How to Bore Sight a Rifle

Bore-sighting is easy and quick and requires less ammunition to get your rifle dialed in.

The muzzle is a very important part of the rifle is accuracy is a concern. This is because the muzzle is the very last part of the barrel to touch the bullet before it enters the air. Any damage to the muzzle will decrease accuracy. Avoid touching the muzzle with hard metal objects that could cause damage. This includes mechanical bore sighters that require you to insert it into the muzzle.

Remove the bolt from the rifle, so you can look down the barrel from the breech end. Firmly support the rifle with sandbags, bipod or bench rest. This is an important step, it will be very difficult to look down the barrel and then through the scope without moving the rifle if you do not have proper support.

Line up the rifle on the rest so that the target can be viewed through the bore. This method works best if the target is set up approximately 50-100 yards away. Make sure to look directly through the centre of the bore to ensure perfect alignment. With a larger caliber rifle it will be pretty easy to find the target while looking down the barrel. Smaller calibers such as .22 will be a little more difficult. Using a bright colored target eases the process with smaller calibers.

Once the rifle has been aligned with the target, carefully adjust the scope making sure not to move the rifle. The scope should be adjusted so that the cross hairs are at the same place on the target as the bore. You have now bore-sighted your rifle. And, remember it doesn't have to be perfect, just close enough so when the first round is fired it hits the target, and gives and indication how the scope needs to be adjusted.

Replace the bolt and fire a round at the target. Make small adjustments to the scope to bring the shot into the bull's-eye. Realign the cross hairs with the target, and fire again. You should be getting close, continue making small adjustments until you are happy with the way the shots are grouping. Factory ammunition will only be so accurate, for improved accuracy, consider reloading.

Fire a final group to confirm the zero and make any minor adjustments to the point of impact. With a solid rifle rest the entire sight in operation can be completed with only a few rounds.