boresight question

Get a bore sight. Only $30-$40 and you can use it whenever you want. I got 2, one with the studs which did not fit my 458 SOCOM with the flash suppressor in place so I picked up a magnetic one. Now I have both.

^ that, I have a few diff types, and they all work good

My thought is why spend $30-$100 on a bore sight? You don't need one. Spend the money on ammo. Your going to spend $30-$100 on a bore sight, then you still gotta buy ammo also. And it's not really gonna save you any money or time.

And it's not really gonna save you any money or time.

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Sorry but I completely disagree with that... Bore sighting saves time at the range, money and ammo. Not only that but a laser bore sighter or a rifle scope collimator makes a great diagnostic tool that lets you know when there is a problem with base/scope ring alignment or scope/turret adjusters before you get to the range, saving a wasted trip. I have used both the laser and the collimator and like them both but I think the laser is the better of the two. Plus, you can use the laser for iron sights as well as scopes. Not only has bore sighting worked well for me but I have heard positive feedback from countless shooters regarding how much easier bore sighting made their final sight adjustment.

The last rifle that I bore sighted for myself was a brand new 22 that I thought would be fun to shoot rimfire bench rest with at the local club. I mounted a scope on it, bore sighted it and went straight to the match. When the timed match began I used the "warm up" targets to finish sighting in my rifle. My first shot after laser bore sighting was in the 8 ring. The 8 ring is only about 3/8's of an inch from the X. I made an adjustment and the second shot was a 10. After one more adjustment, the third shot was an X. Shot another X to confirm it and began the match. Bore sighting doesn't always come out this close but if done properly good results are typical. Believe me, a $35 bore sighter is well worth the investment.

how do you bore sight your rifle?

With my bore sighter....................

Heck, you can get a good one for under $50 bucks.

Every year i install a few dozen scopes for other folks. The laser boresighter makes it easy. At the range the gun is always on the 9.5"X11" paper at 50 yards. It takes 3-6 rounds to get the bullets in the bullseye.

I own several bore sighters... and by far, the best one I have (and now the only one I use) is the Site Lite SL-500. For one, it's the only one with a positive on-off switch. No fumbling with batteries every time you want to activate it, and no spring-loaded contact to go bad on you and refuse to turn on - or spontaneously turn off if you bump it in the slightest. It uses a single CR123 cell, instead of multiple button-style batteries. Secondly, the bright green laser is easily seen off a 100 yard backstop, even in daylight. Third, it just works.

It's a little spendy, but as I said, I've used just about every other bore sighter on the market. Buy once, cry once...

Ok guys that's cool. You want to spend money on a bore sight, knock yourselves out. I'll
spend the $50 on ammo, targets, and lapping compound. I've never had anyone mount a scope, break in a barrel, or work on a trigger for me. I prefer the fun of building my rifle by myself. Never, has it EVER taken me more than 5 rounds to sight in a rifle to 100 yards. Wait that's not true. I had one that after 6 rounds and my 3rd shot at 100 yards, I realized the scope was broken. So whether you want to count that or not is up to you. I'm not special. It's just not difficult. I never understood the "laser" thing. I thought sighting in was half the fun. And rechecking zero after traveling was just a chance to do more of what I love, shooting.

I couldn't find the "Fence-post across the field with the rifle on the kitchen table" option. It's just under 25 yards. Has worked great with all of my bolt actions. It would be a little difficult with a lever gun though.

Matt

Academy has one thats pretty good and isn't expensive.

I use a laser bore sighter and a piece of retroreflective 3M tape on the fence.

It has saved me way over $50.

I have a Savage 110 and every time I swap the barrel I need to resight the scope. In particular, the stock barrel must be somehow off spec because I need to offset the rings for that barrel.

I bought a closeout Knight Muzzleloader and used the lase to get the sights close on it - it was off the paper at 25 yards and I have the sights front and rear fully drifted for windage. You'd never believe that open sights on a barrel could be so far off, the laser saved the day on that one.


It's also a good last minute check if you are in camp and want to verify zero is close.

First few guns

I had the dealer do the work. After a while it just made sense to buy a bore sighting device. I now have two, one laser and one with the pins. The pins go large enough to encompass 45 caliber. That is their limit... but it worked perfectly on a 44 caliber Ruger carbine last night.

I bought the laser (not the magnetic variety) thinking it would be easier. It isn't.

Personally, I bore sight, group it at 25 yards and then at a hundred. I am usually done in less than 10 rounds. On rare occasion, I will burn as many as 20 to get it done. Although, I am usually just fiddling by then.

