I am thinking about purchasing a boresighter. Seems to be 3 major kinds. There are the lazer type, the type that take a spud the size of the bore, and the leupold magnetic type.

The leupold seems to receive high praise.

Have you used one? If so, did it work satisfactorily for you? Would you recommend it? Or would you recommend something else?

I use the Bushnell version with the three studs and it works pretty good. I use it mainly after sighting in a rifle. I record where it is sighted in on the grid pattern and then use this as a reference to check my sights during my fly in hunts. Sorry, I can't say if this type is better or worse than the other two.

I just posted this to the same question on the optical forum.

Posted 08 October 2005 19:11
Big-un,

I have one of the new Leupolds, a Simmons, and also several of the laser types.

Depending upon how you plain on using it all have advantages/disadvantages.

The muzzle mounted spud type collimators, IMO, are the least desirable because they are hard to level, have a steel spud that you have to stick into your bore, and they are also effected by different length barrels in relation to their grid lines/squares.

The Magnetic types also suffer from all of the above except that they don’t stick anything into the bore...but they are hard to remount to the exact height each time, and they can scratch the finish on the muzzle face.

Moving up to muzzle mounted laser types. These have the problem of needing to be mechanically adjusted/aligned to assure repeated concentricity with the bore axis...and they also stick a spud into your bore.

My favorite, and the type with no worry about adjusting anything or damaging your bore, are the chambered laser cartridges. The best thing with these, IMO, is that you know for sure that the dot you see projected onto your target is exactly centered in the axis of your bore. If it is not, you do not see a dot, you see a partial dot with red halo’s around it that is a result of the beam bouncing off the inside of the bore walls.

The best of these (and I’ve tried them all) are the ones from Acu-Site. All of them come with good instructions for getting you “on paper†and re-verifying a former zero. Acu-Site even includes a small business card size sighting/zero target that you can carry with you in your wallet.

The lasers are also not limited to just scopes. You can also use them for open sights. You buy a base unit (usually a .223 cartridge for rifle calibers) and then you can buy adaptor sleeves for just about any commercial caliber all the way up to .50 cal and even shotguns.

No bore sighter should take the place of sighting in by firing live rounds...but they can be very handy for getting you “close†without having to fire a round.

Hope this helps.


Rick 0311

After using all of them I have settled on the Laserlyte from Clarkdale, Az. It's quick accurate and easily portable. I used it last year on my trip to Zim. Makes it really easy to check zero on your rifle. Just check at 100yds and at 10ft and measure where crosshair is in reference to dot and you can check in your tent or outside. Had no problems using this method. They are also inexpensive. Only thing to watch is to be sure you have a spare battery as they use special batteries.

I use an old bushnell unit with three adjustable aluminum spuds.I find that this unit always gets me on the paper and almost always within 6" of the bullseye at 100 yards.

I sit my rifle on the deck at night, remove the bolt, site down the barrel to aim at my neighbor porch light about 200 yards away adjust the scope to match and it's always on paper at 100 yards. Cheap and easy.

quote:

Originally posted by dempsey:
I sit my rifle on the deck at night, remove the bolt, site down the barrel to aim at my neighbor porch light about 200 yards away adjust the scope to match and it's always on paper at 100 yards. Cheap and easy.

dempsey,

Have you ever just one time even thought about....naw, don’t answer that!

Personally, I'm very happy with the Leupold magnetic boresighter. Sure, to work, you assume your muzzle is square to the bore, and they aren't always. OTOH, it's fast, easy, doesn't take up much space in my range box, and gets me on paper (to date, always within 4 inches) at 50 yards, which is all I ask of it.

Jaywalker

I’ve used em all. Try this its more accurate! Yard the bolt out of the gun. Bolt actions only. Prop the gun up with some pillows or what ever. Look through the bore and line it up on an object a couple miles a way. Adjust te cross hairs of the scope to the object. Go to the range and start at 30 yards. Then move back to 100. But I don’t think you will have to. : Rod Henrickson “bore site’s were invented to sell people somethingâ€!

quote:

Originally posted by speerchucker30x378:
I’ve used em all. Try this its more accurate! Yard the bolt out of the gun. Bolt actions only. Prop the gun up with some pillows or what ever. Look through the bore and line it up on an object a couple miles a way. Adjust te cross hairs of the scope to the object. Go to the range and start at 30 yards. Then move back to 100. But I don’t think you will have to. : Rod Henrickson “bore site’s were invented to sell people somethingâ€!

Now there’s a novel and precise way of doing things!

I’ve never had anyone look at it like that before Rick. If you think about it you are looking through a .308 (as an example peep site) at an object 2 miles away. A bore site does the same thing. Sort of. It gives you a target that is hypothetically in line with the bore. But, and I say but. Its only 30 inches away and human error in the construction of the device must be considered. I don’t suppose you took trigonometry in school did you Rick? Don’t knock it till you have tried it. I use the laser for my customers guns I look through the bore on my own. They have more ammo than I do! :Rod Henrickson

Like I said, rod....that’s a very novel and precise way of doing something.

And once again my response:

Well if you have a brain. Try it. I don't think it wil kill you. Just remember to unload it, take the bolt out and don't look down the dangerous end Rick. It really does work! And much better than bore siters. Rod

Well, rod.....

Since the average unaided human eye has the ability to resolve about one inch at 100 yards I’m sure that a math wizard like you can figure out what the minimum resolving power of the unaided eye would be at 3,520 yards (2 miles.)

So, please tell me what possible reason anyone would have in using an object 2 miles away and almost 30 feet in diameter for bore sighting and adjusting a rifle scope when they can do it with much more precision and ease with a one inch object at 100 yards...or with a laser bore sighter at 25 feet?????????

Forget for a moment on how one would know that it was 2 miles away and not 1 ½ miles away or 2 ½ miles away...or how one would know if their scope cross hairs were aimed at the same point on a 30 foot diameter object that the exact center of their bore was pointing at.

Thank you, but I think I’ll stick with my old “uneducated“ way of doing things!