First time sighting in a scope....

[redhawk]

My first scope arrived today.  It is a Bushnell 4X32 .22 rimfire scope, and I am planning on attaching it to my savage 300 stevens bolt action 22lr rifle.  The rifle is used only for plinking at 50 to 100 yards.  I picked this scope because of the relative affordability along with the inclusion of rings in the package.  I have never owned a scoped firearm before, so this will be a learning experience.  How does one sight in a scope?  Does anybody have any good tips or pointers for me?

-Thanks

-Dan

[Madhouse]

2-shot sighting method:

Bag the rifle, front and rear, settle in real solid.  Put the crosshairs dead-center and let one go.

Settle back in on dead-center, keep the rifle real solid in the rests and adjust your scope, moving the crosshairs over to where the first shot hit.

Let a second one go and see how it works. 

:thumb:

[techmike]

Doesn't get any better than those instructions... :thumb:

TM

PS Unless the scope is WAY off, and won't hit paper... In that case, I shoot at something on the berm or backstop to see where it's hitting.

[Madhouse]

Good point!  You would have to bore-sight it first, or you may need a big paper target.    ;D

[Microgunner]

Yep, I bore sight them first too. Can save a lot of aggravation at the range.

[imschur]

Yep, I bore sight them first too. Can save a lot of aggravation at the range.

yep

[redhawk]

Thanks for the info.  I currently have a rifle rest for the front, but nothing on the rear.    Perhaps I'll bring some kind of rest for the rear.

[Longitude Zero]

I use a laser boresighter.  I get it dialed in at 25 then move to 50, then to 100.

[asmurff]

What brand of laser boresighter?

[Madhouse]

Thanks for the info.  I currently have a rifle rest for the front, but nothing on the rear.    Perhaps I'll bring some kind of rest for the rear.

Roll up a towel or a t-shirt.

[Longitude Zero]

I borrowed it from a neighbor.  I will ask who made it.

[Mr. Jones]

I've always been taught similar "2 shot method" but repeat the process 3 times.

Start at 25 yds and then '2 shot method'

Move to 50 yds, repeat the 2 shot method

Move to 100 and "2 shot" one last time.

This allows you to setup your optics to cover a wider range.  Typically, you can split the difference between 50 and 100 yards for best real world performance.  Usually it's only 1 MOA between the two, so during actual shooting you just compensate slightly.

[Dusty44]

Why can't I leave these ancient threads alone?

For most of my rifles I perch the rifle on the kitchen table on top of one of those 12-packs of bottled water.  Oops!  the cross bar of the window lines up right there!  So,  2 12-packs,  one on top of the other.  Now,  remove the bolt and sight the rifle bore to the cap of a chimney 4 or 5 houses away.  Any convienient thing out there that measures or calculates as being somewhere near 100 yards or so away.  My chimney cap is 4 houses down.  70 ft lot width X 4 houses is 280 ft.  Close enough.  Balance the rifle so it stays on target without touching,  adjust the scope so the rifle bore and scope crosshairs are both seeing the same thing.  The round hole of the bore and the way our vision work make centering the target in that little circle a natural.

My rifles tend to be less than 4 inches off POA on the first shot at 100 yards at the range.

The 10/22 does not cooperate because of its design.  I pay the man at the gunshop to use his boresighting device.  The shooting range has this service,  also.

[lmao_37]

I have an easy way of sighting in my rifle first of all I measure from the centre of the bore to the cross hairs on my mosin it's 2 1/2 inches, I then turn the paper target over and draw a cross just above centre and then from the centre I measure 2.5 and put a dot from the dot I measure 1/4 inch in each direction and draw a square roughly the size of a postage stamp,  I then place the target on the 100 yard line and the rifle ready, I then get the rifle ready I set the bipod height and bag the stock and bore sight the rifle as near to dead centre as I can get it I then fire 2 shots and then use a mildot to moa conversion and count the mildot in the horizontal and vertical axis and adjust the scope and reposition the cross hairs on the cross and fire 2 more shots and usually presto one zeroed rifle and the scope and barrel are now parallel and when you use sniper style scopes now reset the turrets to zero.

If this is confusing watch modern sniper on Netflix or the military channel it's how the marine scout snipers and swat snipers zero theres and I tried it and it's now a 2 minute job to zero my rifles.