Can you diagnose the problem with this revolver?

[Scott Tschirhart]

Look very closely to see why it sold at such a greatly reduced price…

[Pat C]

The frame face at threads isn't square to centerline requiring extreme windage adjustment ?

[Walt]

It's a Freedom Arms revolver so I assume there's nothing wrong with the gun. It appears that the previous owner struggled with sight adjustment based on the appearance of the locking screw and moved the rear sight farther and farther the wrong way.

[Scott Tschirhart]

It appears that the barrel is screwed in correctly and the front sight appears to be at top dead center.

Cylinder gap is very tight as is expected on a FA and there’s no sign that the barrel is moving.

[junkbug]

Did you buy this revolver Scott? So my two cents is that it was owned previously by a person who was not accustomed to single actions with heavy recoil. They tried chasing bullet strikes all over the paper and the sight ended up like that. Sadly, nobody was there to advise them to buy the lightest shooting ammo available. Then, if the gun was still not to their liking, they could sell it for closer to its true used value.
As I said, that is my $.02

[4t5]

May have been nothing more than a wrong eye dominate shooter.

[Scott Tschirhart]

May have been nothing more than a wrong eye dominate shooter.

I had not even considered this issue. I know a number of right handed people who are left eye dominant. But they usually can learn to shoot a pistol well.

[Paul105]

I have a FA757 (orig designation for 475 LB) that I bought used. Don't know how many round orig owner shot, but I put a little over 15,000 rnds thru it and towards the end started chasing point of impact and rear sight looked like picture above. Turns out the barrel was unscrewing under recoil. Barrel was replaced and all is well.

[4t5]

Or a kid from a 1980 ‘s gang movie , where they hold the gun sideways.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I centered the rear sight and screwed the elevation all the way down. This is the first six rounds:

[GunnyMack]

My original thought was also eye dominant issue.
But it could also be that the previous owner torqued it so hard because they were scared of the recoil that the rear was drifted to compensate.
I doubt the barrel is loose- just have to take off the ejector rod housing and try to spin the barrel.

[Scott Tschirhart]

That’s not my best shooting But it’s cold and I’ve never worked with this gun before.

Several groups were much better as I warmed up to it.

[Scott Tschirhart]

My original thought was also eye dominant issue.
But it could also be that the previous owner torqued it so hard because they were scared of the recoil that the rear was drifted to compensate.

I believe that this is the correct answer.

There’s nothing wrong with the gun.

BTW it’s a .357.

[Griff]

Apparently just needed proper sighting in... Good snag Scott! I picked up an inexpensive Winchester mdl 94 in .30-30 that someone broke off the front bead in order to get it to shoot lower... Very lightly used carbine, and even got the store to throw in a new front sight... Store had sold the gun originally, very early 1980s, then gave the dissatisfied buyer $150 credit toward any gun in the store... never seeing the broken front sight. Then turned around and sold me the carbine for $100... It has taken a fair number of coyotes in the intervening years.

[765x53]

Previous owner used a "tip of the finger" trigger pull, pushing the barrel to the left.

[Walt]

Yep, congratulations, Scott! Dimensionally the model 97s are just a bit smaller than SAAs. They're wonderful guns.

Typically, flinching sends rounds low and left.

[44shooter]

I once sighted in a revolver in a Ranson Rest with a similar outcome

[Scott Tschirhart]

Typically, flinching sends rounds low and left.

That’s a heck of a flinch!!

[Walt]

Scott, I have an acquaintance who loves guns, owns several dozen and has a miserable flinch even with .38s and 9mms. With an 18" gong (angled away to avoid ricochets) at 15 yards he frequently hits 2 to 3' low and left of the gong. When we infrequently shoot, I start him out with .22s, then mild .38s, putting 2 or 3 live rounds randomly in the cylinder so he can't anticipate a discharge. I feel sorry for him. Every now and then he gets 5 out of 5 hits on the gong and he feels pretty good about it. He wears eye and ear protection so noise isn't the issue. I have not let him shoot any of my heavy hitters. I don't really what else to do. Quite a few women who have never shot a gun before do much better even on their first shooting session.

[Scott Tschirhart]

We all have different tolerances for recoil and noise.

I am not throwing shade on the previous owner. I wish he or she had a good coach so they could have enjoyed this gun.

[horsesoldier03]

I am not so sure they guy wasnt CROSSEYED! Glad it worked out in your favor.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I took it out this morning and was hitting 8 inch plates at 50 yards.

Nothing at all wrong with this one but it needed a slightly taller front blade. I happen to keep a small bag of FA front sights in the glove box.

[Nath]

I am not so sure they guy wasnt CROSSEYED! Glad it worked out in your favor.

[GunnyMack]

Maybe that gun belonged to Jack Elam or Marty Feldman!!!

[Scott Tschirhart]

Maybe that gun belonged to Jack Elam or Marty Feldman!!!

Some of the younger guys may not know who these fellows were.

[GunnyMack]

Isn't this why the internet was invented Scott?

[Walt]

Heck yeah....that's what Al Gore said when he invented it!

[marlinman93]

I can't imagine how drifting the sight so far right could be to compensate for left eye dominant, or help with recoil AFTER the trigger is pulled? I think this is simply one of those cases where the owner isn't much of a gun guy and shouldn't be trusted adjusting his own sights.
Hopefully that meant he was tired of the gun, and sold it for big savings t you!

[Scott Tschirhart]

This is a very expensive gun for a person who isn’t much of a gun person.

[cas]

I've had both a Ruger Bisley and a Freedom Arms do it while shooting. "Why are my groups slowly walking across the target?" Both had barrels unscrewing.

Off center sights always worry me when looking at used guns, because you're rolling the dice. "Is it the gun, or was it the last owner?" I've passed on a few because of it that still haunt me decades later, all this years later I still wonder if I made a mistake. Of course having been burnt badly by a Ruger Vaquero that was either cast or machined wonky (or both) that was unfixable, I swore off ever buying another fixed sighted gun without being able to shoot it first.

[marlinman93]

This is a very expensive gun for a person who isn’t much of a gun person.

True, but I've known a number of wealthy people who like to buy expensive toys, but don't know zip about them.

[Streetstar]

So my two cents is that it was owned previously by a person who was not accustomed to single actions with heavy recoil. They tried chasing bullet strikes all over the paper

I havent been shooting my more powerful stuff much lately -- and i consider a .357 Magnum pretty powerful ---- but a few nights ago, took my Glock 20 (10mm full size ) out for the first time in a long time --- Sheesh - the end result looked like a shotgun pattern at 10 yards