Is it ok to ask someone else to sight in your rifle?

Not everyone has that kind of training etc, many folks are better off letting someone else sight in a rifle. Seriously.....

But yea, I'm sighting in my rifle, period, and it gets double checked before a match. That said, there are a couple of people I would trust to do so. My nephew the Marine is one. :)

If you need someone else to sight in your rille, your skills are insufficient. What happens if a sight goes out of alignment, or of you change ammo? Do you go get that someone to sight in the rifle again. In the Corps we had to sight in our own rifles. That process makes you a better shooter.
 
If someone asked me, I’d be cool with it. But it also could be a patronizing thing to do, like asking them to wax your car.
I don't think there would be anything wrong with it, as long as you gave the person proper instructions:
“Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important.”
(The Karate Kid)
:D:D:D
 
I fully agree that it is best for everyone to learn how to mount, sight in and adjust their own scope. There are many people that don't want to for various reasons. Too lazy, lack confidence, no time, can't follow instructions, don't have equipment, don't have range time and often can't shoot very well. I also agree that a person should shoot it themselves and make final adjustments themselves. But for a perfect world. I have taught people to do it themselves. It was part of a class I used to teach.
 
Ultimately, no. Humans are unique and body frames musculature and eyes are all different. However there are those occasions and limits of human activity requires assistance. A 'friend' can help one get 'close', but usually two different people are a bit 'off' from each other. Some more than others. So the actual user of the rifle needs to finalize or at least confirm the sight settings. Iron or glass.
 
It's kind of like doing disc brakes on a modern car. It's really simple, any 10yr old could do it if everything goes perfect...big if.
When I zero a rifle, I take scope off and check the ring screws, base and/or rail screws , torque everything properly, level the scope, mechanically zero the turrets, bore sight, then check a round at 25yd, 50yd, then 100. Usually only takes me a couple rounds at 100yd to get zeroed. Sounds simple, but a stripped screw head or threads can change that. Or a mechanical zero that is way off. I can usually deal with those issues easily.
My friend that I have been doing sight in for several years has a full time job, plus a side business, 4 kids in school, one in soccer, one in travel baseball, and they both hunt also. He's putting his family above his hunting hobby, so I have no problem sighting his rifles so he has time to focus on more important things. At some point he and/or his boys will hopefully learn enough from me to do it themselves. If not, I haven't lost anything thing for my efforts.:)
 
If you need someone else to sight in your rille, your skills are insufficient. What happens if a sight goes out of alignment, or of you change ammo? Do you go get that someone to sight in the rifle again. In the Corps we had to sight in our own rifles. That process makes you a better shooter.

This is non-sequitur. Knowing how to zero a rifle makes you better at knowing how to zero a rifle, but not actually any better at shooting it. And not knowing how to zero doesn’t make anyone less capable on target.

A 'friend' can help one get 'close', but usually two different people are a bit 'off' from each other.

How so, and mechanically why? Why does light bend based on one shooter holding a rifle versus another?
 
If you need someone else to sight in your rille, your skills are insufficient. What happens if a sight goes out of alignment, or of you change ammo? Do you go get that someone to sight in the rifle again. In the Corps we had to sight in our own rifles. That process makes you a better shooter.
You should go to a public range just before deer season and watch some of the chaos. Yes, their skills are insufficient. There are always a couple.
 
This is non-sequitur.
No. That statement is a verified observation of numerous shooters and a number of opticians.
Varminterror said:
How so, and mechanically why? Why does light bend based on one shooter holding a rifle versus another?
Astigmatism. Geometry of face. Trigger pull resulting from bone geometry in hand. Heartbeat. Those are the factors I can remember offhand.
 
If you need someone else to sight in your rille, your skills are insufficient.

You are not going to get an argument out of me but there are people out there that can’t change a flat tire or even cook their own food if it doesn’t come already prepared in a box…

Doesn’t keep them from being fat or in my way on the road, so the next question is insufficient for what? :)
 
I always think it’s best to sight in your rifle yourself, but is it ok to ask a friend to do it? If someone asked me, I’d be cool with it. But it also could be a patronizing thing to do, like asking them to wax your car.
I routinely sight in and check zero in my dads hunting rifle because he doesn’t have a lot of time to do it himself and I like shooting it. Should he do it himself? Yes. Do I do it for him because he asks me? Also yes.
 
