Just thought I´d ask this question here, since you were so extremely helpful regarding my purchase of an original CW carbine (Smith) and what I needed to make it go "boom".
I´ve been shooting percussion revolvers for some 20 years now, almost exclusively originals in varying condition (when I started out I was 18, and poor, all I could afford was real junk really, but it worked).
I find that on almost every original percussion revolver I´ve shot, (from my recollection I believe the same to be true about the replicas too) hits anywhere from 10 to 20 inches higher than point of aim at 25m (roughly 27 Yards).
I can understand how the wear of the frontsight would raise the POI this much. But not all guns have had such wear on the frontsight, some of them have even had the frontsight replaced with a brand new one.
I sighted in a couple of buddies antique/original Remington NM Army´s this spring, and found that for both guns to hit to POA, I would have needed to raise the frontsight to a total height of half an inch! That would just look silly, wouldn´t it?
If the same was true for a Colt m1851 Navy with its thin brass post, the sight would be extremely voulnerable for any contact.
But I have predominantly used .44 calibre revolvers, and don´t remember if the .36´s I´ve shot have the same problem?
I try to use powdercharges similar (but slightly beneath) what would have been considered a "service load" back in the day. For a .44 calibre, that would be somewhere between 28 and 30 grains of BP.
I use round ball (soft lead) only.
So, the question is, how do you guys resolve this? Tips on your techniques would be greatly aprecciated.
Do you have the same experience?
Is the situation the same with .31 or .36 calibre handguns?
Were the guns sighted in at another distance (for instance 50 yards as opposed to the 27 yards I´m shooting from), and is this the reason for the high POI.
Were they sighted in with a pointed bullet rather than round ball? (but a heavier bullet usually raises the POI at 27 yards, so that doesn´t seem to make sense!?)
As I said, I´ve lived with this problem for many years now, and I can live with it forever if there´s no solution to the problem. I´ve won my clubs annual BP revolver championship for the last 16 years, except for one second place and one third, even though I´ve sometimes had to aim outside of the target both beneath it and to the side! So I´m not that bad of a shot. But it would be nice to sight in one revolver to hit to POA once and for all, and be done with it!
Your thoughts would be greatly aprecciated!
Regards!
Anders Olsson
Bookmarks