Rifle Scopes Zeroing a scope - does anyone use the following method?

[rimfire]

Saw this on another forum:

To sight in the scope, you want as stable a firing position as possible and, generally, fairly accurate (consistent) ammo. You want at least some kind of front rest. Set up a target about 25 yards out to get started. Ideally your target should have some vertical and horizontal lines on it.... a grid pattern is perfect. Use a small level to make sure the lines on the target are level and plumb when you staple the target to its holder. Of course, you want to do that downrange... you don't staple the target and then carry it down range!

Now that you are sure your target lines are plumb and level, you can be sure your rifle is plumb and level when you line the crosshairs of your scope up on the grid lines. Among other things, this makes sure a "left" adjustment on your scope really moves things left, and not left and up, for example.

Get in a good firing position and take a shot at the intersection of two lines on the target. After the shot, get the scope lined up back where you had it aimed. Now, without moving the rifle, look through the scope as you move the crosshairs by using your adjustment knob. You want to move them from where they are to where the bullet actually hit.

Now shoot three or five shots at an intersection of lines. Find the center of this group of shots and, using the same technique as above, adjust your scope from your aiming point until it is centered at the center of the group you just fired.

Now move your target out to the range you want your scope sighted in and shoot a 3 shot group. Again, make sure your target is plumb and level. And, again, adjust your crosshairs to the center of the group. By now you should be close enough that you're just fine tuning by figuring out how many clicks on the knob you need to move and doing it that way instead of steering the crosshairs while looking through the scope.

As for adjustments when moving the crosshairs while looking through the scope, if the shot went left of where you were aiming you move the adjuster towards "right"... the arrows on the scope are marked as though you are steering the bullet hole towards the aimpoint.


Anyone zero this way? I've just been shooting a group, walk over to the target, measure the distance from the center of the group to the bullseye, and then adjust windage and elevation knobs accordingly.

 

[Quickdraw40]

Measure it with your scope and adjust!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 4

 

[longun83]

Saw this on another forum:

To sight in the scope, you want as stable a firing position as possible and, generally, fairly accurate (consistent) ammo. You want at least some kind of front rest. Set up a target about 25 yards out to get started. Ideally your target should have some vertical and horizontal lines on it.... a grid pattern is perfect. Use a small level to make sure the lines on the target are level and plumb when you staple the target to its holder. Of course, you want to do that downrange... you don't staple the target and then carry it down range!

Now that you are sure your target lines are plumb and level, you can be sure your rifle is plumb and level when you line the crosshairs of your scope up on the grid lines. Among other things, this makes sure a "left" adjustment on your scope really moves things left, and not left and up, for example.

Get in a good firing position and take a shot at the intersection of two lines on the target. After the shot, get the scope lined up back where you had it aimed. Now, without moving the rifle, look through the scope as you move the crosshairs by using your adjustment knob. You want to move them from where they are to where the bullet actually hit.

Now shoot three or five shots at an intersection of lines. Find the center of this group of shots and, using the same technique as above, adjust your scope from your aiming point until it is centered at the center of the group you just fired.

Now move your target out to the range you want your scope sighted in and shoot a 3 shot group. Again, make sure your target is plumb and level. And, again, adjust your crosshairs to the center of the group. By now you should be close enough that you're just fine tuning by figuring out how many clicks on the knob you need to move and doing it that way instead of steering the crosshairs while looking through the scope.

As for adjustments when moving the crosshairs while looking through the scope, if the shot went left of where you were aiming you move the adjuster towards "right"... the arrows on the scope are marked as though you are steering the bullet hole towards the aimpoint.


Anyone zero this way? I've just been shooting a group, walk over to the target, measure the distance from the center of the group to the bullseye, and then adjust windage and elevation knobs accordingly.

Very small target, perhaps a spray painted dot, or a bright orange sticker or something.

Place target on large piece of paper, I use the backside of law enforcement targets (the poster sized ones)

ERECT (yes I had to say it) your target at the range at which you wish to 0 your glass

Shoot with whatever you need to be as stable as possible, sandbags, bipods, sissy gun vice.

Dial in your correction (Know your scope and do math!!!) If you take your time doing this, and you are adhering to your principles of marksmanship you should be on the money in 1 or 2 corrections max.

= less time wasted, less ammunition wasted, more time to shoot how you want to shoot versus setting up your scope.

.....and there you go!

 

[briscoetab]

No I do not waste time at 25 yards. I bore sight, either by removing bolt and looking thru barrel or using laser bore sighter. Then shoot at 100 yds, usually first shot is within 4 to 8 inches of my aim point.

