k-38 shoots to high,need advice

[tomcatt51]

For example, the .223 will need to be zeroed a couple of inches LOW at 25 YARDS in order to be on or a little HIGH at 100 yards. Seems strange until you think about trajectory.

It's only strange until you realize that most AR's with optics have the sight line 2 1/2"+ above the bore center. That does put them 2"+ low at 25'.

But in this case the OP just needs a taller front or shorter rear sight blade. Not unusual.

 

[JIMBO1950]

Thanks for all the replies and info!!!! My K-38 has a .126 high rear sight,and has a 6 inch barrell.The only shorter rear sights i have found are .106 from Midway,but is backordered. They do have a complete sight assembly in .106 in stock. Will the .106
do what i need it to do (lower poi),and will the complete assemble fit my revolver (1951) as it states for new style r
evolvers only. Thanks again to all!!!!!

 

[shovelwrench]

The link in my post is to Brownells listing for rear sight blades and kits, they have the .106 blade in stock.....

HERE It doesnt say if this is a "kit" which would contain the nut required for the swap. but if not you can buy the "kit" for another rear sight and still have under 30$ in it....

 

[tomcatt51]

My K-38 has a .126 high rear sight,and has a 6 inch barrell.

Changing to a .106 rear sight blade will only lower your POI 3/4" at 25 ft. Something just sounds wrong here.

How tall is the front blade? Maybe it's been cut down?

 

[JIMBO1950]

Front blade looks stock,i believe i measured it at .300 height.I am going to go this weekend and experiment again with different loads etc,as has been suggested on the forum.But,i have this gun for target/bullseye shooting and want to use 148 wadcutters,it needs to be accurate with this low velocity load. I will not accept any thing else...

 

[tomcatt51]

want to use 148 wadcutters,it needs to be accurate with this low velocity load. I will not accept any thing else...

Understandable. To correct your "3" high at 25 feet" would require an .080" taller front sight. .100" if you want some adjustment, rear sight not bottomed. A rear sight blade change won't "fix" the "3" high".

Ignoring the high POI, does it shoot tight groups at 50'?

 

[Delos]

The experts are saying the right thing. Buy the right size rear sight slide.

But first look for any dirt under rear sight (I am guessing - I never saw any dirt below any rear sight, but it gets everywhere else). (does the screw protrude below the hole?)

If you shoot a friends .357 with magnum and then .38 special you will notice the magnum shoots several inches lower. The bullet gets out of the barrel before as much recoil, even though the 357 recoils more, it travels faster out the barrel.

Old 6 inch 45’s and 44’s have really big front sights. The barrel actually aims under what you are shooting. Slow motion photography shows the gun kicking up a lot during recoil before those heavy slow moving bullets leave the long barrels.

You can look through the bore of single shots or bolt action and compare it with what the sights are aimed at. It makes a person attentive to not canting the barrel left or right. I do not know about fat grips pushing against one side of hand more being an issue, but often wondered? Sights are adjustable for many reasons perhaps?

Other trivia.
Some really good target shooters that I have known years ago, used this small charges of bullseye powder in these old 38 special black powder shells. Pretty common. They would bend their arm upward between shots to put the small amount of fast burning powder back against the primer. It helps keep shots the same I hear. (I never could shoot good enough slow fire to notice).

 

[Engine49guy]

Thanks for all the replies and info!!!! My K-38 has a .126 high rear sight,and has a 6 inch barrell.The only shorter rear sights i have found are .106 from Midway,but is backordered. They do have a complete sight assembly in .106 in stock. Will the .106
do what i need it to do (lower poi),and will the complete assemble fit my revolver (1951) as it states for new style r
evolvers only. Thanks again to all!!!!!

The location of the fwd mounting screw was relocated on the dash 3 series (around 1967) so a rear sight assembly for anything dash 2 or older should fit,
The newer design is for the 14-3 and newer.

 

[JIMBO1950]

I went to the local indoor range and tried different ammo at 50 ft and 25 ft (50 ft is the longest distance at this range) Interesting and enlightening results as follows.
158 grain swc lead +p 1" high at 50,1/2" at 25
148 dewc lead 21/2" high at 50ft 11/2" high @25ft
125 jhp +p factory remington 1" high at 50ft. dead on at 25ft
125 jhp +p reloads dead on at both 50 and 25ft
These results were with the rear sight screw all the way down,and i did check the sights for looseness and any dirt and was ok.
So i owe an apology to the forum member that i said You funny!!
I was looking at k38 pictures and my front sight is different ,and is also different than on my models 48,and 29.Mine is just a blade pinned on the rib,and does not have the rctangular piece on the barrels as the others have. Any thoughts???

