sighting in a scope
 

Whats the best way to sight in a scope? I've shot $50 worth of sabots already and i still don't have it done [&:].. a question i probably should have asked before i even started since it would have saved me some money but on the scope adjustments it says up and down and shows you which way to turn it to go in that direction, is that which way you want the bullet to move or which way you need the scope to move?

RE: sighting in a scope
 

The 2 shot method..... make sure your gun is in a mount or something so it will not move. Shoot one at the target... without moving the gun and with the crosshairs on the bulls eye start to dial the scope toward the bullet hole.you should see your cross hairs moving slowly and eventually they will be on the bullet hole shoot one more to be sure it is zero'd in. saves alot of $$$

Good luck

RE: sighting in a scope
 

can i make one of these mounts out of wood or anything? If so can i get some directions?

RE: sighting in a scope
 

First , if your having that much trouble , make sure all of the screws for the scope are tight. Start out at 25yds to get on paper. Then when your on @ 25 move out to 50 , then when your on @50 try a 100yds. I assume you have a rifled barrel if your using sabots correct ? If you have a smoothbore and shoot sabots they'll be all over the place. Smoothbores take rifled slugs and the adjustments on the scope move the crosshairs , not the scope. Hope this helps.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

yah its fully rifled

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Yeah you could make one or just get two buddies with steady hads to hold the hun down in one of the groves of a picnic table while you shoot and make the adjustments. Just make sure you put a blanket on the table first so it wont scratch your stock.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

make sure the screws are tight and then use the 25 , 50 & 100yd lengths to sight it in. I've seen too many guys get a new gun & scope and go to the range and start at 100yds and wonder why they cant get on paper. What gun are you using and did you try more than one brand of slugs ?

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Are you getting good groups with the gun??? With an inline, I usually remove the breech plug and sight through the barrel at 50 yards and adjust the bore and the scope at my target at 50 yards...I use a 2 foot by 2 foot target, with the bullseye in the center....I then shoot one shot...and clean the barrel with 3 patches of rubbing alcohol...both sides of patch and I squeeze the patches so they are damp...not soaking wet...then I run one dry patch down the barrel and follow with a lightly oiled patch and another dry patch...then shoot twice more, cleaning again between each shot....The barrel has to be cleaned the same way between each shot to get a consistant group...then if I have a decent group, I adjust the scope and move to 100 yards...I usually sight in about 2-2 1/2 inches high at 100yards....As others have posted...you must have all scope screws tight and reliable scope...I also check all the screws that hold the barrel to the stock, before I begin shooting...But before you can start finetuning a scope, you need to work up a load that will group well in your gun...this takes time, it is a lucky man that can find a good combination in just one range session...Good luck

PS...If you have the gun grouping at 100 yards, and you are say 4 inches to the left and 3 inches low...and your scope is like most with 1/4 inch clicks...you move the adjustment screws 16 clicks right and 12 clicks high...to hit dead on at 100 yards...If you check after this adjustment and you are not dead on at 100...You may have a scope (or loose scope screws) problem...

RE: sighting in a scope
 

PLEASE DONT TAKE OFFENSE BUT IF YOU KNOW THAT LITTLE ABOUT SCOPES I SUGGEST YOU TAKE A HUNTER SAFETY COURSE

RE: sighting in a scope
 

I have taken one, they didn't teach us about sighting in scopes though, they taught us about hunters safty.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Tompkins...
The answer I think you were looking for...since I read your whole post is this.
If your bullet is hitting low. Adjust the scope in the direction to go up. If it is left adjust the scope in the direction that it says right. It is opposite of sighting a bow in. When you sight a bow in you follow your arrow. If it shoots low you move your sights lower and vice versa. Hope this helps.

Brian

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Sorry, I can't resist.

That fifty would have bought a pretty darn good one.

Sand bags, a piece of 2x6, and a ratchet strap on a bench will work pretty darn well.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

I am with Slo-pitch - used to take me forever until I started using that method. Now 3 shots w/ my MZ and I am close. Then I shoot several shots for groups making adjustments for loads. Once happy with groups, I fine tune to be about 3" high at 100yds.

