Other than turning the barrel

[Scott Tschirhart]

I wonder if there’s a cure for this?

[Scott Tschirhart]

I’ve bent barrels on old Smith Model 10s. But never wanted to try it with a SAA

[Ysabel Kid]

File the rear sight notch a smidge maybe? That's a tough one Scott.

[piller]

I do not know, but I am curious to find out.

[JimT]

I read where Fitz .. when he worked at Colt .. used a big rawhide hammer and when sighting a SAA if it was shooting to one side or the other he would whack it with the hammer and try it and if need be, whack it again until it was pretty well centered. I have no way to verify the truth of that. I do know you can bend the frame of a sixgun. We had a Colt SAA .45 that a horse stepped on. After that it hit 10 feet to one side at 100 yards.

What distance were you shooting? If that's 25 yards or so just remove a little of the rear notch on the right side.

[Scott Tschirhart]

This was at 25 yards. It shoots pretty well, just to the left.

We would whack a S&W Model 10 with a lead bar to adjust windage years ago. So I was thinking ........you know how dangerous that is.

[JimT]

We would whack a S&W Model 10 with a lead bar to adjust windage years ago. So I was thinking ........you know how dangerous that is.

That would work. Don't overdo it.

[AJMD429]

.
I wouldn't trust a gun that shoots to the left...

Maybe if it shot a little bit to the right of Center, that would be okay...

I'm assuming you want to minimize the alterations due to the collectible factor, but do you think you could add some meat to the left side of the front sight somehow?

Perhaps you could solder or even JB weld a piece of sheet metal to the left side of the front sight; that could be removed later without any permanent damage to the gun. It would make the site wider than you may be used to but it also might make it easier to make center hits with. Of course if you wind up making it wide enough that you have to widen the rear sight for it to work well then you're right back where you started having to alter the gun in a bit more permanent fashion.

[GunnyMack]

While in gunsmith school I picked up an RWS air rifle- cheap! Reason was the guys young son wasn't strong enough to get it all the way back, the spring had enough power to slam the barrel back and bend the barrel. The bend was very obvious looking down the bore. I mentioned it in class one day and the instructor said we can fix that, bring it in. Next day I took it apart and im expecting to use a hydraulic press, nope the instructor grabbed a babbitt bar, set it flat on the bench and swung the barrel at the block.
Before the barrel had .050- .100" of bend, afterwards back within about .003-.004 . Its still accurate too!

[jnyork]

While in gunsmith school I picked up an RWS air rifle- cheap! Reason was the guys young son wasn't strong enough to get it all the way back, the spring had enough power to slam the barrel back and bend the barrel. The bend was very obvious looking down the bore. I mentioned it in class one day and the instructor said we can fix that, bring it in. Next day I took it apart and im expecting to use a hydraulic press, nope the instructor grabbed a babbitt bar, set it flat on the bench and swung the barrel at the block.
Before the barrel had .050- .100" of bend, afterwards back within about .003-.004 . Its still accurate too!

I attended gunsmith school at Lassen College in California, they taught us the same way but a little bit different technique. Put a piece of car. peting across a bench with it hanging over the edge. Bang the barrel on the edge corner until you reach the desired result. Have done a couple of .22 rifles this way and worked out great. I have my doubts about how effective this would be with a short barrel such as a revolver.

[bmtshooter]

I have a 357 SAA that shoots left also. It came from the factory with the front sight slightly left of top dead center already, so turning the barrel doesn't appear to be an option.

It must have been manufactured on a Monday morning or a Friday afternoon.

[Scott Tschirhart]

This is Terry's old Second Gen Colt and I don't want to do anything to alter it but I do need it to shoot to the sights. A rawhide mallet seems to be the most efficient cure. Just need to take the ejector rod off and take it slow.

[Rockrat]

Just shoot it with your left hand. It will recoil to the right and be on center then!!!

[piller]

Just shoot it with your left hand. It will recoil to the right and be on center then!!!

Simple enough.

[trapper45]

I've had a couple of single actions that shot to the side, never a Colt, but Ubertis and even a 7-1/2" Ruger New Vaquero. I took a dressing file and opened the rear notch a t-i-n-y bit to the side I needed the groups to go, just like working an adjustable sight. With the front blade re-centered in the new notch, the groups were where they should be, from super close out to 25 yards. Probably would've been on beyond 25, but that's the distance I had available, and it was definitely good enough for my eyes and any practical shooting. Once the notch was widened to the width that worked, a wee dab of touch-up blue on the shiny area blended it right back in with the rest of the frame. Several judicious thousandths was all it took, and the modification(s) is/were successful, and undetectable.

[765x53]

I have had the same problem with every handgun I own. I discovered I can mitigate the problem by grabbing as much trigger as I can reach. A light, tip of the finger pull pushes the group to the left.

[horsesoldier03]

https://bobmunden.com/pricelist-six-gun-magic/

My experience with Jeff Ault with Munden's has been outstanding. He will turn the barrel and sight it in alone or you can get a package deal. The value of a gun that can literally shoot quarters can't be beat.

