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Went shooting with my son today, had a great time and put about 200 rounds down range. Had the whole place to ourselves which made it even better for Father's day!

I have two Ruger handguns, SR9 and SR9c. The 9 I bought new and the C was used. The sights are adjustable but didn't have the results I expected in dialing these in. Not satisfied at all and was able to make minor adjustments but don't think it should take a 100 rounds to dial in. I was shooting at 20' which had some good groups but running low left. Had another target 50' out and same problem, low left.

I am left eye dominant and when in the Marine Corps was an expert shooter. Remember my windage iron sight on the rear of the M16 was almost all the way over to the left and could nail the shots (shot 231 out of 250 score) at 17yrs old. I'm a little older now.

Thinking I would just like to start at zero with each piece and would like to get them bore sighted. Is there someone that anyone would recommend in the Beaverton area or even Portland that would do a good job and have confidence in? I would really appreciate any referrals.

Thanks in advance.
 
bore sight hand gun? this is rare case. :p

you just got them, you need to spend some time with them.

next time get a table and sand bags. because it can be your grip issue or trigger pull issue.

also this might help you.

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For sure sandbag it. Honestly, forget about bore sighting it.. and I don't think anyone does that on handguns unless it's a long range bolt action or something with a scope. Just squeeze one off (perfectly) and move the sight closer to where you want them.. repeat. It should really take just a few shots.
 
I always sandbag a new handgun or rifle. You can't know what or how you are doing until you know that the piece is zeroed and what it is capable of! Good luck with your new pistols! SRG:)
 
*DOH*, guess my doughball came out :oops: know it's done with rifles guess that's not the same for handguns.

Thanks for the advice.

One thing I did notice on the sights, the rear sight on the C had the screw for the elevation that will turn in clicks, the 9 doesn't. This was a nice feature to be able to count clicks, wonder why the newer version doesn't have this? Also the set screw for the windage adjustment on the 9 was taken completely out to adjust per their manual but the damn thing would not budge. The C set screw was loosened and could adjust it with very little pressure, any thoughts on this?

Don't worry, I am not dangerous ;)
 
been through this many times, most every time it's the shooter. sorry it's just the way it is. Had many customers come to me and complain about their new gun not shooting to point of aim. When they were really adamant about it we would ransom rest them (if we had the proper inserts) and they would always shoot to point of aim, MAYBE a little high or low depending on what the sights were dialed in for distance wise. Remember, your gun will always outshoot you.

The SR9, while being a fine pistol, is essentially a self defense weapon, not a "bullseye" gun. If you are hitting a pie tin size group at 25 feet, good enough.
 
In the old days, pretty much no handguns used a set screw on a drift adjustable rear sight.. they just relied upon a tight fit. Now, many have set screws and the dovetail tension will range from a sloppy slip fit to so tight is seems welded. If it's tight, use a brass or nylon tipped drift and a mallet to tap it.. some you have to seriously clout with a doublejack sledge though.
As to the clicks, they're kinda nice but if they stay put, that's all that matters.
And at 7 yards (about 25 feet), from the bench, that gun should and will make just one small hole with x shots.
 
Low Left = Right Handed Shooter.

For any firearm, what is important is for POI to match POA where you expect.
Might be best for you at 25 feet. Or might be best for you at 25 yards.

My 2c is ask someone who is accurate with those models to verify nothing is wildly off.
If you were consistent I would expect you are ok.

I know - You know: grip, trigger control, breathing, hold point. You must be consistent, If you are not consistent, do not adjust the sights.

The other variable is ammo. My 9mm (Smith) tends to impact lower with 115gr reloads than it does with 124gr factory. 2 in different at 25 yards.
To sight in, use factory - or a very good, known reload.

If you are consistent and POI is consistent,
Then adjust the sights as necessary for you.

Over time, you may have to adjust again.



re comment #6 - when my wife shoots a SR9, it is bullet touching (groups of 3 - we have counted 7 touching) at 25ft. Aim is Lollipop with 1" bulls-eye.
It is a fine gun.
 
My SR9 was shooting tight groups low left as I remember on my first outing with it. I bench rested it and it still did the same. Adjusted the sights a little, can't remember how much exactly since I only did it the one time ages ago, And it centered right up.
Anyway the 4 or so times a year I take it out, it still shoots where I aim it. It's a perfect fit for my hand and the low bore axis makes it a pretty accurate quick "point and shoot" without using the sights gun! The trigger sucks by any standard, feels like a staple gun when dry firing it. Actual shooting I'm sure its still bad but I don't notice it and as I said it's plenty accurate.
BTW I'm sure you know about dry firing without the magazine will damage the striker on this weapon unless you take out the easily removed magazine disconnect safety mechanism.
I love this gun and am going for an SR45 eventually.
 
Good stuff, thank you for the advice/suggestions.

I can put them relatively tight at 7yrds (a small dinner plate or slightly tighter) but it's the longer shots (25yrds) where it unravels and is off. I agree it is probably me that contributes but had my son shoot it with similar results, not as off as my shots but same tendency which leads me to the sights.

I started out shooting 115gr but moved to 124gr ammo and like the feel. Had both this last shoot and even my son could feel the softer difference between the two. Have used Blazer, Remington UMC, WWB and Prograde for the practice ammo and use Federal HST for PD.

The rear sight on the 9 will need a jack hammer to move it, thought I was hitting it pretty hard in the field and decided to stop and take it home to look at it, don't want to damage the gun. When adjusting windage on the C it definitely made a difference and hoping if I can move the sight on the 9 it can have the same effect.

Thanks OLDNEWBIE for the video, I made sure it wasn't dry fired without the mag which is not a big deal but info like that is priceless :s0155:
 
I never shot handguns out past indoor range until the last 5 years.Now I try everything out to 100yards.
BUT!!! very few handguns actually shoot good out that far (Yes I can shoot accurately at 100 yards with most of my hand guns,including my 22s).I had a Remington 1911 and it was fine to about 25 yards.
I had a Sig 1911 that was golden at 100 yards and my Springfield Range Officer is the same.
The Remington went down the road since it wasn't good past 25-30 yards
Sure I miss at both distances but I try the handguns at both distances just to see what they will do
But I guess my point is ,most pistols aren't made to be accurate at more than 30-40 yards as most people don't test them like I do. If you can shoot it in a paper plate at 30 yards then you can do what is needed to do with your handgun
 
In the old days, many (66, 13 etc.) fixed sight revolvers might need a gifted gunsmith to regulate them.. thankfully, this was rare. You either permanently modified the front and or rear sights by filing and or building up/adding material and or using a lead babbit hammer to essentially smack the barrel so it was regulated. Most would regulate them one way or another to their chosen load.. which might be quite different than convention/factory regulation.
Either that or Kentucky windage.. nothing really wrong with that though.
 
Get yourself one of these and bore sight it yourself. Now you have a baseline where you can adjust elevation and know for sure if your shooting mechanics are at fault:
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Some run as cheap as 6 bux. The sightmark's are a bit more expensive, but also get the best reviews.
 
Be careful with those lasers sights. Many don't fit all the way into the chamber so you can't fully close the slide. If your pistol is the tilting barrel type, which the SR9 and 9c are, it won't work.
 

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