Bore sighting

[Hard H2O]

I work at an outdoor retailer. I also RSO at my club.

I have a laser that has a magnet on the end with circles etched in. You use the circles to align with the end of the barrel after you stick it on. We sell newer versions that have a pilot that will work for most any chambering. The laser I have works OK. Gets me on paper. We also sell the type that are chambered in the firearm. I have never invested in those. I will be contrary to many of the posts here and say that my cheap laser works good enough. As long as I am on paper I can work from there.

I see people at the club often having trouble getting on paper. I usually suggest they move to the 25 yard range and start there. Not everyone is open to suggestion however and I have seen one or two boxes of ammo go down range to no avail. When we are on RSO duty we are not there to help or coach. We are there for safety so there is only so much we can do. We are not allowed to touch firearms except if needed for safety.

If I am there shooting I can then help. I usually have a large sheet of paper or I have the supplies to tape a few sheets together. Then I suggest the shooter aim at the top center edge, bottom center edge, right center edge, and left center edge. Often, especially at the shorter ranges like the 25 yard or 50 yard, a hole will miraculously appear on some spot of the big sheet of paper. From there you have a starting point. The big sheet of paper is a great tool especially for those who have just slapped an optic on and called it good.

One thing to do is ask what they torqued the screw to. If they ask what that is then you might have a person who is new to mounting scopes and it is best to check that everything is snugged down properly.

The one shot zero as has been mentioned works great if they are on paper. If I am an RSO it does require them to have a buddy or help. You have to hold the firearm steady and have someone dial the turrets. It works great when you have someone with a new rifle and one box of ammo and they are too cheap to buy more. They want that one box to get them zeroed and to last them a few seasons.

 

[milo-2]

I've used both, the laser works as well as bore sighting to get on paper. Not sure how it would not work unless you don't have it centered in the bore. In fact, there is no way I can think of that it can't work if it's centered.

I have seen this fail with rifles, not the lazer, it's actually tracking your scope to the dot on the wall, and the distance is under 20 feet, closer to 15 ft on a garage door.
If you think you are getting on paper at 100 in this scenario, your paper best be 4' high and aiming at the bottom of it.

I have no need, or use for a laser in a rifle, this crap is actually pretty simple.
Now I will adjust pistol sights using a laser, but if I was actually any good with a pistol, it wouldn't be a useful option, lol

 

[JustMe2]

I like to use the corner of some object to center the bore like a window frame, tree branch intersection, square target corner, etc. A corner is easier to see than a spot because it gives you both a horizontal and vertical reference simultaneously rather than a spot that wanders around inside the bore. The smaller the spot, the more the wander. The two lines (vert & horz) divides a barrel side and the top or bottom in half putting the corner in the center. I feel a single point is more difficult to center in the bore. A corner is similar to open sights and having a wider front sight that is more precise to center in the rear sight.

 

[nealm66]

I have seen this fail with rifles, not the lazer, it's actually tracking your scope to the dot on the wall, and the distance is under 20 feet, closer to 15 ft on a garage door.
If you think you are getting on paper at 100 in this scenario, your paper best be 4' high and aiming at the bottom of it.

I have no need, or use for a laser in a rifle, this crap is actually pretty simple.
Now I will adjust pistol sights using a laser, but if I was actually any good with a pistol, it wouldn't be a useful option, lol

Just one question, do you have any large magnum primers in stock? ( lol, just kidding)

 

[nealm66]

Whoops, that reply was meant for hard h2o

 

[tysonmax]

I use the old tried and true method. Rifle on sled or front and rear bags, I pull my bolt and look down the bore at a target I set up around 50 yards away. I just did this last week setting up a new scope. I was on paper on the first shot, moved reticle to the hole, fired again, and then one more to verify. It literally works every time.

 

[Hard H2O]

Whoops, that reply was meant for hard h2o

You and everyone else is looking for them. I have a good personal stash of them. Not great. Just good. I believe we will not ship primers nor powder.

We do not put them on hold or take requests to set them aside when they come in.

