need help zeroing my rifle?

Question

well everytime i try to zero it in i go in the woods behind my house and put a paper target on a tree and shoot at it from about 100 yards away but every shot i fire its not even hitting the paper so i can see were to adjust it and if i get closer its to close because i usually shoot 100 yards or more away

also its a powerline 3-9X32 scope if that helps any

Answer 1

Only the tightest of us use bore-sighting anymore. You dont fire a shot and you'll likely be on paper. This will only work with a bolt action where you can remove the bolt.

Take the gun to a range. ( I've actually done this in my house since it requires no firing at this point.) Either use a rest or even a large book opened in the middle. Lay your rifle on it with the bolt out. Your target may be as much as 75 yards away depending on how well you see. 25 Yards is easiest.

Look through the bore and compare it with what the scope sees. Adjust the scope to match what you see through the bore. Now you will be on paper for that distance that you visually bore-sighted it for. Haven't fired a shot and did it at home. Just dont let the neighbors see you pointing a rifle at their mailbox about 75 yards away. They might get nervous.

Now take it to the range for fine tuning. Good luck and good hunting.

Answer 2

Good advice, so far; make sure everything is tight (some gunsmiths even use 'lok-tight' on the screws to be sure). Then borrow or have someone bore sight it so that it will be on the paper at a hundred yards. If you have a bolt action rifle, put the rifle on sandbags and remove the bolt. Look through the bore and center the paper target in the bore. Then, without moving the rifle, look through the scope and bring the crosshairs onto the center of the paper. This is 'bore-sighting' the hard way. Then finish zeroing in your rifle by shooting at the paper target.

Good luck.

H

Answer 3

the answers so far are good but you might check to make sure your scope cross hairs are not broken that happens frequently on cheaper scopes. the height of the scope matters on your 25 yard target it should hit a little low 1" or 2" below the dot . But use a large box so you know for sure were you are hitting and remember when you adjust the scope at 25 yards the 1/4" click is at 100 yards not 25 so you will have to adjust it more at close range

Answer 4

WWD is absolutely right! Zero at 25 yards then make the adjustment for longer range. I'm a Range Safety Officer and I have help many many people zero their rifles exactly that way.
We sometimes zero them a bit high 2-3" at 100 and then see how they shoot at 200. There are charts for that too but we have some 200 yard firing points.

Answer 5

First, make sure everything's nice and tight. A loose screw on the base can drive you to distraction. Then, start close, about 25 yards, and once that's zeroed, you'll hit paper at 100. Be sure you're shooting from a solid rest and using proper technique. Once you're zeroed for 100, you can figure point blank range for the load and game, and zero a third time. This is not a place for shortcuts.

Answer 6

Yes. If your intended targets are at 50 meters that would be perfect. If intended targets are beyond 50 meters you'll need to use a ballistics calculator to determine the parabolic crossing points for the particular projectiles and velocities. 50 meters will be near the first point where the bullets pass up through the line of sight. Most hunters want bullets to drop back through line of sight around 200 meters, which will make them about 5-8 cm high at 100 meters. That way you don't have to worry about range estimation to near 300 meters where the bullets will have dropped too low to score hit on big game.

Answer 7

Adjust 1 knob at a time... shoot-adjust-confirm
shoot first at 20, adjust the windage first so that it is aligned (you will still have to make fine tuning adj.).
Then at 50, adjust up and down, usually a click is an inch (correct me if i'm wrong), .
Then when you get to 100 its fine tuning adj. both knobs...
Pay close attention to your trigger pull, this exercise of zeroing your rifle is good practice

Answer 8

you might try putting your paper target on a large piece of cardboard if you can't bore sight it. the advice given previously is good info.

Answer 9

i would spend the money and take it to a gun range and have it sighted in. then after that you can take it home and zero it in