After first shoot, if I know I didn't do anything to affect the bullet, I go ahead and adjust by using reticle. Then shoot one more maybe two then adjust again. By this time I'm usually on and typically make make a three shot group to verify.

 

[Darkside-Six]

i look down the barrel at an object first and try to line my cross hair up so I'm at least on paper when I start shooting. Then I just measure with the reticle and walk it in until it's zeroed.

 

[Pinecone]

I bore sight, then fire at 50 yards. I use a "sight in target" with a grid line, but it is not needed.

Shoot one shot, and follow the OP with line up the scope with the POA, and adjust until the scope reticle is at the POI. Shoot one round, and should be close to zero. If so, move to 100 yards and repeat.

Once you are happy with the single round POI, shoot a group and fine tune if needed.

One caveat, if you call a flyer, ignore that shot and shoot again.

Normally sighted in with about 5 - 6 rounds.

 

[--BLACKOUT--]

I don't bore sight or anything like that. I set my target at 100yds and shoot. No hit on paper, move to 200yd berm with hanging metal plates and get dialed in there. Then, back to 100 and use the reticle to get dead on. And then I do my shooting.

 

[Harvey]

I bore sight, then fire at 50 yards. I use a "sight in target" with a grid line, but it is not needed.

Shoot one shot, and follow the OP with line up the scope with the POA, and adjust until the scope reticle is at the POI. Shoot one round, and should be close to zero. If so, move to 100 yards and repeat.

Once you are happy with the single round POI, shoot a group and fine tune if needed.

One caveat, if you call a flyer, ignore that shot and shoot again.

Normally sighted in with about 5 - 6 rounds.

Agreed. The theory of the OP is right on, but it would have you shooting an entire box of shells to get zero. If you have reliable ammo, a stable platform of sandbags and are careful ... very careful ... two shots should get damn near zero at 100 yards.

 

[z71rat]

Pull the bolt, look down the center of the bore at your target. Adjust windage and elevation until the reticle is centered on exactly the part of the target your bore is centered on. Reinsert the bolt, load, and fire. Using this method, I normally have my rifles sighted in with having only fired "maybe" 3 rounds. Even if you don't have a Mil-Dot scope, or other ranging reticle, you can still measure with the reticle even with the subtensions of a duplex. This method will get the job done in no time, unless you have the thin lined basic no frills hunting reticle.

It works, it is fast, and it is NOT wasteful to your expensive ammo. I would much rather spend my time and my dime on actually shooting... NOT sighting.

DK

 

[longun83]

Very small target, perhaps a spray painted dot, or a bright orange sticker or something.

Place target on large piece of paper, I use the backside of law enforcement targets (the poster sized ones)

ERECT (yes I had to say it) your target at the range at which you wish to 0 your glass

Shoot with whatever you need to be as stable as possible, sandbags, bipods, sissy gun vice.

Dial in your correction (Know your scope and do math!!!) If you take your time doing this, and you are adhering to your principles of marksmanship you should be on the money in 1 or 2 corrections max.

= less time wasted, less ammunition wasted, more time to shoot how you want to shoot versus setting up your scope.

.....and there you go!

I can't believe I left out the part of "dry zeroing" with the bolt removed.....

I will drink the rest of my coffee cold as punishment

 

[Graham]

At the last class I watched Jacob level a scope using the eyeball method: No tools, as if it was being done in the field. A check with feeler guages and levels revealed no need to re mount it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

 

[Lowlight]

There is a ton of ways to do it, no one is wrong as long as the reticle is level with the fall of gravity.

I have the new NF manual for the BEAST 5-25x and here is what they say in the opening line of leveling the scope:

The reticle in all Nightforce scopes is confirmed plumb with the flat surface onthe bottom of the adjustment saddle. See Figure 8. You can use pin gauges, asliding sine bar or flat shims to align the flat surface with the top of the scoperail.

That is where the feeler gauge method came from, or the deck of cards like I have demonstrated in the past. I should note, Leupold said the same thing to us on the factory tour, that reticles are leveled to the flat on the bottom of the tube.

 

[Sherrick5]

Usually I just go to 25 yards, shoot once, dial it to where it's shooting .5 mil under (mil/mil-quad), then go to 75 to check drop, then set up at my normal position of 150yd where I normally shoot at home.

 

[netranger6]

i look down the barrel at an object first and try to line my cross hair up so I'm at least on paper when I start shooting. Then I just measure with the reticle and walk it in until it's zeroed.

Exactly. Zeroed quick.

