How to Sight In Your Rifle
Sighting in, step by step as Alaska Fish and Game and West Virginia DNR describe it: safety and mechanical checks, bore sighting, a solid rest, three-shot groups at 25 yards, moving the group, letting the barrel cool, then 100 yards, with the same ammunition you'll hunt with.
Please read this first. Firearm handling, range procedure and ammunition selection are safety-critical and governed by your range’s rules, local law, your rifle and scope makers’ manuals and your ammunition maker’s published data. This guide summarises how two state wildlife agencies describe sighting in; it doesn’t replace a hunter education course or the manuals.
Sighting in means confirming where your rifle and load hit at a known distance, then adjusting the sights so the bullets land where you aim. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) calls it one of the most important parts of preparing for the season. This guide follows ADF&G’s and West Virginia DNR’s (WVDNR) instructions.
Safety and mechanical checks first
- Safe working condition: WVDNR says check the bore before firing for a cleaning patch or debris, and check the safety of your unloaded firearm according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Tight screws: ADF&G says the first step is checking the screws on the action, sights, scope mounts and rings; a loose screw ruins accuracy in the field. Our scope mounting guide covers mounting.
- Right ammunition: make certain you have the correct ammunition for the firearm, and sight in with the same type you’ll hunt with, since changing bullet weight or even brand can change the point of impact (WVDNR).
- Protection and backstop: ADF&G advises hearing and eye protection, and if you aren’t at an established range, shooting against a backstop with no houses, roads or other buildings within three miles downrange. Follow posted range rules (WVDNR). More in our hunting safety guide.
Bore sighting
Bore sighting gets your first shots on paper at 25 or 50 yards so you don’t waste ammunition. ADF&G notes most ranges have a bore-sighting device (a collimator), and a gun shop or gunsmith can do it. Without one, on a bolt rifle:
- Set a bullseye target at 25 yards, remove the bolt and put the rifle on a solid rest.
- Look through the barrel and centre the bullseye in the bore.
- Without moving the rifle, look through the scope. If the crosshairs aren’t on the bullseye, adjust the scope until they are. ADF&G notes that when bore sighting this way you turn the adjustments opposite to the direction you want the crosshairs to move.
A solid rest
ADF&G: sit comfortably at a bench or small table, rest the rifle’s forestock on sandbags or a towel-covered block, with a rear rest under the buttstock, and never rest the barrel itself on the front rest. Build the rests so they hold the rifle on target without you holding it in place. WVDNR also suggests a bench rest or another stable platform with a padded rest under the forearm.
Three-shot groups at 25 yards
- Fire a three-shot group (WVDNR suggests starting at 25 yards, where impact is normally close to where it will be at 100).
- Find the centre of the group and move it to your point of aim with the scope’s windage and elevation adjustments. ADF&G’s example: if the group centre is 1 inch low and 2 inches right, adjust to move it 1 inch up and 2 inches left, turning the knobs in the direction marked (up to move the group up, left to move it left).
- Fire another group to confirm, and repeat until the group is centred. WVDNR notes you may need several adjustments.
- Don’t rush: ADF&G says let the barrel cool between groups, because a hot barrel won’t shoot to the same place as a cold one, and you’ll hunt with a cool barrel.
How far each click moves the impact depends on your scope; your scope’s manual gives the click value. Iron sights work differently: WVDNR says move the rear sight in the direction you want the group to move.
Then 100 yards
Move the target to 100 yards and repeat (ADF&G, WVDNR). ADF&G gives an example for cartridges such as the .270 and .30-06: sighting in about 2½ to 3 inches high at 100 yards puts you sighted in to about 250 yards, with the bullet never rising or falling more than about 4 inches from the crosshairs, so you can hold on the middle of the vital zone out to 200 yards. Check your own load’s published ballistic data; our zero and holdover tool and dope card tool help you work with it.
After the range
WVDNR: clean and oil the rifle when you finish. ADF&G stresses regular practice, because a hunt may give you only one shot.
Sources
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Sighting-in your rifle. Read 28 October 2026.
- West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Firearms hunting season and safety guidelines. Read 28 October 2026.
Recommended Gear on Amazon
- Shooting rest - browse current options and reviews on Amazon.
- Boresighter - browse current options and reviews on Amazon.
- Paper sight-in targets - browse current options and reviews on Amazon.
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