Remington Rolling Block 43 Spanish

[Charlie in Co]

I have a military rolling block that is shooting 4" right and 8" high at 50 yds. I can live with the high but the windage is way off, misses the target at 100 yds. I don't see any windage adjustments on the rear ladder sight and the front sight appears to be silver soldered on place. Any way to get better here?

[fg-machine]

If it was my rifle I would put up a target big enough to hit and then shoot a few groups to be sure of exactly how far off it is shooting and that it is actually grouping and not shot gunning bullets down range @100 yards before I did anything else .

[Charlie in Co]

http://a59.tinypic.com/2due1w9.jpg (68 KB)

There are 3 separate groups on this pic, ignore the upper groups because I was moving the aiming point around. The bottom right group was shot using the red dot below the circular target.

[fg-machine]

That doesn't look to bad at all so you know it is grouping. My next step would be to try one or more different loads to see if I could change where it's grouping .
And if that didn't work I would probably start thinking about options on the sights .

is there any chance on posting a pic of what you have for sights now , it might help towards advice from those who have dealt with this before

Making a slightly offset and higher front sight might be a very viable option

[powderburnerr]

look hard at the muzzle crown.

[John Boy]

I have a military rolling block that is shooting 4" right and 8" high at 50 yds.

Charlie, for starters your forgetting the 43 Spanish rear sight is calibrated in meters not yards
* Secondly, you didn't identify your point of aim: 6 o'clock hold or center
The combination of the two will contribute to the bullet hitting high
* Thirdly, the original rifles were black powder and the sights calibrated based on a 390gr bullet - 75gr FFFg at 1340 fps or smokeless powder loads black powder equivalent. You didn't mention what your loading is

Windage? Ever hear of Kentucky Windage? Both the front & rears sights cannot be adjusted for windage. Option? Install a dove tail front sight if you are absolutely sure the 4" inch windage is not a factor of how you are holding the rifle and your trigger control

[fouronesix]

8" high at 50 seems about right. Mine was about 10-12" high at 50. The windage problem is also a bugger. I quickly tired of the original sights on mine. The original military sights on those are not good for what regular shooters do today- I guess they were mostly designed for point and shoot use at shorter ranges and lobbing volumes of (not-so-accurate) fire at extended ranges. I removed the rear sight and used the single D&Td hole to attach an adjustable rear aperture sight. I then JBd a taller front blade over the existing front sight. Now I have a usable system.

"Shooting" at long range is one thing. Real accuracy as measured on a target at those long ranges is something else entirely. I see the two used interchangeably quite a bit.

[Charlie in Co]

John Boy

The load was 370gr Lyman sized .440 with SPG lube. 25 grs of AA5744. Close to suggested load from "Shooting the 43 Spanish Rolling Block" by Croft Barker. I don't think the load is the problem. The pics show it is grouping. The front sight is soldered in place, since it is in original as issued configuration I really don't want to cut a dovetail.

[Charlie in Co]

http://a62.tinypic.com/2yy4j6t.jpg (62 KB). Rear sight

http://a57.tinypic.com/9htlx5.jpg (57 KB). Front sight.

fouronesix

The pics show standard military rolling block sights. The rear is easily removed by removing 2 screws. I don't know if any replacement sights fit the hole spacing, if not is the mounting base shown on your pic a gunsmith solution?

The real issue is the front sight. How do you mount a taller front sight over the existing one, and how do you calculate the height?

In other words, how did you that because I'm sure this is what I need to do.

The original sight is horrid and hard to pickup in the rear sight notch with the leaf folded flat.

[John Boy]

how do you calculate the height?

http://www.cleverinsite.com/ballistics/skinner.htm
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=1...ion_Calculator

[fouronesix]

The rear sight is a base with a dovetailed top. The base is close to same radius as the barrel on the RB. It fit with a modification of one screw hole. The top part which dovetails into the base is part of a Williams sight- I'm not sure which model. These parts were in one of my junk boxes- mixed and matched to come up with it.

The front sight extension is simply a "saddle" that fits over the top of the existing sight. It's epoxied on (JB). I have done this to a few older muskets that have needed a taller front sight... without actually having to damage or modify the original gun. I start with a solid piece of mild steel and hollow out the bottom with a rotary tool and needle files so that it fits over the top of the existing sight. I then shape the blade to whatever I want. I start plenty tall to allow for a 50 yard zero with the rear sight at the lowest setting. Simply file down height to whatever is wanted (same way it's done on a muzzleloader). To change the gun back to original condition, easy to remove the rear sight and replace with the original. Then heat the front which breaks down the epoxy to remove the "saddle".

[Charlie in Co]

I don't have a mill but I have a drill press, rotary tool and needle files. Probably could do it on an aluminum block without side loading the drill press too much with a small end mill and a milling vise. Going to have to figure out the radius of the rear sight base and find one that is close

[fouronesix]

The rear sight base radius doesn't have to be perfect. A base with very slightly shorter radius (smaller) than that of the barrel works about as well. Another thing to keep in mind for any barrel mounted sight is it needs to be kept as low as possible. Otherwise the front will have to be very high in order to zero at any reasonable range.