what is a good bore sight that isn't going to break the bank and can be used on various calibers? Buying the cartridge sights adds up with numerous calibers.

If ya have a bolt action, just put it in your cleaning vice with bolt out and looking down the bore, center it on something out always and the move scope to match.

There are tips and tricks on YouTube. Save your money. You don't need a bore sight lazer.

What hippie said

You should be able to get it on paper using the method described by Mr. hippie. I have done it at the range with good results.

Do initial sight in a 25 yards.Then 100 yards.Most calibres that first cross the line of sight at around 25 yards will be close at 100.

All great advice on here. When I've bore sighted just pulling the bolt and looking though barrel and adjusting the scope to match I've been surprised how good the results are.

Great advice here but if you dont have a bolt action its not so easy. So i think any of the new laser bore sighters you can get now a-days are gonna get you on paper from there its micro adjustment just start at 25 yards like mentioned above

All good advice. At best all they do is get you on paper at 100. None will actually zero your rifle, you will have to shoot it. If im putting a new scope on a rifle i will try 1 shot on a big paper target at 100. sometimes i get lucky and get a hit. If not i just walk down to less than 50 yards and shoot until i get a hit and adjust then go back to 100 and finish. I have a multi cal laser bore sight. Never use it since its most of time just faster to crank off a round and see.

Start close, 25 yds. or less.Shoot at bull on paper. Put cross hair back on bull with gun in vice. Turn adjustments to put cross hairs on bullet hole. Move back.

best deal running is a big sheet of cardboard they give them away for free all over the place.

move the optic all the way right all the way left counting the clicks or minutes from "lock to lock" then adjust to the middle
do the same for up down

set your card board out at 25 yards make a dot in the center if you have a 36x36 inch piece of cardboard and you can't keep the bullet on that at 25 yards you don't have enough adjustment to get on target without shims with most optics

should you need to because it is off the edge move the card board to 12 yards

you fire 2 good shots from a rest they should be very close to each other basically touching

then adjust

measure every 1/4 inch is a minute of angle at 25 yards with that measurement you should be on within an inch , I don't worry about being low by a distance less than half that of the distance from center of optic to center of barrel.


why do I do it this way , I let a "professional " mount and bore sight a scope for me once that gun was farther off than any gun I had ever sighted in.

I have done a lot this way and it works for me.

I use possum mans method most of the time.Here is another tip for non bolt actions. Make sure to center the scope reticule like GCP describes before you start really helps

this is what I do and its been closer than any boresight someone else has done for me

I bought a new Tikka in 300 WSM. I asked the sporting goods store I bought it from if they could mount a Leopold I had on it? They said they could and would even bore sight it for me. I took it home, shot at a foot square target at 50 yards. Nothing. So, I put up a 3'X4' piece of plywood behind the target. The bullet hit about 6" from the upper edge of the plywood.

Either they never bore sighted it or whoever did, had no idea what they were doing.

Adam there are several good laser bore sites that will fit multiple calibers. If your looking at starting to site in that .300 win mag look into point blank range and start from there with siting in. My rifle bullet combo was .15 inch high at 25 yards, 5 inches high at 100 yards, 7.48 inches high at 200 yards, 4.82 inches high at 300 yards and -6.85 inches low at 425 yards. Figuring a bull elk vitals at 15 inch's top to bottom hold dead center and your bullet should never be out of the kill zone high or low out to 425 yards. you can adjust for your loads and what your comfortable with as far as kill zone size.

Thanks everyone I appreciate it. All good advice and tips.

Yup I got various guns (semi's and bolts) I got sight in. Add to that an hr drive to blm land since all ranges are closed by decree. So If I can do an initial 25 yd sight in at home it will save time money and ammo.

Trapper7, I had the same experience never again. They just guess at an object near the gun counter and said it was sighted. I asked what yardage, they guessed 25 yds. Asked why not use a range finder on the opposite wall they had no answer lol.

nvwrangler, that is one I gotta sight in. Going through some dry drills w/my daughter I don't think she will be able to handle it. she was having a hard time just working the bolt and keeping sights on target in various shooting positions. I just ordered Swagger shooting sticks to help steady any rifle she lands up using.
Years ago I had a "one size fits all" laser sight you slid into the muzzle, it was garbage. What is a good one?

Boco is close, but most calibers actually fall between 26-29 yards. Hippies advice is the easiest. Do that, then get it bang on at close range then move out.

few guns have a optic higher than 2.6 or 2.7 inches higher than bore axis but this is common for the AR-15

25 meters 27.3 yards with an optic on an AR at 2.7 inches puts a typical 55gr bullet 6 inches high at 100 yards or very close to it with a 223 then 10 inches high at 200 , 6 inches high at 300 and crosses the line of sight again at about 365 yards.

this is why I stay a little low at 25 yards an inch or so that tends to keep round on target well at 100 yards.

this is why I say I don't worry about being low as long as it is not more than about half the distance that the optic is above the bore.

on a hunting rifle 1 7/8 to 2 inches is typical distance from bore to the center of the optics that I mount. so an inch low is half the distance from muzzle to optic.

my near zeros ranged but most are 29-31 yards for a hunting zero with a aprox 2 inch bore to optic height it has everything to do with height above bore axis and intended far zero. but when I am wanting a 200 or 218 yard zero right around 30 yards give or take when I have 2 inches between bore and center of optic or very close to it.

figuring out how high above point of aim at 100 gives you much greater accuracy than trying to guess at it at 1/4 the distance.

I will differ from some that I prefer a 200 or 2018 yard zero 218 yards is 200 meters and it works very well in many calibers.

Leftlane, Good to know thanks. The house we are at is a small property. To go from backyard wall to the furthest sidewalk in front is 50 yards. I would have to sight in at night to go past 25 yds.

yukon thanks.

GCP that is very informative.


thank you all I appreciate it