Barrel length, and turning the barrel, how hard?

[His lordship.]

I have never had a model 1873 Colt, thinking of the Uberti, have 2 of their cap and ball revolvers now.  I am a Ruger fan, checked the catalog and they don't have anything with the case hardened look on their guns, more utility in finish.  I have always liked the early long barreled version that was used at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, but have read that the U S Army cut the barrels down to make them handier, personally the 6" barrel is what I like on my double action guns. 

My Colt cap and balls shoot to the left, my 1858 Remington is right on to the point of aim.  I have read that Graybeard had a problem with his shooting to the left as well.  One member mentioned hitting the front sight with a hammer to move the barrel, would I be better off using a vice to hold the gun, and how tight are the screwed in barrels on one of those if I need to adjust the windage?

I would prefer a .38 over the .45 due to the difference in cost of ammo and I could run soft wad cutters in the gun.  Cabelas only lists the .45 Colt, so I may have to do some driving to see about other versions.

Any info is appreciated, thanks.

[tacklebury]

Primarily addressing your final question here, as I won't own a fixed sight handgun unless it's a ccw sized back-up.  I would think that the .38 would be fine if your primary intention is target shooting only.  If you actually want something usable for hunting, the .45 Colt would be better.  Lobbing a 900 fps 300 gr. lead means a whole lot more than the .38.  Even the 255 gr. SWC bullets I shoot have meplat's almost as big as the whole .38.  The .38 would probably be ok if you were only picking off ground hogs or varmints, but the colt would give you greater flexibility.  My "cowboy" or target load is a 200 gr. over 6 gr. - 8 gr. Unique depending on my range of shooting, and it's ultra gentle.  Just some thoughts.  Although, if you are target shooting only, the .38 would be cheaper and easier to find factory loads for. 

[44 Man]

Turning the barrel a little to bring point of aim in line with point of impact is fairly easy.  Some barrels are in there very hard and some are easier to turn.  You need 'barrel block' to hold the barrel.  They can be made from a block of wood, with a large hole drilled down the middle, about the size of the barrel diameter.  Then you cut the two pieces apart, wrap the barrel with friction tape and clamp the barrel in a vice with the blocks around the barrel.  Then you can put a squared off wooden bar through the frame and have at it.  It's that easy and that hard.  You don't want to marr the barrel with it clamped in the vice, nor do you want to bend the frame (not usually a problem with a longer piece of wood that is cut square to sort of fit the opening in the frame).  Easy enough for a home mechanic, just be careful.  It's best if you have someone who can do the first one for you while you watch.  I and my buddy Mikie, have done several, not a biggie.  44 Man

[Keith L]

Before you wrench on your gun have someone who is a good pistol coach work with you to make sure your form is good and appropriate with that gun.  It is truly amazing how much point of impact can change with where your finger is on the trigger.  And it seems to change with each gun, at least to a degree.

[His lordship.]

Thanks for the replys, My Uberti 1851 Colt is off on the windage, but my 1858 Uberti Remington is right on.  Still thinking of an Uberti 1973, doing the homework, but if I get one the thing might be off and would need to fix that.

[Lloyd Smale]

couple things ill add to 44mans post. First the blocks need to be made of hardwood. pine will just mash and wont grip the barrel well. Also when i do it i dont use electirical tape but do use rosin. Also make sure you are tightening the barrel to move the group if you must loosen the barrel to get to point of aim you need to find a differnt way like bending your sight blade of filing the blade or the frame grove.

[NickSS]

I have several Uberti 45 colt 1873 revolvers and all but one shot to POI at 25 yards with a standard 250 gr slug at 850 fps. The one that did not shot to the left a bit but I bent the front sight slightly left and now it shoots to POI just like the other two I have.  I also have one in 357 mag and it shoots poi with a 158 gr wad cutter at 1300 fps.  Of historical note the army bought all of their revolvers Until 1894 with 7-1/2 inch barrels.  In that year they decided that a barrel length of 5-1/2 inches worked better and did not give up too much ballistically.  So they modified a lot of the revolvers by cutting the barrels to 5.5 inches when they came in for work.  Colt also made civilian versions in 7.5, 5.5 and 4-5/8 inches.  All of the army ones were in 45 colt.

[gcrank1]

Just to clarify, Chris......
You initially mentioned hitting the front sight to move the barrel. No, you arent moving the barrel, but well supporting the barrel and slightly bending the front sight. Remember you move the front opposite the direction you want the point of impact to go; ie, it shoots left, so you want the POI to go right a bit, thus move the front blade TO THE LEFT. It doesnt take much.
Mostly I dont do this anymore. As said, technique has a lot to do with where they hit. By tuning that hold and trigger squeeze you can do a lot.