For many years I had been looking for a Ruger Single-Six in 32 H&R magnum. Back when I was still cowboying I thought that the little Ruger would make the perfect kit gun for a working cowboy. Light, compact enough and more powerful than a .22. My wife found one and gave it to me as a present. It is a polished SS Vaquero and man is it pretty, she only asked that I never sell it or change it too much.
Problem is when the sun is out it is so shiny it is hard to see the skinny and shiny front sight. The glint off the shiny, rounded front sight makes consistency tough for me. I tried painting or blackening the front sight but it always wore off in the holster. Here in New Mexico the sun shines quite a bit and was never able to get good groups out of this gun. This gun became one that I admired much but shot little over the last 14 years or so.
I saw a picture of a similar gun that Alan Harton had put a new sight on and thought, heck I could do that. So I took some measurements and fired up the mill and dovetailed the barrel and made a front sight w/ an imitation ivory bead and serrated face. The sight picture is much improved, especially in bright sunlight. Now I can adjust the sight for horizontally by drifting the sight and vertically by filing down the front, though I didn't put the bead low enough to file much off. If this becomes a problem I can make a new front sight.
I have not had time to shoot it yet but am hopeful it will shoot well. I still need to finish making a .314" sizing die for my lubesizer and find time to go shooting. The 2 bullet molds I have for this project are the Lyman 311008 and the Mihec 314-640 100 grain (solid and HP). Wish me luck.
Here are some pictures of the front sight.
Problem is when the sun is out it is so shiny it is hard to see the skinny and shiny front sight. The glint off the shiny, rounded front sight makes consistency tough for me. I tried painting or blackening the front sight but it always wore off in the holster. Here in New Mexico the sun shines quite a bit and was never able to get good groups out of this gun. This gun became one that I admired much but shot little over the last 14 years or so.
I saw a picture of a similar gun that Alan Harton had put a new sight on and thought, heck I could do that. So I took some measurements and fired up the mill and dovetailed the barrel and made a front sight w/ an imitation ivory bead and serrated face. The sight picture is much improved, especially in bright sunlight. Now I can adjust the sight for horizontally by drifting the sight and vertically by filing down the front, though I didn't put the bead low enough to file much off. If this becomes a problem I can make a new front sight.
I have not had time to shoot it yet but am hopeful it will shoot well. I still need to finish making a .314" sizing die for my lubesizer and find time to go shooting. The 2 bullet molds I have for this project are the Lyman 311008 and the Mihec 314-640 100 grain (solid and HP). Wish me luck.
Here are some pictures of the front sight.
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