How Many Use This Method to Zero a Rifle?

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hps1

hps1

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If you have a decent bench rest & your scope adjusts reliably, this is a down and dirty method of getting 'er in with only one adjustment. No more counting clicks, wondering what the value of ea. click, or worse yet NO clicks on your knobs!:)

Fire a three shot group, then making sure your rifle does not move on the bags, align the crosshairs at aim point used to fire the group. Holding steady, adjust crosshair to center of the group. YOU'RE DONE! It is a good idea to fire a shot or three to make sure scope moved as expected and holds the new adjustment.

Works better if someone is available to hold rifle steady while adjustments are made or if your rest has provision for strapping rifle down.

Regards,
hps
 
hps1 said:
Works better if someone is available to hold rifle steady while adjustments are made or if your rest has provision for strapping rifle down.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much why I can't use that method. I don't use anything other than a front bag or support of some sort when zeroing a rifle. Which means, I'm usually moving the gun quite a bit between groups.
 
I find it too difficult to hold a rifle steady enough without special purpose equipment, I just use a "sighting in" target with a grid and count clicks.

But I find it about the only practical way to sight in a red dot or laser sight on a pistol, where is easy to clamp the grip with the small vice from my drill press and then adjust to match POI.
 
I set a target at 50 yards. Align the crosshairs on the bull, then look through the bore. Where the center of the bore is pointing is where the bullet would impact if I fired. I then adjust the scope until both the cross hairs and bore are in the same spot. I then fire one shot. It will usually be within 2" of point of aim.

I adjust the scope and then fire shot #2 shot at 100 yards. Once again it will be within 2" of POA. I make another adjustment and shot #3 is always where I want it to be. Then, and only then do I start shooting groups. Sometimes I may find that I need to fine tune things a bit after I start shooting groups, but not often. Takes 5 minutes and 3 shots.
 
That's how I've always done it when I zero at 50 yards or meters. Shoot one round and adjust. Shoot another 1-2. Good enough for government work. When I take it out to the second point of impact to confirm, then I fire 3 rounds groups and I need to use a spotting scope and count the clicks on the optic to get the actual zero dialed in - this is assuming a red dot or low-powered scope where I can't see hits at 200-225.
 
I do it but i only fire one shot, adjust my scope to match then shoot a group. I use a cheap winchester sled that holds the rear of the stock.
 
+1 Loonwolf. I've been doing it for quite a while now but I only fire one shot.

If I'm not alone I'll have someone put a lil pressure on my rifle while I make the adjustment but if alone you can still do it alone just takes a lil more care
 
Definitely part of my zeroing process. Bore-sight first (the old fashion way - by eyeball). Fire one shot & then perform the "Look-N-Crank" (LNC) technique. Fire a 3 shot group. Make fine adjustments by scope clicks, but sometimes, I use the LNC again.

It's much easier to do if you take your gun cleaning cradle with you to the range along with some thin boards to shim-up & adjust the cradle. Anchor the cradle down with some sand bags. A screwdriver that fits your scope adjustments is a big help in preventing clumsy hands (like mine) from disturbing the rifle.
 
jmr40 said:
I set a target at 50 yards. Align the crosshairs on the bull, then look through the bore. Where the center of the bore is pointing is where the bullet would impact if I fired. I then adjust the scope until both the cross hairs and bore are in the same spot. I then fire one shot. It will usually be within 2" of point of aim.

I adjust the scope and then fire shot #2 shot at 100 yards. Once again it will be within 2" of POA. I make another adjustment and shot #3 is always where I want it to be. Then, and only then do I start shooting groups. Sometimes I may find that I need to fine tune things a bit after I start shooting groups, but not often. Takes 5 minutes and 3 shots.
Click to expand...

I skipped the bore sighting step, which is necessary on a new rifle or one which has just had a different scope mounted. I also find that one shot (if it felt good) is ample to proceed with adjustment. Most, however, recommend adjusting from a 3 shot group.

Regards,
hps
 
I use the "Distant Aiming Point" technique of bore sighting. I was originally taught this for bore sighting the M67 90mm Recoilless Rifle. The M67 has a rear bipod and a front adjustable mono pod so no supports are needed. We looked through the bore at two threads forming a cross hair at the muzzle and using either a specially made steel plate with a pin hole aperature or the breech block not assembled to allow the use of the firing pin hole for an aperature. We then selected a target at 600 meters and moved the gun left or right and the front mono pod up or down to center the "Distant Aiming Point" in the bore sight.

Without disturbing the gun we then adjusted the weapons scope using a special cross hair in the reticle to the same point of aim. We checked back and forth multiple times.

I do much the same with rifles that allow me to sight though the bore, such as bolt actions. This is where the term bore sighting comes from folks.

With a .22 or a bolt action center fire I generally am well on a sheet of note book paper at 100 yards after this and then it is easy to shoot a group, do the math, and make my adjustments.

I use my cleaning stand(one of the plastic MTM cleaning stations) with books or thin boards just like Pert Near to hold my rifles during actual bore sighting.

