Reeder Custom Guns - I shot the 120 yr. old Colt SAA today

No surprises it worked as it was supposed to. My load was 115 gr. cast FP pushed by 3 gr. Bullseye. I think it was running maybe 900 fps? I think it was hitting right to point of sights elevation and windage. I have serious visions issues and the sights are almost invisible. Looking through my bifocals I can focus a little on the sights. My groups are two shots about 2-3" apart then a wild one opening to 6" at 25 yds. The gun can shoot, the problem it's all me. I think I could do pretty close to that just point shooting. lol

The camera did a nice focus on the front sight that I cannot!
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It's not a Vaquero. The sights were a bit of an after thought on the old Colt. No way could I mod them on such a fine old iron. I'll just enjoy it as it is.

Load one, skip a hole, load four, cock and ease down the hammer. With that fixed nose pin on the hammer it's sage advice. I'm having fun. With coated bullets you miss the "burnt crayon" smell of shooting traditional cast bullets.

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Instinct shooting is how Matt Dillon did it on “Gunsmoke”. He always hit what he needed to. Probably just takes lots of practice.
Black powder might take away that pesky crayon smell too.
One more suggestion, try holding a little front sight above the rear sight, you can see the front sight, and see that it is centered on the top strap. It takes a little getting used to, you don’t have to hold much. The down side is, that you will overshoot with other guns when you are trying to hurry.

The loading gate doesn’t have a problem with out a round behind when shooting the last round. Or is there enough of a case head there for support if only one chamber is empty?

Round shot with a empty under the hammer. Anyway it a empty hole under the loading gate when shooting is my question

If that makes sense

It has no exposed spring tip or anything like Rugers. The entire recoil shield is flat and smooth for no hang ups. It does not seem to need a case head to stay in place. Of course there is even less recoil than a .38 Special. The gate opens and closes like oiled glass. The lock work and sound of operation has a unique feel and character. I’m used to Rugers, it’s notably different.

Holding a tip of front sight up to see it seems valid. I’ll shoot some more to see if I need to regulate the load to hit a different POA. 3 gr. Bullseye with a 115 bullet is about tops, I can drop to 2.5 gr. to raise impact or switch to a 100 gr. and lower the impact. AA#7 gives another. 100 fps at the same pressure. I think Trail Boss would drop it by at least that much.

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literally thousands of rounds of big stuff, 454 and above and I have never worried about keeping an empty round in front of the loading gate. During the heyday of the extra large caliber's popularity we were shooting a hundred or more 475s, 500, 510s and so on every day, all the way up to max loads (proof loads) and never worried about that empty round in front of the loading gate. I have read all the horror stories but have never found one bit of truth to all those warnings. Who started this and has it ever proven to be something to be worried about?

Cannot prove it by me either. Tens of thousands of rounds of very heavy 44mag, 45C, 454C, and 500L and I never had a problem. Admittedly, the FA 454C had a recessed cylinder, but the others did not.

FIX YOU UP WITH LENSES FOR SHOOTING

he's into very long range rifle shooting. I was complaining. I really need a bifocal up high on one eye. Sounds legit to me but he laughed at me. He told me "one word for you, optics". I have my bifocals enlarged so shooting offhand is better. I can raise by head back to see the sights looking through bifocals and letting the target fuzz.

Scopes I must look through the top of my glasses, so that is ok.

They used to make these lenses you clipped to one earpiece of your spectacles. Then you flipped down a lens for shooting. I'd like to try those. I think bullseye shooters used to use them. Another was a little thing you clipped to your lens and basically looked through a peep hole to focus the sights. That would be easy enough to make and try.

I have a pair of glasses with an inverted bi-focal in the top left corner of the right lens. Works well.

https://www.decot.com/mental-vision/

Check out the articles to the right.

and $55 is not bad for budget. IF it works and would benefit shooting.

https://shootingsight.com/product/clip-on-flip-lens/

Into the doctor's office. He put the thing on my head that will hold lenses and then changes the lenses as I look at the sights and a license plate on a car in the parking lot as a target. Works pretty well. I have one of the adjustable clip-on peep sights and they also work well but not real practical for anything but target shooting from a stationary position.

And we go outside behind his shop and I take a normal sight position on a target with my pistol and he holds various power lenses over my dominant eye with my regular prescription glasses on until the sight picture is clear. Then he makes me a pair of glasses with that additional add to the top third of the lens like an upside down bifocal.

with enough practice you can get quite accurate.

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