Vaquero 45 shooting low question?

[Swede44mag]

I have a Ruger Vaquero in 45 Colt that shoots low. I have tried it at 3, 7, & 10 yards. It shoots about 1.5 inches low when I aim at a 3/4 and 2 inch bullseye.
I am shooting H&G # 68 & RCBS 255-KT boolits at near max in the book.
Sometime I will have a RCBS clone 270 grain Boolit mold and would like to shoot these also. I plan on carrying it for Deer season this year.

Does any one else have this similar problem?

Since I don't have an adjustable rear sight what should I do to correct this?

I had considered filing down the front sight but I know you can take metal off but puting it back on would require a new front sight. It is not dovetailed on like some ot the other pistols I have had.

[BABore]

Aim Higher. :mrgreen:

[Hurricane]

A heavy bullet will shoot higher than a light bullet in a handgun. When you try your 270 grain bullet it may be right on! With the 255 grain bullet try a little less powder and see it it brings up the point of impact.

[ReloaderFred]

It's common to have to file the front sight on single action revolvers, especially Colt clones. I've done a bunch of them for fellow SASS shooters, but you want to make sure you've found "your load" before you regulate the sights to it.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Swede44mag]

It's common to have to file the front sight on single action revolvers, especially Colt clones. I've done a bunch of them for fellow SASS shooters, but you want to make sure you've found "your load" before you regulate the sights to it.

Hope this helps.

Fred

One of my main concerns it that I don’t make it to short by filing it down.
I thought about wrapping a piece of tape around the front sight that I can move up or down to get the correct height. I also plan on trying different powder charges to see if this helps.
I had a pair of Virginian Hammerli’s Imported by Interarms that was dead on in .45 & .357 just didn’t get that lucky this time.

[Swede44mag]

Aim Higher. :mrgreen:

Funny answer, it is hard to aim higher when the front sight is in the way.

[littlejack]

Swede:
Out of curiosity, what powder and charge weight are you using for the two boolits
mentioned?
As stated above, the 270 grainers will hit higher. If it were mine, I would NOT file the sight
to suite the impact of the H&G 68. I would not regulate the sights for any bullet less than 250 grain. You are not expieriencing anything out of the ordinary. You need to (in my opinion)
shoot at 10 to 15 yard MINIMUM distance, and out to a distance you can shoot and hit
reliably. I see no reason to shoot at ranges 3 and 7 yards for a woods carry piece.
You need to settle on one boolit weight and one powder charge that suites your piece.
I shoot the 250 to 260 grain boolits and 9 grains of Herco in my Uberti saa.
Your piece, and most others will not shoot several boolit weights well and to the same poi at
a distance. Firearms (usually) have their favorite loads and boolits.
Of course, most all will shoot well at 3 yards and different boolits.
Jack

[475BH]

At those close ranges it will naturally shoot low, because the barrel is lower than the sights.
I do agree, that the heavy bullet will bring your POI up w/o a sight change. Years ago I had to add to the front sight of my sbh because of the 280 gr. bullets I was shooting were hitting too high.

[Larry Gibson]

I believe, if I recall correctly, the Vaguero's front sight is purposely high to allow filing down for the load. It is intended that way for cowboy shooters who shoot lighter bullets at lower velocities. I suggest you simply settle on one bullet and load that is verically aligned and then slowly file the sight so impact is where you want it shooting from the position you will mostly be shooting from.

Larry Gibson

[Char-Gar]

If you are going to file down the front sight, you do so at the range. File..shoot..file..shoot and so on. Not much chance of taking too much off this way. Just take a couple of swipes, polish out the file marks with some 220 grit cloth back by the file and have at it again.

[ReloaderFred]

That's how I do them, at the range, and firing after each few strokes. There is no way I would ever file a front sight without firing during the process.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[subsonic]

Formula stolen from castbullet.com =

desired bullet impact movement in inches ÷ range in inches x sight radius = sight movement in inches

I would not go right to the calculated sight "movement", but rather go half way and see if POI moves halfway - if so, make a judgement call. I would probably still stop at least 10% short and shoot again before final filing to suit.

