sighting in

[extreme1]

when sighting in with a scope,whats the best power setting to have the scope turned up at.My scope is a 1.5x4 power and sighted it in at 3x and had no problems what so ever.i will be purchasing a new gun this year with a 3.5x10 power,what power setting should i put it on to zero it in at 100 yards,thanx for the helpP.S---peole told me to sight in on the lowest magnification while others said the highest,whats true

[Danny45]

That's going to totally depend on you. With the better built scopes of today, you no longer have to worry much about point of impact shifting at different power settings.

If you're more comfortable zooming in to 10 power and picking the exact spot on the target you want to hit, by all means do so. I shoot better at lower power at 100 yards. I keep my 3-9 scope at 3 or 4 power and shoot better groups than I do when I zoom in.

So it's totally up to you. Your other scope's highest setting is near the lower setting on your next scope, so you may be more comfortable shooting it at lower power. But what the heck, all you've got is time and ammunition, so try them all. I know when I back up to two or three hundred yards, I zoom up to at least 7 power.

Good luck.

[stubblejumper]

Most people shoot their best groups at the highest power setting.With a quality scope the point of impact will be the same at all power settings.

[bigbulls]

I do not have any tests of my own to confirm this but I had read thet you should sight in a scope on the highest setting. This has to do with the POI shifting more as you go up in power if sighted in on the lowest setting as opposed to sighting in on the highest power.

[thndrchiken]

I have always set the magnification ring at the midpoint, i.e. 3x9 at 6 and if it's an AO set for the range of the target.

[rcw280]

I agrre with Danny45 with a good quality scope it should not matter, should be no shift of POI. As for me i usually sight in at the power I usually use 4.

[akbound]

Hi extreme1,

What ever power setting you decide to zero your scope for....I'd check it at several other settings as well....after you zero! That will eliminate or confirm any doubts you may have about POI shifting when you change the power setting ring. And the better scopes in particular shouldn't......notice that read shouldn't. They sometimes do and it's best to find that information out on the range!

Good luck.

And I never go to the range to zero a centerfire rifle with less than two full boxes of ammo. I seldom need any where near that much to zero....but I'm much less likely to try taking "shortcuts" with my zero....and checking my scope. Just a thought!

[llbts1]

Morning, how can you tell if the scope adjust to poi? I have a Sightron and a Swift scope. Do these adjust to POI? Would it say something in their specs? I'm trying to figure this out on my equipment. Thank you, Larry

[marmax]

Once your scope is zeroed and sighted in at a specific distance you can check for the scopes ability to maintain zero.
Shoot your first group of 3-5 shots and move your windage 4 clicks to the right. Shoot a second group and then move your elevation 4 clicks down. Shoot a third group and move your windage 4 clicks to the left and so on. When you shoot your 5th group on top of your original group it should be on and you should have 4 separate groups in a nice square. You can move the clicks 10 or 12 each time or whatever is easiest, the test will tell you if your scope will shoot consistant. Also shoot groups is each magnification and they also should be consistant. This is a simple test most quality scopes will pass.[:-]

[wahunterinrok]

I always sight my rifles with variable scopes at the highest setting, because I feel I can be thew most accurate with the highest magnification. I then always check my zero at the mid point and then the lowest setting to give myself peace of mind that my scope is right on.