Rifle Zeroing

Degsy

I bought a pretty manky lever-action rifle with iron sights and i'm eager to upgrade to a telesopic scope.Would my local gundealer fit the scope AND zero it as i havnt a clue how to either..

E@gle.

Im sure the gun dealer would fit the scope for you if you the buy the scope (also gonna need to buy mounts) from the same dealer and if yes he would more than likely zero it for you also. my dealer zero's my rifles for me.

1911

60 seconds with google.com
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0762/#ii



Sighting-In Your Rifle

Sighting-in your rifle is not only a question of safety; it is ethically responsible. It is very important to make your rifle as accurate as possible. Anyone who shoots a gun should know where the bullet that is fired will ultimately end up. As a hunter, you have an ethical obligation to the game you are hunting to accurately place your shot to assure a quick, clean kill that will minimize pain and suffering. A rifle that is not correctly sighted-in can result in wounded animals and dangerous down-range conditions.

Don't assume that your rifle is still accurate just because it was sighted-in at the end of the last hunting season. Changing weather conditions, accidental impacts, or loose screws can drastically change the accuracy of your firearm. You should check your rifle:

* If you remove or change your scope.
* If your rifle is dropped or strikes a hard object.
* If the climate or weather changes.
* If you change ammunition.

Remember, a hunter's most important pre-season activity is to make sure his or her rifle is correctly sighted-in.

SECTIONS
I. Iron Sights
II. Telescopic Sights
III. Making Windage And Elevation Adjustments

I. Iron Sights

Iron sights are manufactured on some guns. They consist of a front "blade" sight and a rear "V" or "peep" sight. The gun is aimed by aligning the front blade sight in the "V" or "peep hole" of the rear sight and placing both directly beneath the desired point of impact.

Iron sights are used by some people. However, iron sights limit the range and accuracy of the rifle. Most hunters cannot make the fullest use of the capabilities of modern firearms using iron sights. Windage and elevation adjustments can be made, but these adjustments are very coarse. For the average hunter, 100 yards is usually the maximum range if iron sights are used.

II. Telescopic Sights

Telescopic sights offer many advantages over iron sights. First of all, they are easier to aim. The cross hairs in the scope are placed directly on the target. The bullet should hit where the hairs cross at the correct range. Second, because they are telescopic, they magnify the target for the shooter. And because the target is easier to see, the shooter can more easily determine where on the target the bullet will hit.

Mounting The Scope. The scope must be mounted in a set of solid scope rings. Rings come in several heights. Get the lowest height possible, but be sure that when the scope is mounted in the rings it will clear bolt handles, barrel, and other parts of the gun.

If a base is used to attach the rings to the rifle, make sure the screws in the base are as tight as possible. Attach the rings to the base. If the front ring attaches to the base with a dovetail type fitting, don't use the scope to twist the ring into the base. The scope can be bent and damaged. Instead, use a 1-inch dowel to twist the front ring into place.

After the rings are in place, remove the top half of both rings and place the scope in the lower portions of the rings. Place the top parts of the rings over the scope and slightly thread the locking screws, but don't tighten them.

With the scope as far forward as possible, hold the rifle on your shoulder and move the scope to the rear until you can see the full field of view. Make sure the scope is aligned so the elevation adjustment is centered on the top of the scope. Tighten the ring locking screws as firmly as possible.

III. Making Windage And Elevation Adjustments

Pre-Sighting. Preliminary sighting can be done by optically aligning the bore of the rifle with the target. This can be accomplished by using a bore-sighting collimator or by just looking down the bore.

A bore-sighting collimator is an optical device that can be used in a shop rather than on the range. When the collimator is attached to the end of the barrel, you can look through the scope and tell which direction the windage and elevation need to be adjusted to get close to the correct scope alignment. Most gunsmiths will have a bore-sighting collimator and can make these preliminary adjustments for you.

Bore sighting is accomplished by sighting down the bore at a target and then looking through the scope to see if the cross hairs are also on the target. The first step in bore sighting is to remove the bolt so you can see through the barrel to the target.

With the bolt removed, place the rifle on a steady rest (like sandbags) about 25 yards away from the target. Position the rifle so that the target is centered when you look through the bore from the rear of the rifle. Without moving the gun, look through the scope.

If the target is not centered in the scope, make windage (side-to-side) or elevation (up and down) adjustments as needed. It will be necessary to remove the protective caps which cover the adjustment screws on most scopes. Now look through the bore to be sure that the bore is still centered and recheck the scope.

Firing A Group. After preliminary sighting-in is completed, you must fire the rifle to make final adjustments. A 100-yard firing range is needed. Be sure that an adequate backstop is behind your target. A large mound of earth is usually used and should be at least 6 feet wider than your target on all sides so all bullets will be stopped. The mound should be thick enough to stop high-powered rifle bullets.

A very steady bench or a table is needed to shoot accurately. Sand bags or some other type of rest is necessary to ensure that the firearm will not move when fired.

Place the cross hairs on the center of the target and fire three shots. Leave the gun unloaded and the bolt open after the final shot.

Zeroing Your Scope. Check the target and find the center of the three-shot group. Determine how many inches high, low, left, or right the center of the grouping is from the center of the target.

Depending on the make of the scope, the amount the windage and elevation screws must be turned will vary. Both screws are marked to show which way to turn them to move the point of impact up, down, right, or left. Write down how much you move the screws to aid in making further adjustments.

After adjusting the scope, fire another three-shot group. Leaving the rifle unloaded and the bolt open, check the target. Determine the center of the three shots and adjust the scope if needed. Repeat this procedure until the scope is zeroed and your bullets are centered around the desired point of impact.

