Ep. 38 | Semi-Live: How to Sight in Your Riflescope - It’s Easy!
Ever listened to a podcast where the hosts are also shooting while talking? Continuing with our semi-live series on setting up your rifle, we’ve gone from mounting the optic to getting things zeroed in and ready to go at your first trip to the range. Proper equipment, bore sighting, 3-round groups, making adjustments and troubleshooting potential road bumps are just a few of the things we discuss in this podcast at the range. Sighting in a riflescope can be intimidating to newer shooters venturing out on their own, and can even bring unnecessary stress or frustration to seasoned shooters who dread this crucial step in assuring your rifle’s longevity and reliability. It may come as no surprise that we’ve sighted in a riflescope or two in our time here at Vortex, and with all those scopes have come a host of tips and tricks that can make your zero-in process a snap and set you up for ultimately accuracy and a long time of success with your rifle and optic combination. Listen on your commute, or tune in on KZhead to see the video recording of this very podcast!
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I installed this optic on a crossman 760 air rifle.I have now shot the riffle around 500 times during target/plinking practice, and the kzhead.infoUgkxc4K63Fd5LglDMObu7-Bgapxp_ef0W8hE scope has done well.With this optic, I have neutralized around 30 pigeons that were invading one of my buildings.For my short range air rifle, I will continue to use this scope, but will be upgrading to a more powerful scope, when I buy a more powerful air rifle, in order to shoot at longer distance.For the money I have spent, this scope has truly been a great buy.
This is why I love Vortex! Not only do you sell quality optics, you also give awesome advice.
We're always happy to help, my friend.
I love the intro, Mark looks like he is ready for his "retirement" job being a rifle shooting coach at the local range.
Highly informative especially for newer shooters !!! Brian is a Beast of information and knowledge!!! All the staff at Vortex are Highly Professional!!! Well Done. 👍👍👍👍👍
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Omg… all this time I thought his name was Ryan 🤦🏼
A caveat i would put in on using BDC reticles while hunting, is that one should actually go out and shoot to verify them. Even if you have a chronograph and have the exact BC of the bullet and know the exact height over bore of your optic, I believe you owe it to the animal you're hunting to hit up a shooting range or sand pit or field that allows you to take it out to those distances. Its good practice, it'll increase confidence, it'll amplify mistakes you make at your end as while as the effects of wind, and its fun!
I heard about the Vortex podcast on Joe Rogan's podcast with Ben O'Brien. I already have 3 Vortex scopes, their red dot, UH1 holo, their binos, and rangefinder. PLUS they literally donated one of the Gen II 5x25x53 Razor HDs to my brother for a rifle I was building for him while he was in the Marine Corps. Love this company. The only thing I'm missing now is one of their spotting scopes.
Oh that's crazy cool to hear - thanks for listening and for your support! And give your brother our best and thank him for us for his service. Thanks again!
Didn't know about the issue with LocTite! Glad I watched this as I just mounted a new Vortex scope and bought LocTite to retain the screws once I'm happy with the scope's position.
A great tip for boresighting is getting a streetlight as far down the street as you can, or over a field or any stationary light on a distance at around 100meters or so. Or 20, but closer to 100 the better. Wait until slightly dark, then do the bore sighting process. It's one of the easier ways to get a bore sighting done at home before going to the range.
good idea
Just be careful, my neighbors called police about a man walking around with a rifle, had 5 cars there within minutes. I was in my back yard with 6 foot fence with bolt out of gun for safety but boy those boys in blue treated it seriously, luckily I saw them pull up and didn't have a weapon in my hand! They de-escalated quickly and agreed I had done nothing illegal but suggested I do this at the range just to avoid misunderstandings.
