Sighting in scope

L

Lilswede1

New member
My son just got 2 new .17's (CZ and Savage) and asked me to "break-in barrels" and get rifles on paper.
If I sight in the scopes should they shoot the same for someone else?
 
It'll be close enough that he will be able to tweak it for him. I shoot left handed and my right handed buddies can accurately fire my scoped rifles without any problems
 
I agree with above. You should be close enough. I sight in deer rifles for people every year. Now and then I will run into someone who cants their rifles. Not much you can do there.
 
Agree with all except breaking in the barrel. Barrel break in, as a separate thing to do, isn't needed. Just shoot it and after a few shots are through the barrel to get it sighted in then it's cleaned, it's also broken in.
 
Agree with all except breaking in the barrel. Barrel break in, as a separate thing to do, isn't needed. Just shoot it and after a few shots are through the barrel to get it sighted in then it's cleaned, it's also broken in.
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Sorry Bart, "Kind a disagree" Barrel breaking in is very important. Its the second best excuse you have to take your new rifle out to the range.:)and shoot it.:). Your best excuse is to go out to the range is to "sight-in" the new scope.:) Then you can talk about going out to range for "load testing":D.
 
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Panfisher- If that one ever gets old, get a hold of me- I have a book of excuses:D I just flip the page every weekend to a new one.
 
Nothing excits me like a new Winchester model 70!

I have never done more than sight a rifle in shoot a few times clean and then store the rifle in a gun cabinet. It could be anywhere from weeks to months before shooting the rifle again, usually the rifle will be shot at the local range. Rarely did I need to adj the scope after the initial sighting in, I do love to shoot a rifle just don't do it as often as I use to!! There was a time I went thru one or two new rifles a year just to have an excuse to go to our G&F shooting range, at least I thought it gave me an excuse.. William
 
I used to sight in my Brother's rifles and they all hit perfectly for him. It would be hard to find two more different shooters. I'm right handed, smallish and skinny while he was a lefty, 6" taller than me, and 100# heavier. Back in the 70's, 80's, and 90's, I was "the scope guy" in the area. I sold, mounted, and zeroed scopes for dozens of shooters of all sizes and ages on rifles of every description and never heard of a single instance of serious misalignment.
 
Wondering why you have to sight in the scopes?
If it's a "He's always busy with work and I have the time" thing, then I understand.

If it's because he doesn't know how, may I suggest you pass on this skill to him? Talk him through what he is doing, but let him do all the work of mounting the scopes, leveling the reticles, then adjusting for sight in at the range. Will be a great lesson for him and some good Father-Son time.
 
I would tell the kid to break in his own barrel, but that is just me.

As to sighting in, there will be a difference between the two of you unless you have exactly the same hold and pressure on the rifle. It may not be much, but it will be there. Have you ever tried a different hold, taken ten shots and compare it with ten shots you took previously?
 
Sorry Bart, "Kind a disagree" Barrel breaking in is very important
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Bake, I think Art took the above statement from you literally and not with the sarcasm with which it was intended, and so posted an old thread with tons of information from a man who was one of, if not the foremost barrel maker: Gale McMillan. Whose view on barrel break in was that it was completely a farce and a gimmick to sell more barrels.
 
I guess I didn't use enough faces :):D. I was kidding around about a subject that may never be settled. I remember when all the racers (boat, motorcycle, car, and plane} used "STP" oil treatment in their engines. "Couldn't hurt, and it might help",:) and everybody was using it. :rolleyes: Plus you didn't want to give the other drivers/riders any advantage.:( I had the decal, but I swear I never put that $hit in my engines.:)
 
Post #2 was likely as good an answer as need be. :)

STP--"Stop oil"--was one way to get a bit more use out of a motor whose rod bearings were about shot. Castrol R "bean oil" would get you one, maybe two more laps before the engine cratered. Smelled good, too. :)

Let us gird up our loins and attempt to return to the original subject. :D
 
In this particular case, I doubt "break-in" will be a factor. The 17 HMR's that I've shot either shoot fine right out of the box or required knowledgeable input(some sort of professional bore lapping) to shoot well. The tiny bore and rifling profile isn't conducive to heavy handed lapping or abrasive application.
Just sight in the scopes and try to find the "magic bullet"(load the rifles like). By the time you've checked several loads, you'll know whether the rifles are accurate or need to "go down the road".
 
On the technical side of one shooter's results differing from another's sight in, parallax will produce a difference if the two shooters hold way off axis in opposite directions, but the difference will likely be lost in the normal random dispersion at .17 ranges. A fussbudget with time and ammo might enjoy the testing.
 
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