Left and Right
- Thread starter J2.
- Start date
Yep. A rifle has to be zero'd for the shooter. Some folks might find that they can switch rifles with a buddy and be very close, some folks find that they switch rifles with a buddy and they're way off. A rifle zero is dependent on lots more than the alignment of scope and barrel. It will shift depending on the shooter, on cheek weld, on how the rifle is handled, whether it's fired off bags or off a hard rest, whether you use a sling, the list goes on and on. Most of my rifles fire differently off the bench than they do from common hunting positions. With sporter rifles, there is also a difference between cold barrel and hot barrel.
Yeah, what you describe is pretty common. Let your son zero the rifle for himself.
Yeah, what you describe is pretty common. Let your son zero the rifle for himself.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
I must say that I've never had that problem with a scope. Open sights, yes. Optics, never seen it, never even heard of it. I've used many guns that belong to others and had them use mine. Never an issue.
Seems like it shouldn't be possible with a scope. If you're not correctly aligned you can't see through it. If you can see through it correctly, you should hit the same as anyone else.
Not saying it ain't so, just never seen it and doesn't seem right.
Seems like it shouldn't be possible with a scope. If you're not correctly aligned you can't see through it. If you can see through it correctly, you should hit the same as anyone else.
Not saying it ain't so, just never seen it and doesn't seem right.
It shouldn't be that far out--one of you is doing something drastically different.
I shoot both ways and don't remember which eye I sighted my hunting rifle in; it shoots to essentially the same point (within a minute) regardless of which side I fire from. With a scope, I can't see it being more than say 3 minutes different (that the shift I see when I put a heavy dose of sling pressure on a flimsy stock).
Is there a bipod or rest involved in all this?
I shoot both ways and don't remember which eye I sighted my hunting rifle in; it shoots to essentially the same point (within a minute) regardless of which side I fire from. With a scope, I can't see it being more than say 3 minutes different (that the shift I see when I put a heavy dose of sling pressure on a flimsy stock).
Is there a bipod or rest involved in all this?
I'm thinking there's a big difference in how the rifle is rested (i.e someone's resting it on the barrel instead of the forearm). Another possibility/contributor is parallax (which can be quite a bit depending)--bench the rifle and move your eye around. If the crosshairs walk around on the target, that will give you an idea of how much you've potentially got in that aspect.
Kreyzhorse
New member
I'm a lefty and I've shot lots of right handed set up rifles and have never seen the difference between a lefty or a righty shooter cause the point of impact to be off very much. I will admit that every one sets up their rifle a bit different and you could expect minor differences in accuracy because of it but it certainly wouldn't be a huge difference based solely on the optics.
One question when the rifle is zeroed, does it hold a zero well for one shooter?
Any thing drastically different in your forms or size?
One question when the rifle is zeroed, does it hold a zero well for one shooter?
Any thing drastically different in your forms or size?
Basement-Gunsmith-Z
New member
it seems you are experiencing paralax. What optic are you using? If it has adjustable paralax adjust it. To test for paralax; put the rifle in a rest, look down the scope, move your head side to side and up and down. Make sure the scope is pointing at something at the distance you are shooting at. If the reticle appears to move in relation to the target you are experiencing paralax. When getting a scope make sure that paralax is adjustable if you plan on shooting precisely at multiple distances. If you only want to shoot at 100 yards, get a scope with paralax fixed for 100 yards.... But who wants to do that
This is a bit off thread topic, but close enough, I hope.
My daughter is getting to the age were she wants to start shooting, and is getting physically strong enough to do so. She is a lefty and I am a righty, so naturally I thought I would teach her to shoot my right handed rifle from the left side.
She couldn't hit a darn thing and began to lose interst real fast, as pre-teen girls will when things aren't going their way.
I decided to check her eye dominance with the old "point you finger and close each eye" trick. Well I was amazed! She is Left Handed and Right Eye dominant!
Took a bit of work, but now she is shooting right handed, hitting her targets and progressing nicely.
As to your scope, I think your son is most likely not getting a good sight picture if he cant hit anything with your zero. Make sure he can see the complete field of view without any balckening of the outer circle.
My daughter is getting to the age were she wants to start shooting, and is getting physically strong enough to do so. She is a lefty and I am a righty, so naturally I thought I would teach her to shoot my right handed rifle from the left side.
She couldn't hit a darn thing and began to lose interst real fast, as pre-teen girls will when things aren't going their way.
I decided to check her eye dominance with the old "point you finger and close each eye" trick. Well I was amazed! She is Left Handed and Right Eye dominant!
Took a bit of work, but now she is shooting right handed, hitting her targets and progressing nicely.
As to your scope, I think your son is most likely not getting a good sight picture if he cant hit anything with your zero. Make sure he can see the complete field of view without any balckening of the outer circle.