OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF LOCK

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On the other hand, a scope that's out of adjustment can frustrate the most experienced marksman. So take the time to check a sighted-in rifle before each hunting season (and then practice with it); do the same after traveling to a distant hunt, or after a day in steep or brushy country that could leave your rifle feeling the same sort of knocks that can make a quiet evening in camp seem like a little bit of heaven. More important still, never assume that a newly purchased gun is right, whether bought used or set up by sporting-goods store staff: You owe it to yourself, and to the game you intend to hunt, to burn enough powder to assure yourself that the job has been done correctly.

Begin With a Bore Sighter

Although it's possible to do the job without a bore sighter, I've come to consider this tool (Fig. 2) indispensable when setting up a scoped firearm. This device allows the rifleman, without even loading a shell, to align the scope with the bore of the rifle. A boresighted firearm will typically be "on the paper"—that is, it should hit somewhere on a standard-sized rifle target—at 100 yards. This can save a number of spent shells during the adjustment process. It is, however, only a preparation for final zeroing in.

To use a bore sighter, simply insert the appropriate rod (several will come with the tool) into the muzzle of your firearm, adjust the device until the calibrated lens is centered in front of the rifle scope, then secure the bore sighter in position by turning the knurled-head fitting to expand the rod within the bore. Now look through the scope toward a bright window or other source of light. The calibrations on the bore sighter will be superimposed over the crosshairs of the scope (Fig. 1). Simply adjust the scope until its crosshairs are centered on the bore sighter's checkerboard, and you'll have taken a giant step toward straighter shooting .

Punching Paper

The final stage of the sighting-in process can best be accomplished at a rifle range equipped with benches and good gun rests. Failing that, make up a few small cloth bags (about six inches square), stuff them with sand and use them to rest the rifle on while shooting.

FIG.3 ZEROING IN

Set up a target at 100 yards if you're sighting-in a deer rifle, or at 50 yards if you're using a .22. (If you're not at a range, make absolutely certain that you've got a completelysafe backdrop behind your target, such as a high, thick dirt bank.) Then — wearing ear and eye protection — rest the gun securely and squeeze off three careful shots at the center of the target. The bullet holes should group at some point on the target paper (Fig. 3). Measure the distance from the middle of your grouping to the bull's eye, figuring first the distance to the right or left of the target center (windage) and then that above or below the bull (elevation). Now adjust your sight or scope to compensate for the error. To do so, you'll have to know how the calibrations on the sight work. Many scopes adjust in clicks, each one equaling a change in point of impact of one inch at 100 yards. With the adjustment made, take another three careful shots. Your group should now be closer to the bull's eye. If it's not close enough to suit you, repeat the measurement, adjustment and three-shot-group process as many times as necessary; that is, until the rifle is dead-on.

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