Help with Desert eagle Mark XIX adjustable sights/zeroing in

[jkuengineer]

Hey everyone, first post here i searched as well seems like a few people have the same sights that i do (Williams adjustable rear) and fiber front. purchased the DE been having issues getting it to fire accurately. im fairly new to pistol's (6 months) but not new to firearms.

so heres my issue and i think it might be me: Was getting failure to ejects, did research held the DE properly fixed that. i have fiber rear and original front sights, couldnt see. i installed fiber front sights from Dawson Precision (minimal filing) centered with a caliper.

went to the range and tried to zero. used a sand bag to steady. two to the right one top left. tried again without adjusting, one center but 6 inches low one top right one top left. this was all at 12 yards. tried again all 3 low. adjusted the elevation started getting something like a group of 3 to the right.. adjusted the LR and again all over the place. went to the range today to try again, blew the elevation screw off.. :/

ive about had it with the rear sight.. 15 clicks left and right and still all over the place. im sure its not the sights but what gives? any ideas and/insights? im going to pay someone at the range to sight it in for me but anyone have this kind of issue?

some pics of the pistol, notice the elevation screw ejected itself. its spring loaded might have been undoing itself slowly til it popped off?

any and all help is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[jkuengineer]

more pics of the sights... should i just remove these sights all together and get another set? any recommendations?

 

[JohnKSa]

The DE pistols tend to be very accurate--at least the ones I've fired have been. They should easily be capable of better than 2" accuracy at 25 yards.

The screw came out because the rear sight was adjusted too far upward. When you replaced the front sight, was the new sight taller than the original one? If so, that required you to adjust the rear sight upward as well and with that kind of adjustable sight, the elevation screw will come out if it is adjusted up high enough.

Shooting a pistol from a rest can be a little tricky. Nothing other than you should be touching the pistol unless it is soft/padded. Holding the gun so that it is touching anything hard will cause inconsistent point of impact.

This is not an accuracy issue, but the DE, as I understand it, does not like the butt of the grip to be rested on any thing as having the bottom of the magazine in contact with something can cause malfunctions.

Assuming you're doing everything right with your rested pistol shooting, you should be getting good groups and from there it would just be a matter of adjusting the sights to move the groups where they need to go.

If you're seeing point of impact vary by several inches at 12 yards when shooting from a rest, then there is something wrong with the gun/sights or with the shooting technique.

 

[jkuengineer]

The DE pistols tend to be very accurate--at least the ones I've fired have been. They should easily be capable of better than 2" accuracy at 25 yards.

The screw came out because the rear sight was adjusted too far upward. When you replaced the front sight, was the new sight taller than the original one? If so, that required you to adjust the rear sight upward as well and with that kind of adjustable sight, the elevation screw will come out if it is adjusted up high enough.

Shooting a pistol from a rest can be a little tricky. Nothing other than you should be touching the pistol unless it is soft/padded. Holding the gun so that it is touching anything hard will cause inconsistent point of impact.

This is not an accuracy issue, but the DE, as I understand it, does not like the butt of the grip to be rested on any thing as having the bottom of the magazine in contact with something can cause malfunctions.

Assuming you're doing everything right with your rested pistol shooting, you should be getting good groups and from there it would just be a matter of adjusting the sights to move the groups where they need to go.

If you're seeing point of impact vary by several inches at 12 yards when shooting from a rest, then there is something wrong with the gun/sights or with the shooting technique.

John, Thanks for the quick reply!~

the sight was the original one i took out i just couldnt see it. the new sight i ordered short ones (one for the 44 mag and one for the 50AE) and the rep from the company called me immediately stating they need measurements for the new front sights. my 44 barrel is Israeli made and 50 is US. i didnt mess with the 50 yet but the 44 i measured as they told me from the base of the fin to the top, i got .225" and they sent me a .220 tall front sight. the 50AE i measured .260 they sent me a .255 but i havent messed with that yet.

the firing style is exactly as you mention, i put only my hands on the sandbag and pistol is free floated no gripping the base as that gets me FTE's. im most likely not firing it correctly but i fired an xd9 right after, all within 2-3" at 15 yards and my 357mag about 4-5" at 15 yards. im not a perfect shot by any means but this pistol really got me at a standstill. not sure what to do next.

 

[JohnKSa]

The shorter front sight should make the pistol shoot higher so you would need to adjust the rear sight down to compensate. That wouldn't be consistent with adjusting the screw up so high it came out so things aren't adding up. Maybe something somewhere is loose that should be tight.

At this point, it probably makes sense to get the rear sight fixed--replace the screw--and then see if you can get an experienced pistol shooter to try the gun. Almost every maker lets a lemon out once in awhile and it's possible that there's a problem with the gun. If there is, someone who's used to shooting magnum handguns will make it obvious.

If you were in the DFW area, I'd meet you at a local range--hard to pass up a chance to shoot a DE. I once helped a guy get his scoped 500S&W revolver sighted in. That was a chore; this would be a lot more fun!

 

[JT-AR-MG42]

Welcome!

Never heard of the Williams, I use the Millett adjustable rear and the red ramp front on all of my DEs.
(Except stuff like this factory conversion kit, which I do not need for shooting)
They used to be an order option from MR before Millett dropped the sights.
I buy mine off of e***y
Very fine adjustments makes for a very nice sight.

However, like the Williams, it is comprised of small parts. The rear sight blade on both my .50AE 6" and my .440 Cor-Bon 10" barrels both sheared off under recoil.
Had a pal tig them back on, but no more windage with a screw, just a drift!

Sounds like your accuracy problems might be due, in part, to a wandering rear sight.

As to proper hold ;

no gripping the base as that gets me FTE's.

here was my solution.

Here is a photo of one of my magazines - a .357, but you will get an idea of what I'm talking about.

I bought an assortment of one each 1 1/2" diameter rubber o-rings from a thickness of 1/8" (perfect for all my .357 magazines) to 5/16" to roll onto the body of the magazine, placing it down on the bottom above the floorplate.
My different calibers use different thicknesses.

I insert the magazine into a pistol with the slide to the rear and give it a slight smack as I insert it.
The o-ring takes up the slack in the system and (also keeping a correct angle of magazine orientation in the frame) functions perfectly for me in all calibers.

I started messing with this idea because I often shoot distances with the DEs and since there is no bench when you are in the sticks, it allows me to shoot from field positions.

Went long, JT