Aiming a snubbie

airman

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Hi, y'all.
I'm learning to fire a 642-2 snubbie. I can hit what I point at, but aimed fire is poor. So, there is a question.

Simply, how much of the tall front sight should the shooter see?
And how much of the bullseye?:confused:
 
Welcome from Iowa.
The top of the front sight should be level with the top of the rear sight, when looking down the sights normally.
You also should definitely see all of the bullseye if you are shooting at it. Keep both eyes open.
 
Do a google search using key words, sight alignment. That should give you plenty of examples of how to aim any handgun.
 
aiming a snubbie

a snub nose is harder to sight because the sights are much smaller than a larger hand gun. However, sight alignment is the same no matter what gun you shoot. To be brief, there are seven fundamentals of shooting. The most important are sight alignment and trigger control. Without those two fundamentals, the other five are worthless. sight alignment is placing the front sight so it is even with the rear sight and even space on the rear sights with the front sight in the middle. Once you have the sight picture, align the sights on thed target. Keep in mind, the target is blurry and the front sight is crystal clear. There should be no other thoughts in your mind except that front sight. If you have a perfect sight picture, the bullet will go where the placement is. Next is trigger control. In the beginning, I would shoot with your dominant eye and when you gain experience, than start practicing with both eyes open. It is more difficult with both eyes open but a better way to shoot seeing 90 degrees on each side of the picture.I would suggest you take an NRA certified course 1st steps intro to basic pistol. It is three hour course and and the course is designed for the gun you are shooting. Check the NRA site under education /training and the courses are listed and you can register on line with the closest instructor to you residence. Learn the right way and not from someone with second hand information. Good Luck.

Nick
 
Everyone trying to help, please realize a 642 has no rear sight. just a notch in the frame. Try shooting very slowly and methodically from a rest, to take away as much human error as possible, then adjust your shooting/sight plain accordingly. By the way, Welcome to the forum!
 
aiming the snubbie

The notch in the frame is the rear sight and sight alignment is the same but with a smaller rear sight. It is just harder to align but still the same. Use a bench rest at first to rest the gun for steadiness. take the course, it will resolve a lot of frustration.

Nick
 
Thanks, everyone.
Dueeast has the picture right, there is no rear sight as such on a 642. When I lay a straightedge on top of the frame it is parallel to the barrel and half the front ramp sticks up.

Yeah, I'm just going to have to work it out.
 
At close range I point shoot my 640 and that works really good. I added some crimson trace laser grips for longer range shooting. The CT grips work great. At night or in low light where getting a good sight picture is impossible the laser is excellent.
 
Thanks, everyone.
Dueeast has the picture right, there is no rear sight as such on a 642. When I lay a straightedge on top of the frame it is parallel to the barrel and half the front ramp sticks up.

Yeah, I'm just going to have to work it out.

If you think a 642 has no rear sight, you should try shooting a 1st generation Colt SAA. ;)

As others have stated, the top of the front sight should be aligned with the top of the rear sight; only a tiny bit of the front sight will be visible in the rear sight notch.

Most new snubnose shooters will shoot high, as the tendency is to try tilt the barrel upward to see more of the front sight.
 
Welcome from Texas airman. Great forum for all things S&W, have fun, learn lots, share what you know.
 

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