The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Sighting-In Your RifleGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Sighting-In Your Rifle | Login/Join |
One of Us |
I've been working on some loads in my .338 Win. Mag. for an upcoming hunting trip. I found some interesting articles on the web on sighting-in a scoped bolt action rifle. Which way do you think is better? This: An Entire 20-Round Box of Ammo (or More) Or this: 2 (or 3) Rounds Isn't the divergent thinking hilarious?!  For me, practicing extensively for the few shots I will take while hunting is overrated. So I just sight-in the old-fashioned way, by adjusting my scope to move my group to where I want it. I generally burn up about half a box of ammo getting there. Two to four groups. Then I'll shoot some more just because it's fun.  I have found, however, that with my .450 Rigby and .500 A-Square, less is definitely more!  Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | ||
|
| Administrator |
A bit of a convoluted way of doing it. The rifles I hunt with are identical. Been hunting with them for donkeys years. Same load. Only change was from Barnes X bullets to my own Walterhog bullets. Everything else stayed the same. Every year, I load my new ammo and check the zero of both rifles. Normally shooting no more than 3 shots in each. Just to make sure nothing has moved. A 10 shot group is best. But takes time and lots of components. 5 shot groups are great. Ideally, 5, 5-shot groups will give you a better idea of the accuracy. But. But. But. The weakest link in this under hunting conditions is the man pulling the trigger. | |||
|
| One of Us |
I do a rough bore-sight at 25 yds. Shoot a 3 shot group, adjust the point of aim back to the point of impact. Move the target to 100yds and confirm/adjust zero for that range (typically 1" high for rifles under .375, dead on .375 and larger). | |||
|
One of Us |
25 yards first and then adjust for 100 3 to 5 shots will do | |||
|
One of Us |
3 shots at 100 yards and adjust to one inch above center bull If at a range and have access to a rock steady rest or clamp then put crosshairs on the bull and adjust the scope back to the center of the group just fired ROYAL KAFUE LTD Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144 Instagram - kafueroyal | |||
|
| One of Us |
Both in the "whacking" class and unpleasant on the rotator cuff.  | |||
|
one of us |
20 shot groups? Really sounds like an article funded by an ammo company encouraging people to use up more ammo. "In the worship of security we fling ourselves beneath the wheels of routine, and before we know it our lives are gone"--Sterling Hayden-- David Tenney US Operations Manager Trophy Game Safaris Southern Africa Tino and Amanda Erasmus www.tgsafari.co.za | |||
|
| Administrator |
This is a proper sighting in story. Built a 416 Rigby Improved on a Dakota 76 action, and Dan Lilja barrel. The previous year I hunted with a 416 Weatherby Magnum and the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullets. I thought I would try the same load in this one too. First three shots went into one ragged hole. I took the same cases, resized and primed them, loaded them with the same load, and loaded 3 Barnes Super Solids. Shot them on the same target. All six shot went into about 0.7 of an inch. End of story. Loaded my ammo and went on safari. Shot two elephants and many buffalo, and two lions, in addition to all sorts of plains game. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Sighting in a new rifle is different, but here's how I sight in my go-to .416. First, I dry patch it. Usually I still fire a fouling round. Then I shoot a five shot group at 100 yards without looking. I sight dead on at 100 with my .416. I should have one ragged hole obliterating the center of the target. Then I move to 200 and should be 6 inches low and then to 300 and I should be 21.5 inches low. Shoot a five shot group at each range and I usually call it good. That's as far as I want to shoot that rifle. I have a new .300WM that hasn't been to the range yet, so that will be a slightly different process. First shot at 100 to make sure it's on paper, that's the fouling shot, then shoot one and see where we are. If it looked good, shoot a group. I generally don't need a group to make an adjustment though, if I was comfortable with the shot. