How to check your sight in while hunting without firing!

[Lee Whitsel]

Here in Montana some know that after you sight in your deer and elk rifle fire one shot at 25 yards int a small chunk of a cereal box cardboard at 25 yards holding rock solid shoot a shot at a bull mark on the cardboard at 25 the bullet should hit about 1" to 1 1/4" below the bull mark at that distance. cut that out and take it along 0n your hunt. If the gun is dropped and needs t be rechecked simply set up in a solid shot 25 yards from the cardboard and fire a shot and if its n the bullet should g int the same hole. If its of say much at all resight in again as needed. But that requires you firing ammo while hunting and maybe disturbing the hunting area. The new idea I came up with is the same but my own version. Buy a laser light for say your 308 your hunting with. Get back 25 yards get rock solid aim at the card board target with the laser turned on and look threw the scope if the red dot is not in the bullet hole and say of by an inch or more you need to sight in again. If o.k. go on hunting without firing a shot you checked it.

 

[K22]

I am interested to see what others do because this has been an issue at times for me during my many years of hunting.

Deer and Elk have fairly large vital areas and depending on the distances you anticipate shooting, a simple check process that approximate the optimum sight in might be all that is necessary until you get to a place where you can do a more thorough sight in check.

Any shooting during big game season in the deep woods is a not a good idea in the areas I use to hunt. When I've taken a fall and bumped the rifle during deer hunting, I would just keep hunting but in the big woods, shots are rarely over 150 yards, and I can't say that I ever missed a deer due to the rifle being subjected to an impact.

Varmint and predator hunting is a different proposition since the vital areas are smaller and distances are usually extended. Therefore, I use 50-yard ballistic data for each rifle / load and I carrying (in the truck) a simple easy to post field target. So, I can quickly check sight in so as not to ruin a hunt. In 50+ years of hunting I have taken spills, knock the rifle off my cross sticks causing it to crash to the ground, and tripped over hog holes crashing to the ground with rifle in hand. Even though I try to be very careful, shit happens especially the older you get with your loss of bodily coordination.

But I image big game hunting in Montana, probably hiking several miles into rough terrain, a simpler sight in check system would be needed. Interested to see what others use.

 

[jds holler]

I just go down the road into someone else's hunting area and do a little shooting. jd

 

[Doug Casner]

When I bore sight I use my pistol range. Its only about 12 yds. I better be about 4 ins. low or Ill shoot over the target at 100. I sight mine in before season. If its off when I get to the woods its just off. Doug

 

[divingin]

The new idea I came up with is the same but my own version. Buy a laser light for say your 308 your hunting with. Get back 25 yards get rock solid aim at the card board target with the laser turned on and look threw the scope if the red dot is not in the bullet hole and say of by an inch or more you need to sight in again.

Test before actually relying on that in practice. Many of the cartridge type laser boresighters are off by a substantial amount.

It really sucks to "correct" a problem only to actually introduce the problem you were correcting in the first place [did that come out right?]

 

[shoobe01]

Test before actually relying on that in practice. Many of the cartridge type laser boresighters are off by a substantial amount.

It really sucks to "correct" a problem only to actually introduce the problem you were correcting in the first place [did that come out right?]

This. Test repeatedly, and check for things like orientation of the laser boresighter, clean the chamber before placing it. Also be aware that you can break zero on the boresighter! So be sure to store and handle it very very carefully.

Mostly: do not second guess. If the check result is close to zero, assume zero is good and it's a test procedure failure. I would not more than coarse zero off a laser so if you must rezero it requires firing live ammo.


For real rough duty folks, entirely aside from less-fragile optics, two zeroed items is the usual solution. Add irons (that you can see), a piggybacked RDS (probably not a laser sight for hunting use, but that sort of thing). Then you can check any time you want, even in the field. If you make it a habit to check both sights, then you will become more aware

 

[3Ackleys]

I have an even simpler solution. I only have properly mounted Nightforce scopes on my hunting guns. Anything that causes an ATACR to lose zero will most likely cause me to lose consciousness.
The one I am using now has gone through a lot of bumps, a vehicle roll over, several 6' impacts from crashes on mountain bikes and horses. I have never had to adjust zero.

 

[jds holler]

The old 25 and 200 yard rule of thumb is pretty valid with most any scoped high power rifle. -- and would work fine for the guy who keeps his shots to 200 yards. jd

 

[J_idaho]

I am very interested if this works. I was on a 3 day backpacking mule deer hunt when I fell on a rock on my side were the rifle was shouldered. The last day of hunt I decided to shoot a buck that I had passed on many times over the 3 days. I missed 2 easy 400 yard shots. When I got home my rifle was off several inches at 100 yards. This would be a good method if it works. In my case I was spike camped 1500 yards on opposite ridge I was hunting I had no desire to shoot my rifle for no reason.

