As a hunter, there are few things more disheartening than missing what you’re aiming at. And while there are a lot of variables at play that are out of your control, sighting in your scope is one that is fully in your hands. Sighting in a rifle scope is a skill that I firmly believe every hunter should know how to do.
So, whether you’re new to the game or just looking to refine your process, I’ll break down the easiest way to get your rifle scope sighted in for hunting season.
Anatomy of a Rifle Scope
In order to better understand what I’m about to cover here, it’s important that we walk through the overall anatomy of a rifle scope. This will help you navigate the process much easier and recognize terminology. Every scope is different, but the most important components you need to utilize to sight in your scope should be relatively similar.
- Magnification Adjustment Ring: This is the dial located on the ocular side of the scope (the part your eye goes against). It allows you to zoom in and out on your target.
- Reticle Focus: The dial ring closest to the edge of the ocular side of your rifle scope. This will help focus your reticle (crosshairs).
- Elevation Turret: Located in the center on the top of your scope. This adjusts your sight up and down.
- Windage Turret: Located in the center on the right side of your scope. This adjusts your sight left and right.
- Objective Lens: The part of your rifle scope farthest away from your eye and closest to the end of your barrel.
Bore Sighting
You can purchase a bore sighting kit if you want, but you don’t need any tools other than what you likely already have. Set up your rifle either in a lead sled or with a bipod and rear rest. Remove the bolt from your rifle.
With a target out in front of you at about 20-25 yards, look through the barrel of your rifle and put that bullseye in the center of the barrel. Manipulate the rear rest so that your rifle will sit motionless with that bullseye in the center of the barrel.
Once that’s done, look through your rifle scope. Where are the crosshairs? If they are on the bullseye, cool. I’m betting they aren’t, though. Use your elevation and windage knobs to adjust your crosshairs until they are right on the bullseye.
Now, look through the barrel and look through the scope. The barrel should still have the bullseye centered, and the crosshairs should be on the bullseye. You are now bore-sighted.
A Solid Rest Is a Must
Sighting in a scope is not something that you should do freehand or by leaning on a tree branch. Can these things routes get the job done? Yes, but we’re going for efficiency here and not having to shoot through two boxes of ammunition to get sighted in. After all, ammo is pricey.
The best rest for sighting in is a lead sled. If you don’t have access to this, though, you can absolutely use a bipod and rear bag rest. We want to be as steady as possible when honing in our rifle scopes.
Start Small
OK, let’s make some noise now. We want to start at a shorter distance. I will start at 50 yards. If bore sighting is done properly, I’ve never been off of the paper at 50 yards.
It helps to have a target with an aiming point that is very easy to see, such as an orange dot. This will give you something unmistakable and easily found in the scope to aim at.
Dial your magnification adjustment ring to full power, and take one shot aiming at the bullseye. Full magnification allows us to be as precise as possible. As long as you’re on paper, take two more shots aiming at the same bullseye. A three-shot group is going to give you an adequate amount of data to make an accurate adjustment.
Making Adjustments
There are several different ways to do this, but they all lead to the same result.
Lead Sled
If you have a lead sled, set your rifle up so that the crosshairs are resting directly on the bullseye without you manipulating the rifle. You should be able to see the crosshairs not only on the bullseye but also the three bullet holes you shot outside of that dot.
Dial your elevation turret (knob on top of scope) until your crosshairs are dead, even with the center of your three-shot group. As you turn the dial, you should see your crosshairs raise or lower depending on which direction you turn it.
Repeat this process with the windage (knob on the side of the scope). Dial your windage turret until your crosshairs are dead center in the middle of your three-shot group.
After doing this, shoot another three-shot group. If everything was done right, your new group should be right in the dot.
Without a Lead Sled
If you don’t have access to a lead sled, don’t worry. You’ll just have to use some basic math. Depending on whether your scope uses MOA or MIL will depend on how many clicks you need to make. For MOA, one click is equal to 0.25″ at 100 yards. For MIL, one click is equal to 0.36″ at 100 yards. You’re at 50 yards, half of 100, so you’d need to double the clicks you would if you were at 100 yards.
So, for MOA to move 0.25” at 50 yards, you’d have to move two clicks, as opposed to one click for 100. The greater the distance, the bigger the difference each click will make.
The skinny here is you need to figure out the measurement your group is from the bullseye. I’ve done everything here, from taking a tape measurer down to the target to using the subtensions on my reticle to measure from a distance.
Many targets are also marked with 1″ boxes to give reference from afar. Whatever method you use, figure out the elevation distance and windage distance separately. So, if you are 1″ left and 2″ high at 50 yards, dial your windage turret (MOA) eight clicks left to bring your bullet 1″ to the right of that.
Then you’ll dial your elevation turret 16 clicks up to bring your bullet 1″ down. After doing this, you should be right on the dot.
Move to 100 Yards (Your Zero)
Next, you’re going to move out to 100 yards and repeat what we just covered. If you did everything right, you should be a little bit above the bullseye at 100 yards when you start.
Any slight imperfections will be brought more to light here with the increased distance so you can fine-tune your scope more. Readjust your scope to bring the bullet down into the dot at 100 yards to achieve your 100-yard zero.
One hundred yards is the distance that most people will end up zeroing their rifle scopes. It’s a distance that isn’t too difficult to shoot accurately at consistently, so the sighting-in process is much easier.
This is as opposed to zeroing at 200 yards or even 300 yards, where your skill is tested much more as a shooter. Obtaining an accurate zero is much harder at these extended distances.
What Is ‘Zeroing’ a Rifle Scope?
Bullets rise and fall. Zeroing your scope means adjusting it so that your point of aim and point of impact are the same at a specific distance. In many cases, that distance is 100 yards. If you’re hitting dead-on center at 100, you can adjust for everything else.
For many calibers, you hit just a bit higher at 100 yards than at 50 yards. This is because your bullet was still rising. As you stretch further out, your round begins to fall. All of these in-air movements have to be accounted for. A simple shooting calculator can really help you figure out those calculations.
Also, most modern boxes of ammo have a nice little ballistics chart on the back. It isn’t a bad idea to cut that sucker out and carry it on you. These things do not fly flat and parallel to the ground.
Good Luck Out There!
There you have it. Sighting in a rifle scope is an easy process that every single hunter out there should know how to do. And the better you get, the fewer shots it will take you.
What we just laid out here was 45 shots. As your confidence builds, though, there is no reason you couldn’t do it in three shots. No matter the case, take your time when doing this. There is absolutely no reason to rush and walk into the field with a “it should be fine” mentality. Get dialed and stay dialed. You won’t regret it.
Sighting in a Rifle Scope FAQ
- MOA (Minute of Angle): Imperial system (inches, yards). Each click adjusts the point of impact roughly 0.25 inches at 100 yards.
- MIL (Milliradian): Metric system (centimeters, meters). Each click adjusts the point of impact roughly 1 cm at 100 yards.
This is one is strictly preference. MOA and MIL are both capable adjustment measurements. It really comes down to what you’re most comfortable with.
The vast majority of hunters zero their rifle scopes at 100 yards. It’s not too hard of a distance to be consistently accurate at and there is more room for shooter error than at a yardage like 300 yards.
Full magnification is what we advise. The higher the magnification the easier you can see the target and the more precise you can place your crosshairs.
In a sense, you are. You’re essentially moving the crosshairs toward your points of impact, which then results in those points of impact matching up with your aiming point.
