Let’s just agree to be honest with each other from the start on this shall we? Many of you are going to hit the deer woods in month or so and have not given much thought to sighting in your rifle. You may have been hunting with a rifle that you are not sure of as to where it is shooting. I am starting to get the attention of a few of you right now because you have taken a shot at a deer and missed. This group will definitely finish reading this incredibly informative article.
To get down to those brass tacks you have heard so much about, most of us know we should sight in that rifle every year, but we have a wealth of good excuses as to why we don’t. We just do not have the time; we don’t have a good place to shoot, it takes too much ammo, and the ever popular, “well, it shot OK last year, so I’m sure it will be alright this year.”
My brothers (and sisters) in camo, you know that all of that is pretty lame. Confidence in your weapon, in any hunting situation, is absolutely essential. You must have the self-assurance firmly planted in your mind that your rifle is going to “shoot where it looks”. You must know that if you stay within the proper yardages, and shoot from a good, stable position, you and your rifle are capable of making the shot. All of this starts with being properly sighted in.
Alright! So if you haven’t done so, we’re going to take that rifle out and spend a little time getting it zeroed correctly. Right? Atta’ boy! Once again, your humble outdoor scribe has prepared a few tips for you to go by.
Like the Boy Scouts, be prepared. Don’t even attempt this if you don’t have the time and necessary equipment. If you are in a hurry, don’t go, if it is pouring the rain or the wind is blowing a gale, stay home. Have plenty of targets, ammo, a good target holder and of course a good backstop where you are shooting. I am not a fan of the “go out and shoot at a cardboard box” mentality. This is done from a bench rest, always, no exceptions.
Take a minute to ensure the scope is on the rifle correctly.This may seem self-explanatory but make sure the scope is not too far back, (towards the shooter), or too far forward. Is the scope level on the rifle? If you can’t tell, get help, hopefully from a qualified gunsmith. Very important, make sure that the screws on the scope rings are tight! If the scope can move, you will not be happy with the rifle’s performance.
All ammunition is not the same. Just keep it simple, sight in with the ammo that you are going to hunt with. Don’t use the cheap stuff to sight in and then keep the “good stuff”, to hunt with. If the load and bullet weight is different they will not shoot the same.
Shoot for a group. At twenty five yards, (that’s right twenty five yards), fire three rounds and hopefully you have a good group. Adjust the crosshairs of the scope so these rounds are centered in the bullseye of the target. Now move the target to 100 yards and do the same. If you have your rifle sighted in for 100 yards, I am going to be brave and say this is sufficient for most deer hunting east of the Mississippi River. If you want your “sighted in” range to be 200 yards, go ahead, 300, OK, but I don’t think you need it.
There is much more that I should tell you on sighting in your rifle, but space does not allow, and I feel the need to tell you this little tale.
Back in the mists of time, before certain evils such as the internet and cell phones. Back when our public schools did not resemble insane asylums, mainly because there was this big guy with a board down at the end of the hall called a principal. I was a real game warden, working in the outdoors and it was deer season. I roll into one of the public hunting area campgrounds, and here is this guy out in the middle of a field, blazing away with a Remington model 742, 30/06 at, are you ready? A tomato can! I inquire as to why he is sighting in now as it is the third day of deer season. “O, I’m not sighting in,” he tells me, “I just shooting my gun because I know my wife will check to see if it’s been fired when I get home!”
Be safe out there folks, wear your blaze orange, be kind to each other, and as always…..keep your guns clean, your knife sharp, and take a kid huntin’!