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Hey guys, I have a a 1917 that is shooting very high. I have found that I need to aim at the bottom black of a silhouette to hit center mass. If I aim at center mass I get tight head shots on the silhouette . Is this due to battle sight design of the time for extreme distances and there is a normal low hold when not shooting from close range? Or do I have messed up sights? Thanks!
It sounds like you need a taller front sight. The shorter sight is pulling the barrel up. What distance are you shooting at? That can be the issue as well, you could be too close for the rifle. Both my P14 and M1917 wear a .090 front sight which has them zeroed in perfectly at 100 yards. I believe the standard front sight is .075 which is what both of mine had when I bought them. There should be tiny numbers stamped on top of the sight dovetail next to the blade indicating it's height. I don't know how old you are but I have to look real hard for the decimal point! I think baseline sighting for these rifles was 300 yards which is why they shoot high without a front sight change. - Bill
Pretty easy to read since Im a younger fellow, the sight says it is 030. I'd have to go and measure where I was shooting at actually, It is close enough to use the lowest settings for all my other military surplus rifles though.
Things to remember with the 1917, the battle sight is zero'd for a distance of 400 yards. Raise the sight leaf and drop the slide all the way to the bottom and try it again, you'll have better results. The first notch on the slide is at 200yds, shoot using a 6 "o" clock hold at a 10" black center target at 200 yards and the impact should be center (5 inches above poa). This is the way that rifle was set up (this can all be confirmed in original manuals) they used the "A" target which has a 10" black center.
If you do mess with front sights you'll find that the height of the blade from the base is not what varies, it's the thickness of the blade base.
Chances are pretty good it is shooting pretty close to as designed, a lot of folks just don't know that and the first reaction is to "correct" the front sight blade.
FM23-6
This what I suspected due to what militarys thought fighting would be like at the time. Thanks!