Got a new pietta 1851 civilian and it was shooting 10inches high and a little left, i pulled the front sight off tapped the hole with a 6/32 bottom tape, installed a brass 6/32 screw took a dremmel to it and dressed it up with a mill fine, going to try it out tomorrow, pghrich
Installed a new front sight on my civilian
- Thread starter pghrich
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TheGoldenState
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interesting
I sure am glad you posted this. I need to try this on one of my pistols and this will keep me out of the gunsmiths shop. Please do let us know how it works out. I've only seen one Colt that had a front sight on it that looked tall enoth to work. Far as I know it probable shoots to the left or right. The gun was a Uberti Colt 1851 London model. I looked at it in a gun shop the other day. I don't know why they haft to put those little pimple size sights on them in the first place. 
Thinks for the info pghrich. 
Thinks for the info pghrich. Because that's what they put on them back in 1851.
http://www.armchairgunshow.com/otsAC_percussion_colts.htm
http://www.armchairgunshow.com/otsAC_percussion_colts.htm
Re: the small sights on Colt revolvers.
My understanding is that the cap and ball revolver was intended to augment the rifle, since it offered up to six shots and the rifle only one.
The low sight made the revolver shoot high at close range, and about dead-on at 100 yards.
The late gun writer Elmer Keith, who knew Civil War veterans, once wrote that a good cavalryman could keep an enemy at bay out to 200 yards with his Colt Single Action in .45 caliber.
Sounds reasonable enough that cavalry and infantry of the Civil War could hit an enemy charging en masse out to at least 100 yards, perhaps farther.
The powder charge and conical bullet weight in the issued paper cartridges varied greatly contractor to contractor, for both sides. This would have made consistent shooting difficult.
All of my Colt repros hit dead-on at 80 to 100 yards, because of the small, low front sight. Consequently, they hit high at 25 yards, less so at 50.
My understanding is that the cap and ball revolver was intended to augment the rifle, since it offered up to six shots and the rifle only one.
The low sight made the revolver shoot high at close range, and about dead-on at 100 yards.
The late gun writer Elmer Keith, who knew Civil War veterans, once wrote that a good cavalryman could keep an enemy at bay out to 200 yards with his Colt Single Action in .45 caliber.
Sounds reasonable enough that cavalry and infantry of the Civil War could hit an enemy charging en masse out to at least 100 yards, perhaps farther.
The powder charge and conical bullet weight in the issued paper cartridges varied greatly contractor to contractor, for both sides. This would have made consistent shooting difficult.
All of my Colt repros hit dead-on at 80 to 100 yards, because of the small, low front sight. Consequently, they hit high at 25 yards, less so at 50.
Hello, the heigth of my new front sight is a solid 1/4 inch, my p.o.i. at 25 yards is roughly 2 inches above p.o.a., that works out perfectly for my style of shooting bowling pins, i simply aim at the bottom and hit in the meat of the pin, i deepened the rear notch and widened it a little to correct my windage using a dremmel with a wafer wheel, take it slow ,it does not take much, helps to have a battery powered dremmel and do it at the range, i now have no excuses for a miss, i also polished the trigger and the hammer notches with a polishing wheel and polishing compound i got at harber freight, i just polish i did not remove any material, pghrich