Bore sighter for the shop

[BillyGoatMachine]

Hello Gents, Im in need of a bore sighter for use inside my shop. Im a custom rifle builder and customers keep bringing in there scopes for me to mount. My shop is on main street and I live in gun hating California. Bringing rifles outside to boresight the traditional method is not possible. I would probably offend somebody feelings if not scare the hell out of them. What have you found to be the best one to encompass most calibers. Thanks in advance.

BillyGoatMachine

 

[HoustonB77]

Every bore sighter I have ever used has been junk. The best method for me has been to start at a range of about 25 yards. If mounted correctly you should hit paper at 25 every time.

 

[MSTN]

One that has served me quite well, the SiteLite SL-150:

http://sitelite-lasers.com/product_SL150.html

 

[Phylodog]

If you can see down the barrel just find a place to mount something the size of a softball and painted bright orange at 100yds. Get the rifle supported so this object is centered down the bore and without moving the rifle adjust the scope so the reticle is centered on object. I've never failed to get a rifle on paper at 100yds with this method.

 

[sass2924]

If you can see down the barrel just find a place to mount something the size of a softball and painted bright orange at 100yds. Get the rifle supported so this object is centered down the bore and without moving the rifle adjust the scope so the reticle is centered on object. I've never failed to get a rifle on paper at 100yds with this method.

I used a method similar to this on the last scope I mounted, worked like a charm. Perfect for bolt actions not so much with semi’s.

 

[sheepdog697]

If you can see down the barrel just find a place to mount something the size of a softball and painted bright orange at 100yds. Get the rifle supported so this object is centered down the bore and without moving the rifle adjust the scope so the reticle is centered on object. I've never failed to get a rifle on paper at 100yds with this method.

another plus one on this. if you have an issue doing this with an AR, take the upper off the lower and remove the bolt and repeat the process

 

[Sniperstud]

I have a Bushnell optical collimator that I've used for thirty years to establish bore sight on hundreds of rifles. I used to use it in a shop environment, and I never got a complaint about the results. Every rifle I've personally shot, after boresighting, has been within two minutes of final zero. OpticsPlanet has these listed as in stock, on sale, for $79.00. The kit comes with three collet-type adjustable arbors that cover all calibers between .22 and .35. Arbors are available to cover up to 12 gauge. However, it doesn't work with AR-type rifles, without an extension. The line of sight above the bore is too high. I think Brownells used to carry the extensions. I have no idea how current quality of these units compares with mine from thirty years ago, but mine has always worked for me.

 

[BillyGoatMachine]

Guys, I'm very familiar with how to sight a rifle in out in the field. I need something that can be used inside my shop.

Thank you MSTN and Sniperstud for offering suggestions.

 

[Griz44Mag]

If you can see down the barrel just find a place to mount something the size of a softball and painted bright orange at 100yds. Get the rifle supported so this object is centered down the bore and without moving the rifle adjust the scope so the reticle is centered on object. I've never failed to get a rifle on paper at 100yds with this method.

HENCE - The term "Bore Sight" - In over 50 years this has never failed me for scopes or iron sights.
griz

 

[Deleted member 10043]

If you can find one of these. I've had it for years.

https://www.leupold.com/gear-and-accessories/tools/zero-point-magnetic-illuminated-boresighter

 

[Strykervet]

If you can remove the rear of the action to see down the bore, you can just set it up and look down the bore and use the actual bore as the boresight. It's about as good as any to get you on paper and works fine for the optic IMO. It doesn't work on rifles you can't see down the bore on (unless you can use a borescope?).

I have one of those magnetic boresights that uses lenses and gridded target inside the boresight. You just pop it on and adj. the scope looking down the scope, overlay the reticle on the grid; what's nice about it is you don't need 25m. to set it up, it can be done in a bedroom. I never use this one, still in the felt bag with instructions if interested. It was seldom used but it wouldn't matter if it'd been used 1million times. It's pretty simple, one piece. (Let me know if you are interested in this, I don't use it anymore. It's a Bausch and Lomb IIRC and I'll let it go for a lot less than you get it for anywhere else just to get it out of the toolbox. Will trade for a KAC .30 QDC mount too.)

