Are you a shooter looking to improve your skills? Then knowing how to sight your rifle scope is a skill that you must have. The process that involves sighting a rifle scope needs a lot of technical understanding. You see, if your scope isn’t properly sighted, you may end up missing your target or worse making an unethical kill. In this article, we will give you a simple and easy to understand guide that will help you sight your rifle scope.
Main Contents
What is a Rifle Scope?
A rifle scope is an important shooting gear that allows shooters to hit long-range targets with a lot of accuracy. Scopes are built with a reticle and a number of magnification lenses. The area of the target where your bullets should impact it is shown by a gadget called a reticle. Together, these tools make it possible to take farther shots that are more accurate.
How To Sight Rifle Scope
Now, it’s time for us to find out how to sight a rifle scope. It doesn’t matter whether your rifle is a very accurate one, if you don’t sight it properly, you will be missing all your shots. One of the disadvantages of not sighting a rifle is the fact that you may end up wounding your prey and giving it an unethical death.
Whether you are hunting a deer or elk, having top-notch gear would be beneficial. To be prepared to shoot any big game, the best rifle scope needs to be accurately sighted. How to sight your rifle scope is shown in detail in the next paragraph.
Step 1
The first thing you want to do when sighting your rifle is to set up your rifle scope. One of the advantages of having a good long-range rifle scope is the vantage point that it gives you. It is in your best interest to use them properly.
Check your scope mounting one last time before beginning sighting your scope. Also, ensure that the rings are torqued and tightened to the recommended levels. Always remember that safety should be a priority for you. So, ensure that your eye relief is properly set to avoid being hit by the optic when your rifle recoils. If your eye relief isn’t set properly, the optics could rebound from the power of recoil and strike your eye, giving you a black eye.
Step 2
After you are done with the first step, the next step is to bore sight your rifle. Before you fire your gun, you need to spend a lot of time bore sighting your to rifle. This would help you save time as you get to work.
When you clean the rifle while learning how to use a bore sight is a very beneficial skill to have. It is important that the weapon must be unloaded and the barrel must be clear before you start.
Once you are certain that the rifle is clear and unloaded, you must remove the bolt or magazine. Proceed to mount the weapon in a secure location and continue cleaning it while the barrel is pointed downrange.
Step 3
Now you must rest, center and bore the scope. Also, set the rifle on a shooting rest and boresight the rifle scope. You can buy a shooting rest by visiting a hunting department or your local store. Thankfully, shooting rests are not very expensive.
As soon as the rifle is mounted on a rest, you should stand behind it and look through the barrel. You can also look into the bore. To center the target in the bore, the rifle must be moved slowly while tiny adjustments are made.
The next action is to center the sight without moving the rifle. The center of the reticle should contain the target you are shooting down the bore.
Step 4
It is important that you note that a boresight isn’t very accurate which is why it has to be calibrated. It is important that your boresight is accurate enough to hit a paper target. You will know that your boresight is well calibrated when you shoot your rifle at 25 yards and it can hit a paper target.
If you’d prefer not to manually bore sight, another option is to use a laser boresight. It accomplishes the same task and fits the rifle’s chamber. Although it is not necessary, making your primary arms exact does make things easier.
Step 5
This next step is to focus on the reticle. After tightening your reticle, it would assist if you focused the reticle on the sight. You must practice focusing your eyes on the crosshairs when using the scope.
Additionally, the sky is the best background for focusing the reticle because it is stable. Next, swivel your head to look at a far-off cloud or tree after aiming your scope at the sky.
Lastly, bring your attention back to the long-range telescope. When you return your focus to the best long range scope, it’s crucial to make sure it is clear and focused. Since you don’t want to wait for your eyes to adjust, it must occur more quickly.
Step 6
Now you are ready to begin shooting once the scope has been tightened and the reticle has been adjusted. Whenever you test your rifle, ensure that you use the same ammunition you’d use for hunting. Using the ammunition you use for hunting will give you a fair idea how your rifle will respond when you are out hunting.
Since bore sighting is designed to get you on paper at a distance of 25 yards, you can begin firing. To make this simple, hold the weapon steadily using sandbags and then aim for the middle of the target as you release the shot. After the shot is fired, the gun will recoil. Action open, reposition the weapon so that it is centered on the target.
While staring through the scope and moving the crosshair to the point of impact until it is back in the middle and stable, keep your rifle as steady as you can. If further shots are required, change the height, fire another shot, and repeat the operation. Once the shot is in the middle, go on to a different range.
Step 7
It is important that you adjust the distance of your rifle before shooting. You need to understand how to sight a rifle scope at different ranges.
When you sight at an additional hundred yards, make sure your shot is usually pushed by a quarter of an inch. Once you are regularly hitting the bullseye with groups of shots at each distance, you can fine-tune your shooting for targets that will be farther away.
Take your time when firing. This is because some rifles have a tendency to “walk” shots as the barrel warms up. Shooting too quickly will result in your rifle not reaching the precise target you are aiming for since your barrel needs time to cool between bullets.
Step 8
Finally, you need to set your MOA. The 360-degree clock minute hand is a minute of angle. Using a reference of 1/60 accurate shooting angles becomes a possibility. There are several steps that are involved in making the adjustments to the MOA.
It is simple to complete your MOA calibration at an outdoor long-range shooting range because you’ll need targets set up at various ranges longer than 50 yards.
Additionally, having a mount to keep your rifle firm while adjusting your MOA would be beneficial. The majority of rifle scopes allow you to adjust the crosshairs in stages of 14 MOA. This amounts to a movement of 14″ per click at a distance of 100 yards. The 1/8 inch and 1/4 inch MOA click settings are the most common among hunters.
Why You Need To Sight Your Scope?
Sighting your rifle scope is one of the best ways to ensure accuracy on your rifle. So, you need to put in the time and effort in knowing how to sight your rifle scope if you want to be a proficient hunter.
- Accuracy
You are not limited by distance when you sight your rifle scope. You will be able to hit your target from long ranges and make clean, instant kills. A well sighted scope can allow you to hit a target from as far as 100 yards.
- Long Range Shots
There are many scopes that come with great magnifications. When you sight your scope, the high magnification allows you to hit your target in a precise manner.
- Better Shooting Confidence and Safety
A well sighted scope gives you more. You know you can now hit targets more accurately, which gives you an assurance.
You need a good, reliable sight if you want to hunt at night. Long-range shots become simpler at night when using a rifle scope that is properly sighted. Additionally, some scopes provide night vision.
Final Thoughts
Every good shooter knows the place of properly sighting a rifle scope. The difference between succeeding in a shooting competition and failing horribly can be made by an accurate rifle scope. Better accuracy, increased confidence, and improved night vision are some benefits of correctly sighting a rifle scope.
Travis Mike is a firearm enthusiast and author passionate about all things guns. With 10 years of experience in the industry, Travis Mike has gained a wealth of knowledge on the subject. He is skilled in gunsmithing and tactical training. In addition to professional experience, Travis Mike is an avid hunter and shooter, regularly participating in local shooting ranges and hunting trips.