Ambient Air Temperature, Ground Temperature, Wind and "Mirage" Effects. There are three of us hunt who Pronghorn and Plains Deer here in high plains of Eastern Colorado and South-Eastern Wyoming. All of the environmental variables mentioned above come to play when shooting big game, especially at longer distances (200 / 400+ yards). I shoot a 270 Win. One of my partners shoots a 308. The other shoots a .243. All of us use simple 3 X 9 variable scopes. Using MPBR basics, I zero at 200 yards, as does the .243 shooter. The .308 shooter zeros at 100 yards. And, we have all chosen specific cartridges and bullet weights that work well for our rifles. This has left us with negligible hardware variables that effect our shooting. I post the following info with this caveat; I cannot quantify what I share. We have found in 35 plus years of plains hunting is that making that 6 to 8 inch diameter MPBR centered shot using bi-pods or kneeling...or standing with shooting sticks removes a good percentage of temperature driven mirage variables, particularly on freshly plowed or green, winter wheat fields. Open prairie, CRP, fallow, and cut wheat/corn fields seem to be mostly devoid of mirage effects. We have also experienced our best shots early in the day before the solar and ground temperature driven winds begin; or late in the afternoon when the ambient air temp and the soil temps are somewhat equitable and the winds are dying down. I truly appreciate all the information and informative discussions y'all provide on the podcasts and 10 Minute Talks. Keep up the good work!
Awesome I have a great example of the craig
I’ve been using this method for years. And with the laser bore sighting works really well if you shell out the money for the more expensive stuff. The cheaper you go the more inaccurate it is.
How have I not found this channel? Great discussion and info. Good to see young engineers with great attitudes
Great video Guys very easily understood thank you for taking the time to share, Steve from Australia
Love that these are on youtube now! Hopefully, there won't be any issues with censorship on youtube.
Thanks for watching! Fingers crossed ;)
Following through is huge
I just noticed this and hopefully the guys at Vortex have too. If you are sighting in using a Caldwell tripod front rest like this one, Its wise to remove your bipod and preferably your sling stud as well. When a rifle is fired using a rigid front rest, it should recoil directly rearward and slide freely in the rest. These guys left the bipod on the stock and exactly what I thought would happen did. On the first shot you can see the rest rotate upward onto the rear legs. This is because the bipod was trapped against the front of the rest where the stock should be sliding. If the front leg of the tripod rest is lifting then you have a problem that needs to be addressed. Needless to say, the zero acquired with this setup means that the Point Of Impact when taken off the rest and shot with the bipod alone will be different. These guys put out some great material but this one should have been thought through a bit more.
Good eye 😎
Looks easy. Just need thousands of dollars worth of shit.🎉
To eliminate bipod bounce off of bench I place a Teflon pad under bipod feet. Use caps on bipod feet, slides with ease. Perfect for shooting off of bench and sighting in a gun.
What zero do you put into the ballistic computer? The first zero or the second?
What great info!
Thanks for watching!
Love the elf
Good older video! I like to brush up on this stuff and i enjoyed it. Maybe some tips on how to maintain that zero through transport. or how to know when to rezero it or if you might have knocked it out of zero.
Outstanding video!!! It is 4yrs old at the time of this comment but is still relevant. My one question would be, can you describe how someone can make sure they are looking through a scope correctly? The situation: a scope and rifle combination is "Zeroed" for one person but not for another person. IMO: in this example, one or the other person is not looking through the scope correctly. My theory: if a rifle and scope are properly "Zeroed", this should work for anyone as long as they are looking through the scope correctly.
It is easy to remove the bolt from a Marlin 336. Just open the action, take out the screw for the lever and with the lever out you can pull the bolt.
You are the best I learned a lot
Glad you found it helpful! :)
what about the Caldwell stinger, its a one piece but dont lock anything down?
