Coot Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 My new vaquero and my running iron both shoot low. Ive been reading online about people filing a bit of the site off. Is this common practice for helping with the issue? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckshot Sheridan Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 (edited) If it’s truly shooting low, and not shooter induced, then yes shortening the front sight will raise point of impact. That being said, I would venture to say the majority of SASS shooters have never actually confirmed where their guns are shooting, and have never adjusted the sights to make POA and POI match. Edited February 8 by Buckshot Sheridan 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 (edited) Almost all single actions with fixed sights are made with the front sight pretty tall. It will probably be close to the right height for a factory load, with heavy slug and good speed. We shoot a light bullet at slow speed, and that needs a lower front sight to force the barrel muzzle higher and put the bullet on your point of aim. So, yes, this is a common problem. Filing the front sight is common with most single actions set up for our sport. Factory sets them to have enough height for any common factory load. Then we come along and shoot low velocity low recoil loads and they hit low. But, be real careful about adjusting your sight until you as a new cowboy shooter are SURE you are controlling your trigger break well enough that you get tight groups when you shoot - like less than an inch at 7 yards. You have a hard time (expensive repair) if you take off too much metal early in your shooting only to find you are flinching or pulling your shots low. Have an experienced shooter test your guns and verify they are shooting low before you take metal off, as it can't be put back on easily. good luck, GJ Edited February 8 by Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Spade Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 First thing you should do is establish what load you want to shoot, bullet grain weight and fps. Then use that load to regulate your front sight height. I file all of my front sights to get them to hit where I want. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Yes, common. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 45 minutes ago, Buckshot Sheridan said: ... I would venture to say the majority of SASS shooters have never actually confirmed where their guns are shooting, and have never adjusted the sights to make POA and POI match. When targets used to be further and smaller, a larger percentage of shooters adjusted the sights. Today, not so much. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 I just replaced several standard sights on my Rugers with the On Target brass covers. Love the way the brass picks up the light and attracts my eyes. I am now in the process of shortening them to conform to my POA/POI. As installed they were about 4 inches low and after some judicious filing they are about 1 inch low. Headed out today to finish the adjusting. YMMV Regards Gateway Kid PS I feel the golden look of the shiny brass looks good with the shiny stainless of my pistols! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoss Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 What are these front sight thangs yall are talking about? Some new-fangled gaming device?? we all laugh about not using front sights. Twice I’ve had front sight fall off of a pistol between loading table and firing line. When you skin that smoke wagon and no front sight you quickly realize how much you do use them!!! like most, I dont get a tight sight picture when shooting at CAS distances. But I do use the sights. I’d suggest you shoot off of a rest, very deliberately to establish your trigger habits. Many will find that too much finger on the trigger will cause groups to shoot low and left (for right handed shooter). Maybe even have a pard shoot your guns as well. ”MEASURE TWICE, FILE ONCE!” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Don’t file your sights. 3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badlands Bob #61228 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Filing your sites will have the same effect as having your alias engraved on the backstrap. Lower the value of your gun for resale. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggins Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 7 hours ago, Jack Spade said: First thing you should do is establish what load you want to shoot, bullet grain weight and fps. Then use that load to regulate your front sight height. I file all of my front sights to get them to hit where I want. Same. Solidify your reloads, then file away. Sure, it'll probably bring the value down - or at least limit the number of folks who'd even consider buying them, but I'm more concerned with where the bullet impacts. Since I have no aspirations to sell (how can you sell a Vaquero and upgrade to a better pistol?), I'm not willing to use Kentucky windage on the range to simply maintain gun value. Of course I'm just a new guy, so I need all the help I can get. I have a lot more fun when I quit caring about cart dings on wood stocks, the bluing rubbing off barrels, or the modified height of a front sight. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 55 minutes ago, John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 said: Don’t file your sights. What would you be using your guns for? And how would you accurately aim? In CAS if you were to need a Hold over by four (or more) inches to accommodate your chosen bullet that takes time, not a sound plan in a speed game like CAS. sights regulated to POA = POI with a normal sight picture would be inherently faster. And if one took the time to duplicate the factory cartridge (typically set to POA/POI at 50 yards or more) with the taller front sight, it still would not gain the shooter anything at the 6-8 yard targets we normally see. I agree that on a collectible gun of some type they should remain unmolested as much as possible but on a gun used in CAS they have zero collectible value beyond their use as a tool, and their greatest future value is to another CAS shooter. I don’t worry about what my hammers look like when I am building a shed and I don’t worry what my guns look like when I am using them for CAS, so long as they work correctly. Besides, I don’t buy guns intending to later sell them, I buy guns to use! after I am gone my heirs can deal with selling whatever they don’t want to keep. I would recommend, file away, until your guns perform for you. Regards Gateway Kid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 8 hours ago, Coot said: My new vaquero and my running iron both shoot low. Ive been reading online about people filing a bit of the site off. Is this common practice for helping with the issue? Is they shooting low at match speed or when you carefully aim at a target? Some of us like a sight picture