I have often wished I could afford a Sheppard Scope as their in scope zero system appeals to me. They basically have two sets of reticles and each with their own adjustments and this allows "One shot Zero" Aim at a good aiming point take the shot. Hold the primary reticle on your point of aim while adjusting the secondary reticle to be over your point of impact. Adjust you primary reticle to over lap your secondary reticle. You are zeroed.

I can however do a lot of 6 to 9 round zeros for what a Sheppard costs.......

Back when I was in high school our rifle team coach would screw up our zero every week or ten days to make us start to re-zero from scratch, at the time I hated him for it. A mere five decades later I appreciate it.

-kBob
 
I always bore sight the rifle on the bench with bags to the target at 100 yards. Then fire one shot and see the impact. I use 1" block targets and see how many inches the shot was off and adjust the windage and elevation to the correct clicks for the zero. I try different handloads and factory rounds so I end up having to adjust the scope more once I find the load the gun likes.
 
I too do the one shot/adjust, then confirm.

With Shepherd scopes you don't even need a decent rest. Just put one of the cross hairs on your aim point and move the other to the impact. Once there, move the other over.

DSC02136.jpg


Pretty much the same thing I do with the rest. My rest holds rifles well enough that even loading them won't move them off target, no movement adjusted a scopes zero.
 
I optically zero my scope in the mirror, mount it, dial for optic height and 200yrd drop. I set my target at 200yrds, walk back to 25yrds, take one shot sitting/kneeling. Adjust if needed, which usually a few clicks ARE. Walk back to 50yrds, take one shot. Adjust if needed, which usually isn't. Walk back to 100yrds, lay down. Take one shot. Adjust if needed. Walk back to the 200yrd bench, strap in, fire one shot. Adjust if needed and fire a group. Adjust if needed, which is rare. Sometimes I skip the 50, sometimes I skip the 100.

6 shots and I'm zeroed AND I have a profile of my 0-200 drop to confirm I don't have any lateral drift offset in my mounts.

If counting clicks were hard, my 3yr old couldn't do it.
 
kBob said:
.........
Back when I was in high school our rifle team coach would screw up our zero every week or ten days to make us start to re-zero from scratch, at the time I hated him for it. A mere five decades later I appreciate it.

-kBob
Click to expand...

Yep., he did you a favor. Always amazed every year before deer season how many folks show up at the range and don't have a clue as to how to zero their rifles. Even more amazing at those that buy a rifle and go hunting with it. When asked if they checked the zero, the stock reply is, "Nah, the gunsmith boresighted it."

Regards,
hps
 
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jmr40 said:
I set a target at 50 yards. Align the crosshairs on the bull, then look through the bore. Where the center of the bore is pointing is where the bullet would impact if I fired. I then adjust the scope until both the cross hairs and bore are in the same spot. I then fire one shot. It will usually be within 2" of point of aim.
Click to expand...

I do the same whenever I put a new scope on a gun. Your eyes must be better than mine but I usually get it within 4" inches or so at 50.
 
Why fire a three shot group? I fire only one shot, then adjust the reticle to point of impact, followed by one or two shots for confirmation and final adjustment. Been doing it this way for over a half century.
 
I and others have noticed our rifles (hunting and match) shoot 1 to 2 MOA left in field and match positions if zeroed from a bench, shouldered and the fore end resting atop something. The more recoil the rifle-ammo has, the more left of call bullets go with right-handed shooters. Sometimes there's a tiny elevation difference. Southpaws have the opposite.

So we often sight in from standing without any support using good ammo. One or two shots and sights are zeroed very well. Even if no shot ever hit dead center on the target. Zero's from sitting or prone are within 1/2 MOA of standing for a given range; shoot from them to see the small difference. If we bench the rifle as mentioned above, shots go 1 to 2 MOA to the right (left for southpaws) as stated above. With a bit of training, most folks can do this easily.

If one shoots a few-shot group from a benched rifle and it's not centered on point of aim, if you trust your sight graduations to be correct, can't you just make the adjustment then pack up and leave? Won't your rifle and ammo shoot with the same accuracy the next time? If you need to shoot another group, you aren't trusting something in the system.
 
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Offfhand said:
Why fire a three shot group? I fire only one shot, then adjust the reticle to point of impact, followed by one or two shots for confirmation and final adjustment. Been doing it this way for over a half century.
Click to expand...

Yep, works for me!
I skipped the bore sighting step, which is necessary on a new rifle or one which has just had a different scope mounted. I also find that one shot (if it felt good) is ample to proceed with adjustment. Most, however, recommend adjusting from a 3 shot group.

Regards,
hps
Click to expand...

Regards,
hps
 
Bart B. said:
I and others have noticed our rifles (hunting and match) shoot 1 to 2 MOA left in field and position match positions if zeroed from a bench, shouldered and the fore end resting atop something.
Click to expand...

I always zeroed my match rifles in each position as zero changes from one position to the next due to recoil of the rifle. For my type of hunting (I almost never take an unsupported shot hunting) the bench zero or zero off sticks works best (for me).

Regards,
hps
 
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