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How to Manually Sight a Rifle Scope

You can manually sight in your rifle scope by taking your rifle to a range and adjusting your scope crosshairs by using the bullet holes in your target as a reference. Most scopes have crosshair adjustments of 1/4 or 1/8 indicating the measure in inches that each click of the dials would move the point of aim at a range of 100 yards. The elevation adjustment dial is located on the top of the scope and is turned clockwise for down or counterclockwise for up. The windage adjustment dial is located on the right side of the scope and is turned clockwise for left or counterclockwise for right.

Things You'll Need

Scoped rifle
Ammunition
Target
Ruler

Instructions

- 1
  Set up a target at a distance of approximately 100 yards.
- 2
  Load your rifle with three bullets and take three carefully aimed shots at the center of your target.
- 3
  Mark the center of your shot group and measure its location from your target center. For example, if your shot group is two inches to the right and one inch below your target, record those numbers.
- 4
  Determine the necessary corrections to align the intersection of your cross hairs with the center of your shot group. In the case of the previous example, it would be two inches to the left and one inch up. If your scope is calibrated for 1/4-inch adjustments, then turn the windage adjustment dial four clicks clockwise and the elevation adjustment dial two clicks counterclockwise.
- 5
  Reload your rifle with three more bullets and repeat the process. Make further adjustments as necessary.

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