 

[Nealm66]

I’ve had to help a lot of guys get on paper at 100 before they shot a box up of expensive ammunition after using one of those laser bore things. 25 yards is the easiest but one of the ranges I shoot at doesn’t have anything out to 100 so I just pull the bolt and line up the reticles. Seems more accurate than 1.5-2” low at 25 with some practice and the right target. Hope this helps

 

[Dimner]

I like the initial idea of bringing the 25 yard target with you and just verifying with 1 shot during hunting season if it comes to it. Or at least keep a pic on your phone of the 25 yard result.

I cant think of a place where it would be difficult to perform this test during hunting season. If I put my mind to it. If you are really concerned about disturbances. Do it at like 1pm. In Michigan only the crazies, like me, are sitting in the blind at 1pm in late November. I've been known to do a sun up to down down straight sit. Never standing up once. Apples and peanut butter packets to eat. Man, now I want to go hunting.

 

[wildcatter]

Bore sighting at 12 or even 25 yards might be OK for 100 yard shots, but worthless beyond that.

When I bore sight I want a target 100's of yards or more away. I usually use the tallest tree on a distant tree line. If my crosshairs are just touching it, and my bore center right on what I can see of it. I'll be within an 1" at 100 yards. I never need more than two shots at 100 to be dead on.

But close range quickly changes the further out you get.

 

[Tesoro]

I have an even simpler solution. I only have properly mounted Nightforce scopes on my hunting guns. Anything that causes an ATACR to lose zero will most likely cause me to lose consciousness.
The one I am using now has gone through a lot of bumps, a vehicle roll over, several 6' impacts from crashes on mountain bikes and horses. I have never had to adjust zero.

I was gonna say that and you beat me to it! 3.5-15 nxs is all ya need for nearly all hunting. ps: pretty hard to go hunting anywhere where yo dont hear gun shots so wtf..let one loose on a rock at 100 to check your zero

 

[Old Navy]

Anything that causes an ATACR to lose zero will most likely cause me to lose consciousness. Good one!

 

[mauser284]

I guess I am lucky. I have never had a scope fail me on a hunt or ever really outside of a spring piston air rifle.

I likewise have never droped a rifle, shotgun or pistol in my life. Never had poor muzzle disipline and praise God never had a neglagent discharge either. Seen plenty of them though.

So I am glad this topic came up because I did not have a policy or protocol for dealing with it either! It is something to consider for sure! Kind of like the idea of a NEO kit long ago long before "bug out bags"!

 

[mauser284]

Anything that causes an ATACR to lose zero will most likely cause me to lose consciousness. Good one!

That sort of logic is not logic at all it is wishful thinking no one could think that if they had ever been around active duty personel and machinery nothing is soldier proof not even a tank and optics even more so.

People my age and older almost always babbied optics and yet they fail. Even Toyota/Lexus lets a few lemons out the door and I would bet my lunch tomorrow that Toyota's quality control in Japan is far better than any optic maker in the world. There is no chance NightForce has better quality control than Toyota/Lexus. No one has written a best selling book on NightForces method of design and manufacturing! Just saying NightForce worship might be a bit early! LOL I doubt anything Nightforce makes would survive well against automotive airbags if tested in bulk let alone NHTSA human testing in crash environments. LOL

If you wanted to send me a NightForce optic for testing I would happliy apply autmotive and aviation medical concussion test standard to it and see how it does! Until then though it "I call that bold talk for a one eye'ed fat man!" -Ned Pepper True Grit 1969.....LOL I am not calling you fat or one eye'ed either just a laugh amoungst friends!

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Back in the day...we would sight in the 308's with aperture sights by shooting 3in high at a 25yd aiming mark. That would put you on paper at the shorts

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

If i fall hard enough to question if my gun is still on you can be sure I'm firing a round to verify zero.

 

[M21]

I take my bore sighter with grid (old school type) with me. Don't carry it in the woods but it is in camp just in case. Never had to make any adjustments but it is nice to be able to check and have the confidence everything is ok.
Bore sighter is great when changing scopes on a rifle. Line up bore sighter, make note of crosshair location.
Leave bore sighter in place, swap out scope and bring new scope reticle to previously noted location and you are very close and saved some ammo.

 

[Bojo]

As a younge kid I remember my dad going down a
On an icy logging road.
Shortly after that he missed a doe. Dad is one of those guys who I can not even remember him ever shooting more than once at a deer.

No back up rifle with us at all.
There he goes smearing some chew spit onto his shit paper and handing it against an old scrap tree. I remember him resighting it back in.

I also remember me always after that season taking a spare rifle to camp with me. Falling and damaging a gun or scope may very well ruin a day , but it will not ruin the season.

Dropped my compound bow about 20 feet from the tree stand in 2014.
It was about 15 years old at the time. It did not fair so well on the sudden stop at the bottom.
Bought a new crossbow the next day and took a nice 8pt. With it 3 days later.