I own a S & W 29-3, with 6" barrel-using a 240gr LSWC and 5.5grs of Red Dot Powder(Target Load). Have bottomed out rear sight to the maximum and still shooting 7" high at 20yds. Already tried increasing charge to flatten trajectory but, still high grouping...any ideas to lower group still using bullet, stock sights and Red Dot Pwdr??? I'd appreciate Your insight. AC
shooting Way High
- Thread starter 2huodini
- Start date
~ Blacken the front sight, if the blue is worn then the glare can give a false top of the sight.
~ Heavier loads will shoot higher, a lighter load will shoot lower.
~ Could be shooter error, pushing the butt away in anticipation of recoil.
~ A lower rear sight blade can be installed.
~ Heavier loads will shoot higher, a lighter load will shoot lower.
~ Could be shooter error, pushing the butt away in anticipation of recoil.
~ A lower rear sight blade can be installed.
This is usually NOT correct. In fact the heavier load will usually shoot lower, exactly as the OP had stated in the first post.
The recoil has started even before the bullet has exited the barrel. Slower bullets spend more time in the barrel and the barrel will rise higher due to the recoil before the bullet exits. A Faster moving bullet will leave the barrel sooner and so the barrel does not rise as far from recoil before the bullet exits and the impact is lower at the target for the same sight setup.
This effect is noticeavble in any handgun where the barrel rises on recoil. Heavy weighted barrels or ported muzzles may lessen or completely counteract this effect, but it is especially prevalant in revolvers, which tend to pivot more due to the barrel being offset from the grip center to a greater degree than autoloading pistols are.
One more thing that the OP might try is to install a taller front sight, which might be easier than lowering the rear sight.
I think I'm seeing the problem simply by looking at the reloading data.
Alliant shows a max load for Red Dot of 6.5 gns. And that max load is spitting out a 240gn LSWC at a mere 900 fps according to their data. That's barely at the top end of .44Spl performance. Most .44Mag loads worthy of a .44Mag description are up around the 1200 fps range. So it's no wonder your Red Dot recipe is shooting high. And at your stated 5.5gn load you're likely hitting something more like 800 fps which is solidly in the .44Spl range of speeds
You've really only got two choices.
If you want to shoot .44Spl power levels then you'll need to alter your rear sight blade or find one which is lower since the Model 29 front blade isn't switchable to a taller option.
The other is to go to a different powder which gives you more speed out of the load recipe. Clearly Red Dot is not one of the higher energy powders if the 6.5gn max load is only giving you around 900 fps. But you should not need to go all the way up to the 1300fps top end speed either. Loading to spit them out at around 1100 will likely allow you to use the sights within their adjustment range. And an 1100 fps round will be stout but not be the sort to try to shorten your wrists...
For example the recipe at the Hodgdon reloading data website shows Tightgroup used on this style bullet in the range of 4.7 to 10.0 gns for velocity from 800 to 1290 fps. If you don't want to make a load which punishes you then dropping from 10 gns down to around 8.5 to 9.0 will make all the difference. It'll be stout but great fun and still give the bullet something around a 1100 to 1150 fps sort of muzzle velocity. And at that speed the recoil and all should work well with your sight's adjustment range.
Alliant shows a max load for Red Dot of 6.5 gns. And that max load is spitting out a 240gn LSWC at a mere 900 fps according to their data. That's barely at the top end of .44Spl performance. Most .44Mag loads worthy of a .44Mag description are up around the 1200 fps range. So it's no wonder your Red Dot recipe is shooting high. And at your stated 5.5gn load you're likely hitting something more like 800 fps which is solidly in the .44Spl range of speeds
You've really only got two choices.
If you want to shoot .44Spl power levels then you'll need to alter your rear sight blade or find one which is lower since the Model 29 front blade isn't switchable to a taller option.
The other is to go to a different powder which gives you more speed out of the load recipe. Clearly Red Dot is not one of the higher energy powders if the 6.5gn max load is only giving you around 900 fps. But you should not need to go all the way up to the 1300fps top end speed either. Loading to spit them out at around 1100 will likely allow you to use the sights within their adjustment range. And an 1100 fps round will be stout but not be the sort to try to shorten your wrists...
For example the recipe at the Hodgdon reloading data website shows Tightgroup used on this style bullet in the range of 4.7 to 10.0 gns for velocity from 800 to 1290 fps. If you don't want to make a load which punishes you then dropping from 10 gns down to around 8.5 to 9.0 will make all the difference. It'll be stout but great fun and still give the bullet something around a 1100 to 1150 fps sort of muzzle velocity. And at that speed the recoil and all should work well with your sight's adjustment range.
