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Worst and Best Way to Sight a Rifle!

Ron Spomer Outdoors

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Who is Ron Spomer
For 44 years, I’ve had the good fortune to photograph and write about my passion – the outdoor life. Wild creatures and wild places have always stirred me – from the first flushing pheasant that frightened me out of my socks in grandpa’s cornfield to the last whitetail that dismissed me with a wag of its tail. In my attempts to connect with this natural wonder, become an integral part of our ecosystem, and capture a bit of its mystery, I’ve photographed, hiked, hunted, birded, and fished across much of this planet. I've seen the beauty that everyone should see and survived adventures that everyone should experience. I may not have climbed the highest mountains, canoed the wildest rivers, caught the largest fish, or shot the biggest bucks, but I’ve tried. Perhaps you have, too. And that’s the essential thing. Being out there, an active participant in our outdoor world.

Produced by: @red11media

0:00 Why You Should Not Zero Your Rifle at 100 Yards
1:54 The Importance of Bore Sighting at 25 Yards
4:02 Using a Lead Sled for Precision Adjustments
11:14 The Visual Method to Dial Your Scope Perfectly
15:03 Refining Your Zero for Maximum Point Blank Range

20 Comments

@paulskvorc7021 4 years ago

Been doin' this for about tha last 40 years. Here's a suggestion, take it or leave it. Instead of starting at 25 yd, start somewhere between 35 and 40 yd. The reason you were ~5" high at 100 is because you shot, and corrected, at 25. The bullet was still on its upward trajectory toward 100 yd. Remember that the trajectory of the bullet goes from BELOW the line of sight, (LoS), of the scope, UPWARD, reaches an apex in height above LoS, then descends again toward impact at the target whatever that range may be. Therefore, the bullet crosses the LoS TWICE on its way to the target. For MOST modern rifle/scope setups, that first crossing occurs between 35 and 40 yd from the muzzle. If you set your close "get on paper" target at 35-40 yd, then do exactly as you describe for adjusting the scope, you should be MUCH closer to "bullseye" at 100 yd. Again, if you start at 25 yd with your "get on paper" shots, you're going to be HIGHER THAN 4 times your "error" at 25. The system described in this video WORKS. USE IT. You can refine it, by setting your "get on paper" target distance and 35-40 yd instead of 25.

@oiladviseguy 1 year ago

On a bolt action, I like to remove the bolt and insert an empty brass cartridge with the primer removed which now leaves a very small peep hole to look down through the barrel. I look through the primer hole at an orange dot or ribbon that is 100 yards away and then move the scope to match what I see in the primer hole. Usually gets me extremely close.

@Mike_Mike_boom 3 years ago

My neighbor just helped me sight in my deer rifle two days ago and showed me Your way of zeroing a new scope. I'm sold. Saved alot of ammo on finding zero! Thank you for showing this way to the masses!!! Great video!

@mharrison1325 2 years ago

"better with a bolt" 😂. Humble, smooth, and hilarious. Spomer is still just like the rest of us.

@johneldorado 4 years ago

I've had good luck with a bore laser. It will easily pay for itself in a single outing with ammunition costs these day. Usually can get you close very quickly. Put a dot on the target, then line up your crosshairs.

@Joseph-iz6ob 1 year ago

The chances of me dropping 300 bucks on a lead sled for zeroing are 0.0%.

@r.b.ratieta6111 4 years ago

This is by far one of the best videos I've ever seen for sighting a rifle and scope in.

No "tacticool" bro shit (don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good gun humor video), no talking down to the viewer, no narcissistic "I'm a super expert because...", just a simple teaching video with great techniques learned from experience and a certain fatherly enthusiasm to it.

Great vid.

@collinmc90 2 years ago

fantastic. Thank you very much for this. I inherited my grandpas 30-06. probably hasn't been shot in over 40 maybe 50 years. Shot it the first time the other day and it was almost spot on. Just needs a little adjustment and I needed to know what to do. Thanks. It's tough not being able to ask him questions about this gun. He made it himself and I have no idea what parts are used. What kind of ammo he liked to use. All that stuff. I look at it as a challenge to figure out. I think he would be proud of that. Hope to get my first deer with it this season. maybe next.

