Scope Sight-in

[Gatehouse]

You can do it yourself.

If you have a bolt action rifle, set up a target at 50 yards, take bolt out and align bore with target, adjust scope to target, fire one shot, it should be close, adjust reticle to bullet hole.

Set up target at 100 yards/meters, fire a shot, fine tune from there.

This and some other posts were helpful.

Some were just rude. It's like everyone was born an expert. Guy is obviously not experienced, he comes here for help and gets shat on. Congrats, guys.

I'll add to BCBRADs post to make sure your set up is really rock solid. For the price of hiring someone to sight in your rifle, you should be able to get some sort of sand bag rest, or maybe you can borrow one. But whatever you use, make sure it's solid. I have seen far too many guys balancing their fore end on some sort of rest with the rear of their stock unsupported.

 

[Ardent]

Fair criticism and point. We grew up sighting in pellet guns and .22s and likely take it for granted. The part that got me was Pete was out hunting and indicated perhaps missed, and instead of attempting to provide advice I took the negative from the situation and let one of my least favorite hubting stereotypes reign in my mind. That being folks that head out without much shooting under their belt for the whole year and let fly on game. I correlated being unwilling or unable to sight his rifle in with a lack or shooting practice before going hunting, likely far too harshly.

 

[kamlooky]

I find it unhumbling the lack of respect some folk give the kritters they hunt.

Texas heart shots and move on to the next one.
There is a warm place for these breathers once their story is dun here.

 

[big boar]

Forget the poor responses, glad you asked for help. Never, never, never get someone else to sight in for you. My son is 6' tall and has a thin face (nowhere near as good looking as me). When we shoot a slug gun at about 50 yards our point of impact is about 6" apart. He always shoots 6" lower than me but dead centre and that's only at 50 yards. I also had a friend that had his rifle bore sighted by a gunsmith and yet it shot about 8" left of where he finally had it sighted in for. Sighting in is quite fun and is good practice, do it yourself.

 

[Ganderite]

Do it yourself. It is an interesting exercise.

I have had frustrating experiences when try to do the complete zero at 100 yards. If the bullets are not on paper, it can be a disaster. If I have to zero at 100, and my first shot misses the target, this is what I do:

I ask someone to watch the backstop. We agree on a rock, clump of grass or clod of mud as the aiming point. I fire a shot at the mark while the spotter watches. He can then say "You hit about 2 feet high left." This is all the info I need to make a gross adjustment to get the next hit on paper.

If I have a bolt gun or a AR-15 type rifle, I bore sight it before going to the range. I plop the rifle on a sandbag on a table, and look at something out the window. I adjust the scope to see what the barrel sees. This will get me on paper at 100.

If it is not an easy rifle to boresight, I walk up to the target and fire shot at 10 yards. I make an adjustment, back up a few paces and then fire another shot. After that adjustment I bench shoot a few shots at 25 yards, adjusting to hit about a half inch low.

This setting will be close to what I want when I can zero at 100.

 

[ironsighter]

Do it yourself. It is an interesting exercise.

I have had frustrating experiences when try to do the complete zero at 100 yards. If the bullets are not on paper, it can be a disaster. If I have to zero at 100, and my first shot misses the target, this is what I do:

I ask someone to watch the backstop. We agree on a rock, clump of grass or clod of mud as the aiming point. I fire a shot at the mark while the spotter watches. He can then say "You hit about 2 feet high left." This is all the info I need to make a gross adjustment to get the next hit on paper.

If I have a bolt gun or a AR-15 type rifle, I bore sight it before going to the range. I plop the rifle on a sandbag on a table, and look at something out the window. I adjust the scope to see what the barrel sees. This will get me on paper at 100.

If it is not an easy rifle to boresight, I walk up to the target and fire shot at 10 yards. I make an adjustment, back up a few paces and then fire another shot. After that adjustment I bench shoot a few shots at 25 yards, adjusting to hit about a half inch low.

This setting will be close to what I want when I can zero at 100.

Do that a few times and you have just burned through enough ammo money to pay for a laser bore sighter. This gadget will reduce your sighting ammo usage to about 3 or 4 shots, from a whole box.

 

[rhshooter]

Sighting in a rifle is easy and gives you an opportunity to familiarize yourself and practice on the trigger too. I am not a hunter yet but I imagine all these guys with 30 cal magnums aren't firing all that many rounds through them (at least not at my range) and can benefit from more trigger time anyway. I have never needed a laser bore sight with my rifles. I have yet to mount a scope that wasn't on paper at 25m but I guess it can happen... Give it a shot anyway... you can always pay someone later.

Jeff

 

[long range shooter]

I think the points being made here are:
1) Sighting in your own rifle is good rifle practice time,
2) It hones your skills in not only shooting but refreshing how your particular scope works,
3) Everyone is slightly different and shoots slightly different thus making it important for the owner to validate the scope and zero. If someone sights in your gun fore you, it will be off for you.

