Colt 1849 Pocket taller front sight fix

[Brokenbear]

Yes it's a belly gun ...I've got that ..but if I want to pot a groundhog from my back door 25 yards out to my garden it isn't going to happen with the factory sights

So show/tell me your fixes on how you raised your front sights to get a better 25 yard zero cause this sucker is way outside the range of correcting with "Kentucky" windage ..otherwise I'm loving this shooter

Bear

 

[Rabbit2047]

Easiest way to correct would require lots of range time to get your D.O.P.E. And learn your holdover/under at 25m

Raising the front sight is going to lower the impact of the round.

If it's shooting high at 25m then shoot at the bottom of its belly.

 

[Phil Coffins]

You can cut a dovetail into the barrel and mount a taller sight. Make or get a blade type sight that has a small dovetail and once you sight it in trim it down. Try to keep it as neat and small as possible for appearance.

 

[FishDFly]

In the past there was a lot of discussion about replacing front sights and doing so whiteout dovetailing. You might do a search.

For some reason it seems Tom A. Hawk started it and contributed to the discussion. He was looking for replacement front sights.

You might send him a PM.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I hear your frustration and suggest the most accurate correction would be to raise the front sight. I've done this with the blade on my 1860 and it now shoots where I aim. The 1849 Pocket has a post but I'm wondering if I couldn't mount a blade on post to solve the problem. It is curious why Old Sam Colt made them this way. The story about holding dead on at cavalry at 200 yards doesn't seem to hold water.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

In the past there was a lot of discussion about replacing front sights and doing so whiteout dovetailing. You might do a search.

For some reason it seems Tom A. Hawk started it and contributed to the discussion. He was looking for replacement front sights.

You might send him a PM.

Yes I did but the solution was to buy a taller from blade for the 1860 from Taylor's.

 

[Rabbit2047]

I am still trying to figure out why y'all want to raise the front sight? Are your guns shooting really high or something?

 

[Rabbit2047]

Have you considered lowering the rear sight? Making the v notch on the hammer a little deeper will also have the same effect as raising the front sight.

 

[Brokenbear]

I hear your frustration and suggest the most accurate correction would be to raise the front sight. I've done this with the blade on my 1860 and it now shoots where I aim. The 1849 Pocket has a post but I'm wondering if I couldn't mount a blade on post to solve the problem. It is curious why Old Sam Colt made them this way. The story about holding dead on at cavalry at 200 yards doesn't seem to hold water.

Well I am playing with hand carving out of wood what's called a pinched heart front sight "pattern" that will fit the flats of the 1849 octagon barrel and then do a sand cast of it and pour silver ..if I cannot find one already made ..then counterbore the pinched heart sight to sit on top of the existing bead sight ..first pass w/ a dot of epoxy on top of the bead sight to see if I can "tune" it in ..if so then either fully epoxy base of pinched heart sight and bead or sweat it on ...for that matter I can simply scotch tape it on for trials and then dress it up and go permanent once I figure how high it needs to be...
Right now it is approaching 3 feet high at 25 yards
I'm calculating what I need additional wise height now.

Bear

 

[Brokenbear]

Have you considered lowering the rear sight? Making the v notch on the hammer a little deeper will also have the same effect as raising the front sight.

Rabbit it will most likely require BOTH raise the front and lower the hammer notch
At 50 yards my Colt branded 1849 is right at 5.5 feet high... practice all you want ...nobody can compensate for that bad of zero in field conditions ..maybe on a flat verticle refrigerator box at a range ..but not in the wild with angles, slopes, color and light varibles

Bear

 

[Phil Coffins]

Have you checked the arbor length yet, if it isn’t corrected first you will be chasing your tail getting it to shoot to the sights.

 

[Brokenbear]

Somebody school/figure me out here or set me to a correct course ..
If I raise my front sight .250 I lower my bullet impact at 25 yards 18.xx "
If I raise .333 bullet impact lowers 24.xx" 25yds(75') X .250 or
.333
So I am looking to add .333 to my existing front sight OR...
A combination of the .333 amount by raising the front sight say .280 and LOWERING the rear sight by
.053 for example
Bear

 

[Brokenbear]

Have you checked the arbor length yet, if it isn’t corrected first you will be chasing your tail getting it to shoot to the sights.

Yes ...but me new to revolvers does not assure me it is/was 100% correctly done ..I simply slid the barrel assembly on but 40° from center and checked it to the frame contact point and there was no over travel ..the forcing cone to cylinder fit is even seperation of forcing cone/cylinder face top to bottom and a dollar bill won't insert in the gap ..in fact barely enough light to gauge the top/bottom gap will pass between the barrel and cylinder ..
There are no marks on the cylinder face to indicate any contact between cylinder and barrel
Remember we are not trying to correct a pattern just 6" high at 25 yards .
We are 2 1/2 feet high at 25 yards 5+' at 50 yards
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated

Bear