Pedersoli Trapdoor Carbine shooting to the right a little

Doug.38PR · August 11, 2012, 11:38:42 PM

Anybody else have that problem?

Two other shooters besides myself have it shooting to the right or lower right a little. The back sight seems to be a little off. I adjusted it as best I could taking the screw out and trying to reposition it, but that didn't seem to help.

Pitspitr · August 12, 2012, 09:31:57 AM

How much right?

Even most originals hit a little to the right.

Drydock · August 12, 2012, 09:50:01 AM

Yeah, between the big sidehammer moving in the right of your vision, and the torque of that big bullet, they all seem to go a little right. Best you can do is replace the rear sight with an 1877 or later version, which are windage adjustable. Or you can file just a little on the left side of the sight "V", opening it up and moving the center to the left.

Doug.38PR · August 12, 2012, 03:51:49 PM

about 3 inches at 50 ft.

But the sight itself visually looks a little crooked as it's positioned on top of the barrel. As said I took the screw out and tried to move it over as much as i could (but everytime I would get it perfectly straight, the screw wouldn't quite go in unless I nudged it to the right a tad.

Drydock · August 12, 2012, 04:59:01 PM

Ouch! Thats a bit much. Way too much really. Not sure what you could do. Get a different rear sight, or have the holes on that one filled and redrilled. Little too much wine and pasta when they drilled and tapped that barrel. . .

PJ Hardtack · August 12, 2012, 05:55:33 PM

Doug

Look for 'witness marks' on your barrel. There should be one on both the receiver and the barrel.

On my H&R carbine, they were not aligned, putting the front sight 1/16th" from top dead centre. Now it shoots 'true'.

Drydock · August 12, 2012, 06:00:09 PM

Good point!

Doug.38PR · August 12, 2012, 08:38:06 PM

where exactly are "witness markes" and what exactly do they look like?

is this something I, Doug.38PR: nongunsmith, am qualified to adust to shoot true?

Drydock · August 12, 2012, 09:08:36 PM

On the hammer side of the reciever, where the barrel screws into the reciever, just at or above the wood, you will see a horizontal mark scribed into both the reciever and the barrel. These should align. If they don't, then you need to have a gunsmith with the proper barrel/reciever wrenchs align them. If they are aligned, then you're back to the sights as your problem.

pony express · August 12, 2012, 10:25:40 PM

Did you buy it new? If they actually drilled the holes off center for the sights, might be a warranty issue.

Doug.38PR · August 12, 2012, 11:05:02 PM

Quote from: Drydock on August 12, 2012, 09:08:36 PM
On the hammer side of the reciever, where the barrel screws into the reciever, just at or above the wood, you will see a horizontal mark scribed into both the reciever and the barrel. These should align. If they don't, then you need to have a gunsmith with the proper barrel/reciever wrenchs align them. If they are aligned, then you're back to the sights as your problem.

I'm finding this (I think) on the BOTTOM of the reciever/barrel and they do match.

The screws holes for the sight I think might be a little off. I straightened it as much as I could. It looks like there is SLIGHTLY more gap between teh barrel and the sight platform on the right side than the left side. I can even slip my fingernail underneath with less resistance on the right side than left side.

I've had the gun for a year and bought it from Dixie Gun Works brand new

EDIT: I just sent Dixie Gun Works an E mail telling them everything I'm saying here. See what they say about it.

This is really frustrating.....I have 3 cowboy action type guns. A Uberti Schofield .45 LC, a Pedersoli Trapdoor Carbine and I got a Ruger New Vaquero .45 LC just two weeks ago.....they all have some kind of problem......The Ruger is up in New Hampshire being worked on, I'm waiting to send the Uberti Schofield to a good gunsmith and now the Trapdoor has a definate prob....

Pitspitr · August 13, 2012, 05:00:23 AM

What's up with the Schofield?

Niederlander · August 13, 2012, 06:57:31 AM

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but quite often original guns are "off" a little, too. (Although I'm often amazed at how close point of aim/point of impact is!) You have to remember they were sighted for "minute of man". If you're shooting your SAA at a "hostile"'s chest at fifteen yards in 1876 (or now, for that matter), you really don't care if it hit three inches to the right. He's still dead. Three inches at fifty feet from a carbine, however, DOES seem excessive. Good luck with it!

Doug.38PR · August 13, 2012, 10:52:34 PM

Quote from: Pitspitr on August 13, 2012, 05:00:23 AM
What's up with the Schofield?

*sigh* well, ever since I got it (new) 5 years ago the cylinder has trouble turning after being fired after every dozen rounds or so....sometimes even just out of the blue. Sometimes it will go away when I clean it, sometimes not. I sent it to Uberti and they said "the gun just does that, you've got to clean around the cylinder every dozen rounds or so." (which everybody in here pretty much agreed was bunk.) You'll start cocking it and it will either get rough midway through or will just stop turning (unless you manually turn the cylinder yourself (experiencing no resistance when done). I posted this about the schofield about a year ago and everybody agreed there was a mechanical problem. I shot it with a SVC reinactor and he agreed the gun should not be doing that.

I'm going to try to drive it to a guy in Bossier City, LA if I ever go that direction.

Pitspitr · August 14, 2012, 08:32:30 AM

I'm glad I asked. I had the same expirience with mine (except that I didn't send it back) The lower frame was too close to the cylinder. I ground away some material from the top of the lower frame and my problems went away.

Doug.38PR · August 14, 2012, 09:07:29 AM

except it's starting to not go away even when I take the cylinder off and clean the frame

As for the carbine, if it's designed to shoot to the right a hair I'm ok with that (well not really, but I can accept that) but as everyone has said 3 inches at 50 yards is excessive.

I was shooting it with the SCV reinactor I mentioned above and he was having the same problem. We were shooting it at about 25-50 yards and it was shooting about a foot off to the right.

Grapeshot · August 19, 2012, 04:55:48 PM

Might be built in windage for shooting at Indians on horseback running at full tilt. Everyone knows that the Troopers aimed directly at the moving target.

pony express · August 19, 2012, 06:35:33 PM

Quote from: Grapeshot on August 19, 2012, 04:55:48 PM
Might be built in windage for shooting at Indians on horseback running at full tilt. Everyone knows that the Troopers aimed directly at the moving target.

Works good, until the indians figure it out and start circling the other way, then the troopers are shooting 10 feet behind!

Doug.38PR · September 08, 2012, 01:38:03 AM

Got a replacement gun back from Dixiegunworks today. They tested it and it shoots center. The sights look straight. Looking forward to shooting it

pony express · September 08, 2012, 12:02:11 PM

Sounds like pretty good customer service. Let us know how it shoots!