Depending on how custom you want to get, there are people (Jim Stroh? Hamilton Bowen?) who sell a replacement front sight setup for this gun with interchangeable blades, so all is not lost if you go too far or decide to change loads later.

[bigboredad]

swede I have the mold you are wanting for sale

[Wireman134]

I have a Ruger Vaquero in 45 Colt that shoots low. I have tried it at 3, 7, & 10 yards. It shoots about 1.5 inches low when I aim at a 3/4 and 2 inch bullseye.
I am shooting H&G # 68 & RCBS 255-KT boolits at near max in the book.
Sometime I will have a RCBS clone 270 grain Boolit mold and would like to shoot these also. I plan on carrying it for Deer season this year.

Does any one else have this similar problem?

Since I don't have an adjustable rear sight what should I do to correct this?

I had considered filing down the front sight but I know you can take metal off but puting it back on would require a new front sight. It is not dovetailed on like some ot the other pistols I have had.


You ain't flinch en are ya. Anticipating the shot pointing down and left.

[MtGun44]

Be sure that you have decided on "THE LOAD" before you go filing on the sights would
be my recommendation. Personally, I'd just deal with the low hits until I found a heavier
boolit that I liked and which shot to POA.

Also, get it level across the top, too, if you file. A slant-top front sight is REALLY
irritating, at least for me.

Bill

[Heavy lead]

I've got two Old Model Vaquero Bisley's in .45. I didn't do anything with the low shooting until I found the load, ended up likeing a 300 grainer I designed on Mountain Molds website, it's dead on now and the 5.5" shoots the load at 1050 fps and the 4.625" shoots slightly slower of course.
Only thing I did to the sight was to file and checker a 45 degree bevel on the backside so I could see the stainless front sight.
Like everyone else said, try the heavy first, and play with the load, the more barrel time combined with the heavier weight will dial in right in.

[KCSO]

Well just bend the barrel then if it doesn't work out you can bend it back???? The Vaquero front sight is silver brazed to the barrel and is not to be bent and it is not replacable at home. I would do a LOT of expirimenting before I filed it to one load and then it would have to stay that way. I cut my front sight off completely and dovetailed in a gold bead front sight. By changing blades I can regulate height and I get some windage adjustment too.

[shotstring]

I sold my 45 Vaquero for that identical reason. It ticked me off that I had 4 colts that all shot spot on, so in a moment of weakness, I dumped it. After thinking it over, fixing the problem would have been a wiser solution. I missed that gun ever since.

[Multigunner]

When I have a pistol that shoots low, and I don't want to alter the front sight, I just hold with a bit of the front sight showing above the rear notch.
As long as the front blade is lined up in the center of the notch holding with a portion of blade above the notch and centered in the bull while the top of the rear sight is at the 6 o'clock hold position you can still hit well.

I would not lower the blade by filing till you see where its going to print with those heavier bullet hunting loads.
You may find that the tall blade is just what you need.

[Dale53]

I have had two Vaqueros in .45 Colt. The first was a 4 5/8" barrel. I first settled on my load and bullet. When that was grouping well, my windage was perfect at 25 yards. I desired point of aim dead on at 25 yards. I was shooting low, so Ruger had built in a bit of extra height. I, over three range sessions, carefully filed the sight down then reblued it. PERFECT!

I was shooting in a particular set of black powder matches that required fixed sights and black powder. I decided I wanted to try a longer barrel. So, I bought a Bisley 5½". Using the same bullet (Lyman's 452664 250 gr RF) my revolver, right out of the box hit Point of Aim at 25 yards. I kind of felt like I had hit the lottery!

That revolver has won me a bunch of matches and has been a VERY satisfactory revolver in every way.

So, the moral of this story is to FIRST settle on you bullet and load, then GO SLOWLY in regulating the desired point of impact.

Dale53

[44man]

Aim Higher. :mrgreen:
:bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:
REALLY GOOD! but 3 to 10 yards is so stinking funny I about fell out of my chair! All that is needed is a BRICK! :drinks:

[Swede44mag]

I wanted to see what it would shoot close the 3, 7 & 10 yards is what you have to shoot to qualify for a carry conceal.

Some of the time I hammer a deer it is so close you could touch it with the barrel.