I have a military boresighter and it's as accurate as the mandrels are I guess --at least it allows for adj. of the laser. The mandrels don't come in a lot of flavors and some like the .30 fit awful tight. I can't see how a boresighter would be all that good if you can't spin it in though. They can vary a few inches or more between rifles of common calibers.

A gridded target is nice, I modify the ones the military uses --they make a blank one and I just fill in the grid where needed based on what the mfg. says. Outside of 6.5 and .338, I don't fool with any other rifle bores, so this setup comes in a lot of handy for me.

Since I shoot targets on large cardboards clipped to pallets arranged as stands, I have to be WAAAY off to not see where I'm hitting. I've yet to boresight one that was actually in the black on a military 25m target though, and I've boresighted more than I care to count. Always spin 'em in first too. So that's why looking down the bore is about as good as any other method for just a scope.

 

[MSTN]

Yep, this works:

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There's an electrical transformer conveniently 50 yards from the Aimpoint T-2 in this photo. All I have to do is put the green laser on a spot of reflective tape on the transformer, and then slew the Aimpoint red dot to coincide.

SiteLite includes with this tool the very best "Ballistic Targeting System" software I've encountered. It makes for much more straightforward loophole shooting solutions than anything I've seen. Easier to use than Field Firing Solutions.

 

[Sogan]

If you can see down the barrel just find a place to mount something the size of a softball and painted bright orange at 100yds. Get the rifle supported so this object is centered down the bore and without moving the rifle adjust the scope so the reticle is centered on object. I've never failed to get a rifle on paper at 100yds with this method.

This. Or mount it in a tripod as mentioned above as well. If done correctly I’m usually hitting or super close to a 6” inch target

 

[ocabj]

How much distance do you have inside the shop? I just boresight at home by putting a small 2" shoot-n-c paster on one end of the hall and get in prone on the other end of the hall with the bolt out and eyeball it and adjust the scope accordingly.

 

[Walt K]

Check out the Sweany "Site - A Line" sold by the Allen Supply Company. This is the older style bore sighter which used to be advertised in the gun mags. My model is the one with the diagonal cross hairs. Some drawbacks are you have to use a different size spud for each caliber and if the scope is mounted very high you may be not able to the see diagonal crosshairs. Other than that this tool works very well.

 

[Burdy]

Why not just buy a laser cartridge and use it on a target on the wall? Sure you will have to factor in some offset due to the distance, but once you figure that out, you should be good to go.

 

[finefire]

One that has served me quite well, the SiteLite SL-150:

http://sitelite-lasers.com/product_SL150.html

Our shop uses the SL-500 green laser daily- over 1,000 scopes mounted & boresited. We have a 150 as a back-up. Sitelite's customer service is excellent. Several years ago we broke the 150- our fault. They repaired with no charge. They will send replacement o-rings, also at no charge- if you use this commercially, you will go through o-rings. No system is perfect, but this will get your customers on paper 99% of the time.

 

[BillyGoatMachine]

Thanks for the info guys. I have about 30' from machinery to machinery. Im going to give the Bushnell optical collimator a try. I ordered it 2 days ago and if its crap ill just return it and give the sitelight a go. I don't have usable windows in the shop as they have bars on them and don't have a usable sight picture. Trust me, if I had the space, or the time to go out and sight a rifle in like I do out in the field, I would. But I need something at the shop, indoors.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

I think the reason Leupold gave up on their magnet illuminated bore sighter was people were just taping up their provided chart on a wall. Putting the elevation at line 8 is a typical 100 yarder. A cheap laser boresighter in the muzzle can be used for windage estimation. My experience has been within a few moa on the windage and 1 or 2 on the elevation.