Regardless if you are shooting with iron sights or a scope this season, sighting-in needs to be an integral part of your preseason routine. It only has to be done once, and can be completed usually within half an hour, but it is best to tackle this task well before opening day.

Getting Started
Sighting-in needs to be done from a solid platform, preferable a bench rest, but a chair and picnic table or even the open tailgate of a truck can work in a pinch. In addition to a solid shooting platform, a sturdy rest is needed, I prefer an adjustable tripod and a sand bag, but many other options are available.

While bench shooting is essentially a simple discipline, a few tricks can easily tighten your groups, and make sure you are seeing the best work your rifle can do.

Step 1
Start with the front rest; the two main functions any rest has to have is stability and vertical adjustment. Under the rear toe portion of the stock a "rabbit ear" style of sandbag should be used. Adjust the height of the front rest so that when the gun, while sitting on both rests, is lined up on target. Never rest the barrel or even allow it to touch any part of the rest as this will disturb the harmonic vibrations produced during firing, causing erratic groups. Only rest the forearm section, and try to keep the same portion of the forearm rested for each shot - shifting the rest position along the length of the forearm can result in strung shots (shots that form a vertical line) and fliers - especially if the barrel is not free-floated.

Do not place your non-trigger hand under the forearm of the rifle as you would in free position shooting. Since you already have a solid rest up front, move your hand back to the rear bag where it is easy to make minor windage and elevation changes by shifting or squeezing the sand filled bag.

Step 2
I prefer to shoot three-shot groups when sighting in, as well as working up loads - while a five shot group is a better test, three is adequate for most hunting rifles. Shooters have mixed opinions on the exact procedure on firing a string of shots, but here is what I have found to work. Starting with a clean rifle, fire one or two fouling shots. Let the barrel cool, then shoot a three-shot string. I do not let the rifle cool during the three-shot string, nor do I run a patch through it - I want to see how it will perform under field conditions. If the rifle is subject to walking shots as the barrel warms up, I want to know.

Step 3
Make adjustments (based on the center of the three-shot group), let the barrel cool then shoot another three shot string. The rifle will dictate how many shells can be run through it before accuracy deteriorates. However, most sighting in can be completed long before accuracy is affected by barrel fouling.

Step 4
After I am done sighting in and finished shooting for the day, I will clean the rifle and then fire the two fouling shots through it. In the days of corrosive powders and primers this was obviously a mistake, but with today's components, it has never affected the condition of my rifles. However if you want to be on the safe side, the other method is to clean the rifle normally, leave it clean and then fire the two fouling shots before the hunt (The inconvenience of this method becomes apparent at 4:30 in the morning on your way to a hunting spot and you remember that the rifle is still clean).

A few points to remember about sighting in your rifle:

• Only you can sight-in your own rifle
  Since everyone grips a stock differently, applies more pressure with their cheek or looks through sights/scopes differently, multiple people will get different results with the same rifle - it doesn't always happen, but it is common enough to mandate sighting-in your own rifle.
  
  
• Sight-in with the ammo you intend to hunt with
  This is an absolute. You can not sight-in with one brand and then hunt with another. This also goes for bullet weights and bullets styles. Technically speaking, the only ammo that can be relied upon to shoot the same are cartridges taken from boxes manufactured in the same lot. Say for example that you sighted in with 180-grain brand X .30-06 last year and this year bought a new box from a different lot number. While it may be the same brand, same weight and bullet style it may shoot differently if it is from a different manufacturing lot. 99 times out of 100 these new loads will shoot close enough to the same spot that no difference will be noticed; however, if between lots, the manufacturer changed powder brands, or primers or even bullet jacket thickness, drastically different results can occur.
  
  The biggest mistake hunters make is shooting cheap ammo to sight in and then using a premium bullet for hunting - odds are these loads will shoot nowhere near each other, and if by some phenomenon they do at 100 yards, you can lay a bet that due to aerodynamic ballistics they will perform differently as the range increases.
  
  It is fine to practice all summer with cheap ammo, but come fall, take the time to sight in with what you plan on hunting with.
  
  
• Where to Aim
  For sighting in a scope, a round "bullseye" target should not be used. Much better results can be obtained by using a 1" square grid target. When using this type of target, a shooter using a crosshair style reticle should use the 90 degree corner of the aiming square to line up the crosshairs with (see illustraion) as minor deviations in elevation and windage can easily be seen using this method.
  
  For shooters using iron sights, a large black round bullseye still works well, but be sure to use a dead on hold for hunting, as opposed to the 6 O'clock which is more practical for target shooting.

• Bore-Sighting is not a substitute for Sighting-in
  Bore sighting is simply a method of getting a rifle and scope pointing in the general direction of each other. It is not a substitute for actual sighting in. In some instances, bore sighting can get the bullet impact and scope within a fraction of an inch of each other at 100 yards, but sometimes people draw Royal Straight Flushes in poker as well. The odds of either happening should not be relied upon. Bore-sighters are a place to start - nothing more.
  
  
• Sight in for maximum point blank range
  To determine the actual maximum point blank range, consult a ballistic chart for the particular load. However, as a gross rule of thumb for cartridges around 3,000 fps (.270, .30-06, .243) is to sight-in 1.5 inches high at 100 yards which is close to dead in at 200 yards and around 7 inches low at 300 yards. By sighting your rifle in with this technique, you can hold in the middle of the chest cavity of a deer anywhere from 25 yards out to 300 yards and be reasonably sure of a hit in the vitals with no hold over.
  
  
• Pre-Season Field Practice
  The majority of people either spend too much time on the bench, or not nearly enough. The key is to do a good mixture of both before the season kicks off. The worn comment "Where I hunt there aren't any benches" sounds cute the first time you hear it, but the speaker is missing the big picture. A bench is necessary to check a rifle, ammo and scope - the point of bench shooting is to eliminate as many human induced variables as possible. Once that is completed, leave the bench and start realistic field practice. That means all four recognized positions; prone, sitting, kneeling and offhand, with an emphasis on offhand and kneeling. Even though they are the least often used, they are the hardest to master and when needed, are often for quick snap shots. You must be perfectly comfortable with the rifle and position to pull them off.
  
  If under normal field conditions you use a bi-pod, shoot a few groups using it as opposed to a solid rest from a bench. In some cases the direct, acute pressure from a bi-pod on the forearm can change the point of aim of the rifle. While this is not a huge issue - it is something that should be checked and possibly corrected with scope adjustments if the difference is substantial.
  
  Long range work
  A common mistake made by many hunters is relying on ballistic charts to determine long-range bullet drop. While it is a starting point for determining maximum point-blank range, it is still a generality and your physical elevation, barrel tolerances and scope height in relation to the center of the barrel axis all contribute to making the ballistics of your rifle unique. If you plan on taking a shot at longer ranges, it is a necessity to actually shoot your rifle off the bench at these ranges to see where the bullets hit. While the chart is great for reference, seldom will the numbers match the actual performance. If the trajectory is significantly different from the printed chart it is often a good idea to make a chart on a home computer, and tape it with clear scotch tape to the inside of your flip up scope caps for easy reference in the field.
  
  Sighting in and field practice are every bit as important as preseason scouting for the successful big-game hunter. In addition to the fact that it doesn't take much time, and doesn't cost a whole lot, you, as an ethical big-game hunter owe it to the animals you pursue to make sure your rifle is sighted in to the best of your ability!
  
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