S&W Revolver Rear Sights

[Guest Linoge]

Ok, so I have a brand-new, out-of-the-box S&W 686 SSR, that I take to the range and waste about as much ammunition as a boresighter would cost trying to zero it in. I come back home, buy a boresighter, and start fooling aroun with it... and end up with the back sights 3/32" off the back frame - that does not sound like a lot, but it surely looks like a lot.

Is that normal? Or did I dork something up. I did replace the front sights, however, I measured, checked online, and compared the sights before replacing it, and it is the identical hight as the one that it replaced (0.250"), so I doubt that is factoring in. So is it common for the rear sights to be that high, or should I look into getting a lower front sight... or is something more seriously wrong? Thanks!

[Jonnin]

does it hit what you aim at? Thats what really matters. Its not normal for a gun to have the sights way way off but its not unheard of either. There are 2 things to check before you monkey with it anymore: does it hit what you aim at, and is it consistent? If you put it in a rest (or tie it down, whatever) and shoot 10 or 20 rounds, and they are all over creation, then even if you put a 20x rifle scope on it, it wont hit anything, something else is wrong (ammo, barrel, or something). If it puts them in a nice group then leave it in the rest, and look thru the sights. Is it aimed at the group you made? If yes, leave it alone. If not, adjust the sights until it is aimed at the hole. Now test it in your hands, and it should shoot to your skill level, and only minor tweaking is needed from here. Oh, there is one more thing, are the sights secure on the gun? If they are on the extreme edge of the notch, and could fall out, that is bad and stuff.

[gregintenn]

Different ammo can affect the point of aim a bunch. As I recall, faster ammo will shoot lower than slower, heavier bullets. It sounds counterintuitive to a rifle shooter, but the faster, lighter bullet leaves the barrel before muzzle rise caused by recoil can change the point of impact as much.

[Jonnin]

and many rifles are sighted in at a distance, so they are actually aimed higher up close, so that gravity out there pulls it down to the point of aim at the proper distance. I didnt say it but the testing needs to be done at the desired sight in distance, of course, and that is true for a pistol as well (a pistol at 50 yards and one at 10 feet, you get the same effect as the rifle, just scaled for handgun ranges).