Colt 1860 Army Accuracy Help!!

[skpp108]

Hi all,
I just fired my new (used) 2nd gen Colt 1860 and am a little dismayed at the results. At about 8 yards, the groups are about 4" high and about 4" to the right. I'm sure at 25 yds, I couldn't hit a 4x8 sheet of plywood. The groups, however are impressive with most of the rounds touching each other. I was using cleanshot pellets (30 gr equivalant) round balls .454, no wad and lube on top. I am fairly new to this and I'm sure I am missing something. Could the wedge have anything to do with my problem? I was messing with it the other day and discoversd that it matters how far you tap it back or the cylinder wont turn. Other than that, no clue. Any suggestions greatly appreciated-

Thanks,
Scott :?

[MOGorilla]

I would say if the shots are touching one another, it is not a wedge problem, just a site picture problem.  Make sure the blade site it straight, and then I would take a very small file to the notch in the hammer.  The 4" high is nothing, mine shoots 8-10" high at 10 yards, these guns were designed to shoot dead on at 100 yards, so the back sight notch needs to be deepened, and I would say yours needs to be directed to the left.

[Flint]

There's no way you can deepen the rear notch enough  Most of them shoot about 9 inches high at 15 yards or so  The front sight is as Colt designed it as MOgorilla said, zeroed at 100 yards as the US Army Ornance requested in the 1860's  I found that a new front sight with a height of 5/16 inch will bring you in.  I replaced the front sights on a 2nd and 3rd gen Colt with a new brass blade, filed to hit POA and reshaped similar to a SAA sight.  If you are already shooting a Colt, modifying it isn't going to change the collector value much, anyway.

[skpp108]

I'm ok with the elevation but the windage is way off in my opinion. Reckon I'll be filing that rear sight a tad. I did not know about hte sights being regulated at 100 yds in the old days. Kinda neat to think they were expecting you to take those kind of shots. Don't imagine there were to many hits, though-

[Ramrod]

skpp108, Yes, use that file and get the windage fixed, as far as the elevation, well it's up to you. Alot depends on the load, and what alot of folks forget is that the government issue ammo was not a round ball, but rather a bullet in a paper cartridge, with a charge of around 20-25 grains. Also, at the closer ranges the sights would not be used in combat, it is a point and shoot proposition. Try it. The 1851 Navy and 1860 Army are considered natural pointers by many. At longer ranges, using the sights, the troops would naturally use a center of mass hold which would be a little above the belt buckle, so a gun that hits high at 25-50 yards would do just fine. That being said, I have ground off the front sight and soldered on half a penny, and filed it in to make a cheap repro hit were I wanted it, You would have to be nuts to do this to a Colt, though.