new sight for innacurate revolver?

S

skeetman02

Inactive
after recently receiving a rock island (armscor) m200, i had an issue with it shooting nearly a foot to the left. unfortunately for me, the sights are nonadjustable. this revolver does not have any rails for sights, however i wondered if it would be possible to attach any form of sight to it. if there's anything i could do i would appreciate any ideas. thanks.
 
At what distance?

Are you an experienced shooter?

Are you shooting from a rest?

Has another skilled shooter verified your results?

If the gun is that far off at typical pistol range distances (50ft or less) then either something is wrong with it, and it needs to go back to the mfg, or there is a problem with the way you are shooting or sighting.
 
the distance i shot wen i noticed the flaw was 50 feet away, however to check if it was just me, as I am not heavily experienced in the handgun category, i fired from a rest at 10 yards onto paper and sure enough it was the revolver. I also had another shooter use the firearm, and the revolver still shot far to the left. The revolver was just sent back to the manufacturer, but i don't have much hope on them fixing it. So if the problem persists, I would still appreciate any suggestions. thanks.
 
The barrel could possibly be turned slightly to correct windage, cheapest way.

The rear sight groove in the top-strap could be milled on one side to the opposite direction the gun's shooting.

I'm not aware of any practical way to "attach" a sight to it.
Denis
 
Howdy

I wish you had asked here before you sent it back.

You mention you are not 'heavily experienced in the handgun category'.

Are you right handed? It is very common for an inexperienced handgun shooter to push the shots to the left. It usually means too much finger on the trigger. The proper way to shoot a handgun is by pulling the trigger with the pad of the trigger finger. It is usually more comfortable, and feels more natural to pull the trigger by putting it in the crease of the first joint of the trigger finger. This usually winds up pushing the gun to the left, which is where the shots wind up. Using the pad of the finger allows the shooter to pull the trigger more straight back without pushing the gun to the side.

Even if you gave it to another shooter to try, if he is not used to handguns with non-adjustable sights, he may be making the same mistake. Shooters who are used to adjustable sights often compensate for poor trigger technique by adjusting the rear sight to the right to compensate for pushing the gun to the left. The first time they shoot a handgun with fixed sights, they often push the shots to the left.
 
Anything is possible with enough money however i'm going to guess any quality modification is going to cost much more than that gun is worth.

I'd try starting at 7 yards and practicing until you get 100% comfortable with the trigger. There's a decent chance the trigger is heavier than you're used to and pulling shots.
 
There used to be the "Wondersight" for 4 & 5 screw S&Ws, the sight attached using the screw hole at the top of the side plate, yours would probably have to be drilled and tapped. Charlie Askins mentioned making a tool to adjust the front sights of the Colt New Service 38 Specials issued to the Border Patrol though he gave no details. As others have stated the barrel probably needs to be turned slightly.
 
Howdy Again

Turning the barrel slightly is a good solution on a Colt Single Action Army, or replicas, because the barrel is a straight tube with nothing but the threads holding it in place, and there is no ejector housing or stud on the underside of the barrel.

I am not familiar with the revolver in question, but from photos on the web it appears to be a rough copy of a Colt double action revolver, with an extractor rod housing forged onto the underside of the barrel. Not an ideal barrel for turning. On top of that, in the photos I saw, it appears the barrel is pinned. So unless you want to pay somebody to weld some metal where the pin is, and redrill for a pin, which would be pretty difficult to get lined up properly, turning the barrel is not an option.

Besides, I am betting that the inaccuracy is because of inexperience with fixed sight revolvers, and not the fault of the gun.
 
If turning the barrel isn't feasible, milling a very slight amount of material to widen the topstrap sight channel in the opposite direction the gun's shooting to would be the next bet.

Or possibly a babbit.
I wouldn't put much money into that gun, but if the factory can't fix it for you, then you'll need to decide whether to spend some on it, or live with it as it is.
Denis
 
It could be the barrel itself, too.
I once had a .22 rifle that just about shot around corners.
Either the barrel wasn't straight or the rifling wasn't.
Can't remember which as it was decades ago.
At fifteen yards I had to aim far to the right to hit anything.
Just a thought.
 
"...sent back to the manufacturer..." Armscor is in The Philippines. Highly unlikely their U.S. shop will do anything. Certainly won't put an adjustable sight on unless you give 'em money.
However, it's entirely doable. The M200 is a Smith clone. Requires milling to do it. That will most likely cost more than the $275 MSRP.
50 feet is a long way. What did it do at 20?
Look at this before you do anything dramatic. http://www.targetshooting.ca/docs/Pistol_Shot_Analysis.pdf
 
I just got one for my son's birthday gift. We haven't tried it yet. They are a Colt clone, kind of, but not exactly. The grips are interchangeable, and that's about it.

The trigger pull, both single and double action is really nice. OP said another shooter got same results. Rear sight is milled in like my snub.
 
Seems like I read a post by a guy who worked at a S&W service center where they would simply use a lead hammer blow to tweak the barrel/frame. :eek: Anyone else hear of this? jd
 
We test drove my son's M200 yesterday. It shot about 3" left at 50'. We can live with that. It also shot high, but we can adjust that with ammo.
 
I finally received the revolver back recently this week, which they had replaced, and to my disappointment the m200 shot even worse. Instead of a consistent tight grouping to the left, it had shot everywhere. I did try some of the suggestions you guys have mentioned, bu to no avail. I guess my onl thing would be to check out the auto loaders. Thanks for the support :)
 
Re: lead hammer.
Yes! Back in the 60s a S&W guy attended many police shoots and corrected almost ANY problem with that hammer.
Actually he used lead bars.
Amazing how quickly he could analyse the problem and know exactly where to strike.
Timing took him maybe 3 whacks..

:cool:
 
new sight for inaccurate revolver?

You do not need a new sight! It's not the revolver, it is your trigger pull jerk that sends it to the left 7:00 side (if you are left-handed). Try cocking your hammer, and squeezing the trigger with follow through after each fire. You need a full breath of oxygen before each shot, letting out your breath and holding it before you fire. You grip needs to be firm and your thumbs need to be parallel (pointed forward) and LOW on the frame to prevent blast injury to your thumb. Do not cross your thumbs!
 
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