Pedersoli P53 shooting to the left

[Smokepole]

Finally got all of my casting stuff together, cleaned up a ton of lead, cast about 100 bullets in the morning and took my rifle out to the range in the afternoon. The Pedersoli .577 650 grain bullet mold I got throws some bullets that shoot a lot better than the commercial minie balls I had previously.

Problem is that it shoots about 7 inches to the left at 50 yards.

So, what are my options to correct the zero on my sights? Or is this something I'll have to live with? I have a Pedersoli 1853 Rifled Musket. And just about everything on these sights seem fixed, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Edit: Apologies if this is the incorrect forum to put this!

[Maillemaker]

650 grains is a monster bullet for .58 caliber. Are you sure you did not mean to type 560 grain?

What most people do is have a dovetail front sight put on. These are usually sold "tall", as many muskets shoot very high at 50 and even 100 yards. The tall sights let you file to get elevation at your lowest rear sight setting.

I'm not having any luck searching up one for you. Maybe someone else can find a link?

Being dovetailed lets you of course adjust windage.

Another option is to fill the sight notch on the rear sight and cut a new one.

Another option, depending on how far off you need to move the front site, is to file off the narrow part of the existing front site, leaving the base, and then cut a slot in it, and solder in a very fat front post. Then this can be filed left or right to adjust windage.

Steve

[Muley Gil]

IIRC, the P-H mould throws a 560 grain bullet. The Pedersoli should be the same.

[Southron Sr.]

Here is a dovetail front sight that will work on your Enfield. They work great!

https://www.ssfirearms.com/proddetail.asp?prod=58S148A&cat=87

[Smokepole]

Sorry, I looked back at the mold and the one I have says it throws a 620 grain, still pretty big but I haven't weighed the bullets i've cast yet. Was in a bit of a rush to get them cast, swaged and sent down range yesterday. They were grouping at about 3 inches at 50 yards, (which is a huge improvement compared to the 420 gr commercial bullets I had purchased. They were most definitely an alloy.) so the rifle does really seem to like them. I was using a 40 grain charge of Goex FFg

at the 50 yard mark i'm more or less using the left edge of the V to aim for the point of impact. I'm not sure if theres enough metal on the front sight base to drift it far left enough to correct this. I'll order that dovetail sight tonight and see what I can do. Just worried about making an irreversible mistake in doing so.

9395
Would there be any other factors that might shift my Point of Impact off like that? Seems like everyone else has a Pedersoli P53 that pretty much hits right where its pointed at.


Here are the bullets I had cast too. They have a very shallow skirt which probably makes up for most of their weight.

9396

[Maillemaker]

Here is a sight correction calculator that will tell you how far you need to move your sights.

https://www.dillonprecision.com/sight-correction-calculator.html

Steve

[nobade]

Hopefully this isn't too much of a thread hijack but it's related. I have a Parker Hale musketoon in near mint condition, with the same issue. The rear sight is obviously not on top, leaning way off to the left. The front sight was attached off center to correct it, but not enough. Now given that people will pay a lot for these rifles I hesitate to change it. But it's not very useful as is. So my question, get the sight off and refit it, make a new rear with an offset notch, fit a dovetail front and hang it way off the side, or other options I haven't thought of?

[Muley Gil]

Remove the sights and have them installed properly. I doubt a P-H with crooked sights is all that valuable. I know I wouldn't pay much for one with messed up sights.

[nobade]

Remove the sights and have them installed properly. I doubt a P-H with crooked sights is all that valuable. I know I wouldn't pay much for one with messed up sights.The way I'm leaning. Wish I'd noticed that when I bought it!

[conductor]

After Parker-Hale in England stopped making their excellent musket reproductions, the machinery to make them (and the rights to use the name) were bought by Navy Arms Company. The Navy Arms Co. "Parker-Hales" that I have seen do not have anywhere near the quality of the original Parker-Hale muskets. Given the defects you have described, I'd bet a dollar to a donut that your so-called "Parker-Hale" was not made in England, but by Navy Arms Co. in good-old WV.

[Carolina Reb]

Before you go messing with the sights, is it shooting left from the bench, or offhand? My original P-56 shoots into the 7 ring at 9 o'clock from the bench, but right in the middle offhand. Springfields don't do that. I'm sure it's me and the Enfield straight stock. Drop a laser pointer down the barrel and aim at a wall. Do the sights line up with the point? If they do, you have a shooter problem, not a sight problem.

[Smokepole]

Hmm. I did shoot from a rest actually, I have bad nerve problems that keep me from holding a rifle offhand with much steadiness, I had the gun resting behind the rearmost band on the stock to avoid too much weight on the barrel and forestock to prevent this.

I'll be headed back to the range friday and give it another go and see what happens. Perhaps give a friend a shot at it too and see where it lands for him.

Thanks for the heads up

Edit: Would the tightness of the barrel bands have much effect? I have mine screwed on somewhat firm to the stock.


Before you go messing with the sights, is it shooting left from the bench, or offhand? My original P-56 shoots into the 7 ring at 9 o'clock from the bench, but right in the middle offhand. Springfields don't do that. I'm sure it's me and the Enfield straight stock. Drop a laser pointer down the barrel and aim at a wall. Do the sights line up with the point? If they do, you have a shooter problem, not a sight problem.

[Carolina Reb]

Tight barrel bands will have an effect on group size. Try them tight and loose and see what works. Most end up loose. The problem with shooting from a bench is that you end up bent over and with the butt in a different place on your shoulder, which affects how the musket+shooter system responds to recoil.

[Smokepole]

Here is a dovetail front sight that will work on your Enfield. They work great!

https://www.ssfirearms.com/proddetail.asp?prod=58S148A&cat=87

Turns out that they don't have shipping options up to Canada, anyone know of any other sites that would have this, and ship up my way?

We're looking at some moderately warmer weather this friday, gonna try and experiment with my hold then and see where my rounds land supporting the rifle normally. I'll keep you all updated.

Thanks!