Does this look normal?

[xxclaro]

I have a .375 Winchester Big Bore that has given me issue's with accuracy since I got it. I took off the factory rear sight and put on a Williams peep. To get it on paper I had to click it way over to the left,to the point that it is visibly way off centre. I finally abandoned the 220gr Hornady bullets and went to the 200gr Sierra. I went out to the range today and it did shoot better than before. I was only able to get about 2.5" at 50yds and about 5" at 100yds. However, I'll admit that my skills with iron sights is rusty and the gun was beating me up a bit,so I may not have been 100% steady. I always considered this gun to be exceptionaly comfortable to shoot,till I laid in on the bench! Why do they make those dang things so low? Anyway, it was at least hitting consistently,whereas before it would shoot one or two rounds centre and then suddenly shoot a foot high. With the 200gr bullets it shot pretty high(almost dead on at 200yds,incidently, but the group were at least consistent. I forgot to bring my little screwdriver set to adjust the sights, but while looking at them at had to wonder again if there is something off here. Check out the pics and tell me what you think. I don't really want to do it, but i might put a scout scope on it just to see if the accuracy problem lies in the nut behind the butt.

[bdhold]

if that put it on the paper, it's probably getting closer to alignment for the bore and the front post.
If you don't like it, you can move the front post a bit to the right.

[Terry Murbach]

IS IT MY EYES OR IS IT NOT LINED UP PERFECTLY 90* TO THE BARREL ???IT LOOKS HIGH ON THE LEFT SIDE AND LOW ON THE RIGHT SIDE LOOKING DOWN UPON IT IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH.

[TedH]

I had the same setup on mine and don't remember it being like that. I sold it to forum member Motex66, maybe he'll chime in here and take a look at his.

[Pete44ru]

The best way to determine what's afoot is to plumb the sights.

Mount the gun's barrel in a padded vise, but not overly tight.

While holding a level (plumb bob) on the left side of the action, rotate the rifle in the vise until the action alone is perfectly plumb.

When it is, the front sight ramp/bead should be directly above the bore C/L, at 12:00; likewise the peep sight aperture.

If one, or both, are not, some corrective work needs be done.

Although it could be an illusion, the horizontal sighting bar, on the peep sight in your pic, looks like it's received a blow atop the RH end, causing it to bend downward at the 90-degree angle - something that's been known to happen a time or two.

.

[J Miller]

xxclaro,

Does that look normal? No, not to me. But I see nothing wrong with the fit of the rear sight. The windage bar is parallel with the top of the hammer and looks fine to me. If anything I'll bet the front sight is tilting. This would require the rear sight to be cranked over to compensate.

I agree with Pete44ru that it's a good idea to plumb the sights. If the sights are straight then it could be the barrel is not straight in the receiver.

Joe

[Grizz]

not normal... look from the front, sighting down the barrel to the receiver, if the front sight cants you will see it right away.

check to see that the barrel is straight. it happens.

is the muzzle end of the bore absolutely concentric and centered..

[2row]

There is something wrong with that gun so I would recomend you send it too ME I will work on it for a few years an then send it back OK

[Gun Smith]

If the gun shoots to center vertically now the way the sight picture is set, it looks like the barrel is not straight. Is the front sight centered over the bore?
It is possible to bore sight a rifle to check for a bent barrel. Hang a string in front of the muzzle and shine a light down the barrel from that end. If it is bent the string line will appear to curve as you view it from the breach end. You may have to pull the bolt to get a straight view down the barrel.

[xxclaro]

There is something wrong with that gun so I would recomend you send it too ME I will work on it for a few years an then send it back OK

When I first read your post I initially thought you said "work on it for free" and I was gettin excited! Such a letdown......
You guys are awesome,so much info so fast. I'm going to go retrieve the gun from the cabinet right now and look at that front sight really close.

[deerwhacker444]

I see your Winchester Big Bore and I'll Raise you a Marlin 336....



I guess as long as I can hit with it, I'll just leave it be....Figured out it's threaded into the receiver crooked, but it shoots well....

Since I'm a Lefty, I just call it my special order "Factory Cast-Off" model.

But it sure is ugly....!

[RSY]

FYI: The front sight on my .375 BB94 is definitely not plumb, either, but just barely so. It's as if the receiver threading for the barrel shank was cut just a little too much. However, my Williams FP is still basically dead-center in it's housing when sighted in. Yours seems like an extreme case. I do have a Mini-14 that needs to be set all the way to the left for me to be on target with it, so I understand your frustration.

With these rifles, does anyone know at what point the front sight was attached to the barrel during manufacturing? Before or after screwing it into the receiver???

Scott

[AJMD429]

This is the kind of thing that makes me think ALL guns should have their barrels attached the way the savage bolt-guns and AR-15's do - it makes for no problems with 'indexing' and so forth, and even headspace adjustment doesn't require re-doing the front sights, etc...

[O.S.O.K.]

As already mentioned, if the front sight isn't exactly centered on top of the barrel (ie, the dovetail is rotated right or left even a smidge), you will get that kind of alignment.

I've seen it enough times myself.

I would just drift the front sight a bit to the right and then not worry about it. As far as the accuracy, that gun should give your 2.5" at 100 yards.

You might slug the bore ( a swaged round ball for 36 caliber cap n ball revolvers works great) and see what's going on with that. You may need a slightly larger diameter bullet to get best accuracy. You can order from Hawk bullets - not cheap but if you are using them exclusively for hunting, then a box of 50 should last you for some many hunting seasons.

Cast boolits are a good idea too - for practice and hunting.

[jlchucker]

What Bulldog1935 said. If that front sight is in a ramp, be sure to use a sight pushing tool to move it a little. DON"T whack it with a drift and hammer! If you do you could possibly damage the ramp as well as the sight. The sight pusher will let you push it easily, as much or as little as you like. With front sights a little goes a long way. Good luck.