.44 special Bulldog shoots low question

[atr]

I have a .44 special Bulldog with 4" barrel. I like the revolver but is shoots LOW, at all distances, even with the rear sight raised to its highest position. I am thinking about grinding down the front sight to raise the point of impact. Has anyone else with a Bulldog had this problem? Would grinding down the front sight be a reasonable solution?
Currently I aim high to get the point of impact where I want it. Are there alternative solutions other than aiming high?
best
atr

[Recycled bullet]

Test a heavier grain weight bullet on target and see it that fixes the point of aim-point of impact mismatch.

[atr]

I have shot 240 cast, 180 and 240 jacket and they all shoot low.

[Recycled bullet]

Have you tried shooting them with your left hand? Have you tried asking another shooter to shoot it and see what results they get? What distance are you shooting at? Are you handloading or shooting factory loads?

Is the color of the front and rear sights compatible with the color of the target? I only can speak for myself in this case it was much easier for me to see the target when I paint my front sight black and shoot at white paper plates. The difference in contrast made it much easier for my eyes to see the sights.

[hoodat]

How low are you talking at for instance 20 yards? jd

[cwtebay]

Is the point of impact the same with all of the bullets you have tried? I like the idea of having someone else shoot it - I have had similar experiences with Glocks (except high and left) - turns out I just suck at shooting Glocks!

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[rintinglen]

Who cares how it shoots for someone else? For you, it shoots low. Let's fix that.

Adjust the sight so that it is approximately in the middle of its range of adjustment. Fire five, five shot groups from the position, distance, and using the grip and ammo, for your intended use of the revolver. Aim at the same place each time, do not chase the group. Lay the second target on top of the first and mark the impacts on the target. Repeat with the third, fourth and fifth targets, until you have all 25 shots marked. Determine the center of the aggregate group and measure the distance it is from your point of aim. Using the formula SC= (SR x E) / D, where SC = sight change, in this case, the desired change in sight height, SR = Sight Radius, the distance between front and rear sight, E, Error, the distance the point of impact is away from the point of aim, and D is the distance to the target. All measurements need to be in the same increments.

For example, lets say you have 6 inches from the rear of the front sight blade to the rear sight blade, and your gun is hitting 5 inches low at 25 yards (900 inches). Using the formula, we find that our Sight Correction (SC) will be 6 x 5 divided by 900, or ~.0333 inches. If we lower the the front sight by .03 inches, (or put in a higher rear sight blade,) roughly 30 thousandths, our gun should now be shooting pretty close to center for elevation with that ammo, and because we set the adjustable rear sight in the middle, we now have a little latitude to allow us to use other loads and bullet weights by raising or lowering the sight.

My first choice would be to contact Charter arms and see if you can order a taller, rear sight blade, as that prevents you from having to damage the finish as you file away the excess. In our example, if they don't have one exactly .03 inches taller, but have one.015 inches taller and one.045 inches taller, as a rule of thumb, go with the taller one if given a choice between two. It is easier to cut shorter than to "cut" longer.

[TurnipEaterDown]

Not stated: Does it shoot low just offhand? Have you shot it rested?

No offense, best to sort out gun vs. shooter first.
Then you can work on the correct issue.

Gun: sight correction, or loads (slower most usually means higher: more recoil during barrel dwell time of bullet).
Shooter: Common for a lot of people to pull low. Again, no offense, don't know your experience / skill.

[rockshooter]

and don't think grinder! think file- you are talking tiny amounts here!
Loren

[cwtebay]

I believe my post was misleading. I was thinking that if someone else shot the same - pistol to blame - if not, perhaps trigger discipline or grip can be to blame. I perhaps should have suggested a vice type rest would accomplish the same. I also could not care less about another's shooting abilities - only trying to eliminate possibilities before permanently altering the gun.

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[TNsailorman]

Never, ever, let a front sight get near a grinder.
first order of business is to work up a load that meets your accuracy expectations. Only then is it time to file. Like the man said, file and one stroke at a time. File and shoot, and file and shoot until it hits where you want with the load you want. Use a finer cut file and light strokes. my experience anyway, james

[TomAM]

Here's how to find out whether it's you or the gun that's shooting low.

Set up a bullseye target at least 10 yards out. Fill the cylinder with fired (empty) cases. Using a bench, rest your wrists on a steady pad and dry fire one careful shot. After the hammer has fallen, are your sights still aimed perfectly at the target?
Repeat 4 more times. Then even more until your sights do not deviate with the hammer fall.

Then replace one empty case with a live round. Close the cylinder without observing which chamber is live. Fire 5 times. If 4 of those hammer drops resulted in NO sight deviation, still aimed perfectly at the bullseye, then the hole in the paper tells you all you need to know.