I just shoot paper at 25yds, make an adjustment and move out to 100yds. I mean you could shoot paper at 7yds if you wanted to, still cheaper than a boresighter...

I use the Aimshot Laser Bore Sighter and as many times as I have bought new scopes and swapped them around on different rifles it has more than paid for itself in saved ammo. Period. I like to take it out at night where it shows up really good. I can be within 2 inches from the bullseye on the first shot using it.

I use the sitelite SL100 with great results.

I set up a target at 15 yards. Get it roughly sighted in at that range then go to 50 yards and then to 100 (ranges max length). I've seen shooters who have had their rifle bore sighted and not hit paper at 50 yards.

I shoot over irons and I always initially sight-in my rifles at ~25yds. That way it is more of a rifle accuracy test than a 100yd eyesight accuracy test.

At 25yds I can quickly nail the azimuth setting and, with an understanding of the ballistics involved, quickly peg a good 100yd elevation setting (assuming, o'course, that I am sighting that rifle in for 100yds).

After that initial setup, I usually have to make only a minor elevation change (if any) when I check the rifle at 100yd.

I have a Bushnell Banner Boresighter with Case that I paid about $50 for over 20 years ago, before the LASER systems were around. Works for me and paid for itself many times. It has also served as a good diagnostic tool on many occasions.

Really a matter of what you want to get done, how often and what you want to pay. That should determine the type you choose.

Ron

I have talked to hunters from out of the area that were hunting with a rifle that they had never fired. 'The guy at the gun store bore sighted it'.

wyohome said:

I have talked to hunters from out of the area that were hunting with a rifle that they had never fired. 'The guy at the gun store bore sighted it'.

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I wish you were alone in that one. Went after jack rabbits with a friend many years ago and he kept shooting several feet over the top of everything he shot at. It turns out that he had pulled the scope off his rifle to replace the bases with steel (v. aluminum), but he "put it right back where I marked the rings." :banghead:

I'm not totally innocent either, but never anything that off-target and I've caught them at the range, not in the field. Usually.

Matt

wyohome said:

I have talked to hunters from out of the area that were hunting with a rifle that they had never fired. 'The guy at the gun store bore sighted it'.

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The guy at the gun store likely or should have also told them that the idea behind bore sighting is to get you on paper at 100 yards. On paper does not mean dead on balls accurate to use a highly technical term taken from Lisa, My Cousin Vinny. When I was the guy at the gun shop I always made it a point to explain bore sighting in great depth. No, your rifle will not hit a quarter at 100 yards or for that matter a jackrabbit.

Ron

I couldn't vote in the poll because there was no provision for boresighting by eye. I've never owned a boresighting laser or tool - I use my eye looking through the bore out the backyard at a target about 50 yards away.

At the range, I start at 25 just to see where I am. Usually, that takes 2 rounds to get it dialed in. Then another 2 rounds at the 50 yard line. And finally, about 2 rounds at the 100 and I'm set to go.

It works well for me and I agree with those who said save your money for ammo or reloading supplies....or whatever.

Save your money and buy ammo instead. A bore sight tool will save you at most 1 round of ammo per sight in on a lever action or any other gun you cannot look through the bore. They will save you nothing on a bolt rifle.

Instead buy a sheet of poster board, they are 28 cents each at Walmart. Put a target in the center and fire 1 shot at 50 yards. If you miss a target that big at 50 yards you don't have enough adjustment in the scope to zero it anyway.

Estimate the vertical and horizontal distance from the bullet hole to the aiming point, adjust the scope and fire shot #2. Actually measure if you are not good at estimating. I will guarantee you that your 2nd shot will be closer than possible with a bore sight tool. Save the poster board and tape over your 2 holes and you can use it for a lifetime of zeroing rifles.

One or 2 shots at 50 yards are enough to leave no doubt I'll be on paper at 100 yards. I then move to 100 yards before I try my 1st 3 shot group. I'll usually be within 2" or so of my 100 yard zero with the 1st shot at that range.

These are the 50 yard targets from the last 3 scopes I zeroed. This is the 1st and only shot fired from each gun at 50 yards. I went straight to the 100 yard line for the 2nd shot from each gun. There is no bore sight tool that will get you closer and this doesn't cost a dime.

I'm lazy. If I can't look through the bore, I center the crosshairs in the scope and put the target at maybe ten yards. A shot or four and I'm centered but low. I then check for dead-on at 25 (two, maybe three shots) and then move to 100.