She shoots high

cory moffat

cory moffat

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I have a Smith and Wesson double action top break in 44 Russian. At 20 yards she shoots 8 inches high. I have used my laser bore sighter to get an idea where she is pointing when I am aiming. I am not pulling and I am shooting resting on sandbags. It feels nice to shoot and there is no play in it when its closed up.

When shooting my WG Target .455 that one is on the mark.

I Rolled my own ammo using Alliant Black MZ with a 200 gr bullet with the Starline brass filled to get a 1/6 inch crush on the Black MZ.

I would think this thing should shoot where I point it.

Any ideas what could be going on? Do you think I should reduce my powder and add a filler?
Whats the distance that I should be zeroing this gun in for?

Your help would be appreciated
 
The bore sighter won't help much with a revolver. The bore lifts up from the moment the bullet starts to move and there's going to be some muzzle rise before it leaves the muzzle. So the sights are set up to point to where the barrel will be pointed when the bullet leaves. And when at rest the bore sighter should be printing way low.

I've read that the sights on the older guns were set up for a rather generous "zero". And with the bullet drop in a lower handgun round that would mean a lot of rise for closer in shots. You may have to consider a new front blade that starts overly tall and trim it to match your ammo for the distance you want to shoot.
 
I have found that most antique revolvers shoot high at even 25 yards. I think smellie is right in that they were sighted for zero at something like 35-50 yards.
 
We also don't load them as hot as they did in the day ( The amount we paid, generally means we coddle them).
The slower bullet doesn't leave the bbl til the recoil has already started, hence the muzzle is already rising.
That was Elmer Keith's finding and I would tend to agree.
 
cory moffat said:
I have a Smith and Wesson double action top break in 44 Russian. At 20 yards she shoots 8 inches high. I have used my laser bore sighter to get an idea where she is pointing when I am aiming. I am not pulling and I am shooting resting on sandbags. It feels nice to shoot and there is no play in it when its closed up.

When shooting my WG Target .455 that one is on the mark.

I Rolled my own ammo using Alliant Black MZ with a 200 gr bullet with the Starline brass filled to get a 1/6 inch crush on the Black MZ.

I would think this thing should shoot where I point it.

Any ideas what could be going on? Do you think I should reduce my powder and add a filler?
Whats the distance that I should be zeroing this gun in for?

Your help would be appreciated
Click to expand...
If you decrease your powder charge, you will find that the gun shoots higher. Increasing the powder charge will make it shoot lower. That seems completely counterintuitive but that's the way it works at handgune velocities.

With these low velocities, the poistol is starting to recoil before the bullet exits the muzzle. Recoil lifts the muzzle higher and makes the gun shoot higher. You see the same thing in modern handguns as well.

A lot of the old pistols shoot very high. The Webley MKI/II appear to be sighted in for about 100 yds. You can get them to shoot lower by using a lighter bullet and/or a higher mv. The lighter bullet reduces recoil effects; higher velocity reduces the bullet time in barrel, thereby reducing recoil effect on the bullet as well.
 
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We also don't load them as hot as they did in the day ( The amount we paid, generally means we coddle them).
The slower bullet doesn't leave the bbl til the recoil has already started, hence the muzzle is already rising.
That was Elmer Keith's finding and I would tend to agree.
Click to expand...

What he said.... and that is why a lighter bullet will bring you closer to point of aim.
 
My original Remington 1858 shoots about 14" high at 20 yards and does drop off quickly further out. The old shooting instruction to recruits was "shoot the belt buckle". Because the piece is original I would never muck with the front sight.
 
Before you change any parts, change the ammo. Try a 250 grain bullet. Smith's original load used a 246 grain .430" bullet loaded to get a MV of about 750 FPS.
 
wr.sainsbury said:
My original Remington 1858 shoots about 14" high at 20 yards and does drop off quickly further out. The old shooting instruction to recruits was "shoot the belt buckle". Because the piece is original I would never muck with the front sight.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly. But the way I heard it, "Aim for the nuts, get em in the guts". I wouldn't mess the sight up if it was mine. But that's just me.
 
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