Gun Not Zero'd Before Hunting?

When hunting season approaches, we always take the shotgun out and make sure it is still sighted in properly. To do otherwise disrespects the animals and those with whom one hunts. We built a small ‘range’ at hunting camp so everyone can shoot when they arrive. That said, I was hunting with a friend and we saw a wounded buck at about 65 yards. He pulled up and shot and the buck didn’t move. So he shot again… and again. He was getting pretty angry and told me to shoot. After I put the buck down, we did a quick sighting in (yes, he did sight in before going into the woods). He was low by about 5 feet at around 30 yards. He is an excellent shot so I asked him what was wrong. It was then that he recalled smacking his firearm against a tree. He never thought of re-sighting after the incident. It just goes to show you that you need to sight in anytime you think your scope might have been disturbed in anyway.
 
I've not had a high regard for the smarts of a lot of folks, but y'all are giving me a case of the serious shudders!

I'm lucky, I guess. My uncle became an armorer for the National Guard when he was still in high school, and later on became a gunsmith. I got started from the git-go with the whole sight-in deal.

Even though my pet '06 would stay within an inch of the original point of aim from year to year, I always double-checked it before the start of the deer season, and if there had been any severe bump during a jeep ride, I'd check it again.

Did I ever mention I like one-shot DRT? :D

Hard to figure how a guy could believe in the "X marks the spot" thing. I guess he never, ever, picked up any gunzine and looked at an ad for a scope...
 
22-rimfire said:
I actually have tags on the trigger guard that tells me what ammo a rifle is sighted in with and the distance...
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That is an EXCELLENT practice.
Daryl said:
I used to have a calling buddy, back in the mid-1980's, who insisted on hunting with a bore sighted rifle.
...
Turned out his "cbore sight" had him about 2' high, and a foot left at 100 yards.
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"I put the bore sight on, and it was off." he says.

So I ask, "Danny, did you move the adjustments on your scope?"

"Yep!" he says. "It's back on sight now."
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Now that is pretty amazing. :(
 
As hunters, don't we owe it to our quarry to be absolutely sure the weapon we're using is zero'ed? Also say a gun/bow is zero`ed at a certain yardage. Unless we`re just going to shoot animals at that specific yardage then shouldn`t we shoot same weapon enough to know where its hitting at different distances?

Pretty basic stuff that all hunters should do.

I, myself make enough human error. Don`t need any help from my equipment.

Bottomline: if your not sure your weapon is zero'ed(not boresighted) and you're are not familiar where it hits at different distances you`ll be shooting at, should not shoot at anything breathing till it is.
 
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Shortwave, I'm with you!

And to tie this in to other discussions we've had in the previous couple weeks: not only are they not sighting in, but I'd bet they bought the biggest, baddest sounding magnum they could find, not knowing any better.

After all, those deer have armor now, right?

It also brings to mind an important lesson I taught my 13yo a couple months ago. We took her 6.8 SPC AR to Cabellas and had them install a Nikon 3-9X40 in Warne rings and asked them to boresight it. I explained to my 13yo what boresighting was, looked at a couple boresighters (I really should just buy one...), got the eye relief adjustments done, and left. Went to the range the next week and it wasn't even on paper at 50 yards! :eek: Initial hit was 15" high, 6" left. :barf:

Good thing I bought some of the Hornady 115gr Vmax cheap to get it close before running a couple boxes of SSA 115gr TSX through it to fine tune.
 
Bore sighting the old fashioned way

We have a fence around the back yard, and from inside the garage , looking out the back door to the corner of the yard is 25 yards. I have a jar lid that works pretty dandy nailed to that corner post, with a red thumb tack right in the middle. I set up the gun on a rest so that when looking down the bore (bolt removed) the jar lid fills the entire bore. (BTW I only do this with 22 cal rifles...22-250 and 22 hornet. Different bores would require different size lids.) Then, I adjust the scope so the cross hairs are centered on the thumb tack.

Usually, when I go to the range, the gun will hit within a couple of inches of the bullseye at 25 yards (where I always start to make sure the thing is even on the paper.)

The reason for doing this out of the garage would be obvious if you saw where we live. I would probably get jail time for fooling around out in plain sight with a high power gun with a scope. :D
 
And to tie this in to other discussions we've had in the previous couple weeks: not only are they not sighting in, but I'd bet they bought the biggest, baddest sounding magnum they could find, not knowing any better.

After all, those deer have armor now, right?
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While they don't have armor, I think the bigger calibers are to open up a bigger wound so that there will be a better blood trail to follow if by chance they are hit by the hunter. However like Art, I prefer my kills to be DRT.
 
Dunno why folks have any problem with bore-sighting a bolt-action rifle. I lived in town for a year or so; still no problem.

A couple of books on the dining table, and some thinner stuff for adjustment. Point out a window to some object a hundred or so yards away. An electric transformer on a pole, for instance. Or a car window.

Look through the bore, center the object as best I could. Adjust the crosshairs. Repeat as necessary until it looked "pretty close".

Okay, at the range, start at 25 yards. I've never missed an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of paper at that distance. I use a marker, making one horizontal line and three vertical lines. I'm a cheapskate. Okay, adjust the scope until I'm dead on. One shot at a time between adjustments has always worked fine.

