How to Boresight a Scope Properly: A Step-by-Step Guide

Bore sighting is a method used to speed up the zeroing process by using the barrel of your gun as a reference point when sighting in your reticle.

It is a highly underrated method that allows users to calibrate their reticle on the point where the bore laser hits. It works with all manner of sights and scopes and saves users so much time, effort, and ammunition in the long run.

Allow me to offer a step-by-step guide on how to properly boresight your rifle, its benefits, and considerations you need to make when adjusting a new optic with this as your reference point.

What Is Bore Sighting?

Bore sighting is the process of using a laser bore sighter (pointed in a safe direction), a great tool that mimics the path bullets would take to hit a target set a known distance away.

The bore sight goes into the breech end of your weapon, projecting a laser out past the gun’s barrel and onto the target. This laser illustrates the point of impact of your shots, giving you a point to focus your reticle adjustments on.

This allows you to dial in your rifle scope, aligning your reticle with the center of your rifle’s bore before you even load your first round into the chamber.

Bore sighting is a great way to zero in a new rifle scope without wasting ammunition. It greatly reduces the number of test groups you must fire to calibrate your reticle. It is one of the best ways to ensure accuracy before each hunt or training session.

What Do You Need to Boresight a Scope?

You will need the following equipment when bore sighting your rifle.

• Gun Vise: solid rest that grips your rifle and allows you to make fine adjustments without the rifle shaking
• Bore Sighter: laser pointer, acts as a reference point you can align your scope reticle with
• Target: A paper or cardboard cut-out you will aim at to calibrate your reticle
• Muzzle break: A recoil compensator that pairs well with laser bore sighters

How to Boresight a Rifle Scope

Knowing how to bore sight a rifle scope will help you center your crosshairs across all manner of rifle scopes and calibers. The bore sighting process can be broken down into the steps below.

Step 1. Set Up Your Target

Place a paper target with a visible bullseye about 25 yards away. Position your rifle in a gun vise and remove the bolt assembly if you are using that type of laser dot sighter.

Step 2. Align the Bore Sighter

Before installing your laser bore sighters, you must align your barrel with the target by staring through the barrel and making manual adjustments until the target is perfectly centered when viewing the bore like a scope.

You can then expose all your scope’s turrets, removing any caps and readying them for adjustment.

Step 3. Adjust Windage and Elevation

Use your windage and elevation turrets to move the center of the reticle in the direction you need it to go.

Use your windage dials to move the reticle left or right, and the elevation dial on top to move your reticle up or down.

Step 4. Attach the Bore Sighter

Now is the time to install your bore sighter. Plenty of these lasers are designed to fit snugly into the rifle’s bore, ensuring accuracy from the moment you slide them in. Others must be mounted at the front of the muzzle.

Take the time to ensure that your laser will not shake and is mounted perfectly so that the laser hits dead center on the target.

This makes adjusting your sights and scope reticle so much more straightforward.

Step 5. Check Point of Impact

After making reticle adjustments using the laser as a reference, take a shot from 25 yards away. Determine how close your shot was to your desired point of impact.

Recalibrate and dial in the scope further until you achieve the desired results.

Step 6. Sight-In at 100 Yards

Once satisfied, zero and sight in your scope at 100 yards. Expect to be on paper or very close to the target, thanks to your bore sighting.

Differences Between Boresighting AR-15s and Bolt Action Rifles

Let us discuss the differences in the boresighting process between AR-platform rifles and bolt-action ones.

Boresighting AR-15s or other Semi-Automatic Rifles

You will need to consider the following conditions before adding a red dot laser to bore sight your AR-15.

• Restricted Access: For AR-style rifles and other semi-automatic firearms, the design often obstructs direct access to the bore. You will need to remove your bolt carrier group to insert the laser.
• Bolt and Bolt Carrier: The presence of a bolt carrier can complicate the boresighting process, as you will need to disassemble the rifle to make room in the bore for the laser to pass straight through.
• Less Stability: AR-style rifles are less stable during boresighting due to the additional moving components and the increased interaction with the firearm.
• Additional Considerations: You might need to factor in the presence of front sights, gas blocks, and other parts

How to Boresight an AR-15

You can easily boresight the many rifles that utilize the AR platform using the following steps.

1. Place a range target 25 yards away from your weapon.