where the front sight is above the rear, easy to see at speed and we don't use the rear sights much anyway. That also raises the impact of those light bullets. I would not file them, not yet, anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Spade Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 1 hour ago, Muggins said: Same. Solidify your reloads, then file away. Sure, it'll probably bring the value down - or at least limit the number of folks who'd even consider buying them, but I'm more concerned with where the bullet impacts. Since I have no aspirations to sell (how can you sell a Vaquero and upgrade to a better pistol?), I'm not willing to use Kentucky windage on the range to simply maintain gun value. Of course I'm just a new guy, so I need all the help I can get. I have a lot more fun when I quit caring about cart dings on wood stocks, the bluing rubbing off barrels, or the modified height of a front sight. Nice thing about vaqueros is the front sight blades are just glued in and factory height replacements can be bought from brownells for $6. So don't worry about affecting resale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 (edited) In the barrel Laser bore sight will point the way. About 30 bucks on amazon and will totally remove the human element. And you won't even need to shoot a round and can be completed at home. Well worth the investment. Edited February 9 by Beaver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Saint Eagle, SASS # 64903 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 5 hours ago, John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 said: Don’t file your sights. 2 hours ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said: Filing your sites will have the same effect as having your alias engraved on the backstrap. Lower the value of your gun for resale. I filed my sights to get POA and POI as close to the same as possible. I bought my guns as tools for out sport / game and I want them as good as possible for it. I don’t have time during a pistol (or rifle) string to think about Kentucky windage or elevation to get all shots on target. It is more critical as the targets get smaller and we sometimes shoot a Texas Star and occasionally for fun shoot something a little smaller. It comes down to the fact that they are your guns and it is up to you what you want to do with them but as others have said before you file make sue what ammo you are going to use and have a good shooter verify how they are shooting. I file mine at the range and file a little and then shoot to check then file more as needed. It takes a while but it keeps you from taking off too much. Randy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 9 hours ago, Jack Spade said: Nice thing about vaqueros is the front sight blades are just glued in and factory height replacements can be bought from brownells for $6. So don't worry about affecting resale. They are silver soldered in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jack Black Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 (edited) 12 hours ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said: Filing your sites will have the same effect as having your alias engraved on the backstrap. Lower the value of your gun for resale. Not always. I have more than a few Colt SAA with filed front sights and names engraved on the back straps. All worth MUCH more than my Grandfather paid for them 100 years ago. Edited February 9 by Texas Jack Black Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Spade Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 They may be silver soldered at the factory but a friend of mine knocked his off a year ago, we found the sight blade and I used the same lock tite glue that comes with the sure hit brass sights to glue it back in. He shoots 2-3 cowboy matches a month and it hasn't come out yet so I wouldn't be afraid to replace a front sight blade. Even if they are soldered any competent gunsmith should be able to do that simple process and put in a replacement blade. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley D Austin Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 (edited) I have noticed with our lower loads my revolvers do shoot a bit low, but have not filed my front sights. When I miss it is because I shoot to the left not because I shoot low. To fix this I squeese the grip tighly and keep my shooting arm straight. For smaller targets like those on a plate rack I aim at the top of the targets instead of the middle. The reason I have not filed the front sights is that the targets can be at different distances, so filing the sights for a certain distance will not put the bullet in the middle time every time. Developing hand strength and holding the grip properly is more important. Edited February 9 by Ashley D Austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Bill Burt Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 20 minutes ago, Jack Spade said: They may be silver soldered at the factory but a friend of mine knocked his off a year ago, we found the sight blade and I used the same lock tite glue that comes with the sure hit brass sights to glue it back in. He shoots 2-3 cowboy matches a month and it hasn't come out yet so I wouldn't be afraid to replace a front sight blade. Even if they are soldered any competent gunsmith should be able to do that simple process and put in a replacement blade. I use several very competent gunsmiths. I recently lost a front sight (my fault). My go to gunsmith said it was easier to replace the barrel than the sight, particularly with stainless. He replaced it for me. A couple of days later it came off again. I JB welded it back and so far it's OK. My point? Putting those sights back on is not as easy as you think. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coot Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 Thanks for all the input fellas! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldguyZ Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 I'll say to avoid filing your sights. It will have the same effect as engraving your alias on the backstrap if you file your sites. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 29 minutes ago, OldguyZ said: I'll say to avoid filing your sights. It will have the same effect as engraving your alias on the backstrap if you file your sites. Nut'n wrong with either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 Historically, .32-20 has a reputation for shooting low, at least in revolvers. These three old Colts have all had their front sights lowered by previous owners. Now, compare them to this out of the box 3rd Generation that I got new. Its front sight is noticeably shorter than the one on my unmodified .44's and 45's. For example... All of 'em seem to shoot where I aim, so yes, adjusting the front sight can help if they are hitting to high or low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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