@kentuckywindage222 4 years ago

Cold bore shot is the most important shot when hunting. After doing all this check the cold bore shot another day or after the rifle has completely cooled.
Great job as usual
Keep'em coming!

@EazyMac 4 years ago

I bought my Remington 700 about 4 years ago and was so excited to zero it- I really wish this video existed back then!! This is like watching Bob Ross teaching me how to zero a long range precision rifle and I mean that in the best way possible lol. Thank you so much for this thorough explanation. Your enthusiasm and sincerity made this so much more enjoyable to watch!!

@shiningxie1395 4 years ago

GOOD stuff MATE 👏👏👏👏
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I have been Pro Shooting for 47"years Now and this is EXACTLY HOW YOU SHOULD ZERO YOUR RIFLE! WELL DONE MATE! WELL DONE. cheers from South Australia...👌👌👌👍👍👍🦘🦘🦘👏

@jheckert1 3 years ago

I did this for two of my dads 30-06. Got them zero at 25 and both shot 6" high at 100. Very good effective way to dial in with few shots. But keep in mind at 100 you will be high, bullet is still in upward arc.

@paulsimmons5726 4 years ago

This method is one I’ve seen before and I like it because it uses a minimal amount of ammo, important to consider nowadays!
This video was filled with solid advice but the greatest idea was allowing the barrel to cool between shots. And, finally, check your zero a few more times on future range trips so you’re getting honest results with cold barrel shots.
Ron, this was a winner of a video!

@DCIagent 4 years ago

Great advice and a very good tutorial. Even as a kid sighting in our .22 bolt-action rifles, my dad taught me the benefits of bore-sighting with a new scope. On high-power rifles, once you achieve acceptable zero and know the trajectory of your ammo, get off the bench and practice shooting at various distances to get familiar with your rifle. I use plastic gallon milk jugs filled with water (frozen or not) to simulate the approximate size of a deer's vital area. Spaced at various distances for your anticipated hunting range, they provide a good reactive target for visual effect. If you can hit a milk jug at 200 yards under field conditions, you will get a clean kill on your deer-sized game. Keep up the good work!

@shaunenochs9788 4 years ago

You did a really good job at explaining this technique which is the proper way of doing it. I was a tier two operator in the Army and we called it a two shot zero, as long as you’re on paper it only takes two shots to sight in. Good job sir!

@kaare65 2 years ago

Brilliant 💯

@ram_bam 3 years ago

Ron I love the way you carry on. I could listen to you talk all day long.

@alexbenn2026 4 years ago

Thank you from New Zealand much appreciated by someone just getting into rifle marksmanship

@boingkster 4 years ago

There's some interesting folklore about sighting in. I tend to favour a simple boresighting by removing the bolt and placing the scoped rifle onto a stable rest. Adjust it so you can see your target bullseye, placed at 25m, then see where the scope is indicating by looking through it without touching. Do a gentle adjustment and dial those crosshairs onto the spot indicated by the bore sighting. Shoot three rounds to confirm placement. Adjust scope and fire to confirm.

Back it out to 50m, then 100m, and adjust for your cartridge and conditions. Most modern sporting cartridges will give a maximum point blank range of 300m or more with a 3" high shot placement at 100m. If unsure then just use that figure and you'll likely be on target at 200m, a few inches low at 250 and around six inches low at 300-350 depending on cartridge.

Of course if you're using a big old 45-70 you may want to sight to point of aim at 150 with a 4" low at 200 and 8" at 250... after which it falls of the proverbial cliff haha.

@Scott-lz3pp 4 years ago

As an old shooter, both experience- and age-wise, I still really enjoyed this video. That is the method that I use, (well, I don't look through the barrel, but I do adjust the sighting to the hole in the paper, and go from there as necessary) although I don't get to shoot much anymore. Thank you for the fine video.