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How to Sight in a Dragunov

The Dragunov is a Russian-made, Soviet era sniper rifle chambered to use 7.62 mm x 54 mm ammo. Dragunov rifles are semiautomatic and feature 10 round detachable magazines. The Russian rifles that were imported into the United States came standard with a 4x scope with a military reticle that can also be used for determining range. Whether you're using the Russian style scope or a hunting scope with traditional reticles the procedure for sighting in your rifle is the same.

Things You'll Need

Target
Ammunition

Instructions

- 1
  Prepare a target at a range of 100 yards.
- 2
  Place three cartridges into your magazine and load your Dragunov rifle. Take careful aim at your target and fire three controlled shots. On a Soviet-style tactical scope, the point of aim is the top of the arrow in the center of the sight picture.
- 3
  Record the center of your shot group in relation to your point of aim. For example, if the shot group is one inch to the left and one inch below the center of your target, record that information.
- 4
  Calculate the necessary corrections to move the center of your shot group to align with the center of your target. In the case of the previous example, the scope must be adjusted one inch up and one inch to the right.
- 5
  Adjust the windage and elevation dials, located on the right side and top of the scope, to align the reticles with the target. Typically, each click on the windage or elevation dials will move the reticles 1/4-inch on a target at 100 yards; therefore, you could move the reticles one inch with four clicks of the adjustment dial.
- 6
  Place three more cartridges into your magazine, reload your rifle and fire three more times. Check the point of impact and make further adjustments as necessary.

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