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Actually, reading the two, you see a very different philosophy. The first guy admits that his method is way overkill if you are looking at a 100 yard zero with a hunting rifle. I suspect the first way is a bit more accurate overall if you are planning on extremely long range shooting- larger sample size, better statistical validity... but it fails to recognize the human element and changes in conditions over time. It certainly makes more sense if you are zeroing at 1-200 and going to be shooting way out past Fort Mudge. His 20 round method is a bit excessive for an extremely overbore magnum that your best accuracy potential was probably a quarter used up by that simple zeroing event. The second is certainly more than accurate enough when use by the right folks for hunting at reasonable distances. I tend to use 5 shot groups for verification, but when first sighting in, I do often shoot one and adjust until I get close, then it depends on how its grouping if I shoot 3 or 5 before adjusting it. I'm certainly not as good as Saeed, but I have also found that my old habits of multiple groups just had me shooting up loads of components, frequently shifting zero from day to day, and extreme load workup while satisfying, really didn't give me better field results than the lower round counts. In Africa, how often do you shoot your rifle, 1 shot and it hits the black and the PH says it's good? For me, I'd say 2/3 the time. | |||
|
| One of Us |
100m zero, must be dead on. Aim centre of shoulder out to 200. Anything further dial the turret. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Accurate rifles are easy to zero. I had a rifle that would "group" five shots in about 2 MOA . . . sometimes. And other times it shot better. When I got flyers, and I got frequent flyers, I would always wonder if it was my fault or the rifle's. With that rifle, it was impossible to adjust the scope except by guess and by God. It required vast amounts of ammunition and blasphemy to "zero" it. Finally, I just used the "hover" approach. My groups ended up "hovering" around where I wanted my bullets to hit. On my next safari, I ended up killing a number of plains game animals with that rifle and its hovering "zero." I guess I proved, as many have done, that we don't really need tack-drivers for a lot of our hunting. I later discovered that the barrel of that rifle was being rubbed and pressured by the fore end of the stock, which would throw bullets all over the place. The barrel was a cross between bedded and free-floating. Not a good thing. I opened up the barrel channel of the stock to eliminate the pressure, and the rifle became the tack-driver that I apparently didn't need. Still, I felt a whole lot better about it. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
|
| Administrator |
Best advice I can give to anyone going hunting is practice. Practice and practice. Shooting off hand. Shooting off rests very quickly. I have a camera monopod It has a large handle near the top. I have covered this with rubber, and people use it as a rifle rest standing. They hold the monpod up, rest teh rifle on it, and shoot. Works great. | |||
|
| Administrator |
| |||
|
| One of Us |
Agree with Mike and Saeed. First, practice. But your rifle doesn't have to be a tack driver for most applications. I have a cut down M70 in .30-06 with a Z6 1-6 on it that's a minute and a half rifle. But it's one of my favorites. It's light and does everything I need it to. That said, I wouldn't want to hunt crocs with it. | |||
|
| Administrator |
A 416 Weatherby Magnum I hunted with never shot better than 2 inch groups. Hunted with shooting lots of animals, including zebra at 300 yards. never missed one. with it. | |||
|
| One of Us |
I think the Outdoor Life guy shooting 20 rounds went way past sighting-in. He wasn’t zeroing his rifle. Zeroing was just a side effect of his 20 round method. His method seems more designed to determine if a rifle is truly an “accurate” rifle. That is a different thing than zeroing. On the other hand, the 2 round guy from Louisiana already knew his rifle was accurate. His 2 round method is efficient - and is clearly sufficient - for zeroing a known accurate rifle. I just enjoy shooting too much to shoot only 2 rounds at a time. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
|
| One of Us |
You zero it in two shots and then go to Africa for plains game and have a 20 rounds of fun | |||
|
| One of Us |
 Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
|
One of Us |
Now Mike.... Sounds like you are taking the cheap route. I read an article that you needed at least 40 rounds shot over 2 to 3 days to truly get your rifle sighted in. I know that you want to be the very best, so go with the flow and shoot all the ammo you can to make sure that your gun do not have any hick-ups while on your safari.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>> "You've got the strongest hand in the world. That's right. Your hand. The hand that marks the ballot. The hand that pulls the voting lever. Use it, will you" John Wayne | |||
|
| one of us |
