Colt SAA way off on target

[rockrat]

Have a SAA that is shooting about 6" to the right @50yds. Its a nickle plated 357 mag. Tried lighter bullets, helped bring it to where it is now. Any ideas on correcting things, or should I just get used to it, or trade it off?
Might work for someone who shoots right handed so the gun could recoil to the left, but since I am left handed, it just goes to the right even more.

[Outpost75]

Use flat file to thin the front sight from the left side, to move POI to the left, taking about 0.02" off for a 5-1/2" barrel, measuring front sight thickness before and after with micrometer.

Use the expression X=RE/D where X is the amount of sight correction needed, R is the sight radius, E is the error between point of aim and point of impact, and D is the target Distance.

ALL DIMENSIONS IN INCHES

[HWooldridge]

I have corrected windage in a couple of ways. The fast but moderately dangerous method is to bend the front sight. This can be done with a special wrench and a light touch. Be prepared every so often to resolder the one you break.

The other way is to unscrew the barrel and adjust by either filing the contact point where the barrel hits the frame, or lightly peening the shoulder to get the barrel to lock up sooner.

I’ve used the first way more times than not and only broke one sight.

[M-Tecs]

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Includes Test Target. * — Will Sight in using Customer’s Ammo If Provided

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[slughammer]

Could be the barrel is over torqued. Does the front sight look vertical or lean to the left a bit? If it leans to the left, you can have the barrel broke loose from the frame and torqued back in just a little less.

Depending on sight radius, that may only be .020 to .030 for 6" at 50 yards.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

[Randy Bohannon]

You being left handed could be a problem have you checked your eye dominance ? Left handed , right eye dominance would cause POI to shift.

[JoeJames]

One question: were you shooting off a very steady rest, or offhand?

[Dan Cash]

I would surely examine my shooting technique before I got out the files and wrenches. My first SAA shot way off to the side until I learned how to hold the gun and trigger it.

[DougGuy]

I would invite another competent shooter to fire the gun, preferrably a right hander if you are a lefty.

One important exercise you can do at home is to stand and aim at a target or other reference point with an UN loaded gun, and dry fire. Pay CLOSE attention to the sight picture. If the front sight jumps uncontrollably in dry fire, it will do the same in live fire and if your grip is pulling the trigger sideways, once the sear breaks the overtravel will allow your hand to jerk the gun enough to upset the sight picture.

The goal, would be to dry fire the gun and hold the sights motionless as the hammer falls. Try this and post your results please.

[Froogal]

I am right handed with a dominant right eye. Every SAA I own shoots slightly to the left, so I aim slightly to the right, but 6" off at 50 yards would be hard to correct by changing technique.

[rockrat]

Good steady rest. Front sight looks centered. I am slightly left eye dominant. Maybe I should try right handed. I am mixed dominant and can shoot right handed, but just better with my left. Its a nickled gun,so filing the front sight is out.

[thegatman]

Lots of good advice here. Try going to the Coltforum.com. Very knowledgeable people there.

[DougGuy]

Good steady rest. Front sight looks centered. I am slightly left eye dominant. Maybe I should try right handed. I am mixed dominant and can shoot right handed, but just better with my left. Its a nickled gun,so filing the front sight is out.

I can tell you something else about a nickeled SAA too.. DON'T let the cylinder get so warm you can't hold it in your hands! The nickel can and will pop off in huge flakes.

I bought a 1927 45x5 1/2" nickeled Colt SAA with factory pearl stocks with emblems, and 80% the nickel was popped off the cylinder. Other than that this gun was a STUNNING example of a high-end first gen SAA. I wish to hell I still had it. Bought a Harley Davidson and built a custom chopper, it ate my whole gun collection in rather short order.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Dry firing an SAA is useless.
The hammer blocks the view of the sights when it falls.

Nickel finish….ummm could be a part of the problem at least outside.
I think people tend to shoot toward the sun side with nickel sights.

[35 Whelen]

Internet forums are FULL of posts in which right-handed shooters have revolvers that shoot left. Then there are equally as many posts of well meaning people explaining how to file sights, bend sights and turn barrels to correct the problem. I was one of those right-handed shooters until it occurred to me that ALL of my revolvers shouldn't be shooting left. That's when I began work on grip and trigger technique, and mysteriously my revolvers all began shooting straight. And so it should be with left handed shooters whose revolvers shoot to the right.
I've had exactly one revolver, a Ruger Service Six, that legitimately shot left, but it was very obvious that the barrel wasn't fully torqued and the front sight was canted to the right. (I removed the barrel and found a burr of metal between the shoulder of the barrel and the frame)

As others have suggested let someone else shoot the revolver or put it in some sort of vise and shoot it.

On a side note- An older gentleman handgunner once suggested to, when at gun shows or gun shops, pay close attention to used revolvers with adjustable sights and notice how many of them have their sights adjusted right of center, which compensates for right-handed shooters with poor grip and trigger control whose revolvers are shooting left. I did one better a went to Gunbroker and perused used revolvers, paying close attention to those with adjustable sights. The old dude was right and I was just bored and amused enough to save several of the photos (Notice that many appear to be heavy recoiling revolvers such as Blackhawks and Model 29's)-



35W

[Char-Gar]

Sell or trade the gun and get something better. I hate, loath and despise nickle plated guns. If you just have to keep it, at least get some sight black and blacked the front and rear sights and then see where it hits. All that light dancing off the nickle sights makes it hard to get a good picture.

[Dutchman]

I traded an Orbea revolver to a friend. It was .38 Special. He shot it and said it shot to the right. I took it and shot it and it was right on, dead center. It wasn't the gun that was shooting to the right it was HIM. Dry firing is always a good way to ascertain firing protocol. Practice makes perfect.

Another situation: fellow was shooting a new Beretta M9 and was getting "click" "click".. not firing. I was standing right next to him so I saw what he was doing. Limp wristing. I took the gun and blasted a full magazine not missing a hit once. He didn't understand the term limp wristing or what it meant when it comes to shooting autoloader handguns. Autos take a firm grip to function properly.

Dutch

[txbirdman]

I’m in agreement with Char-Gar. I’ve owned 1 nickel revolver (19-4 S&W) that I traded off quickly. As I recall it had a blued rear sight but nickle front. An application of my daughter’s green finger nail polish helped the situation somewhat but I traded it off and replaced it with a blued snubby rather quickly.

[M-Tecs]

I've owned maybe 30 fixed sight handguns. Only a couple have shot to the POI with a load I wanted to use. Some were way worse than 6 inches at 50 yards. Most have been adjusted to shoot to the POI.