A few years ago, I bought a Beretta 71. It was one with the threaded barrel and fake can. It sat in the back of the safe for a few years, but in the last year or two I started cleaning it up and shooting it more. This pistol was shot and carried a LOT before I got it and is very smooth and broken in. Not great for looks and collectability, but makes for a good shooter.
When I got to the range, I found that I was shooting high - a little high at 7 and 12 yards, but about 4" high at 25 yards. I wanted to shoot the carry pistol class in a 25 yard fun match at my club, but I had to hold low at an imaginary spot on a silhouette or paper bowling pin target and my accuracy was not good.
Looking at the front sight, it was too low and not replaceable. The front sight is dovetailed into the barrel - lengthwise! It looks like they cut a lengthwise dovetail into the barrel, inserted the sight into the dovetail, welded the sight to the barrel at the muzzle, and then threaded the barrel (and front portion of the sight).
After a failed attempt to silver-solder an extension onto the front sight, I ended up building-up the front sight with JB Weld and filing it to shape. After a few range sessions with a fine file, I now have a really smooth pistol that has correct POA/POI at 25 yards. To help my aging eyes, I painted the top half of the front sight with orange Testors model paint and it helped immensely.
I also picked up a Beretta 75 slide and barrel and am in the process of fitting it to the frame. It functions as-is, but hangs up a bit at times. I would still like to find a 76 barrel, slide, and weight for this frame as well.
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When I got to the range, I found that I was shooting high - a little high at 7 and 12 yards, but about 4" high at 25 yards. I wanted to shoot the carry pistol class in a 25 yard fun match at my club, but I had to hold low at an imaginary spot on a silhouette or paper bowling pin target and my accuracy was not good.
Looking at the front sight, it was too low and not replaceable. The front sight is dovetailed into the barrel - lengthwise! It looks like they cut a lengthwise dovetail into the barrel, inserted the sight into the dovetail, welded the sight to the barrel at the muzzle, and then threaded the barrel (and front portion of the sight).
After a failed attempt to silver-solder an extension onto the front sight, I ended up building-up the front sight with JB Weld and filing it to shape. After a few range sessions with a fine file, I now have a really smooth pistol that has correct POA/POI at 25 yards. To help my aging eyes, I painted the top half of the front sight with orange Testors model paint and it helped immensely.
I also picked up a Beretta 75 slide and barrel and am in the process of fitting it to the frame. It functions as-is, but hangs up a bit at times. I would still like to find a 76 barrel, slide, and weight for this frame as well.