I read everywhere that a bouncing front rest will effect accuracy then Ryan shoots like that not even touching the front of the rifle. Shows you shouldn't believe everything you read GREAT SHOOTING
08:45 in seriousness, though, I have understood zero to be a number of factors involved. A particular gun with a particular scope shooting a specific round and how it recoils against your own shoulder. I could zero a rifle and someone else using it would get different results. What I do at the 100 yard indoor range I go to is I place a towel on the platform and then rest the bipod on that, mimicking dirt, specifically to avoid that bounce, Next best bet would my back pack to rest on. As for zero, I have been using 25 yard - 300 yard zero. Not only can I get zeroed at a 25 yard distance (and still check for height at 100 yards,) but the rise and fall of the bullet in the max point blank range is about 5.5 inches for the 180 grain that I like. The kill zone on a whitetail deer is about 8 inches diameter. I hunt on public land and it is heavily wooded and most places I could shoot are 40 yards or less through other trees. So, at this distance, just aim the cross hairs at desired point of impact. The high point would be a little after 100 yards (not a perfect parabola.) Also, I am aware of the ethics of taking game at 300 yards and less. And that is a valid way to think and preferrable, circumstances allowing. Which is most cases. Get close enough, ensure the identity of the target, be precise. The exception would starvation scenarios where you bag game when you see it because it is possibly the only food you are going to see for a month. So, if you made a 1,000 yard shot and can still harvest it, then fine. And for a number of elk and moose hunting, that is going to be the way you find game, from one hill top to the next. My intent is to put stopping energy in a 120 pound ungulate at 300 yards or less but my scope, the Diamondback Tactical 6x-24x/50 mm FFP, would translate well to paper targets at longer distances and I would probably change to 100 yard zero, then. However, the Crossfire II BDC scope that has the etched in bullet drop compensator hashmarks, is designed with 100 yard zero in mind. Though you could center that for 25-300, as well.
Take a shot at 25 yards. If each click is 1/4 MOA that means 16 clicks for every inch off. Works for me. Easy peasy.
Any new mounting of a scope on a rifle I take 3 to the 25yrd line. I aim at the center of a blank big sheet of paper and put 1 round on paper. Make an adjustment. Put 1 more down range. If adjustment is still needed the final round. I then add a minute or so when I get to the 100yrd line. Then shoot 5 rounds checking after each shot. About 10 rounds total.
indoor 100yd range.❤️❤️❤️
And I know of a case where the slanted or canted 20 MOA base was used specifically for increasing range. A few guys were trying to recreate what was then the world record sniper kill at 1.5 miles. They built a gun (canadian special forces) that was similar in action, chambering and scope. And the soldier (retired) was a tech advisor. But he also said in direct interview that he doubts he could make that shot again. At the distance, there is a bit of luck. Yes, he calculated Coriolis, Magnus, other ballistic calculation. Just as importantly, his wind reading held. That is the luck part. A wind could have increased at any point and caused a miss. But it has been done before and I think it can still be found on KZhead. I think the phrase was Roger Staubach's Hail Mary pass.
I have a Cadwell stinger rest. Is that ok to sight in on? It doesn't lock the rifle in like a full sled. It supports front and rear, but the rifle butt is against the shoulder Advice?
Not sure if you've had a response or not. As I understand, as long as the rifle is supported and able to freely recoil against your shoulder, that should be fine. You will want to remove anything on the stock that will catch on the rifle rest. Those items can include, bipod, sling stud (forward and aft), rifle sling. You will also want the rifle stock resting on the support, not the barrel. My own experience with a MSR is that the handguards will affect accuracy. I have been able to shrink my groups from a 2" group to 1.5" group with a free floated hand guard and reloads. Three caveats: 1) this is an entry level MSR. 2) This is on a bipod. 3) I have installed an aftermarket trigger. This does exemplify "You gets what you pay for." The flip side is "You learn what you and your rifle are capable of." Which is better? You be the judge. I have built a 1 MOA MSR. This can be done. I recommend getting a functional rifle first. Learn what your limits are with that rifle. Then research and select your components to build your hunting rifle. Quality rifles are not necessarily uber expensive, however super cheap components usually have less stringent QC. YMMV. Good luck with your shooting endeavors.
Thank you for not being sports nerds,and shoot is fun.
If a person has over torqued a set of rings realizes the mistake then loosens them and then properly torqued them will the scope function properly? Or does it need to be sent in to be looked at by professionals?
It could still function properly. You'll want to remove it completely from its rings and give it a good look though. Check for spots where the anodizing (Black color) has been completely worn away and is revealing the shiny aluminum underneath - that would imply a pretty strong crimp on the tube. Also run your fingers along the tube and feel for any deformations or indentations. If none of that is present, remount to spec and you should be good to go, but if you experience issues when shooting, then it may be time to send to the professionals to look over.
I will ask the question no one else will ask. Because I have to ask. What model of Vortex spotting scope comes with its own Santa's Elf? Asking for a friend.
