Beretta 70s .22LR Rear Sight Q

[Remington 51]

For those of you who are familiar with the Beretta 70s in .22LR, I have a question for you.

Mine was made in 1981 and has rear sights adjustable for elevation and for windage.

The rear sight is adjusted DOWN as far as it will go. But at 30 feet, it shoots 3" high with a six o'clock hold. This is true with several brands/MV's/bullet weights.

Naturally, raising the rear sight elevates the bullet impact even higher.

It would seem to me that any adjustable pistol sight could be adjusted to impact at point of aim at a 30' distance, especially for a small pistol such as this one. I have not yet done range work at longer distances. It is hard to imagine that the sights are designed for minimum range of say, 50' or more, thus I am asking.

What has been your experience with these pistols and their sights?

 

[PSP]

My sight is also at it's lowest and shoots a bit high. The sights are so tiny and hard to see that IMHO, it really dosen't matter that much. I adjust the POA and have fun. Such a nice pistol except for the sights.

 

[jonnyc]

I have 4 of them, all with fixed rear sights. With short barrels, POA=POI with all of them. Are you using a short or long barrel, and is it original to the gun?

 

[Remington 51]

The 70s differs from the Model 70 in that it has a magazine safety and has adjustable (for elevation and windage) rear sights in the 22 LR variation. It was made towards from 1977-85.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta_70

There is a set screw on either side that must be loosened to position the leaf for windage, and then re-tightened to hold the leaf in its new alignment. The elevation is adjusted by a single click-adjustable screw that goes into the frame. There is also a tiny spring on each side towards the rear of the sight that holds the elevation adjustment in place by spring tension. The sight is very well designed and made.

Mine is in nearly new condition, in original box with the typical 3.5" barrel. I bought it from the original owner. There is hardly any wear whatsoever, so I am sure that everything is stock and nothing has been monkeyed with.

 

[PSP]

Beretta 70S

 

[gyvel]

Not the best possible solution, but carefully filing some metal off the top of the rear sight leaf and deepening the notch a wee bit would bring the point of aim lower, but I have no idea if it would be enough. Also, I would be very hesitant to mess with a nice Beretta like yours, PSP.

(And if you get really unhappy with it, let me know; I'll buy it from you. I love the 70s series guns)

 

[rock185]

Front sight is too short. What gyvel said will sure work, but I'd hate to do it to it to a high condition 70s. It has been my experience that some manufacturers must think we all use a 6 O' Clock target hold, even with the little, non-target oriented pistols. I bought a new, earlier, fixed sight 70 pistol years ago when they were still in production. Wish I'd hung onto that little gun.....

 

[Remington 51]

It is almost as if Beretta took a fixed sight Model 70, slapped a rear adjustable sight on the slide, and used the barrel with the low sight as-is without modifying it. And then they called it the new Model 70s.

It looks like the front sight would work fine with the typical lower profile fixed rear sight. You can imagine that when looking at PSP's photo.

 

[micromontenegro]

Mine worked like a charm, and I deeply regret selling it.
Maybe someone installed a 70 (non S) barrel in yours?

 

[Doc TH]

I believe the adjustable sight was an add-on by Beretta to make that model "importable". Mine shoots 4 1/2 inches above POA at 50 ft. Although I'd prefer POA = POI, it's not a big deal with a little practice.

 

[FALshootist]

Well it's not a target gun. With practice you know where to aim to make it hit. Its an original gun. I wouldn't mess with it and would enjoy it as it is.

 

[Doc TH]

The 70S with adjustable sight will shoot about 3" high at 30 ft and 5-6" high at 50 ft., with the rear sight at its lowest setting. I believe this is due to Beretta installing an adjustable sight to conform with import restrictions. Fining down the front sight will NOT improve results, but make them worse. I have not found this elevation issue to be a big problem, as it is easy to compensate.

 

[James K]

"It is almost as if Beretta took a fixed sight Model 70, slapped a rear adjustable sight on the slide, and used the barrel with the low sight as-is..."

That is exactly what they did. As Doc TH says, with a .22, they had to add the adjustable sight and thumb-rest grips to get import "points". They seemed to have less concern about whether the pistol shot to POA.

Jim