How to Zero a Rifle Scope Without a Bore Sight

Shooting is much more enjoyable when you hit the target.

Accurate shooting requires a combination of patience, skill and a rifle that is well maintained. Shooting at a target and being off by a few inches may be an annoyance at the range, but when hunting it can mean the difference between coming home with the game, or being disappointed (or, even worse, leaving a wounded animal behind to suffer). Modern scopes with superior technology have added greatly to the potential accuracy of most any type of rifle, but it is still up to the shooter to make sure everything is set up properly and works together.

Things You'll Need

• Several white sheets of target paper with a single 1/2 inch black dot in the middle
• Rifle bench rest or sandbags
• Spotting scope (optional)

Instructions

1. Place target in stand at approximately 25 yards. Position the rifle in the rest, or on the sandbags.

2. Obtain the black dot through the scope, and fire three rounds at it, being careful to not move the rifle and using the same trigger pull.

3. Verify the distance from the holes to the black dot. If the rifle is capable of accuracy, the bullet holes should be in the same general 1-inch area. If not, test fire another three rounds. If the rifle will not hold to a small pattern of holes it will probably not be able to produce any accuracy using a scope.

4. Keeping the rifle steady, acquire the black spot again, and use the scope "windage" knob as per the manufacturer's instructions to line up the crosshairs in the center of the three holes.

5. Test fire three more shots. These should be much closer to a correct vertical line with the black dot. If necessary, use the same technique again to move another series of shots to be in a straight vertical line.

6. Line up the scope the same way on the original black dot, but use the elevation knob to adjust the crosshairs so that they are in the middle of the last series of shots. Test fire again and check how close the shots are to the same horizontal line as the target dot. If the scope is adjusted correctly the rifle should now be shooting at a "zero" position through the scope. If the horizontal line is still off, test and adjust again until the rifle scope is zeroed.

7. Adjust the distance to the target for the type of shooting you will normally be doing and redo the testing and adjustment to the scope. If the distance is within 100 yards it may be possible that no adjustment needs to be done.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful to not move the rifle between adjustments to the scope.

• If you find the rifle is inherently accurate you may be able to fire only one round between adjustments and use that as a reference.

• Always follow common sense safety rules when around firearms.

References

• Zero Rifle Scope: Shooting Plan
• Outdoor Pros: How to Zero a Rifle Scope
• Rifle Scope Shop: How To Zero a Rifle Scope

Resources

• Optics Planet: How to Choose a Rifle Scope
• Rifle Scopes: The Basics