I have a new to me model 41 (28XXX), 7 3/8 barrel, that shoots high. I have adjusted the rear sight all the way down and it is still high, about 5 inches at 25 yards. Two different shooters from a bench. Which sight blade kit would give me a lower POI?

Thanks

Steve

To shorten up my question: Will a revolver or semi auto blade fit on an older model 41???

There is a S&W 41 rear sight that uses the same blade as the revolvers but the installed blade, .196", is the tallest available.

I am not sure what rear blade height comes in them, but you'll need a lower rear blade, not a taller one. Call S&W and tell them what the problem is. They'll probably just send you the kit for free.

I called s&w and they said to send it in. They seem to feel that the barrel might not be seating correctly. It is probably not a bad idea as the pistol is 50 years old and probably needs a tune-up. I just hate to pay the shipping. Thanks for all your help.

You might try taking off the rear sight and cleaning the dovetail in the barrel under it as well as the sight body dovetail itself. There might be some crud or a burr/metal shaving under it causing your problem. Also make sure the elevation screw, its detent and the elevator body are free by squirting a little penetrating oil on the sight and let it soak overnight. It might allow for more downward adjustment. Also you might completely remove the elevation screw and clean between the sight elevator and sight base. There might be a piece of crud in there too limiting the amount the sight can be adjust down.

BTW I can't see how the barrel being canted upward on the frame would cause you problem because the front and rear sight are both mounted to the barrel. Your normal sighting process would automatically correct for that.

Take the muzzle brake off and try it again. The muzzle brakes are a known problem when fouling collects.

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Dick

no muzzle brake just the muzzle protector.

first... what ammo are you using??? if it is any high speed stuff 36 grain...loose it..use standard 40 grain ammo...and if you can afford it the sk match does excellent. second shooting from a bench will not impact at the same point as shooting off hand.. shoot the gun standing up as it was ment to shoot and see if your groups are not now shooting dead center.

I have had my f/a 454 with heavy loads shoot really high..so much so that even with a grip adustment that didnt help. I had to go with a much higher front blade to get the groups down.....your 41 has virtually zero recoil, so this should not be an issue...

Shooting standard velocity CCI 40 gr lead. I will try shooting it off-hand and see what it does. Sight and dove tail are clean and you can see sight is completely down.

Thanks,

Steve

then when all is said and done...it has to do with shooting off the bench rest and your hold vs how the gun was designed...to be shot off hand.

When shooting off a bench rest do not put the barrel on any part of the rest. Use a sand bag or a sand filled front rest bag and place the trigger guard against the bag. If you put the barrel on the rest, and you exert any downward pressure you will force the shots to go high.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Barrel is not touching anything when we shoot from a bench. Just the butt of the pistol is sandbagged. Don't really see how off-hand shooting would be any different than using a sandbag rest, as long as the barrel is not touching anything. We are talking about using a crude ransom rest in this case.

I agree 100% - especially with an M41 with almost no recoil and fixed heavy barrel. Did you try cleaning the sight mounting dovetails or elevation adjustment mechanism?

Yes, I have cleaned it all up even though the sight was flush to the slide before cleaning. The dove tail is clean the sight adjustments function as they should. Sight is all the way down. Haven't been able to shoot it yet as the weather and work have gotten in the way. Hopefully tomorrow I can try it again. When it is below freezing in Houston, we don't go out. Gotten use to the warmer weather.

Please look at the attached pdf. What does your sight look like?

Sight assembly 6195 or 6554?

If it is the 6554 type you may be able to carefully stone or file some material off the bottom of the rear sight where it looks like it would bottom on the slide cut. I don't think you would need to remove that much material to fix your problem.

This link should give you an idea how much you might need to take off: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=1...ion_Calculator

Assuming 5" high at 25 yards and a 7 " sight radius you need to go down 0.039".

Attached Files

M41 Manual Pg 1.pdf (1.05 MB, 49 views)