Having said the above, I have read in many places that the average north American big game animal is taken at between 75 and 125 yards. With the kill zone being as big as a pie plate, you do not have to be a marksman with a crack rifle to kill a deer! LOL

 

[Superbrad]

Well, i think the crux of it is that gunsmiths don't "sight in rifles"...... All a smith or shop is going to do for you is bore sight it..... and if you think bore sighting does any more than get you on 3' x 3' sheet of cardboard at 100 yards, you are in for a world of missed shots and potentially wounded animals if you head afeild.....

 

[NL-Hunter]

There are ads on local website every fall offering Professional Sight In Service. It is completed at range and probably is better than just bore sighting.

I cannot believe the amount of hunters with new rifles stating that the shop had the rifle all sighted in when they picked it up, meaning bore sighted.
Then they go hunting and complain when they miss an opportunity.

 

[long range shooter]

I will sight your rifle in for a nominal fee!! LOL

 

[Ardent]

There are ads on local website every fall offering Professional Sight In Service. It is completed at range and probably is better than just bore sighting.

I cannot believe the amount of hunters with new rifles stating that the shop had the rifle all sighted in when they picked it up, meaning bore sighted.
Then they go hunting and complain when they miss an opportunity.

Or worse wound animals. Clean misses are the rosiest scenario.

 

[Potashminer]

Do that a few times and you have just burned through enough ammo money to pay for a laser bore sighter. This gadget will reduce your sighting ammo usage to about 3 or 4 shots, from a whole box.

And after you use that boresighter, you will still have to shoot the rifle to verify that its sighted in. "Bore sighted" is NOT "sighted in". Read Ganderite's advice again, he is "bang on"

 

[Canada tail]

the best way is to sight it in your self. you dont need no professional sighters to do it. spend the money on ammo and get yourself familiar with the gun. You can mount your scope and start at 50m and move away.

 

[ironsighter]

And after you use that boresighter, you will still have to shoot the rifle to verify that its sighted in. "Bore sighted" is NOT "sighted in".

I never said it was. In fact I said it wasn't a few posts back, right here http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...e-Sight-in?p=13143609&viewfull=1#post13143609

You just use FAR LESS ammo after bore-sighting. At least I do.

Keep wasting ammo if you want to, and do some work on your reading comprehension. What part of "This gadget will reduce your sighting ammo usage to about 3 or 4 shots, from a whole box" don't you understand?

 

[Superbrad]

I never said it was. In fact I said it wasn't a few posts back, right here http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...e-Sight-in?p=13143609&viewfull=1#post13143609

You just use FAR LESS ammo after bore-sighting. At least I do.

Keep wasting ammo if you want to, and do some work on your reading comprehension. What part of "This gadget will reduce your sighting ammo usage to about 3 or 4 shots, from a whole box" don't you understand?

I won't dispute your claim, other than to say the worst sight in I ever had was with my black powder rifle that was boresighted at a SAIL store....... it was so far off that I would have been better off with a 4x4 sheet of a Plywood at 25 yards...... that may be a product of a crap boresight by staff though...... also I had a crap time with a buddy trying to sight in his rifle with one of those flexible rubber arbour jobs.......

 

[John Y Cannuck]

If it's a bolt gun, you can remove the bolt, look at a distant target through the bore, and adjust the scope to that same point.
If you don't have a gun vise to mount the rifle in to do this, you can cut notches in a cardboard box. I've done it, it works.

That should put you on the paper, and you can finish from there with ammo.

 

[PEKS]

I sight in my own weapons, always have, always will.
As mentioned Bolt Actions are extremely easy to sight in.
Start close, move back in increments, adjust turrets as required.
All Trigger Time is good..

 

[Trimmer 905]

Hey all,

I have been looking for a good, reasonably priced, gunsmith that does scope sight-in, in the Calgary area. I was hunting last weekend and my scope had gotten knocked off.

Anyone on here know of someone who can sight it back in for me before this weekend?

Thanks In advance.

Pete

Hell no,do it yourself. How else are you going to learn? Most good gun shops have bore sighter kits,either the grid type (get's you on paper at 100 yds) or laser type (gets you in the "9" ring) at 100 yds. Grid type cost around $100. Laser bore sighters that work really well are around $45,but,don't buy the units that fit in the breech. Each piece costs extra money.They're expensive as all get out and don't work that well. Buy the type that slides into the muzzle with caliber adapters that are included with kit. Bushnell is the best IMO. Learning how to set them up and use them only takes a few minutes and will save you a ton of money in ammo and time.

 

[scotiangunlover]

i just finished mounting a leupold on to my 45-70 guide gun and used a laser bore sight for the first time as the ammo is stupid expensive unless you reload. it did its job. got me on paper so i could then fire the least amount of rounds i had to , to fine tune it. now its bang on and ready to go. with cheaper ammo i would just do as others have suggested and shoot as much as possible, it benefits you in the end and is fun as hell. good luck.