[cwtebay]

Here's how to find out whether it's you or the gun that's shooting low.

Set up a bullseye target at least 10 yards out. Fill the cylinder with fired (empty) cases. Using a bench, rest your wrists on a steady pad and dry fire one careful shot. After the hammer has fallen, are your sights still aimed perfectly at the target?
Repeat 4 more times. Then even more until your sights do not deviate with the hammer fall.

Then replace one empty case with a live round. Close the cylinder without observing which chamber is live. Fire 5 times. If 4 of those hammer drops resulted in NO sight deviation, still aimed perfectly at the bullseye, then the hole in the paper tells you all you need to know.^^^good advice

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[OBXPilgrim]

Lots of great advice here. RTGlen has the best explanation spelled out that I have seen in a long time to do what you need. Please don't grind, file flat. Might suggest using a marker to mark where you think you'll have to file down to, then shoot a few using the rear sight level to the new mark.
Bulldog owner, and I had to take quite a bit off the top of mine. Tested several times to make sure how much. Not sure how much higher the adjustable is compared to the fixed - I only had the fixed.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I would want to know the range you are shooting and what kind of groups you are getting. Grinders are for hamburger and auto body work, a fine cut flat file is in order, as stated, a stroke at a time with the load you expect to shoot most of the time. If your groups are not consistent, changing the sights won't help.

[atr]

I have had others shoot the revolver and they all posted low.
The shots although low are consistent with respect to grouping
I have shot at various distances....10, 15 , 20 yds......all low
NOT to worry, I know how to use a file and the grinder stays unplugged.
I marked the front sight with a piece of blue tape and used it as my sight plane..with the tape in place the elevation was spot-on
I DON'T shoot from rest because this is a "field" revolver and there aren't any rests in the field.

Instead of grinding down that front sight I think I will replace the tape marking the front sigh with easy to see paint.

thanks for your suggestions....all much appreciated.
best
atr

[TomAM]

Results from a rest are identical to offhand results, one the rest has revealed and aided in curing the offhand flinch.

[Frank V]

atr,if that works for you great. Once you remove metal, it’s removed.
I have had to shorten front sights before, but I shoot it a LOT first & make sure it’s the gun & not me on a given day.
I think your solution is right for you.

[atr]

TomAM.....during the last outing I also shot my .38 special, .357 Magnum and a .44 Magnum all were on target so I am pretty convinced it is the revolver and not me.
atr

[Four-Sixty]

I have a 32 H&R Mag Charter with fixed sights that I sent to the factory because it was shooting low. Their fix was to file about half the front sight off.

[Bazoo]

A heavier bullet will print higher normally, unless you're in magnum territory. You might try some 250 to 265 grain bullets.

[cwtebay]

TomAM.....during the last outing I also shot my .38 special, .357 Magnum and a .44 Magnum all were on target so I am pretty convinced it is the revolver and not me.
atrThat's good to hear! My Glock experience was within a week of killing an elk with my Blackhawk at 85 yards and a month from getting a black bear with a Colt from 70 yards. I blamed everything but myself. Glad you got it figured out!

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[HWooldridge]

This link has a simple sight radius calculator that yields the proper height of the front sight: https://dawsonprecision.com/sight-calculator/

It would be good if you could get a sound measurement before starting so you have an idea how far to go. A caliper is probably the best method unless you have a v-block and indicator setup.

Be careful, even with files - it's easy to remove too much or cut the angle off perpendicular.

[Soundguy]

I have a target bulldog shooting 240's and it's good if i do my job.

[atr]

I do have V-blocks and dial indicators but I am going to try the paint/line option first. Based on the current tape line there is a significant amount of front sight to remove so the paint-line option is going to be my first option.

Fourty-Six....I wondered how Charter Arms would handle the problem if I sent the revolver back to them. I suspected they might remove material from the front sight as you confirmed they did.
based on the current tape-line it would take about half the front sight off.
best all
atr

[rintinglen]

E-mail Charter and see if they have a taller rear sight blade before you go farther afield.

[billmc2]

Instead of grinding down that front sight I think I will replace the tape marking the front sigh with easy to see paint.
atr

I have one of those, but I haven't shot it enough to offer any advice; thus I remained quite.

What I have done, with 3 Charter revolvers, is to paint the front site with a base coat of white. I measured the height of the sight, measured up to the half height location, then painted up from there florescent red. When shooting, the red fills the rear notch. If I see any white, I know I'm off. You may want to adapt that scheme to your tape line.

[Bazoo]

With standard pressure loads, at 15 yards, my 245 grain bullets hit point of aim. If I switch to the 265 grain Ranch Dog bullet, but same load level, I'm 2" higher point of impact. Because of bullet dwell time and the heavier bullet recoiling a bit more.