Steve

RE: sighting in a scope
 

PLEASE DONT TAKE OFFENSE BUT IF YOU KNOW THAT LITTLE ABOUT SCOPES I SUGGEST YOU TAKE A HUNTER SAFETY COURSE
What a foolish thing to say. The kid was asking for advice, not someone to be a smart a$$.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

just use the dials on ur scope if the hole is 2 inches low turn it 9 clicks in in the up direction same thing for left or right hope ya get er sighted in and get the big one

RE: sighting in a scope
 

1 click in the direction you want the bullet hole to go for every 1/4" @ 100 yards

RE: sighting in a scope
 

A few things:

1) Contact your manufacturer and see what they recommend shooting through your gun/barrel. The manufacturer tries ALL the major ammunitions, and usually have a good idea of where to start for Brands/loads.

2) Sight in at 25 yards. You want to be dead on horizontally, and ~2-3 inches high. Of course, this will vary on your gun, load, and scope---but in general, you will see about 1.5 inch drop/25 yard interval. That puts your gun dead-nuts at 75 yards, and ~2 inches low at 100. Once you are hitting good groups at 25 yards, check your groups at 50 yards and further. However, many "experts" recommend to not adjust your scope when the slug is travelling less than 1500fps with a 12 gauge, and less than 1000fps with a 20 gauge. With most slugs, therefore, you shouldn't adjust your scope past 50 yards.

NOTE: Notice I said "adjust your scope"---by all means definitely target shoot past that distance and determine how your gun groups, if you plan on taking 50+ yard shots.

3) Let your barrel cool between each shot, or shoot two shots in quick succession. Slug barrels can do finicky things with slugs when they are "hot".

4) As previously suggested, you may have to clean your barrel after every 2-3 shots. I think between every shot is a little extreme, but depending on the load you may get some excess fouling which affects the grooves.

5) As also previously mentioned, a steady rest is best when doing the initial sighting-in.

6) Perform a google search...there are hundreds of well-written articles on the internet about properly (and improperly) sighting in a scope, on all types of firearms.

Good luck...

S&R

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Q,
I agree with you about the hunter safety course is mainly to instruct about safety, and not much about firearm details except safe handling. An instructor has a lot of teaching in the basics and usually has a full class. Unless he has a lot of time, it is hard to touch on everything. I have thought many times there should be a course on marksmanship, gun technicallity, etc.
Start looking for some books on marksmanship, shooting and the mechanics of the firearm. There are dozens available, some good, others excellent. spend some time reading. One thing for sure, it won't hurt.
Keep an open mind when reading, there are as many opinions out there as there are writers. (I bet now I have you completely confused). I'm 71, been shooting since 1947 (Boy Scout camp, Asst. Rifle Range Director). I'm still learning.

Russ

RE: sighting in a scope
 

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yep- sand bags or packing blankets anything to rest the gun on so ya doesnt wobble around,:):D;)
aim for the center of the target- steady-breath in and let it out completely-steady- squeeze the trigger slowly -the fire should catch you by suprise- take note of where your bullet hit- was it to the left or right of where you aimed? is it high or low from where you aimed?- adjust only up and down or left to right one at a time(doesnt matter which) on the second shot -after you aimed exactally at the same spot you did the first time and note where that bullet went--did your adjustment have any effect on where it hit compared to the first shot?- if it did how much closer are you?--adjust until you are on a centerline be it either up-down or left-right ---- (example +.) in this example the gun is shooting low and to the right- you would turn the scope up and to the left- most scopes are labeled as to direction of adjustment-- ALWAYS AIM AT THE SAME SPOT AS THE FIRST SHOT very important--- i sighted in my sons 7mm wsm and my 270 using this method used 5 bullets each to make center-good luck and good huntin-----------hope this helps-;)----------------------onebullet[8D]

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Slo-Pitch does my methoid. ;)

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Are you able to shoot groups? If not, tear it down, and start from scratch. Make double sure all mounts and screws are solid. Some guys use lock-tite.