 

[tputto]

Maybe the previous owner of the revolver had a need for a different height front sight and made one. Do you know if your gun has had a barrel weight attached? That would require a lower front sight and with weight removed, POI would be higher. Such weights were often attached with a screw and there may be a dimple or recess where the tip of the screw tightened against the bottom of the barrel. Wear marks from installing and removing the weight may also be present.

 

[tomcatt51]

Mine is just a blade pinned on the rib,and does not have the rctangular piece on the barrels as the others have.

Can you post a pic of your gun? And one of the front sight? There are members here with expertise who could tell what you have. Not me for your vintage K-38, but others.

 

[JIMBO1950]

Sorry,not able to post pics,upon furthur research the year od manufacture is 1952 serial #k139426. It also has the target stocks,and are stamped june 2 19xx cannot read last 2 numbers on inside of stock.
No weight marks on barrell,and it is a 5 screw. What if i file my existing read blade,to gain some adjustment? I have been looking for higher front sights,but have only found blanks to file to the height you want.

 

[tomcatt51]

What if i file my existing read blade,

Clearly you can. .020" will lower your POI 3/4" at 25'. The problem is the depth of the notch in the blade. They're short and limited by the sight assy. To me the shallow notch makes for a lousy sight picture. For that reason I change front blades to allow using the .160 rear blade with its' deeper notch.

Consider calling or e-mailing or writing S&W. They may be of help.

 

[JIMBO1950]

Ok,so if i install a .160 rear blade,how high would front sight need to be while allowing the sight to have adj. and not be bottomed out ?

 

[tomcatt51]

Based on "148 dewc lead 2 1/2" high at 50ft" I think you want a .100" taller front blade with a .160 rear. .065" with your .126. Should be close and give you some adjustment instead of being bottomed.

I'd try gluing something on top the front sight to verify. Even superglued 1/8" wide cardboard strips. The .160 rear blade kits are fairly inexpensive. See what you think.

 

[PERAZZI]

Have you tried a lighter load of Bullseye?

I ask because my 148 gr hbwc load is 2.7 gr's and prints dead on with a center hold at 50' with my '67 mod 14 with 6" bbl..

and with my 66-1...

 

[JIMBO1950]

Thanks for all the help.!!! I went to orlando gun show today and sold the k-38,i just did not want to screw with it any more.The show was mobbed Saturday,and Ar-15 prices hve doubled.I also saw pricing up about 100 bucks on k-22,k38 etc.Ammo,especially 556/223 up to as high as 1000 dollars/500!
Any way i bought a model 66 no dash unfired with box and papers for 550.00. Also a Colt officers match 22lr (sorry,different forum) in 99.999 condition for 700.00. Again thanks and i will find anouther k38 some day!!

 

[rockyrider]

Easy fix for rear sight

It seems to me that every S&W revolver I've had shot too high. @ a 50 ft. range. The easiest way to fix this is to remove the rear sight, unscrew the inside turn screw with the square base, then take a file to the top of it so the rear sight will be able to set down flat on the frame, reassemble. That should do it. It worked for a dozen of my revolvers.

 

[jag22]

I gotta ask, when I read threads like this about an inch or two difference at 50 feet or 25 yards how are you shooting these? I consider myself a so-so shot, standing with a two handed grip at a 7 yard target and can keep most of my shots in a 2" to 3" group and seem to shoot better than a lot of those around me. If I move over to the 15 yard line I'm probably getting 7" to 8". So how are you guys shooting a pistol so straight that you consider being an inch off at 50 feet a problem?

 

[davekp]

I gotta ask, when I read threads like this about an inch or two difference at 50 feet or 25 yards how are you shooting these? I consider myself a so-so shot, standing with a two handed grip at a 7 yard target and can keep most of my shots in a 2" to 3" group and seem to shoot better than a lot of those around me. If I move over to the 15 yard line I'm probably getting 7" to 8". So how are you guys shooting a pistol so straight that you consider being an inch off at 50 feet a problem?

To a bullseye shooter, where the K-38 used to be the "standard", 1" at 50 feet is a mile. A good shooter will keep 10 shots in the black (an 8" group) at 50 yards, one handed.