Then go to 100 yards. Maybe two, at most three, three-shot groups to get the group centered where I want.

Semi-auto? I don't bother with the scope, other than to center the crosshairs in it. I just start my shooting at ten yards before moving out to twenty-five. No big deal. A little low at ten is near-on at 25.

I dunno. I just sorta wander along through life, wondering why other folks are having all those problems. Life itsownself ain't exactly rocket science, y'know?
 
Art is exactly right.

I've started at 50 yards with that exact same method and never missed a piece of paper.



As for hunting with a unsighted rifle....

No way, I wouldn't even set foot in the woods. I have to have confidence that I can do the job. I can't have that confidence with a gun that I've never sighted. In fact, I wouldn't go in the woods with a gun that I sighted LAST season and haven't shot since. Confidence matters.
 
Okay, at the range, start at 25 yards.
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Bingo! Volunteered for range sight-in days at my previous club. We always had a station set up to "get on paper at 25." Watched with some amusement the guys with new equipment who would use up the only box of ammo they brought and never get on paper at 100. Go figure. Especially since we had guys on hand ready and able to help.

To the contrary, was always impressed by the guys who went to the 100 yard line and put three shots in the bullseye with ol' Betsy, and said "Yup; still on." Those guys always made me feel good.
 
Ive seen both ends of the spectrum. My FIL's 30-30 bumps around in the front of his truck year round. He buys whatever bullets are on sale and if a deer gets within 100 yds of him, its dead. No exceptions. He's never read a ballistics table in his life.
Ive got friends that can quote reloading manuals line and verse and can tell what xyz cartridges drop and wind drift at 500 yds is from memory. Most couldnt kill a deer in a pen.
 
Went to the range the next week and it wasn't even on paper at 50 yards! Initial hit was 15" high, 6" left.
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But doesn't this mean you just have to click your sight and bring it down 7 1/2 inches and to the right three inches? :):rolleyes:
Sorry, I was actually asked this and the guy just figured he would do it anyway.

It did not work and he spent another 50 rounds getting it back on target. He did not believe what he saw in the spotting scope so he walked out to the target after every three shots.

It was a form of comic relief.
 
As a teen, my brothers and I would be shooting our center fire rifles in our back yard out to 100 or 150 yds. We had a real nice gently sloping field behind our house to the woods. Anyway, as always, the week prior to deer season, we would be warming up our rifles to check scopes and things. My Dad would wander out with his 30-06 (760 Remington) and watch a while, then slip the magazine in and chamber a round.... let me take a couple shots and with open sights.... at 100 yds he'd usually put 3 rounds into about a 2" group very near the bull. We'd walk up to the target to check and my Dad would say... Looks good enough for me! He seldom missed during deer season regardless of the range. Us kids were trying to get our groups down to under 1". He would just chuckle, watch a while, then take his rifle back to the house.

Shooting a deer is not so hard usually at normal woods ranges. The hard part is knowing where to hunt and how to hunt. Takes some experience.

Yes, with a new scope, I always bore sight to about 25 yds to get it on paper, and then move to 50yds for a few shots, then on to 100yds. If we have a target set at a longer distance, we'll shoot that one too. You do need to know which direction to move the sights. Sometimes it feels backwards.
 
G'day. Hay Uncle Buck

....at 50 yards! Initial hit was 15" high, 6" left.

But doesn't this mean you just have to click your sight and bring it down 7 1/2 inches and to the right three inches?
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Don't you see it. The scope is 4 clicks to 1 inch at 100 yards. So at 50 yards you are half the distance so half the clicks.;)

If he was 15" high at 100 yards THEN he would have to adjust the whole 15 inches.:rolleyes: But cose he was shooting at 50 yards he only needs half the adjustment.:eek:
 
You will find me out at the range a day or two before opening of season. It accomplishes 2 things. My rifle is zeroed and I get a little extra practice.

When I travel, I sight in before I leave, and once I get there, I recheck. Ammo is cheap compared to the cost of your licence, travel expense (auto, plane, boat). Lodging (camping, lodge, or motel), and in some cases guide fees. I sure wouldnt want to miss a shot because I was either too "rusty" or my sights were off.

To keep from being to "rusty", I try to get out once every week or two. Sometimes it can be a little more than a month but that is extremely rare.

Maybe I should just give up hunting.........I can buy the meat much cheaper by the pound! :)
 
G'day. Hay Uncle Buck


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....at 50 yards! Initial hit was 15" high, 6" left.

But doesn't this mean you just have to click your sight and bring it down 7 1/2 inches and to the right three inches?

Don't you see it. The scope is 4 clicks to 1 inch at 100 yards. So at 50 yards you are half the distance so half the clicks.

If he was 15" high at 100 yards THEN he would have to adjust the whole 15 inches. But cose he was shooting at 50 yards he only needs half the adjustment.
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Actually, i think it is the other way around: if you are off 15inches at 50 yards, would you not be off by 30 inches at 100 yards? Therefore, you would need DOUBLE the clicks instead of HALF the clicks. Am i not thinking of this right? anyway, that is what i use when sighting in at 50.



This is another mistake people make and burn up ammo at the range trying to get on paper...
 
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