Adjusting the sight on a .38 special?

F

future_man

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I recently inherited an older S&W .38 Special revolver from a relative, and took it to the shooting range today for the first time to get familiar with it.

After several rounds I noticed that my shots were high and left. I thought it might be my lack of skill with this gun, so I asked two of my more experienced friends to shoot it and they couldn't hit anything with it either.

At this point in time, our working assumption is that this gun needs to be re-sighted. However, neither the back nor front sight of the gun is adjustable.

Therefore, how difficult would it be to have this gun re-sighted (if possible). What is involved in doing this? How much should I expect to spend?

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Sam's right. Generally, 38 revos with fixed sights are regulated for 158 gr. standard velocity cartridges. If you're grouping to the left, assuming a right handed shooter, you may have too tight of a grip on it. Adjusting fixed sights can be done but I'd fool around with different ammo first.
 
another vote for a change of ammo first, then a change of grip/stocks.

you can adjust the sights of fixed sighted guns but the first thing you need to do is decide on which load you want to use in it FOREVER. sights are adjusted by filing either the front blade or rear notch.

WARNING: this is not something to be attempted by the untrainned.
 
I went back out to the range yesterday with a couple of different types of ammo, and had some interesting observations.

*Using the 158 gr. ammo I tended to shoot a little high (from a distance of about 7 yards).
*Using the 130 gr. ammo I seemed to shoot more on target at the same distance.

I also think that 9mmepiphany may have a point in regards to the grip/stock. This one seems a bit small in my hand. I'm wondering if a better fitting grip might also help to address the problem.

Thanks for all of the feedback.
 
How high is a little high? My experience has been that 158s in fixed sight .38s tend to be the most "on" for POI/POA.. An inch or two should be about right for a 25 yard zero...
 
It was about 1-2 inches high at about 7 yards.

I'm starting to think it probably has more to do with the shooter than the gun. ;)
 
is you gun still wearing the original (magna) wooden stocks ?...the ones that follow the shape of the frame?

you could try a set of grips that fill in behind the trigger guard. that should cause you to grip lower and rotate the barrel downward. the size of you hand will determine if you'll need stock material behind the recoil shoulder (verticle part of frame behind/below hammer)
 
Yes, it seems to still have the original wooden stocks. I've got pretty large hards (for my size), so I'm thinking a larger grip might help.
 
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