[elmo123]

I have noticed that my groups change left/right due to the lighting. Have someone else shoot it and see how it shoots for them.

[Malamute]

With regard to the "file the rear sight notch in the frame" comments, ALWAYS modify or otherwise start working on the cheapest part when theres a choice, and the frame doesnt qualify for that title. Making a permanent alteration to a frame for an otherwise fixable problem also doesnt seem the best course of action.

You can probably bend the front sight a bit with a crescent wrench, or make or buy a setup for turning the barrel, its not really that complicated, or have a gunsmith do it. Ive bent a Ruger Vaquero front sight with a crescent.

[OldWin]

My old gunsmith buddy had a guy come in with a Smith 686 that had a definite curve to it.
The guy was in a nasty divorce and his ex wife had her boyfriend set it across 2 2x4s and run over it with his Peterbuilt. Needless to say, there wasn't enough windage adjustment to compensate. Matter of fact, it wouldn't even open.
My buddy straightened it back out over the course of a couple days and had it shooting.

[piller]

My old gunsmith buddy had a guy come in with a Smith 686 that had a definite curve to it.
The guy was in a nasty divorce and his ex wife had her boyfriend set it across 2 2x4s and run over it with his Peterbuilt. Needless to say, there wasn't enough windage adjustment to compensate. Matter of fact, it wouldn't even open.
My buddy straightened it back out over the course of a couple days and had it shooting.

That says a lot about your friend's skill and the quality of steel in a 686.

[OldWin]

My old gunsmith buddy had a guy come in with a Smith 686 that had a definite curve to it.
The guy was in a nasty divorce and his ex wife had her boyfriend set it across 2 2x4s and run over it with his Peterbuilt. Needless to say, there wasn't enough windage adjustment to compensate. Matter of fact, it wouldn't even open.
My buddy straightened it back out over the course of a couple days and had it shooting.

That says a lot about your friend's skill and the quality of steel in a 686.

It sure does, my friend. He is almost 81 now, and his health isn't good. He worked so much magic for me over the years, and with very little in regards to equipment. Especially compared to those of today.
Different time.....

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

I have had the same problem with every handgun I own. I discovered I can mitigate the problem by grabbing as much trigger as I can reach. A light, tip of the finger pull pushes the group to the left.

That's the easiest fix if it works. The most common issue with a righthanded shooter is low left. New shooters tend to push anticipating the shot. So, it goes low. In your case I'm betting too little trigger finger which tends to push left. Try more finger on the trigger before you do anything to the gun.

If it doesn't bag it and if it persists that should isolate the problem as being a gun issue.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I have had the same problem with every handgun I own. I discovered I can mitigate the problem by grabbing as much trigger as I can reach. A light, tip of the finger pull pushes the group to the left.

That's the easiest fix if it works. The most common issue with a righthanded shooter is low left. New shooters tend to push anticipating the shot. So, it goes low. In your case I'm betting too little trigger finger which tends to push left. Try more finger on the trigger before you do anything to the gun.

If it doesn't bag it and if it persists that should isolate the problem as being a gun issue.

You know, this makes a lot of sense. I think the trigger is too heavy and the spring seems to be too powerful, so I have been trying very hard to make sure I pull the trigger straight back. (I would straighten this trigger, but I really don't want to change it much if possible.) Could be that I could grab a bit more trigger and see what happens.

[OldWin]

I'm shading a little left with my 4.75" 45 also. It is a new SAA, so it is still pretty stiff in regards to trigger.
I have learned not to do anything in the way of mechanical compensation until it has been shot a good amount and the trigger is where I think it needs to be.
For me at least, I seem more susceptible to trigger induced point of impact shifts with the Colt SAA than any other handgun.
But I love them so.....I don't care.

[rossim92]

Just shoot it with your left hand. It will recoil to the right and be on center then!!!

Simple enough.

try shooting with the non dominant to see if that helps

[Nath]

At the risk of being flamed have any of you partially and minutely bevelled one side of the crown at all?

I have steered the shot pattern from a shotgun on many guns but never tried it on a rifle or pistol.

[EdinCT]

I have a Ruger Vaquero that shot 3 inches left at 25 yards I called Ruger to see if they would turn the barrel and was told that it was within spec. So I took off the ejector housing and put the barrel in some rosined blocks and got nothing. Then I said if it don't hit where I look what good is it ,I put it back in the blocks and laid a piece of brass stock against it and rapped it to the left. It shoots dead on now with a leaning front sight!

[Tycer]

try shooting with the non dominant to see if that helps

Maybe it’s a left handed gun.

[AJMD429]

.
I have had handgun where a new set of grips (different shape/style) significantly changed impact, so maybe try that?

Or do they cheap pair of wooden ones and rasp areas that might affect gun motion laterally.

[marlinman93]

I had a SAA that shot slightly off and took it to a local gunsmith to see what he could do. He suggested narrowing the front blade a little to see if that would correct it. Of course that makes more daylight on the rear sight notch, but it did correct almost all the centering.
He also told me he'd had good luck pushing or slightly canting front blades. But he said he couldn't move them much without fracturing the solder that holds them into the barrel.