laser bore sighting

M

marlinmark

Inactive
good morning one and all. right now i'm doing some window shopping for
a/some type of laser bore sighting kit. the ones i've seen so far don't
seem to be expense and they all mention being able to use on calibers
.22 thru .50. the reviews i've been reading for each one seems to be about
the same as far as quality goes. around 50% for and 50% calling them junk.
now the primary use would be for my marlin 336 in .30/30 win.
i also have the glock27 gen,3. the impression i get from the different
adapters is i could use the sighter for my pistol also. what i'm wondering
is sighting the g-27 warranted as mentioned in some reviews the red dot
is visible to around 10 yds. but mostly is there a brand that might be
recommended. any replies would be greatly appreciated. pros and cons.
thank you very much in advance. i'm thinking around maybe a couple days
before i would make up my mind. (sorry so long) :rolleyes:
 
It'll get you on paper. I use laser cartridge bore sighters. They are a little different and IMO a little more accurate than the .22 to .50 Caliber laser bore sighters that uses adapters. I've used the .22LR, 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP, 38/257, 12ga, 30-06. Like I'd said, it'll get you on paper but you still gotta do the work after that.
 
I'm sixty-seven years old and I've shot competition for almost fifty years with rifles, custom handgun, and shotgun. I used to shoot over thirty-five thousand rounds a year out of just rifle and handgun. In all the years I've shot and owned more guns than I can remember, I've never bore sighted even one of them. All you need to do to get a gun on paper is simply shoot a shot or two at twenty-five yards and adjust your sights/scope and move back. I honestly don't know why anyone even bothers using a bore sighter. Another method is to simply look through the bore as the gun is sitting on a rest and adjust the reticle to the center of the target and that will get you on paper. All a bore sighter does (if it even works...some are better than others) is get you one paper. It DOES NOT sight your gun in for you. Spend the money on ammo and forget the bore sighter.
 
I can get any bolt action zeroed at 100 yards in 3 shots without one. A lever action or any other type where I can't easily remove the bolt and look through the bore MIGHT take 4 shots. I don't see even the best of these tools ever saving me a single round of ammo or one minute of my time.

The only thing any of them do is ensure your 1st shot hits paper at 25 yards so you have some idea which direction to start moving your sights. They don't get your gun zeroed, only within 5-6" of your aiming point at 25-50 yards. That can be accomplished by simply using a larger piece of paper for your target. The last time I checked a sheet of poster board at Walmart was 38 cents. Tape over the bullet holes and you can do just as good for a lifetime of zeroing rifles for a lot less money.
 
Don't put to much thought in it, I picked up a cheap Center Point multi cal boresighter from Walmart (Think I paid $12 for it), it has saved me well over that amount in the ammo I would have used to sight my rifles in if I didn't have it, more importantly for me though is that it saves me a bit of time in sighting in the rifles. I have used it for all my rifles from a Marlin 60 to my Mosin and my lever actions in .44mag and 30-30.
I think a lot of people call them junk because they aren't blowing out the center of the target at 100yards after using one. The boresighter gets you well with in the ball park but you, or at least I still needed to fine tune the sights with live ammo.
As for sighting in my handguns? Never had to use a boresighter for that.
 
bore sighting.

well looks like the cons have it. thank you for the quick replies and better
and a WHOLE lot cheaper ideas. thats all right with me, save a few bucks
and get the better results. many more things out there to use the money for.
thanks again for your replies.

happy shooting and stay safe out there....:D
 
Laser bore sighters can be made fairly accurate, but takes more work than zeroing the rifle itself. Most bore sights I have come across needs the laser beam to be adjusted.
Stick the rifle in a solid mount such as a vise.
Insert the bore sight and turn it on.
Spin the bore sight and watch the dot on the wall.
If the dot walks around a center point then the beam is out of whack.
Adjust the beam until it no longer moves position as you rotate it.
You are now ready to use it to adjust your scope.

Any rifle that you can remove the bolt and see down the bore, a laser bore sighter is not neede as others mentioned. If you can't see down the bore, then just start zeroing with your target close then increase the distance until you are at your desired zero distance.
 
Another way to help sight in a rifle is to use a plumb bob.
Put the rifle in something solid, like a gun vise.
Hang the bob from above so its string is clearly visible through the sights.
That will pretty much determine right and left as well as short distance up or down.
Then a quick trip to the range to finalize for actual distance adjustment.
Shoot a single shot or maybe a group - and adjust the sights to where the hole(s) in the target is.
 
Put your rifle on sandbags and fire a shot. Then return the scope picture to where it was and click the scope to move the cross hairs to that hole in target without moving the rifle. You should now be on very close. A shot or two will give you what you want as far as point of impact.
 
I purchased a Cabela's one about ten years back, for sighting in a couple of muzzleloaders. I don't think they work all that great, sure it will get you on paper, but I really don't see the need. Fire at closer ranges, adjust your sights as you move the targets out farther.
I don't believe they are useless, just unnecessary. YMMV.
 
I never saw anyone use a LBS to sight a scope except in the National Guard, and that was to ensure everyone would be on paper before BZO. We were also LBSing Peq-4s, so not much more trouble. That is the only thing a LBS is really good for... Sighting in an IR laser that is mounted to the side of the bore of a rifle. They can be quite accurate, done properly. I've seen quite a few mediocre shooters hitting man sized pop ups at 150 yards with no other sighting method. In total darkness with unmagnified pvs14s.

We never used them in the Marine corps except for bore sighting the Peq-4s. We did a good bit more shooting in general so there wasnt much fear of Marines not hitting paper.
 
Don't bother with any type of bore sighter. There's many simple ways to accomplish that task without wasting money on another gadget.
 
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