Shooting way low!

[doubleset]

Might be fun to see a picture of that front sight -- and one with both sights in scope.

 

[doubleset]

Y'all should watch the videos of the pedersoli factory. If I'm not mistaken they have to straighten the barrels multiple times before they leave the factory. Even the polishing they do heats and bends them so they have to be bent back.

Okay, but then doesn't that mean they're letting barrels out that are severely bent? And should those just be replaced? Or does it mean that the barrel bends (By itself? From atmospheric conditions? Through the actions of space aliens?) after the gun has been delivered and used?

Really not trying to be contentious here, but I just can't quite grasp what seems like a sensible scenario of how this happens -- and why it shouldn't (at some point) have been replaced (or be replaced) under warranty. And I seem to have seen a bunch of threads lately where in about the third posting someone suggests "Bend the barrel!". I can't tell you how many guns I've had over the years ("normal" production guns, old/antique military guns that went through wars like the Spanish-American War and WW I or II, and two BP rifles. And I've never SEEN a bent barrel.

What gives with this?

 

[FishDFly]

Next post to follow:

I bent my barrel too much, how do I straighten it back?

 

[david w]

Like others said, post a picture of your front sight.

 

[FishDFly]

Y'all should watch the videos of the pedersoli factory. If I'm not mistaken they have to straighten the barrels multiple times before they leave the factory. Even the polishing they do heats and bends them so they have to be bent back.

From the Pedersoli video:

Warning:

Only those properly trained in barrel straightening should attempt this.

Know to cause cancer in California.

 

[Grenadier1758]

My flint .45 is shooting a foot and a half low and six inches to the left at twenty five yards with 25 grains of fffg and a tight prb. I shot it with 40 grains and it came up just over an inch. It’s a early pedersoli. These are the rear sights I’m having to use to get on target. The front sight is filed down to just over 1/8”. Any idea what’s going on? View attachment 125417View attachment 125418

Your patch looks good. There's no holes from abrasion or gas cutting. The frayed edges are normal. That's the good news.

Did this rifle always shoot low? If it did, then there is the possibility that the barrel is bored off center and there's no good way to tell unless the barrel is unbreeched.

When the adjustable sights are raised to the top of the range and the impact is still 1.5' low, bending becomes a possibility.

 

[david w]

Know to cause cancer in California.

LOL! I'm glad I set my coffee down!

 

[doubleset]

From the Pedersoli video:

Warning:

Only those properly trained in barrel straightening should attempt this.

Know to cause cancer in California.

Reminds me of the days when we couldn't afford to take stuff places and have it fixed, and the coaster brake broke on one of the kids bicycles. Every book/manual I found on the subject of repairing them had dire warnings in bold face saying, roughly, that if an untrained and inexperienced person even ATTEMPTED to repair a coaster brake, the universe would likely end -- or at the very least you would probably be needing medical attention. It actually took me about a half hour to rebuild the brake and fix the problem.

 

[dave951]

I'm shooting on a solid rest from a bench. It's very accurate, putting the last three shots in the same jagged hole. Brand new touch hole, 1/16".
Can I bend this barrel to correct it?

Exactly HOW are you benching it? To correct most problems with a flintlock you have to eliminate barrel harmonics. Hold the forearm with your left hand where it would be in offhand shooting and rest the BACK of that hand on your bags. I've seen this simple technique move a group 4-5 inches.

 

[OldSmoky1967]

45 using 25 grains. Up that to 60 - 70.
Is the front sight the standard for that rifle?
Get shorter front sight.

exactly

 

[woodsnwater]

Your patch looks good. There's no holes from abrasion or gas cutting. The frayed edges are normal. That's the good news.

Did this rifle always shoot low? If it did, then there is the possibility that the barrel is bored off center and there's no good way to tell unless the barrel is unbreeched.

When the adjustable sights are raised to the top of the range and the impact is still 1.5' low, bending becomes a possibility.

The rifle is new to me and it came with that tall rear sight and now I know why. One of the first things I did was install a set of traditional sights before I even shot it and it hit 1.5' low. It's on target now with that huge rear sight maxed out on height and the front filed all the way down. I don't want to live with that if I don't have to.

 

[Okie Hog]

Something is drastically wrong with a gun that shoots 18 inches low at 25 yards, i've never seen that.

Hacker Martin was probably the last old time gunsmith who built muzzleloaders from scratch, including the barrels. At an interview he stated that only one barrel did not require straightening.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Lot of ‘ignorance’ on display in this post. The rifle is already shooting TOO LOW … yet people suggest:

- Owner install a higher front sight (Which would make it shoot lower)

- Put on new rear sight (How will that help? Look how tall the one on there now is … )

- Can’t bend barrels … (Total BS, have done many!)

Likely the barrel isn’t bored true, which is very common, but then it wasn’t timed correctly when breeched. Usually done so, so that the front sight can be filed down. But the OP is already down to an 1/8” blade with a wicked tall rear sight yet …

 

[FishDFly]

Green Mountain must not have been in business then, or Rice.

 

[woodsnwater]

Lot of ‘ignorance’ on display in this post. The rifle is already shooting TOO LOW … yet people suggest:

- Owner install a higher front sight (Which would make it shoot lower)

- Put on new rear sight (How will that help? Look how tall the one on there now is … )

- Can’t bend barrels … (Total BS, have done many!)

Likely the barrel isn’t bored true, which is very common, but then it wasn’t timed correctly when breeched. Usually done so, so that the front sight can be filed down. But the OP is already down to an 1/8” blade with a wicked tall rear sight yet …

Thank you! I didn't want to say that to people who are trying to help me but you go right ahead.

 

[woodsnwater]

Wrong video, sorry

 

[Grenadier1758]

@woodsnwater, it's taken us two pages. I have come to the conclusion that the bore off center and has always been bad. The only choice that you have is to bend the barrel or replace the barrel.

Since your rifle is a Pedersoli, the replacement cost will be high. There is little to lose by bending the barrel. The stock will conform to the bent barrel. You will need to remove the barrel from the stock to bend the barrel. The bend sounds scarier than it is.

If you have a sturdy bench, a few cut off pieces of 2x4, and a pipe clamp, you have the bending jig. Place the barrel so it is resting 1 1/2" above the bench on the 2x4's and close to the edge. Use another piece of leather or scrap of wood under the jaws of the pipe clamp. Use the clamp to bend the barrel down. Reinstall the barrel a see how far the group moves. This may have to done several times.

 

[FishDFly]

Why not send it to the U.S. service center and have it repaired professionally?

 

[bang]

I'm wondering if the bore is drilled off at breach. Might pay to check that. If the bore is higher at breech it will shoot down no matter of sights.

 

[woodsnwater]

@woodsnwater, it's taken us two pages. I have come to the conclusion that the bore off center and has always been bad. The only choice that you have is to bend the barrel or replace the barrel.

Since your rifle is a Pedersoli, the replacement cost will be high. There is little to lose by bending the barrel. The stock will conform to the bent barrel. You will need to remove the barrel from the stock to bend the barrel. The bend sounds scarier than it is.

If you have a sturdy bench, a few cut off pieces of 2x4, and a pipe clamp, you have the bending jig. Place the barrel so it is resting 1 1/2" above the bench on the 2x4's and close to the edge. Use another piece of leather or scrap of wood under the jaws of the pipe clamp. Use the clamp to bend the barrel down. Reinstall the barrel a see how far the group moves. This may have to done several times.

So even if it is bored off center (nothing I can do about that) and the barrel itself is straight, you would bend it to raise the point of impact? The way I see it I have nothing to lose.