Bore Sighting A Rifle

[Whitetail200]

Thought I'd put this out for some thoughts on the matter. What's your preferred choice of yardage. 10 , 25, 50 YD's . Myself I have done this at 25 Yds which I believe is a standard starting point .I've come across some info & video of doing it at 10 YD's using the same measurement system & keeping bore alignment to center of target . Measure from Center of bore to Center of scope & add this measurement to your target . Gives you a second bullseye . Put's you Either 1.9 or 2 inches etc. high of target center which you align your reticle to . Puts you on paper . In your opinion's , all things being equal & Considering how many scope adjustments you might have to make , which yardage might give you less rounds to get you on zero . Say a 100 or 200 zero .

[elkhunter11]

Assuming a bolt action, or single shot rifle. I don't bother shooting at targets any closer than 100 yards with a centerfire. I remove the bolt, set the rifle on my rest/bags and center the 100yd target in the bore, then adjust the scope to center the crosshairs on the bullseye. I fire one shot, which is usually within a few inches of center bull. I then do a rough scope adjustment, and shoot a three shot group. Then I make a final adjustment, to where I want the poi, and verify with a three shot group. Using this procedure, I have the scope zeroed in seven shots.

[graybeard]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

Assuming a bolt action, or single shot rifle. I don't bother shooting at targets any closer than 100 yards with a center-fire. I remove the bolt, set the rifle on my rest/bags and center the 100yd target in the bore, then adjust the scope to center the cross-hairs on the bullseye.

I fire one shot, which is usually within a few inches of center bull. I then do a rough scope adjustment, and shoot a three shot group. Then I make a final adjustment, to where I want the poi, and verify with a three shot group.

Using this procedure, I have the scope zeroed in seven shots.

^^ Right there for me as well ^^

[Redneck 7]

I bore sight at 100m and like mentioned above, first shot is on paper and then tune your zero. Under 10 rounds, I've zeroed in 3 shots and shot a group afterwards. Also depends on how good your equipment is or set up.

[aardvaark]

I go similar to what’s been mentioned above in the 2nd post. All the bolt actions I’ve ever done this with you can remove the bolt and look down the barrel at your target. Only difference I make is I do this at 50 yards cuz my eyes aren’t very good anymore and things are kinda blurry at 100.

[catnthehat]

For a bolt action, I bore sight and zero a hunting rifle at 200 , bolt out and benched .
For irons, I never bore sightI simply zero at 25 yards then extrapolate from there.
Cat

[Dick284]

Every scope manufacturers owners manual describes how to bore sight as EH11 described above.

Usually it takes me not much more than 4 rounds to have a decent enough zero at 100 yards.


Collimator style bore sighters can be very un reliable at times.

[duceman]

Originally Posted by Whitetail200

Thought I'd put this out for some thoughts on the matter. What's your preferred choice of yardage. 10 , 25, 50 YD's . Myself I have done this at 25 Yds which I believe is a standard starting point .I've come across some info & video of doing it at 10 YD's using the same measurement system & keeping bore alignment to center of target . Measure from Center of bore to Center of scope & add this measurement to your target . Gives you a second bullseye . Put's you Either 1.9 or 2 inches etc. high of target center which you align your reticle to . Puts you on paper . In your opinion's , all things being equal & Considering how many scope adjustments you might have to make , which yardage might give you less rounds to get you on zero . Say a 100 or 200 zero .

pretty much same for me, except i do it all at 200; because i rarely have a 100m target set up; i'm permanent at 2,3,4,500m.
i center it as best i can on 4" circle. take a shot; hold gun at my point of aim and dial to my bullet strike. i then take the second shot at the bullet strike, it's smaller for aiming. more often than not, 3 rds and i'm zeroed at 200.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by duceman

pretty much same for me, except i do it all at 200; because i rarely have a 100m target set up; i'm permanent at 2,3,4,500m.
i center it as best i can on 4" circle. take a shot; hold gun at my point of aim and dial to my bullet strike. i then take the second shot at the bullet strike, it's smaller for aiming. more often than not, 3 rds and i'm zeroed at 200.

Yup, using the above method normally this takes less than four shots , chasing your first bullet strike is super easy once you get the hang of it.
I use our 200 meter steel plate which is 27" across the points
Cat

[raised by wolves]

When I boresight, I pick a fixed target that is at least 200 metres away. I usually set up on my workbench and line up on the crown of a decorative lamppost down the block, which happens to be a bit past 200m. My Leica says it is 226m. Once I get to the range, I set up at the 100m bench and the first shot usually hits paper within two inches of the centre.

[Whitetail200]

Thanks for the imput . Forgot to mention bolt/single shot . Also The Use Of A Laser which nobody has mentioned using . So I don't know how effective they are . But from the distance everyone is using & original method of boresighting -looking down barrel , aligning scope Etc. The distances being used would be a advantage as far as using less ammunition to get on a 100 yd or 200 yd zero . A lazer would probably work @ 10 yds or 25 yds but beyond that I'm not sure if it would be effective given outside light conditions . With the shorter distances you might use a little more ammo to move from 25/50 Yds to a 100 or 200 Yds for zeroing given shot placement of course . But again if your boresighting is 100% on or close to it this may not be the case .

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Whitetail200

Thanks for the imput . Forgot to mention bolt/single shot . Also The Use Of A Laser which nobody has mentioned using . So I don't know how effective they are . But from the distance everyone is using & original method of boresighting -looking down barrel , aligning scope Etc. The distances being used would be a advantage as far as using less ammunition to get on a 100 yd or 200 yd zero . A lazer would probably work @ 10 yds or 25 yds but beyond that I'm not sure if it would be effective given outside light conditions . With the shorter distances you might use a little more ammo to move from 25/50 Yds to a 100 or 200 Yds for zeroing given shot placement of course . But again if your boresighting is 100% on or close to it this may not be the case .

A lazer will not save you any ammunition, vs looking down the bore, where they are handy, is for actions where you can't look down the bore from the chamber end.

[Dmay]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

for actions where you can't look down the bore from the chamber end.

For actions such as levers and semi-autos, a small dental mirror will enable you to look down the bore.

[Etownpaul]

I tried a cheapo amazon laser bore sighter last time I mounted a scope. I set everything up as per the instructions in my basement at 10yds and thought I'd be on paper at least at the 100yd range. Well a box of ammo later I ended up pulling the bolt and zeroing the old fashioned way. I was too stubborn to give up on the laser sight in and it cost me a few dollars to learn my lesson.