Filing the front sight

L Ross

Well-Known Member
I have a 1930 New Service in 38 wcf that shoots close to 6" low at 25 yards. I tried a lower velocity load with Trail Boss to see if that brought up the point of impact. Virtually no difference from 8 grains of Unique, both loads using the traditional 180 gr. bullet. This is not a pristine gun by any means, as it has some serious bluing issues. I am tempted to pick a load that groups well, then file the front sight a little at a time until I get it to hit where I look.
Am I consigning myself to future gun collectors perdition for such an unpardonable sin?
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
many would say yes.
myself I would rather have a fix sighted gun shoot to the sights with a load pretty close to factory spec's.
if you do alter the sights stick a piece of Dowell in the barrel with the data written on it.
 

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
Do you plan on keeping the gun until you can't shoot any more ? If so, follow fiver's suggestion and enjoy shooting the gun; otherwise, your stuck.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Early 3" Bulldogs have shot to POA for me with 240 - 250 grain bullets at factory-type velocities, while 200 grain bullets shoot as low as your 180s are shooting.

Do you have a heavier bullet you could try? 200 grains is probably not out of the question for that diameter - if you have one.

I don't hold back on user guns (all I have) that I know I'll keep when it comes to modifications that make them "right." I personally wouldn't hesitate to file the sight if I liked the load and gun a lot.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
The older and less of a "working gun" that the particular example is, the less likely I am to change the
sights. And it also has to do with condition. I have an old 1937 S&W which is the Brazilian version of the
US 1917 Army .45 ACP revolver. It is in fair to good condition, trending to the fair end. I felt no pangs at
all of making the front sight dramatically more useable by cutting the back face to 45 degrees and putting
fine horizontal striations to make it look like a later style (50ish) S&W factory standard front sight.

Ultimately....it's your gun. If you want to melt it into slag, you can choose to do so.

The finer the condition, and if it is a rare and desireable collector model, then it becomes an issue of
are you willing to reduce it's resale value? Maybe selling a minty version and buying a more fair-to-good
version to use if you want a shooter. You may wind up money ahead and have your shooter gun, too.

Bill
 
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Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I agree with Jeff, I'd try a 200 gr before I went to filing on a New Service.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the comments guys. I have three .38 wcf handguns and one rifle and I'd like to make one load for all of them. When the weather gets better and I'm not spending more time plowing snow than having fun, I'll have to take all four of them and put them on paper and take some notes.
 

Charles Graff

Moderator Emeritus
Quite a few New Service 38 Specials had the chambers reamed for 357 mag and the barrel restamped. That left the front site out of sync for the higher velocity loads.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I am firmly in the camp of "Try the 200 grain bullet first".

I will bend over backwards to avoid permanent modifications of ANY firearm. I inherited a Colt Bisley Model revolver made in 1906 and owned by my great-grandfather that has verified historic background. I darn sure WON'T be filing its front sight! Besides that, it shoots the 120 grain MMSFT bullet over 6.0 grains of SR-4756 right to the existing sights, so there is no point to taking spray paint to that particular Mona Lisa. (Note--"MMSFTT" = Mountain Moulds Short Fat Thirty-Two)
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
You could also try the "build the rear sight higher with epoxy/JB Weld" method. Clean the area with degreaser and make a form with duct tape. File to shape. Comes right back off with out too much effort, in fact sometimes they just fall off!