I will look tonight when I get there but I am sure the situation is the same as the last day I worked on Wednesday and that would be a no.

 

[victor3ranger]

Using a de-primed, fire-formed case in the chamber, look through the flash hole at the target at 100, or some other object. The size of the flash hole makes the job a lot easier(smaller peep sight).

Holy cow I never thought of that

 

[milo-2]

The one shot zero as has been mentioned works great if they are on paper.

Theoretically, a 1 shot zero is virtually impossible unless your rifle shoots 5 shots in .010"s or under. That shot needs validation.
I hear, my rifle shoots under 1 moa, I ask how do you figure a zero? I understand shifting center of group to aimpoint, but subsequent shots are still high left and low right.

In 1984, I bought a Win 70 Featherweight 25-06, owner of BND sports here in town boresighted it for me, most likely the old Bushnell system. I grabbed a couple of the old Redfield targets, still in use today under all kinds of names, and a couple boxes of Federal Premium 117gr Sierra soft points and headed to the range.
Setup at 100, knowing I want to shoot this barrel cold. I fire one, felt good, could not find the bullet hole on paper, 2.5-8x? Leupold Vari X III. I walked down to the target, low and behold I literally centerpunched the big center diamond, my aimpoint, of course I was in disbelief. I contemplated just packing it in, then realized the goal was 1.5" high at 100 and according to wives tales, now dead-on at 200.
This is when the rodeo started.

 

[nealm66]

You and everyone else is looking for them. I have a good personal stash of them. Not great. Just good. I believe we will not ship primers nor powder.

We do not put them on hold or take requests to set them aside when they come in.

I will look tonight when I get there but I am sure the situation is the same as the last day I worked on Wednesday and that would be a no.

No worries, my reply was just in humor. I'm sure you've heard before

 

[nealm66]

I think it's good to have these conversations for all to see. I for one had never heard of bore sighting through a primer hole ( thanks VinceMule). Sighting through the bore may seem like common knowledge to a lot of us but from my experience it's not so good to at least try to get it out there. I don't think many of us knew the technique the first time we set up a new rifle

 

[Philward]

A neighbor's small basement window 100 yards away works really well for me to see through the bore. I've been doing it this way for over 15 years for everything from .223s to .30s.

The ironing board that lives in the spare bedroom (with a window that faces this house) makes for an effective height adjustable platform. I'm easily within a few inches at 100 yards in less than 10 minutes with no shots fired.

That's funny, I use the white dryer vent on the side of neighbors dark brown house that I can see through the patio door.

 

[Namuh]

Great idea

I use the old tried and true method. Rifle on sled or front and rear bags, I pull my bolt and look down the bore at a target I set up around 50 yards away. I just did this last week setting up a new scope. I was on paper on the first shot, moved reticle to the hole, fired again, and then one more to verify. It literally works every time.

I've never used a laser and it may work for some, but as others have said I bore sight by eye. At home I put the gun in a sled so it can't move, then pull the bolt and look down the bore, I use a white paper plate set at about 30 yards across my driveway and on the plate I put a small black dot with a sharpie. The plate when lined up evenly to the bore will give you a perfectly round circle with a small halo around it. Then I look through the scope and adjust the cross hairs to the small black sharpie dot, check back and forth a couple times to make sure the bore and scope are lined up with the plate and I'm done. When I go out to shoot the gun I'm easily on paper with the first shot at 50 yards, usually just a few inches off. With a center fire I adjust the scope and shoot again at 100 for a final adjustment. I've done two .22lr in the last couple weeks and the paper plate works really well, next time I do a center fire I'll try that primer hole too.

 

[Philward]

In 2022 a friend bought a Savage ultralight in 6.5PRC and the shop mounted and bore sighted the scope. We were heading to the range with some other guys to sight in rifles. I aske him if he cleaned the barrel and he said no. I looked and it was filthy, so I cleaned it. When we were shooting at 50yds it wouldn't hit paper, 18x18 target. Pulled the bolt and it was so far off I think they boresighted it for 600yds.