Problem with Blackhawk .45 sights

[Peakbagger46]

Finally got my Ruger Blackhawk .45LC/45 ACP! Using my reloads, my first impression is that this pistol is going to be very accurate, durable, and pleasant to shoot. Problem is, I can't adjust the rear sight low enough for proper sight in at 25 yards, the impact being a couple of inches high.

Has anyone else had this problem? Do you think I will have to send it back to Ruger or get some replacement parts from them?

 

[gb6491]

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=428866

 

[rcmodel]

Light powder charges and/or light bullets will shoot low.

Up the power or use a heavier bullet.

rc

 

[pbearperry]

I had the same problem with a new Super blackhawk in 44 mag. It needed a higher front sight blade which the company sent me free of charge.

 

[Steve C]

Light powder charges and/or light bullets will shoot low.

Up the power or use a heavier bullet.

rcmodel was 1/2 right, lighter bullets do shoot lower but lighter charges which lowers velocity shoots higher as there is more dwell time in the barrel so recoil raises the muzzle more before the bullet leaves the barrel thus they hit higher than a heavier faster load. Since your problem is shooting high, going to a heavier bullet will not help.

If you are loading a bullet around 255grs with a traditional factory level .45 Colt load pushing around 850 fps then the sights should be adjustable without having to modify them. As long as you are not helping the bullets shoot high by breaking your wrist up or letting the gun slip in your hand too easily during recoil and it still shoots high, its quite possible that there was a mistake at Ruger and they installed the wrong front sight. If that's the case contact Ruger with your problem and they'll likely send you a new front sight as pbearperry said they did for him.

 

[Peakbagger46]

The load I am using is a 250g lead bullet over 9.3g of unique. I got ahold of Ruger today and they are sending me a lower rear sight blade to fix the problem.

 

[BlkHawk73]

Change the load. Not every gun will shoot every load just as one wishes it will. There's only so much adjustment sights can have. I'm thinking they're allotment encompasses the range of the common loads. Shoot heavy/hot loads and the front sight needs to be changed. It's part of the price one pays to go outside the norm.

 

[wcwhitey]

+1 on the call Ruger, they will send you a new front sight. Seems common. My SBH had the very same problem. Eventually I went to a Weigand front sight system. Have three blades and can shoot anything from .44 Special Cowboy loads to 300 LBT's.

 

[Kernel]

Move the target to 50 yds. Then you'll be dead on. Maybe, Ruger designed the sights for hunting and didn't set'em up to zero at spit ball ranges.

 

[Peakbagger46]

Actually, I shot it also at 60 yards, resting on my pickup hood, and they were about 4" high. I should be getting the new rear sight blade shortly, hopefully this will fix the problem.

 

[Kernel]

4" high at 60 yds, 250gr bullet, 9.3gr of Unique (say 900fps mv), a few more minor assumptions, crunch numbers thru a ballistic program.... you'd be dead nuts zero at 88 yds.

That's the perfect point-blank-range for a 8" kill zone (typical for a North American whitetail deer). What da ya know. Ruger did know what they were doing when they designed those sights.

I little taller front sight wouldn't be a bad thing. Who knows. Some day you might want to zero it for 87 yds.

 

[Peakbagger46]

Kernel,
Interesting... maybe I'll back off to about 90 yards and see what happens.