It doesn’t matter what we’re hunting – our equipment must be in top working order. Ensuring that everything is set to target whitetail deer, black bear, or any other big game, includes making sure that our scope is sighted in accurately.

A scope that is not sighted in correctly can result in missing your target or, even worse, an unethical kill. Because this is such a high priority for us as hunters, we want to provide you with an easy-to-follow guide to get your scope set up properly and ready to go.

Getting a Rifle Scope Set Up

Many hunters use rifle scopes. They provide hunters with an excellent vantage point to ensure a good kill, so it benefits you to make sure it’s being used correctly.

Before we start sighting in our scope, we’re going to make sure that the scope is mounted correctly one final time. Rings need to be tight and torqued to recommended specifications. Eye relief should also be set correctly as to make sure you aren’t impacted by the optic under recoil – Safety first!

Boresighting First, Always

Stop and slow down. Take the time to boresight a new scope first before ever shooting a rifle. It will save us all time as we get down to business.

When it comes to how to use a bore sight or bore sighting a rifle as it’s known in shooting circles, we start by clearing the rifle. The gun must be unloaded, and the barrel must be unobstructed as we get started.

Once we’re certain the rifle is clear and unloaded, the bolt or magazine needs to be removed. Then we’re going to mount our rifle on a secure resting point with the barrel aimed downrange and proceed with cleaning the rifle. Once that is done, we can move on to the next step.

Resting and Centering the Bore and Scope

To bore sight a rifle, you’ll want to place it on a shooting rest. Shooting rests are easy to come by – most stores with an outdoors, shooting, or hunting department carries them. They typically aren’t very expensive either.

After we’ve got our rifle situated on a rest, we’re going to stand behind the rifle, looking through the bore, or through the rifle barrel. The goal is to center the target in the bore making slight adjustments by moving the rifle carefully.

The next step is to adjust the scope to center without moving the rifle. We want to get the reticle centered on the same target we’re looking at down the bore.

Precision and Boresighting

The thing about a boresight is that it doesn’t have to be entirely exact. Our goal is to make sure it’s accurate enough to hit a paper target at shorter distance. If we test our rifle at 25 yards and hit the paper, we’re doing pretty good.

If you prefer not to bore sight manually, there is also the option of using a laser boresight. It fits into your rifle’s chamber and does the same thing. Bushnell’s 74333 Boresighter is an excellent example of one that works well for a variety of rifles. Admittedly, it does make life easier to make your gun precise, but it’s not necessary.

After it looks like the boresight is set and the reticle or red dot are lined up with the target, we can tighten it all up. Take care not to move the scope or sight to keep it on target.