Astigmatism. Geometry of face. Trigger pull resulting from bone geometry in hand. Heartbeat. Those are the factors I can remember offhand.

Cheek pressure, shoulder pressure, parallax due to different head position on stock (Geometry of face) are others.

Sighting in is a opportunity to shoot your rifle. I would encourage the person using it to do it if practicable. Special circumstances excluded of course.
 
I sighted in a rifle for my brother and he has been happy with it. Personally I would not let someone else sight in a rifle for me.
This is about were I'm at. 3 of my brothers and I shoot the same. My oldest one is always high and left. The first 3 can sight in a rifle for me. Or the other way. Depending if there is a time crunch. The oldest brother must sight in his own rifle and doesn't shoot ours.
 
Just sighting-in a rifle by using a bore-sighter will probably allow someone to hit a 55 gallon drum at 50 yards. Not good enough for most of us.
Agreed. I know one person who swears up and down here made the best shot ever.
He now sighter his muzzleloader. Shot at a deer at 50 yards and hit it in the eye.
He was aiming behind the shoulder. But it was still an amazing shot worth bragging about.
I tried to reason with him for about 30 seconds. Said cool story and walked away.
 
No. That statement is a verified observation of numerous shooters and a number of opticians.
Astigmatism. Geometry of face. Trigger pull resulting from bone geometry in hand. Heartbeat. Those are the factors I can remember offhand.

Everybody jerks triggers differently. The rest is black magic. Light and steel don’t bend just because of a different shooter.
 
I see the same thing in the guitar world where guys take their instrument to a "guitar tech" for set up & then proceed to gripe endlessly about the work not suiting their "style". It's a very personal thing that one should be able to self perform to get it exactly the way you like it.
 
The version I have seen is that if you have a rifle-or handgun-that seems inaccurate, have a shooter of proven ability shoot it , if they shoot it well, get good accuracy then you know the firearm is OK, you have to work on your shooting skills. Recall reading one of Cooper's books, he fired a revolver belong to a crack shot, he got excellent accuracy but since it wasn't zeroed for him, his group was off from the owner's.
 
I see the same thing in the guitar world where guys take their instrument to a "guitar tech" for set up & then proceed to gripe endlessly about the work not suiting their "style". It's a very personal thing that one should be able to self perform to get it exactly the way you like it.

Guitars. Ha. It's all about the bass.
 
Sighting in another's rifle is fine, I would just hope the other will confirm the zero. And at what range will the rifle be used? 100 yards or closer, heck it could be six inches off in any direction and still work fine. Some guy who's going to take 300 and 400 yard shots? Maybe not so good.

But again, I would hope that the end user is going to confirm the zero. Make sure.
 
My nephew the marine and I can trade my Dasher back and forth and shoot tiny groups, or I shoot a couple and then he shoots a couple, same result, a tight group.

I can't say that for everyone.

If you are a really good rifle handler, another really good rifle handler can use your rifle sighted in for you.

Problem is a majority of people affect the recoil of the rifle differently than optimal (which is straight back. Don't even get me started on up down), so they can't swap rifles around.

I suspect @Varminterror and I could successfully shoot each other's rifle.
 
try to tell that, oh yeah, he needs to actually shoot it, and she replies again that the husband NEVER shoots the rifle unless he's shooting at a deer

Bore sighting at a shop is really common from what I've seen and heard, around here anyways. I know a couple of well trusted shops here that mount and "sight in" many dozens of scopes each weekend leading up to the season this time of year. I've had honest conversations with hunters I know who take their guns in every year to have the sights checked as well. I've been told they don't want to shoot out their rifles by firing too much and every time it it's shot they have to bring it back to the store for cleaning anyway so might as well let the professional do that work. If they miss or have bad hits it usually means time for an upgrade at the next visit because 'something broke' and they don't trust it anymore. I don't waste effort trying to convince them otherwise anymore.
 
they have to bring it back to the store for cleaning

Wow. Didn't know THEY lived among us. !!!! Take the gun to a shop for cleaning? Well dang me, ought to take a rope and hang me! However, if the question was: "should I let someone else clean my rifle?" I'd say sure...if they do it for free. I guess. What if they took it apart, and screwed something up? Okay...sorry, that's a new one on me, taking a rifle in to have it cleaned.

I did work with a lady who told me that she grew up learning to always clean the guns after shooting them. She was quite mystified that her husband never cleaned his rifle, and asked me if I thought that was "normal". You can guess what my answer was.
 
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