinks) if there is no way of moving the sights to correct them.

 

I think he ment 0.015 decimal, not inch. 1/64" is 0.015625 decimal.

 

[wulf]

Jim...I have been shooting my Zoo since 1958. I use 55 gr of
ffg with a ,570 rb. That is the load the Ordinance Dept finally agreed on as being most accurate,,,,,,
after the war......I bench 10 X's but, with the mini's it's about 1 1/4 lower. I did dove tail a front sight about
3/8" high and lowered the rear...You have to do a lot of exparimenting in this work.......Wulf

 

The sight radius of the Zouave rifle is around 26 inches soooooo, @ 50 yards to change the point of the impact one inch you'll need to change the sight 0.015th of an inch.

I've never owned a Zouave rifle sooooooooo I have no idea how you ( move, shave, file or hammer) your sights . I'll admit 35 gr. of powder sounds like a light load for a 58 but (each to his own) :m2c:

 

:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :blah:

 

:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :blah:

Roaddog:
Awe go catch a catfish!
(how'd you change the words on those greamlins anawho?)

 

[jbide]

The load and charge was one set up by some civil war shooters. I figure if I increase it it might really fly high. Jim in SE Iowa

 

Increasing the powder charge may have the opposite effect to what you think. As well, a change in powder charge may also give a windage change. Trust me on this. Heavier powder charges give higher velocity and the bullet is out the barrel quicker, therefore the gun hasn't risen as high in recoil, therefore ithe bullet prints lower on the target. This is a common phnenominum - may be the same in your .58 - was in my .69 to about 100gr. 2F with 480gr. round ball. After that, it printed higher with heavier loads.
: You must be flexible enough to try something different than what you were SET up with - or put up with where it shoots now. Shooting Black Powder is a matter of experimentation. You must experiment with different bullets, different size bullets, different powders, different powder charges, different lubricants. different caps, EVERYTHING different makes a difference in HOW WELL and WHERE it shoots. You would think lighter conicals would print higher as well - not necessarily so, as they generally print lower on the target from the musket, same as they do from a handgun & modern rifle for that matter. It has to do with barrel time vs. barrel rise from recoil. Some guns, due to stock shape or the way they are held, print the opposite - you have to willing to experiment.

 

You can pruchase a blank rear leaf from one of the many civil war sultlers and cut your notch.015 left of your present one you can also buy a solderon higher blade from one of the same sorces this will lower your POI and move it right. 55 gr of 2F is my load for minnies.

 

[jbide]

I have replaced the standard front sight with a dove tail and taller front sight. I also removed some wood from the stock under the back barrel band. It was very tight and putting some down force on the back end. I took it out for to shoot. With a load of 60 g pyrodex rs and 570 ball and .020 patch off the bench it shot right on the money. I think at this point the band was causing more problems than than the front sight. Jim SE Iowa