I need to ask who makes a good bore sighting system for scopes?
Thanks

I've always heard good things about the Leupold zero point but it seems hard to find in stock.

I have a Bushnell magnetic unit and so far it's only just "OK". I guess you get what you pay for

God does a pretty good one called an eye, though it sometimes needs other stuff to help like a rest, target and maybe a sliver of mirror, in case you can't see directly though the barrel.

I think the Bushnell Pro with the expanding rods is probably the best.

I just use a green string hung from several feet ( about 6ft) above on my shelves and a nice plumb on the bottom. With the rifle in the vise I and after I get the scope mounted the way I want it I just turn the rifle in the vise over there and have a look with the string hanging right in the middle of the bore.

My little magnetic Leupold , one of those free ones with a scope some years back is close at times. But I think the Bushnell Pro is even closer.

I also use the one of the scope to rifle barrel levels and then sometimes put the Dewalt laser on and see how all of that mates up. Then I give it a go with the Leupold bore sighter.

You can look through the bore at say a 25 yard target too. Just have the rifle in the bags firmly, put the center of the target in the center of the bore, and then adjust the scope to the center. It works too. I just prefer to get it all as close as I can while its on the bench.

the old sweeny/alley sysstem was always viewed as the best, but the best is still to sight down the bore at a spot 50-100 yds away and adjust from that. i've tried the magnetic leupold, but not with very good success

quote:

Originally posted by sambarman338:
God does a pretty good one called an eye, though it sometimes needs other stuff to help like a rest, target and maybe a sliver of mirror, in case you can't see directly though the barrel.

When I read the title of this thread my initial thought was the one word answer "god".

I've never understood why anyone would bother with a boresighting instrument, except perchance they don't understand what boresighting is. When the rifle in question is a lever or other that doesn't lend itself to "god's boresighting" I simply put all of the adjustments as close to the middle as I can, put a large cardboard box at twenty steps and use my first shot as the "boresighter". You need at least one shot as a barrel fouler/warmer, anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
the old sweeny/alley sysstem was always viewed as the best, but the best is still to sight down the bore at a spot 50-100 yds away and adjust from that. i've tried the magnetic leupold, but not with very good success

X2...match the crosshairs with the point you see through dead center of the bore and it'll get you within a couple inches (usually under) of the bully at 50 yards. No muss, no fuss.

My late friend was also my gunsmith. He installed lots of scopes so for his purposes, it was worth his investment to have a bore sighting device. He swore by his Sweeny. For most of us, looking down the bore, I prefer 25 yards and it will get us on paper which is the objective of bore sighting. To be even more precise you can take an empty case with primer knocked out and that will give you a smaller aperture to help get you even closer. This of course is limited to those guns where bolt can be removed.

Get one of those magnetic laser sighting devices that adheres to the end of the barrel, that way it doesn't have to be caliber specific. Try to get about 30-50 ft distance between the rifle and the target and line up to the cross hairs.

Then, sight in a 25 yards. Making sure the rifle doesn't move, place the cross hairs back on the bullseye and then adjust the crosshairs, not the rifle position, so they line up over the bullet hole.

Then go to a 100 yards, shoot three shots, and then adjust from there.

+1 on the Bushnell Pro

Any of them are good, they only serve one purpose and thats to get you on the paper, you still have to sight them in, but being on paper saves me some ammo..YOu can do the same thing by nailing a jar lid to a telephone post at 25 or 50 yards or even using the 100 yard bullseye to bore sight the bore and cross hairs together.

On a bench you can shoot one shot then move the cross hairs from the bullseye to the bullet hole and be sighted, but you may need/want to make an inch or two final adjustment.

I have an old 30 year old Bushnell with caliber spuds and its works great, always within a few inches of 100 yard zero, I usually have to move it 3 inches up for my usual POI and maybe an inch or two one way or the other. I wouldn't waste big bucks on one. I got mine for $5.00 at a gunshow.

Love my Bushnell Grid Boresighter. Once you find it's true zero for whatever distance your sighting in for (mine's not the grid's center), I can basically zero with a high degree of accuracy right at home allowing me to establish long-range shooting systems before I even leave the house. I can verify turret click adjustments, calculate reticle subtension, and check the optics turret consistency, and return to zero capability. It's one of the handiest tools I have.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:

quote:

Originally posted by sambarman338:
God does a pretty good one called an eye, though it sometimes needs other stuff to help like a rest, target and maybe a sliver of mirror, in case you can't see directly though the barrel.

When I read the title of this thread my initial thought was the one word answer "god".

Yep, the Mk. 1 Eyeball works pretty well for me.

After mounting a lot of scopes for me and 2 brothers I am happy with ordinary bore sighting.

I have owned a couple of rifles that did not bore sight where I thought they should decades apart with multiple scopes. The best I could tell from looking through them the barrels were not straight.

I been using a Bushnell with the three adjustable arbors since the late 1970's. Works great for getting on paper and even better after the rifle is sighted in.
Once the rifle is sighted and ready to go I recheck where the bore sighter is on the grid and make a paper record. Then when we are on a hunt and the rifle takes a hard hit I can recheck the zero to see if it shifted without firing a shoot. Saved my bacon a time or two.

quote:

Any of them are good, they only serve one purpose and thats to get you on the paper, you still have to sight them in, but being on paper saves me some ammo.

Ray hit the nail on the head. They get you on paper; YOU still have to shoot them. Far too many folk just can't fathom this.

Did anyone here ever hear of the concept of "sight radius distance"? If not, it is simply that the further apart the front and rear sights, the less potential error.

With any boresighting device, your sight radius is limited to approximately the distance from the scope to the muzzle -- a short distance which allows significant error. When manually boresighting by actually looking down the bore, your sight radius is limited only by the distance of your target. Manually boresighting (when possible with an action like a turnbolt) is far more accurate.

Even so, the first shot should be at a target no more distant than 50 yards which has a clean area of at least 10 MOA surrounding the center. I'm always astounded at the once-a-year hunter who thinks that because the part-time clerk at Cabela's mounted and boresighted the scope on his rifle (outrageously overcharging him for both the merchandise and the service) that its zero is gospel and is not to be tinkered with. Then he marvels at how quick that deer's reflexes were that it jumped completely over his shot.

Stonecreek's sentiments make sense to me. Your boresight can also be taken from some distance behind the rifle, which should also enhance the accuracy. Once you know what the bore sight should look like through your barrel (after zeroing at the range), against a familiar mark like the insulator on a power pole past your backyard, it becomes a reasonable last check before you go hunting.

I hate going backwards and doing things over and over. After I bore sight a rifle/scope the first shot is always at 25 yards on a clean target at least 12x12 inches. I don't move the target back to 100 yards until I am within 1 inch of hitting the bullseye.