Folks, To any of the contributors to this thread getting your rifle on target is not an intimidating issue but let me assure you it is to many. If you go to a public or even a members only range your going to see folks out there doing some amazing things. I have friend who has had guns for all his life. Left to his own devices he's a basket case at the range. In helping him zero a rifle I couldn't tell if the groups were so bad because of his shooting or the load was not what the rifle liked. He'd shoot a "group" and in the process he'd hit the bullseye and come unglued with joy. He had no concept of what we were doing. He thought because I shot small groups I was Daniel Boone's relative and he was just a poor shot. Him adjusting the scope himself is a whole nuther story. After much angst I got him squared away and last year before his safari he zeroed both his rifles himself with my help thru text messages. A few years ago I was in camp with a hunter who was on his 3rd big safari. He had a custom 375 Ultra Mag with a huge Schmidt and Bender on it. We went to the range which was nicely set up for a bush range. He fired a couple of shots that were dead on for windage but 8 inches high. I told him he'd need to bring the POI down at least 6 inches. He had no clue on how to do it. We got him squared away and he shot everything he wanted but how could you not know even that the scope could be adjusted? Come to find out his friend worked up a load and zeroed the rifle in the USA. This hunter had only fired the rifle a couple of times before coming on the safari. Then there's the guy that comes to the range with a brand new rifle/scope and sets up a target at 100 yards. He then proceeds to fire a whole box of shells and not hit the target even once. I've been able to help a few of those guys that were really clueless if they would listen about starting out at 25 yards........... This makes me leary of even being in the woods with a load of people I've met. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
|
| Administrator |
I have a range where people come to sight their rifles. And I have been to ranges in the US too. You are right. Some people should never be using guns. I get some of the most extraordinary shooters come here. From the man who comes with a clapped up old rifle, insists on mounting a scope on it, and then proceeds to shoots literally hundreds of rounds to get it to shoot to his point of aim! Or the man who swears his AK47 shoots painted eggs at 300 yards. With open sights. I can go on and on. | |||
|
| One of Us |
If you want to save ammo and be kind to the shoulder: - 1 piece 40 x 40" Cardboard sheet with traditional paper target pasted set up at 25 yards or 22 meters. - A rock-steady rest. - Bore sight the rifle before doing anything else as it helps in the long run. 1st shot needed to see where it prints. If it prints move the cross-hairs to that hole, and fire again. The 2nd hole should be very close to the intended point of impact. Repeat cross hair adjustment for 2nd hole and the 3rd shot should put you on zero. If you want your groups to print within an inch that is something personal as 3" is highly acceptable by most standards. | |||
|
| One of Us |
On our first trip to Africa , we were taken to the outfitters house . While getting acquainted, he casually asked if we had done much shooting/hunting . I thought that was kind of weird . The prior client showed up with a NIB gun and a NIB scope . No mounts. He has never shot a gun before . | |||
|
| one of us |
Prior to hunting season I sight in all or most of my rifles 3" high at 100 and check the zero at 300, 400 and 500 yards. that puts my group 4"s high at 200 and on at 275 and 13"s low at 400 and about 25"s or more at 500. These drop figures vary at 400 and 500 between rifles and calibers so I test each rifle at these ranges in the desert behind my house and document the drop for each gun..Dont trust quote printed drop figures beyond 300 yards, trust the bench..and in hunting situation your guestamating yardage and wind, so Im not likely to take a shot past 300 Yards with a center bodyshot. I practice a lot off hand, If one can shoot offhand then he can shoot under any conditions IMO. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
|
| One of Us |
From a distance, I watched a guy shoot a doe, it ran off and fell dead. All visible from my stand. The "shooter" comes walking out and heads to where the doe was standing and walks back to his stand and starts walking the path that will take him by my stand. I could hear him before I saw him...bitchin/complaining about this dang rifle. When he gets to me, it's one thing after another about the rifle. 3rd deer this year, yada, yada, yada. Offer him a $100 and he just puts it on the ground and says no, it's free. Later that afternoon, I pull in with free doe and rifle. When he says I didn't hear you shoot...I just smiled. BTW. that rifle is a tack driver. | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia
