Colt Navy/3rdMod Dragoon all shoot to the left

[Heelerau]

Gents over the years I have found my self having to aim off more and more to the right hand side of the target. Obviously with fixed sights on these cap and balls I am stuck. I tend to use the first joint in my trigger finger, I do that with all my handguns. I have tried using the tip of my finger and sliding it along the trigger baseplate, I guess that did show an improvement. I use my right eye only which is my master eye. Should I perhaps take a bit of the flare off the buts of these pistols, I have a medium sized hand. I realise this might be a bit of a tough one as you really need someone to eyeball you .

Cheers

Heelerau

 

[Zonie]

I'm not sure you can remove enough material from the grip to make much of a difference.

I think the brass along the rear of the grip is only about 1/8 inch thick.

You can verify this by removing the three screws that hold the grip and backstrap in place and removing it.

That might save you from grinding/filing thru the backstrap.

 

[M. De Land]

How about holding the rear sight off instead of the front.
On my 1860 Colt Pietta I hold the front sight on target and line up the right ear of the v notch in the hammer to get a center hit.
Try the pad on your trigger finger instead of the tip or first joint.
What ever position that will cause you to pull the trigger straight to the rear and not to one side or the other.

 

[Heelerau]

MD, great idea, will give that a go on Sunday !!

Cheers

 

[rodwha]

I've also read of those who open up that rear notch with a file for a better sight picture and take off more to the one side.

 

[don hepler]

If it were your trigger finger, I would think a right handed person would pull the shot to the right, not left. I shoot both eyes open. 3 o'clock hold is not that difficult, if you set your mind to it. Some people have filed hammer notch, off to one side.

 

[M. De Land]

I didn't open up the v any just hold over the ear instead of the V notch center.
It works pretty good although takes some getting used to.
If you start filing on the hammer notch one side or the other it starts looking pretty weird very quickly and may break off from impact over time.

 

[Treestalker]

Heelerau, the problem has nothing to do with your guns! It is OBVIOUSLY the weird coriolis effect which causes things to turn counterclockwise on the bottom half of the world! Children's tops, whirling dervishes and rifled weapons all succumb to this global phenomenon, recently enhanced by climate change issues and deforestation! The rotational drift of the bullet is either overcome or enhanced to a hideous degree by this left leaning gremlin to the chagrin of pistoleros, marble shooters and left leaning politicians below the equator. You must immediately start wearing right angled clothing and shoes and join up with your local Freemasons, whose vast and ancient experience can straighten out your problemo. :bull: Tree.

 

[Heelerau]

Treestalker,
can you pm me your recipe for "shine" it must be ripper stuff !!!!! :wink:

 

[crockett]

I'm not sure the sight modification is going to help. My shots were going to the left when I was shooting right handed. Somehow I wasn't pressing straight back.
Try shooting left handed or off sand bags- are the shots still off?
What happened to me (modern revolver with adjustable sights) is I changed the sights and all was okay For a While but then the shots started creeping back to the left. Until I got serious with how I was shooting the problem didn't go away.
If you curl the finger around the trigger and pull, your finger tends to close and go right- pulling the shots to the left. The gun rotates left. Try having your finger press only the right side of the trigger- can't pull the shot. See how that works.

 

[LRB]

Thumb pressure will also affect your shot. Try keeping your thumb just touching the grip with no pressure, and train yourself to pull the trigger straight back with no steering of it.

 

[crockett]

Just thinking out loud here....a lot of modern pistols have a wide, flat trigger face whereas the face on the Navy is thin and smooth- might actually be harder to shoot in that respect.

 

[FishDFly]

Do a search for: "The Wheel of Misfortune" on the internet, it will answer what you want to know.

 

[dirtyhands]

Are you using a two handed grip? If so the weak hand (left if your a rightie), at the moment of the shot, may squeeze somewhat more then the strong hand and pull the shot left.

 

[frogwalking]

When in the service many moons ago, my CPO showed me that jerking the trigger makes a right hander shoot to the left, and often low. Have someone else load or cap your revolver leaving several chambers empty. This will make any jerking of the trigger obvious. Then again, maybe, by coincidence, both guns do shoot to the left.

 

[Heelerau]

Gents, tried a couple of things, firstly using the pad of the tip of my trigger finger to pull straight back and also changing my stances so that when I raise the gun it more or less points at the target center. That has brought my point of aim back to the rh side of the black, so still have some changes to make, but a big improvement. I will have a look at the "wheel of fortune" now. I will also re read all your suggestions here. I have never been coached so not hard to see how a problem would creep in over the years. Thanks for all your advice you blokes !!

Cheers

Heelerau
PS I do squeeze the trigger as it surprises me when it goes off.

 

[MacRob46]

Before you start hacking away on the gun, be sure that you simply are not flinching when you shoot. Shots going left (for a right handed person) and left and down could indicate flinching. Have you shot the gun from a solid rest and if so, what were the results? The first joint of the index finger is what should be contacting the trigger. I have seen lots of people pull the trigger with second joint, have trouble with accuracy and then, with a little training, improve their accuracy by using the first joint. You did not mention what load you are shooting. If you are using a heavy load, back off the charge until you are comfortable and see how things go. I will be willing to bet you can cure your issue without having to significantly modify the gun. I went through this myself when I first began shooting center fire pistols and it took some time but I finally overcame it. You should not be surprised when the gun goes off either because that can contribute to flinching. Good luck.

 

[Robert Egler]

I have found this to be useful.

 

[Heelerau]

Mate, I use 16 grains of FFFg in the Navy, and 28 grains in the Dragoon. Recoil in both these revolvers is negligible. I am pretty shore I don't flinch but will get someone to watch me all the same. I think you are quite correct so I won't be chopping these pistols about, but will further examine my grip, trigger technique, stance. Will report back after my next shoot. I normally use the first joint of my trigger finger, but have found an improvement in using the pad instead. I have looked at my hand when just squeezing the trigger, on an uncocked pistol and have noticed some noticeable movement. I think the fault does lie with my grip. Will keep plugging away till I get it right.

Cheers

Heelerau

Heelerau

 

[Grumpa]

Snag a copy of Gil Hebard's The Pistol Shooter's Treasury. Inexpensive, and to the point.

It's not about BP shooting; it's all about pistol shooting. It will teach you what you need to know.

Squirrel Tail's US Army Marksmanship Unit Training Guide is also very useful.

The fault usually lies with the shooter's technique, and not with the gun.