S&W 915 accuracy

[solarman]

Well found a 915 S&W safe queen, always wanted one. Took it to the gun range after a good cleaning. While shooting from 15 yards I was hitting way left and high. So, I **** you not, I had to aim 6" right and 4" low in order to hit near center of the target. In looking this rarely used gun over I noticed the front site is off center in the dovetail, to the right as you sight down the barrel.

My question is can I center the front site myself, any special tools required or is this best left to a gunsmith. This may fix the windage however I still have to deal with elevation.. so is there a rear site I can use that is either adjustable or just taller?

TIA

[MossbergMan]

Moving your sights

A good brass punch should be sufficent to move the sight in it's dovetail. A padded vise or a friend to hold the gun steady while banging on the sight will be neccessary.
I suggest heating it with a hair dryer or heat gun (this releases any loctite). Use a pencil to mark your starting point as there are no ""witness" marks to judge movement. A little bit goes a long way

Move the front sight in the opposite direction you want your shots to hit.
*Hitting left, want to move group right..... move the sight left.
Rear sights move in the same direction of desired impact. Move up to raise impact. Left to go left, and so on.
If you rear sight is fixed (windage only) and you need to change impact, change bullet weights. Heavy hits higher that faster lighter projectiles.

Hope this helps. The 915 is a cool service auto. May not be the best for precision pistol shooting, but I had one for a match to my Marlin Camp Carbine.

[MossbergMan]

And for gawds sake, benchrest the pistol when evaluating grouping. Take as much of the shooter out the equation as possible. Single action only for group/sighting evaluations. No part of the gun touches the rest and don't hang your wrists out in space while shooting. Brace your hands on a bag or bench, hold the pistol firmly and concentrate on trigger control. Do not "chase the bullseye" make a group (wherever it is)....then adjust sights as indicated.

[duc748bip]

brass punch will work.. but I suspect those 915 are made with plastic sights.
a goto a smith with a sight pusher if those sight are indeed plastic.

[SNCaliber]

sight pusher would be ideal