Then, assuming your scope is not broken, you should be able to shoot a reasonable group with just about any sabot, but some are sure to be better than others. Try something middle of the road velocity-wise like the Winchester 1 oz sabot in 2 3/4" or 3" that are rated at 1350 and 1400 fps.

Shoot from a solid rest at no more than 50 yds. Once you are hitting the target, shoot 3 shots before you adjust the scope. You are only looking at your group not how close you are to hitting what you're aiming at. If the slugs are grouping well enough for you, then fine-tune your scope adjustment.

I've seen guys drive themselves crazy by trying to sight in when the slugs they were using were not grouping in the first place. They would shoot one shot, adjust, and shoot again. Problem was the slugs were not consistent, so it made it look like the scope was broken.

You may need to try a few brands until you get the accuracy you want.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Q,

One thing worth mentioning... swab your barrell out after each shot. I usually take one patch with Number 13 bore cleaner and then 2 dry patches. As not cleaning the barrell can cause your shot to be off. Just a thought!

RE: sighting in a scope
 

good advice uncle norby,

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Strut and rut makes a valid point you may be overlooking. Let the gun cool down. Shoot the first round and check the target. Wait at least 2-3 minutes and try again. After 2 shots, you may have to wait 10-15 minutes or more to get the barrel to cool down again. Some guns like my old 30-06 are very sensitive to barrel heating. The first shot would be ok, then after 4 rounds under 5 minutes it would wander all over the target six to eight inches sometimes. If I let it cool down it would be ok. Try this before buying a vice.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

wow wasn't expecting this post to be so popular, thanks for all the help though guys. But sorry to say that i took a shot in the face from my scope and got mad so in the end i just decided to take the scope of my shotgun and put it on my .22, i now have my open sights sighted in at 100 yards, much of your advice still helped though so thanks.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

This indicates either a bedding problem or a barrel with residual stresses present.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

Stubble jumper, I thought at first that it was a loose forearm or bedding problem, checked out ok, barrel is fine, got a trigger job too. gun just shoots like the cheap rifle it is. Problem solved, new heavy barreled 7 mag with a zeiss scope. shoots great.

RE: sighting in a scope
 

How do you know that no stresses are present in the barrel?Stresses may be present that can't be seen but they can greatly effect accuracy as the barrel heats up.

RE: sighting in a scope- Cheers Guys!
 

I recently aquired a new scope for my rifle and mounted it up. I knew the basics of sighting in, but thought I might search the net a bit in hope of finding some tips and tricks. After trolling several sites I came upon this thread. I learnt more here than I did from the other sites combined. Well done lads, you've helped me out quite a bit. Here we use the metric system, so I did a few calculations and worked out all of the metric equivalents, based on the info you blokes provided. (they are all approximate). I worked out i could expext ~40mm drop for every 25m. I will probably sight in for 50m, so @ 25m, it will hit ~38mm high. @ 100m, 1 adjustment click = 7mm crosshair movement. @ 50m 1 click = 3.5mm and so forth. This probably means nothing to you, and if it doesn't, it's the same for me looking at the imperial measurements. Anyway, well done guys, (sorry to dig up an old thread) and Happy Hunting from Oz! :D

RE: sighting in a scope
 

OK
I am going to be MR Obvious here. Some of these posts are telling you to do this and do that. I could go through it step by step here in this forum....... But I won't
What you need is to find an experianced friend or go the the range and find someone who knows what they are doing to help you out.
This way they can get a look at your rig and point out the steps required so that you can remember in the future.
I have never drove a big rig truck and for my safety and the public's would not want to learn from a bunch of random posts on the internet.
Good Luck;)

RE: sighting in a scope
 

If you haven't already done so, go by your local gunsmith or shooting range and ask them to boresight the rifle and scope. Then, as the others have said, do your first shooting at 50 yards, get it zeroed, and then move to 100 yards.

RE: sighting in a scope- Cheers Guys!
 

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i gotta friend from down there its weird to have to convert things she told me a tazmanian devil weightX amount which figured out to be about 60 lbs our weight