Sight Picture Dilema

[Baldy44]

Hello,
Great looking place. Glad I found it.

I have an Inland M1 Carbine and have been shooting it quite a bit lately to prep for the Carbine National Match in Camp Perry this summer.

My problem: I want to use a 6 o'clock hold on an SR-1 target but cant a find sight setting that will get me a center mass hit with a 6 o'clock hold.

Using a 6 o'clock hold:
2.5 rear sight setting gets me - point of aim, point of impact (i.e. at the bottom of the black)
3 rear sight setting gets me - impact approximately 2" above the upper edge of the bull.

So what are my options?
1) Do I settle for a less desirable sight picture and aim at the center of the bull using the 2.5 setting on my rear sight. Not a great option.
2) File down the front post when using the 2.5 setting. Not great either as my Inland is in very nice shape and I would prefer not to ruin it.
3) Fit another front sight and file it down. Is this hard to do? Can I file the front sight down and still be compliant with CMP Nat'l Match rules.

I am sure I am overlooking something being new to this weapon. Any suggestion or knowledge greatly appreciated.

Good Shooting,
Don

Information

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[browningautorifle]

I'm pretty sure the zeroing process involved filing down the front sight to get zero. I suspect your rifle is shooting where it's supposed to and if you want to change that you would have to alter it. Fitting another front sight isn't bad but getting them off can be a pig without the puller. Then you can alter away. I don't know what the official rules say.

[DaveHH]

I have the same problem with my NPM and Win. They both shoot to POA and there just isn't enough fine adjustment to achieve a 6:00 hold on the SR1. I just shoot it that way. I suppose you could file some off and use the 3 setting to bring it back down into the X but I'm not interested in ruining an original sight or an RIA post war. I just shoot it POA and it holds the 10 ring if I do my part, here is an SR1 100yds shot with the NPM, I only had 4 rounds left. The 9 was my fault. It is annoying using a POA hold, but that's what it is.

[INLAND44]

To start with, if you're shooting at 100 yds you set the adjustable sight to 1-1.5. If you're low, you shorten the front sight blade according to the correct methods until you have your 6:00 hold. About 6" high at 100 is basically perfect on a carbine. The 100 yard sighting target has a window of acceptability about 12" high above the POA. You can make a carbine shoot to POA at 100 but it's not right.

[Baldy44]

Thanks Inland44 and DaveHH. Both replies are very valuable to me. Dave, that's good shootin for a POA hold @ 100 yards. Inland, I was probably 6 or 7 inches low when set on 1. 2 or 3 inches at 1.5. I'm shooting at Camp Perry and think the black is about 6 3/8" for a SR-1 target, therefore 6" above POA @ 100 yards is not desirable for that. Could be wrong though. Agreed - I don't want a POA for target shooting, but for plinking in the back yard or whistle-pig control would be fine. Either way, thanks for the input folks. GREATLY Appreciated.

[DMS42]

Either 6 o'clock or POA work, but I favor the POA. When I was coaching an Air Guard Base rifle and pistol team, I usually tried to get the shooters to hold POA.

[DaveHH]

The problem with POA is that you lose half of the target, making it much more difficult to hold on center. As you get old, it gets worse. For a combat arm POA is absolutely the best. With the Garand you just put the pumpkin on the post and concentrate on the squeeze.

[USGI]

I suppose you could file some off and use the 3 setting to bring it back down into the X but I'm not interested in ruining an original sight or an RIA post war.

Dave, Wouldn't filing some off the front just make it shoot higher? And, why do you say it would be ruining the sight - isn't this just a case of a carbine that likely has a new front sight in need of "adjustment?" I've got the "old" eyes and like the 6 o'clock. I do have a couple of carbines with "new" front sights on them and compensate the best I can by ramping the rear up to 2 or 3. I still don't think that's right, though. - Bob

[emmagee1917]

I have 14 carbines , and I had gotten to the point that I hardly ever took one out. I could not hit very well with them at all. Finally benched them and found I was shooting a group maybe 3 X 5 FOOT in size between them. A few mint ones ( luckily didn't have to change / touch thier fronts ) , most in VG to exc orig condition , and a couple of rebuilt. They sighted them in by shooting and grinding , I did the same . I sighted all the adj sighted ones to hit the center of a 5-1/2 bull at 100 yds with a six o'clock hold. I used lots of electrical tape to avoid any nicks and scratches and went slow and duplicated the blade shape as I filed. I figure if it was way off , the sight had been replaced by someone somewhere and was not orig. to the gun anyway so filing or replacing was doing no harm. I cannot now tell you which gun was filed , switched , or not touched except the mint flippers that I know I did not touch ( and they were sighted in correctly anyway). I would just set your sight at "1" and file to hit the 10 with a six o'clock hold with your ammo. I did find , however , that federal 110 shot a tad lower than GI / PMC / handloads which shot a tad lower than Win. ball. Sighted in this way I found that I was shooting about 10 inches and 5 inches below the 10 ring at 200 when set to "2" and "2.5". Filing the front to hit 8 inches high rather than the 2-3/4 to 3 it now is would correct that , but I don't see me shooting it at two hundred that much.

[Baldy44]

Thanks to all for you input. My M1 Carbine has a Winchester front sight on it and it will not be messed with. I have decided to change it out with an Inland and file on that one instead. Word on the street is that for every .006 filed off, it raises the POI .5" @ 50 yards. Wish me luck. Regards, Don.