Factory sight settings.

B

BoogieMan

New member
Should the sights be on target from the factory? I have a 686+Talo that is shooting very low 6" when shooting 25yds. Is that abnormal? LR seams to be within my ability, I am using the top of the front sight for my sight picture. I plan to take it out next time with a rest and see what I can get it to do for grouping and also adjust the sights.
My Xframe from the factory was dead on.
 
I've yet to have any adjustable sighted handgun not need some tweaking to the sights when first bought. This includes both used and new handguns. Since ammo in handguns has so much influence on POI as opposed to POA, it's easily understood.
 
Should the sights be on target from the factory?
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Only if you are very lucky and they are on target by random chance. The factory does not know what kind of ammo you are going to shoot in your gun. You may be shooting 148 wad-cutters using 38 Spl. cases, or you may be using 125 jacketed hot factory .357's. You will have to zero for what you are shooting and the distance you are shooting...that is the advantage of having adjustable sights as opposed to fixed.
 
So the XFrame was a fluke and the 686 is closer to the norm.
In your experiences how much will POI vary among magnum rounds?
 
Originally posted by BoogieMan:

In your experiences how much will POI vary among magnum rounds?
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IME, It depends on the magnum. Difference in POI with 300gr heavy hunting loads and 200gr factory loads in my .460 was 12 inches @ 50 yards, with the 300 grainers printing higher due to barrel dwell/muzzle flip. In the .44s and .357s I never saw that much, but it was bullet weight as opposed to powder charge that always for me, makes the biggest difference in POI.
 
BoogieMan said:
Should the sights be on target from the factory? I have a 686+Talo that is shooting very low 6" when shooting 25yds. Is that abnormal? LR seams to be within my ability, I am using the top of the front sight for my sight picture.
Click to expand...
Where are you placing the top of the front sight in your sight picture? The front sight alone does not make a "picture."

sightimages.jpg


Bullseye competitors and olde phartes like me prefer the six o'clock hold (Image 1). Most "modern" handguns are regulated (in general) for a center hold (Image 2). If you have sigts regulated for center hold and you use a six o'clock hold ... yes, yoiu will shoot low. HOW low will depend on ammunition choice.
 
Factory fixed sights and adjustable sights are set for a specific standard ammunition at a standard distance, using a center hold (#2 in the pictures above). The standard range is usually 25 yards, but the ammunition varies for each caliber. (For .38 Special, it is the "standard" 158 grain bullet load.)

But not only will the gun shoot somewhere else with different loads but with different shooters. Just holding the gun in a tighter grip can cause the point of impact to change several inches at 25 yards.

Jim
 
I recently traded into this Ruger Super Blackhawk, don't know what this gun was sighted in with, if at all. Gun looked almost unfired. The one wild shot on the first target, the 7 at 8 o'clock, was my very first round out of thes gun. As you can see, it required walking the sight over slightly to zero it in:




This is a very mild target load. Don't plan on putting many rounds through this gun, for now anyway.

Bob Wright
 
I use sight picture 2 on all my guns except my Beretta 96 which is by factory default #3. As soon as I have a free moment I am going to take a rest to the 25yd range and see if I can walk the gun into the bull using my standard #2 sp.
I would like to note that I tried this method with my buddies SBH and we ran out of travel before getting the POA to match POI.
 
It's been my experience that Smith revolvers w/ adjustable sights shoot low from the factory. I've had to crank up the rear sight on all of mine.
 
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