 

[scudzuki]

I bore sight in my living room with a laser bore sighter that fits in the muzzle.
With the target 30 feet away, I sight the POA 2-1/4" above the POI indicated by the laser red dot.
At 100 yards this has always put me on paper, and I print my own targets on 8-1/2" x 11" paper.

In cases where the reticle has no subtensions I have done the final sighting in at 100 yards as described in the OP (which I arrived at myself) but in most cases it's hard to aim the rifle steadily at the POA whilst cranking on the turrets unless it's a bench rest gun.

Most of my scopes now are FFP with mil reticles and with those I measure the miss and dial the correction.

Joe

 

[Darkside-Six]

At the last class I watched Jacob level a scope using the eyeball method: No tools, as if it was being done in the field. A check with feeler guages and levels revealed no need to re mount it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

We need to get him back up here to Michigan next year.

 

[Graham]

Zeroing a scope - does anyone use the following method?

We need to get him back up here to Michigan next year.

I'm working on it.

 

[2Shots]

No I do not waste time at 25 yards. I bore sight, either by removing bolt and looking thru barrel or using laser bore sighter. Then shoot at 100 yds, usually first shot is within 4 to 8 inches of my aim point.

After first shoot, if I know I didn't do anything to affect the bullet, I go ahead and adjust by using reticle. Then shoot one more maybe two then adjust again. By this time I'm usually on and typically make make a three shot group to verify.

You got it! Three shots, done.

 

[KTDLS7]

Agree with several above:
1) Bore Sight
2) Fire 1 Shot (usually within 4" radius of center)
3) Use reticle to determine error and adjust turret
4) Fire 1 to verify, then shoot to heart's content.

 

[JGorski]

I boresight at 100yds, when I figure I have it about right, the I fire one shot and one shot only, then adjust after the first and take a 2nd shot, etc etc. If the rifle is accurate 1 shot is all you need between adjustments. Once you have it zerod, then take 3 or 5 shot groups.

 

[2/1_Kiwi]

Pretty much the same as everyone else. Boresight, sighter, adjust till on desired zero, confirmation. But if its a newly mounted scope i usually run a tracking and vertical cant check at the same time.

 

[AKONA]

I think you are mixing two things. You want to make sure your scope's vertical axis is true to the bore first.
So a masonry plumb on a calm day hunting on the target or a modern laser one projection on a target along with a laser boresighter will help you verify that the elevation
adjustment is true during the full range of adjustment.
In a perfectly leveled rifle the crosshairs will do the full travel of adjustment along the vertical axis with the red dot on that line and w/o crossing or leaving that vertical line.
You can do this on a steady rest anywhere even a vise w/o the need to fire one single shot. This is the best way to make sure you have a scope that is true to the bore.
Then you can go and zero your rifle at the desired range. you might also walk a square with the full range of adjustment in both axis on a square target to make sure the
adjustment returns to zero. You can use life fire at the range later to verify some groups and that the optics are tracking correctly.
Make sure ergonomics are perfect and all mounts are solid and secured.

To achieve a one shot zero you can use a fine red dot attached in a 1pm or 3pm rail if you have one. Take one shot and then while you keep the aim on the target adjust the red dot
to match the POI. Once the crosshairs are on the target and the 2nd sight is on the POI dead on then last step is to move the adjustment on the main and permanent scope to
meet and overlap with the red dot. Then take a shot and both scopes will be right on the target. Then you can dismount the 2nd provisional scope. I use a quick mount aimpoint micro
at 50 yards , then I take it off and finally move the target to 200 for final zero and give the scope the altitude correction from 50 to 200 according to the ballistic path of the round.
Take that shot at 200 and I should be ready or very close to ready for maximum point blank accuracy and to adjust to the maximum range of adjustment that scope can provide w/o
fear the axis is off.

All those little levels that folks put on top of rails and optics might get one on the bult park for close range hunting and plinking but they do not really work as they do not adjust to be true to the bore.

 

[Pinecone]

1) No need for a red dot. Bore sight. Shoot one round. Set the rifle stably with bags and align reticle with the original point of aim. Then adjust reticle (WITHOUT MOVING THE RIFLE) until the reticle is on the point of impact (bullet hole). First second round to conform. Done.

2) Reticle vertical to bore is NOT required. Reticle vertical to WORLD when you shoot, IT required.

 

[jdgray]

All those little levels that folks put on top of rails and optics might get one on the bult park for close range hunting and plinking but they do not really work as they do not adjust to be true to the bore.

Those little levels are meant for longer ranges, but are useful for zeroing the scope. Shooting into an un level backdrop on un level ground, they are nice to have.