Sighting-In Made Simple Five simple steps to long-range accuracy in the Golden Age of the rifle By Gary Lewis
T
his is the Golden Age of the rifle. Never before have good rifles and rifle scopes been so affordable and accessible. Today’s optics are far superior to the glass we used 20 years ago and a scope can be tailor made for an individual to wring astonishing accuracy from his or her rifle. A hunter can buy premium off-the-shelf ammo that, under the right conditions, is capable of minute-of-angle accuracy. But all the advancements in manufacturing are no substitute for time at the shooting bench. Rifle, optics and cartridge have to be harnessed in a pre-hunt ritual we call sighting-in.
Bore-Sighting Isn’t Good Enough
At the sporting goods counter, a hunter can have his new scope bore-sighted by the same fellow who sold it to him. The technician uses his eye or a laser to align the scope with the bore. Bore-sighting saves a little time at the range, but it is no substitute for sighting-in. A bore-sighted rifle will probably be ‘close,’ but close might mean that the bullet strikes within three feet of point-of-aim at a hundred yards. That’s not good enough when a big buck stands up across the canyon or a bull elk steps into a clearing 200 yards away. Most rifle scopes have two turrets – one for windage (to move the bullet impact left or right) and one for elevation (to move impact up or down). Remove the turret caps and the crosshair can be adjusted by inserting a coin or twisting the dial clockwise or counter-clockwise. Most scopes are calibrated such that one ‘click’ equals an adjustment of 1/4-inch at 100 yards.
All Ammo Is Not Created Equal
Sight-in with the ammunition you’ll take on the hunt. Don’t bring bargain-basement bullets to the range when you plan to use premium projectiles in the field. Downrange performance is likely to be very different. You can use the cheap stuff in practice if you
Bore-sighting is a service offered by better gun shops. Here, a technician makes an adjustment, using a bore-sight tool. But boresighting is only the first step to sighting-in a rifle.
20 November 2019 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS
Adjust the scope up or down to bring the ‘target’ at the bore into line with the crosshair. want, but to establish accuracy, you want to use the hunting bullet. And one box of 20 rounds is not sufficient. Take at least two boxes to the range and have another set aside for the hunt. If you’re buying factory ammo, make sure the lot numbers match. Here are five simple steps to take to make sure that your rifle is sighted-in before a deer or elk hunt. 1. Bore-sight it. Set the gun in a vise or bed it on sandbags. Point the muzzle in a safe direction. Remove the bolt and peer through the bore at a target and adjust the scope settings left or right and up or down to bring the crosshair into line with the bore. A laser bore-sighter may be used to good effect during this step. Just remember to remove the device before inserting ammunition. 2.
Dry-fire it. Make sure the barrel is free of obstructions and pointed in a safe
Anticipated recoil translates to flinch. When sighting in, or in practice, use ear protection and watch your groups tighten.