Most people will zero a rifle at either 100 or 200 yards. If you want to zero your rifle at 200 yards, adjust it so the bullet is 1.5 to 2 inches high (depending on the caliber and bullet characteristics) at 100 yards. The bullet will drop and be roughly centered at 200 yards. Consult a ballistic table to determine the exact distance above center to fine-tune the scope adjustment.

Sparks

1911 wrote:

For the average hunter, 100 yards is usually the maximum range if iron sights are used.

I know they're open sights, not aperture sights, but still - 100 yards? La Palma shooters shoot .308s at over a thousand yards with just iron sights!

Rovi

1911 has posted a lot of useful info, but I'd add a bit more.

Your gunsmith (or anyone else) can only roughly zero your scope. It's up to YOU to fine zero it for YOUR eyesight, how YOU hold the rifle, and a host of other variables that are unique to YOU.
A collimator (bore-sighter) will allow you to 'get on paper' (put your shots somewhere on the target) straight away, thus saving ammo at the start, but it's only going to give you a 'start' position.

Even if you get someone else to do the fine 'live fire' adjustments on your scope, you'll still find that it won't be quite right for you.
I certainly find that I have to fire a few 'sighter' shots so that I know how much windage (left/right) and elevation (up/down) hold I need to put the bullets where I want if I don't want go messing with someone else's zeroed scope. I'm not surprised if I find I have to hold an inch or two (or sometimes more) off the bull, and that's only at 50 yards!
That's with subsonic .22s mind, which have a trajectory like a rainbow, but it’s an illustration of how one persons 'zero' is another’s 'miss'.

If you’re going target shooting, you’ll find that your ‘zero’ is only a starting point anyway, as it’ll constantly get moved all over the place to allow for wind and range. That’s why target scopes have big external adjustment towers and heavy duty internals, to stand up to the constant adjustment.

If you’re hunting, you owe it to your prey to place your bullets as close as you possibly can to where they’re intended, which necessitates zeroing the scope at the start of the season and checking it regularly throughout, and especially if the scope gets a knock.

If your interest is plinking (tin cans, etc), it’s not the end of the world if the scope isn’t properly zeroed I suppose, but I can see it leading to a lot of frustration and language unsuitable for the company of members of the clergy or elderly spinsters

I’d also suggest firing your first zeroing shots at 25 meters or so. Get it punching holes in the bull at that range, and then move out to the longer stuff.
Do your zeroing on a calm day, so that you’re not building ‘windage’ into your zero.
If you’re going hunting or plinking, set up your final zero at about 80% of your anticipated maximum range, and then fire a bunch of test groups at other ranges to see how much you have to hold over or under to place your shots on the target.

Take a look at http://www.mytargets.com/
Download and print off their GRID TARGET WITH SIGHT ALIGNMENT AID. It’s a nice bright and easy target to zero on, and is laid out in a 1 inch grid.

Don't be afraid to adjust your scope, its part of the whole shooting experience. Provided you don't muscle the adjusters past the end of their travel (you'll feel them start to tighten up), you won't hurt it.


Oh, for best results you should use the same ammo for both zeroing and shooting. This is probably most critical for target shooting, but its good practice for hunting too, particularly if you intend shooting out at around your maximum range.

.

jimbo 22

I find my gun needs to be zeroed every 30 - 50 rounds. I have a jig made up - basically its a vice to support the stock and two pads to support the barell. this pervents the gun from mooving.

Fire a the first shot. Without mooving the gun move the crossheirs of the scope to where your gun fired the first shot AND PULL THE SECOND SHOT. A third shot may be fired to check for accuracy and consistancy.

LB6

Speaking of free targets.

Have a look here. http://www.protargets.com/targets/index2.htm

Shar.

civdef

When you sight your gun in from a vice/jig, be aware of the fact that points of aim can vary depending on how the stock is supported. Particularly with hunting rifles, where the stock is less rigid than on target rifles, point of impact does vary a bit between bench/vise/unsupported etc. Its worthwhile firing the last few sighters from the same shooting position you will use in the field, to confirm that everything is going where it should.
If the a rifle needed to be resighted every 30-50 rounds, I'd be taking a long look at the scope and mounts - that or how it was being stored.

Rovi

civdef wrote:

When you sight your gun in from a vice/jig, be aware of the fact that points of aim can vary depending on how the stock is supported. Particularly with hunting rifles, where the stock is less rigid than on target rifles, point of impact does vary a bit between bench/vise/unsupported etc. Its worthwhile firing the last few sighters from the same shooting position you will use in the field, to confirm that everything is going where it should.

Which brings us back to shooting test groups and adjusting the scope to suit
I've never been a fan of the 'vise and a couple of shots' method of zeroing for exactly the reasons you state.

civdef wrote:

If the a rifle needed to be resighted every 30-50 rounds, I'd be taking a long look at the scope and mounts - that or how it was being stored.

A properly mounted and unabused scope should hold it's position for thousands of shots, so I'd also suspect there's something badly wrong here.


.

Croppy Boy

If you ever tried benchrest shooting you'd find that 1. if a rifle is held in a vice the point of impact will change from shot to shot. A rifle has to be able to recoil even if firing a subsonic .22 and 2. The point of impact will change for the first few shots as the barrel warms up. The first shot could be up to an inch away at 50 yds. from when the barrel is warm.

As most people zero a scope after numerous shots the point of impact out of a cold barrel would quite different to the setting of the scope.