Do sights drift themselves?

[dyl]

After letting a friend of mine shoot my 9mm, I was cleaning it a few days ago and noticed that the rear sights were just about to the complete left of the dovetail cutout. He put about 130 rounds through it. (I think i've got him hooked on shooting. new shooter )

I used a c-clamp, thick brass punch, and a hammer to get them back to the middle (roughly), no harm done.

I've only put 500-600 rounds through this gun. It's an obscure old company (Bernardelli P-018) and it's an all-steel 9mm that resembles a beretta 92 but with a solid slide. Come to think of it, the sights were like that when I received it too.

At first I thought the previous owner bumped it, and then I must have in the range bag on the way home or something. (or my buddy bumped it).

Do rear sights commonly drift on their own just from recoil/normal shooting?

I appreciate your time guys

 

[OJ]

It happens rarely but the fix is easy - get the sight centered - use a gunsmith if necessary (and probably wise for most of us) - and secure it with Locktite - red if you want permanent fixing and aren't likely to change it.

 

[Slamfire]

You have to watch all adjustable iron sights. And the screws on the mounts of scopes. Things do come loose.

 

[JohnKSa]

I used a c-clamp, thick brass punch, and a hammer to get them back to the middle...

If it was that hard to get back into position it's much more likely that the factory had adjusted the point of impact by drifting the sight in the dovetail and you just hadn't noticed it before.

 

[dyl]

Johnska : Good thought, I have no idea how the factory had set it since I'm not the original owner - but I do think I'm the original shooter it wasn't really hard to tap them back into place, but that was the only way I knew to do it. Couldn't push them with my fingers, didn't want to damage the metal so used a brass punch. Had to hold it firm with the clamp. I don't own any sight pushers (are there generic/universal ones out there?). And I did have a smith push them to the center after I shot it for the very first time. The first time I shot the gun, groups were mostly off the target at 25 yards. I remember hitting the metal frame that held the target and the splash gave me a close - to - bullseye shot though

Loctite eh? I'll give it a try, probably won't go permanent though. Thanks fellas.

 

[jglsprings]

They ONLY time I've had a problem with sights "drifting" was when the gun was dropped. - Honestly after over 40 years of shooting that is the only time. Maybe I've been lucky, I work on my guns all the time, sights on, sights off, install night sights, never had sights move on their own.

Made me sick to my stomach. :barf:

You said you let a friend shoot your gun? Did he borrow it or just shoot it while you were there?

 

[OJ]

Yeah - it's rare but, it does happen.

I had Kings Hardballer sights installed by a gunsmith on my Colt's Government Model 45s - and guarantee I've never yet dropped a gun - yet (no ND either - but it could happen if I get careless). I was just doing my weekly shooting and noticed the rear sight had drifted nearly half way out of the dovetail.

I have a sight pusher and centered it and, after being convinced the POA and POI coincided, applied some Red Locktite. Either the dovetail was a little over sized or the sight a little undersized - I suspect the latter since the original sights stayed put - but, while very rare (got my first gun in 1932) it can happen.

 

[robmkivseries70]

It happened to me on a couple, of all things, FN Hi-Powers in .40 S&W. One I shimmed with a piece of brass sheet. Lots of work to get that back in place. The other, I stippled the slide where the bottom of the sight made contact. I sold the first and kept the second. It loosened up much later. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
Best,
Rob

 

[BudAtDuke]

rear sight drift

I have a Ruger Mk III 22/45 and the rear sight drift is a continuing problem. I've put a lot of work and a lot of money into this firearm and it is pretty accurate so selling isn't in the cards. One trip back to Ruger early on and while they centered it they didn't fix the problem. I'm told this is not an uncommon problem with the 22/45.

 

[dyl]

jglsprings: I took my friend to an indoor range with me and while I was next to him most of the time, I did take a couple breaks near the end of the hour to do a little shooting of my own. I better check -- okay, parkerization looks the same, all corners are still sharp, rear sight was already kind of deformed when I got it, front sight looks the same. Good! I don't think it was a drop. Thanks for the idea though.

BudatDuke: my brother has a 22/45, thanks for the heads up, I'll let him know to keep an eye on them

 

[stevieboy]

My Smith & Wesson 625 revolver began shooting higher and higher. Each trip to the range was more and more frustrating for me because despite my point of aim my groups kept migrating upward. I was convinced that something was wrong with the way I was gripping the gun or with my follow through after shooting (always double action). I kept lowering my rear sight until it was at the lowest position and, still, my groups went ever higher.

Then, one day, when I was cleaning the gun I noticed that the front end of the rear sight was tilted noticeably upward. It was only then that I realized that the screw holding the front part of the sight had backed out. So much so that one additional turn on the screw caused it to back out of its socket. A little blue loctite solved that problem and, instantly, my groups dropped like a stone.

So, yes, sights can migrate. I've never had the problem with fixed semiauto sights but, after my experience, I'm sure it can happen.