You just mounted a new scope. You head to the range, fire your first shot at 100 yards, and… nothing. No hole in the paper. No idea whether you missed high, low, left or right. That’s what happens when you skip bore sighting. Ten minutes at the bench saves you a full box of ammo and half the range trip.

01Bore Sight vs. Zero

These are two different things and lots of shooters mix them up.

• Bore sighting = get on paper. A visual/mechanical alignment before you ever fire a shot. Puts you within about 6–12 inches of your point of aim at 100 yards.
• Zeroing = refine to zero. Live-fire adjustments to bring your point of impact exactly to your point of aim at a chosen distance (usually 100 yards for hunting).

Bore sight first, zero second. Skip step one and step two takes forever.

02How It Works

The idea is dead simple: with the rifle solidly rested, you sight down the bore itself at a fixed object 25–100 yards away, then move the scope’s crosshairs onto that same object without moving the rifle. Three tools do the job:

Three Methods

• Visual (through the bore) — remove the bolt, look through the bore at a target 25 yds away, then adjust the scope onto that same target. Works only on bolt-actions and single-shots.
• Laser bore sighter — a small unit inserts in the chamber (or muzzle) and projects a laser dot downrange. Adjust the scope onto the dot.
• Optical (collimator) — the professional bench tool. Sits on the muzzle and gives a grid pattern you dial the reticle onto.

03When to Bore Sight

• Every new scope install
• After swapping bases or rings
• After the rifle takes a serious drop or transport bang
• Anytime you can’t explain why the rifle is shooting way off

04Zeroing After Bore Sight

Once you’re on paper: shoot a 3-shot group at 100 yards, measure the center of the group to the center of the bull, adjust your turrets that many clicks (in the correct direction), and shoot another 3-shot group to confirm. Two or three iterations and you have a real zero.

For hunting rifles a 100-yard zero is the standard. For AR-15s the classic “50/200” zero (impact at 50 yards, back to zero around 200) is a great all-purpose choice.

05Drop It Off With Us

Our gunsmiths mount, level, torque and bore sight scopes every week. If you bought the rifle and optic from us, we’ll mount and bore sight for a nominal fee — and get it dead-nuts ready for the range.

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Related: Firearm Optics Basic Guide  •  Multiple Optics on One Firearm