What caliber
Thanks for the 223 I have one to zero today 50 yard helps I was thinking it was 27 want 200 about 1.5 100
The very first time I was allowed to go deer hunting with my dad I've seen a our neighbor we called him one-eyed side because he only had one eye he had a 30-40 Craig and he shot a 6-point buck with his 30-40 Craig and it was right at a quarter mile away within 30 40 Craig and it was my ex-brother-law met him two cases of the beer that it wasn't there if it wasn't there he had to pay him two cases of beer but if it was there that he would pack it all the way out for for the old man all the way to the truck on his back for him and buy him two cases of beer and we walked all the way over there across true Mountain red tops and it was laying right there dead is the door now and my ex brother-in-law lost the bet and had to pass the deer out on his back as I can complete animal minus the guts
Great video, but you guys need to get a camera down range so we can see your impacts, that's more important than watching you shoot the gun.
35:48 When i grow up I want to be a Miragentist.
I like what your talking about. Why does the HSLR have a 1/2 MOA Elevation vs 1/4 MOA windage?
By making the HS LR with a coarser adjustment (1/2 MOA vs. the finer 1/4 MOA adjustments in some of our other scopes) we're able to get a full 24 MOA of adjustment in just one revolution of the turret. With a finer adjustment, we would only be able to get 12 MOA of adjustment in one full revolution of the turret. Being that we wanted this to bridge the gap between hunting and long range shooting and being that hunters don't want to sit dialing their turrets for a long time or an excessive amount, we're able to pack a lot of adjustment into one turn so you can dial a longer shot much more quickly. In reality, you're either dead-on or never more than 1/4 MOA off, which, within ethical hunting distances, is still plenty accurate to make a proper kill shot on an animal. Hope this helps!
Thanks
every go here for more details
it appears that the rifle is not recoiling straight back. The clamp on the forend is so tight that the entire front rest is coming up off of the bench!
The bipod on the front of the rifle catches the front rest making the front rest lift upon recoil not affecting accuracy, the appearance you see is null and void
@@outdoorssmith5454 You are so wrong. The bipod should have been removed and the rifle given a chance to recoil. OR the rifle should have been sighted in using the bipod only.
@@gilream your right there.The bipod and the studs should have been removed.Thats causing the rifle not to recoil straight back causing the muzzle jump. Another thing the front rest is facing the wrong way. The third leg should be facing straight back. You guys may know scopes but you don't know shootin.
Bullet path vs line of sight. Is what your talking about.
When using loctite you can use a “wet torque” value to get the same clamping force without over torquing
yep - just set the torque value at 14-15 inch pounds and it'll probably "Error it's way" right into the recommended value range. Doesn't always make sense when we explain it to people though, so we just say don't us it. No compelling reason to use loc tite on the ring screws anyway.
Once you get boresighted and shoot your first group,you move the bullet to get your point if aim corrected.yall did say it but move left to to right is confusing to beginners.saying if you go the wrong way just go back the other way.i bet your bosses are pissed!
Drone on, yak, yak, yak.
Erik cortina, fclass john
ok MR. SNOWDEN!
Podcast earmuffs / combo as rifle range ear protection!
They work pretty well as long as you've got a suppressor indoors ;)
Yall have all the answers use them correctly
While this is how I do it. The fact you left the bipod on there is not a good idea. You can see the rest rock back with each shot.
You turn the turret in the direction that you want the bullet to move not the reticle...
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A lot of people been killing a lot of deers. 😂🤣 Also, it's not the 33 yard zero no such thing that I know of 36 yard zero Shawn Ryan teaches that former Navy SEAL.
It’s a 30m zero... .9144 meters in a yard. So a 33 yard range is actually (33x.9144=) 30.1 meters. 36 yards would convert to 32.9 meters... or maybe a 33m Zero? ✌🏽
about windage, you confused each other and yourself on a very simple subject.
Someone doesn't know how to use a lead sled
Major fail fellows! No camera on the paper for us to see the most important part of the process! Redo this please
Talk it to death,geez get on with it
1 If you all haven't seen a documentary called... it's worse than you think...by revelations of Jesus Christ ministries... I suggest you do... All praise and glory to the most high Jesus Christ