Crooked Front Sight, Opinions Please

[j20owner]

Last year the dad picked up a new Blackhawk 5.5" in .45Colt. Since we got it, I thought it seemed to want to print to the left. I've adjusted the rear sight as far as I'd like to, and it still seems to print to the left some. Upon fiddling with it while waiting for non-existent deer to show up during the fall season, I think I may have discovered the problem. It seems to me that the front sight is cocked off to the right, potentially causing my left-ward leaning groups. I tried to get a picture, but it's extremely hard to get one that shows it well. Here's about the best I can do.
http://www.xaclan.com/Heinrich/heinrich/Gun%20stuff/Crooked%20front%20sight%20BH%2045colt.JPG

I added the little red box. To me it looks like the box is inline with the side of the front sight, and there's a bigger gap on the left side of the rear sight. Is my head on crooked, or is the front sight?

[HammerMTB]

That is not uncommon on Rugers, and yes, it might be tightened. I have a .45 Colt BH the same way. It's off about the same amount, but in this case, the gun prints right, so I don't want to tighten it.
BTW, they are notoriously tight, so while in theory it can be tightened, it will be a chore, and if proper tools are not applied, damage can result.
Good luck with it! :smile:

[j20owner]

I'm guessing you're talking about tightening the barrel.

[buck1]

Send it back to Ruger as Defective. They took care of mine for free....Buck

[Lloyd Smale]

I hate to admit it but ive smacked front sights agains the bench to tweak them

[lathesmith]

It's fairly common for single-action revolvers especially to need a little barrel rotation one way or the other to correct front sight orientation. The proper way is to either tighten the barrel a bit, or in your case the barrel needs to be un-screwed and a slight amount of material removed at the shoulder and then re-tightened. This can be a little tricky, and NO, don't use a hatchet handle through the frame, unless you like a bent frame. Do it right, and you will be happy with the results.

lathesmith

[Bass Ackward]

If you do send this back to Ruger, write a note and tell them that you hunt with lead with it.

The last time I did that, I fully expected to have a constriction when it came back but I was pleasantly surprised. I got a new barrel that was superior to the original with a shortened, and less sharp angled cone that was actually polished and set up with a great BC gap.

So they definitely have people that know what they are doing if they don't just go through the motions believing it's just going in a drawer when it gets back.

[dubber123]

I agree sending it back is your best option. Don't get too excited about it getting repaired though. I bought a new Bisley single six that was worse than yours. I sent it back, and it returned with the barrel in the same place, but had several boogered screw heads, and a small patch of blue missing from the barrel... This was a NEW gun, so I know the damage occured in their repair shop. I sold it for a loss. This was a good 10 years ago, so maybe they have improved.