It is so often that I see and hear at the range of shooters that haven’t got a clue how to get their scope and bullets on paper. That was perhaps most of us years ago. Here is a refresher for a bolt or break action rifle.Otherwise purchase a laser boresighter cost $30 to $99 dollars.
First, make sure your scope is mounted correctly and that the crosshairs are vertical and horizontal. I sometimes used the weaver rings that tighten from only one side on my deer hunting rifle so when the screws are tightened the crosshairs rotate toward the tightness of the screws. You may have to play with the scope body by turning the crosshairs further off the vertical so that when you tighten the screws it will end up plumb. If you intend to shoot long range to 300 yards or more then use a plumb-bob (an inexpensive tool) on your target at 25 yards and verify at 50 or 100 yards and align the vertical crosshair with the string on the plumb-bob.
Second, Bore sight your rifle and scope. A friend can be helpful but not necessary to make adjustments. On a bolt action rifle, remove the bolt. Set your rifle in a bench rest device or sand bags so that you can see through the bore to a 25 yard target. Without moving the rifle or scope look through the scope to see where the crosshairs are. If crosshairs are high move them to agree with the bore. If left or right move the windage adjustment to agree with the bore. Once you are satisfied that the bore and scope are in agreement then take your first shot. Ok, Wow! You are on paper. Nice Job!
Third, your bullet hit 2 inches high and 2 inches left at 25 yards. Now comes the remember part. How many clicks (1/4 inch at 100 yds) does it take to move the crosshairs 2 inches. It takes 16 clicks at 25 yards to move your bullet one inch up/down and left/right. So you are going to adjust the crosshairs down 32 clicks and right 32 clicks. Sounds like a lot of clicks doesn’t it. You may want to adjust the scope 1/2 to 1 inch below the bull as the bullet can hit a bit high at 100 yards.
Fourth, shoot your target at 100 yards. So you shoot and hit 3 inches high and left by 1 inch. Pretty good! Make adjustments 4 clicks per inch =1 minute of angle as you like
Notes: If you half the distance to 50 then it takes 8 clicks to move 1 inch. If you half the 50 to 25 it takes 16 clicks to move the crosshair one inch. Got that! If you half the distance then you double the clicks.
Advanced Stuff, If you want to shoot long range to say 250 or 300 yards you can calculate Max Point Blank Range if you know the actual bullet speed and Ballistic Coefficient by using an online calculator. I use JBM Ballistics or you can create a drop table for longer ranges by using MOA. charts and wind drift charts. Further you will need a level on your scope at longer distances as I did shooting at 1000 yards and breaking 8 inch balloons.
Shoot straight – Shoot Often
C 2016