How to sight in a hunting rifle

(Neil, Yukon)

First of all, why do we need to sight in a rifle? Everyone has different vision, is a different size and some people's eyes are very close together (only joking). So when you get a new rifle or even if you haven’t used your own for a while (such as at the start of hunting season), you need to check the sights. Rifles come with 'iron sights', the metal ones attached to the rifle, and you can replace these with telescopic ones - both need sighting in.

Our 30-06 hunting rifle

Why sight in a rifle?
It's important that you know exactly where your bullet is going to end up. If you're hunting you want to make a clean shot that kills the animal as swiftly and humanely as possible.
You're going to need some sort of target to shoot at. In the bush you usually have to improvise, so a cardboard box and a marker pen does for us. Draw a cross about 18" x 18". We sight in our guns at 30 yards. Other people sight in their guns at longer ranges because they shoot game further away. We use our rifle for hunting moose that we call in so that distance works well for us.

Bullets travel on an arc from the barrel of the rifle (not in a straight line as you might think). So if you're sighting in at 30 yards to hit something at 100 yards you’ll need to aim about 2-2.5” lower (as the bullet will still be rising), at 200 yards you should be dead on and further than that aim higher - to allow for the curved path of the bullet.

Where to do it
You need to think about the direction you're firing in and what's behind your target. Bullets from a 30-06 rifle can travel as far as 2-3 miles. So you'll need a gravel bank or you can improvise some sort of solid backstop from very thick logs. A handy hint here, don't just fire into trees. If you ever need to cut them down with a chainsaw you can damage or even break a chain if it hits a bullet. Use the same ammunition you’re going to be hunting with as different bullets perform differently.

Our target and backstop

Great, you have your rifle, appropriate ammunition and target set up in a sensible location. Ear defenders are a fantastic investment too. Rifles are LOUD and you're going to be firing a fair few shots. My grandfather was a gunnery teacher during the Second World War and was profoundly deaf.

Firing positions
Make sure you have a stable shooting position. The more accurate your shots, the better you'll be able to sight your rifle in. The most stable position for shooting (though not always the most comfortable) is the prone position, lying on your stomach and supporting the gun with both elbows touching the ground and your right leg slightly flexed. You can also kneel on one leg and rest your elbow on your knee (see picture). The least stable position is standing, but you can always lean the gun on something. The idea is to be as stable (and therefore as accurate) as possible.

Our shooting range on the banks of the Yukon

At this stage some people also do bore sighting. That is removing the bolt completely and looking down the bore of the rifle to the target and adjusting the sights to where the bore is pointing. As we only sight in at short range we skip this step.

Ready, aim, fire
Now the fun bit. We fire three shots aiming at the bullseye, other people may only need one if they are more confident of their shooting skills. One word of caution here if you're using telescopic sights. A 30-06 rifle can kick back quite a lot. You can end up with a very sore shoulder if you don't tuck the butt right in there to the muscle (not the bone). Also, make sure you don't do what I did which is to have your eye too close to the sights. When the rifle kicks back the sight does as well and can give you a nice black eye - or in my case a nice crescent moon shaped scar between my eyes. IDIOT! (It was my wife's rifle with a very short length of pull, though it was still a stupid thing to do.)

Take your time, aim carefully and keep the gun as steady as you can. Be still, be calm. Squeeze the trigger, don't snatch at it. Breathe steadily. Breathe half-way out and fire (or fire before you next intake of breath – there are different ways to do this). Fired three shots? OK, make the gun safe by ensuring there’s no round in the chamber, the action (bolt) is open and the gun is pointing in a safe direction (or carry the gun with you) and walk down to check your target.

If you're a reasonable shot you should see 'good grouping' for your holes on the target. If they're central around the bullseye, great - your rifle is sighted in already. If they're widely spread, you're a terrible shot - keep practicing. They are likely to be grouped in one of the four quadrants of your target cross. You'll probably need to adjust your sights.

Getting closer all the time
How you adjust sights varies but there will be a left-right (windage) and up-down (elevation) wheel. Often these are hidden under screw covers. Now adjust your sights according to the direction you need to go to get closer to the bullseye (a screwdriver or a suitable coin should do it). A word of caution here – make sure you turn the right dial the right way - it may not be immediately obvious which way is which and you can find your shots getting further and further away from the bullseye if you’re not careful.

OK. Now fire three more shots. Hopefully, you'll be a lot closer to the bullseye now. If not, adjust further.

Keep adjusting until you are as accurate as possible. The more you shoot with your rifle, the more you'll become comfortable with it and practice, whilst not necessarily making perfect, makes you a lot better. Once you're comfortable with your rifle you can also improve your aim by shooting much cheaper .22 ammunition or even an air rifle.

So that's how we sighted in our 30-06 hunting rifle.