Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters The Old Way to Bore Sight

I hate to put on the loony's dunce cap but, what is a collimator and what does it do Mr Barsness?

a "boresight tool".

for many years i would sight down the bore at an object, a conifer tree top, the top of a utility pole, etc., but usually a streetlight worked best, and then i would adjust the scope accordingly. for folks who take a little time and care, it can sometimes work as well as a collimator, but pumps and levers are a problem...

i use the sweany site-a-line collimator, and there is none better. it has precise arbors for the different calibers, 22rf, 22cf, etc., all the way through to 45 cal. these arbors assure the ultimate in precision, usually resulting in first shot printing of 2 inches or less at 100 yards.

this system is available from brownells, or directly from alley supply (jet alley). this collimator was designed by jack sweany, who also had the job of boresighting the big naval guns on our ships.

the sweany site-a-line collimator has been around a long time, and it has a solid, proven track record--expensive and universally recognized as the ultimate collimator...

Mr. Howell,
I do it about like you do except I use a straight 6' long 4"X4" leaned up against my back fence instead of a plumbed line. My back fence is exactly 25 yards from my kitchen table. I do it like this:
1) level the 4x4 with a 4' level
2) tape a red ball on top of the 4x4
3) clamp my rifle in a vise and level it using a 2' level on the bottem half of the scope mount
4) lay the scope in the bottom rings and align the verticle crosshair with the 4x4
5) place the top half of the scope ring and slowly tighten the screws keeping the vertical cross hair lined up with the 4x4
6) bore sight using the red ball
I'm usually within an inch at 50 yds. I think my scopes are pretty level on the 5 rifles that I've used this method on. I'm going to the range next week to do some shooting and I'll verify the level at 100yds. I'm wondering if 100 yds is far enough.

I have used that method for well over 30 years. It works.

I know Steve Alley pretty well. He takes great pride in the quality of the product, and I don't know of another of this type that is better.

Ditto - I have never used any other method, why wouldn't you want to shoot some more ammunition now and then. I think I would hate depriving myself of the fun of "old fashioned" sight adjusting.

while i don't know steve personally, my visits with him either on the phone or by email have been great. he is a really nice fellow--and when i have spent time talking to him via phone, i learned a lot about the history and details of their product.

it's really nice to know there are guys out there who bring their products to market--and they build them with great care--wanting the very best for the consumer. steve is that kind of guy--top notch, and eagerly willing to share a wealth of information. i was particularly interested in his knowledge of the reticle history on the site-a-line, and how it ended up being built "as it is today".

if any of you out there desire to own the ultimate collimator--this one is it, and even with regular use in a busy shop, it will last 40-50 years. i once heard it said that, "all of the different companies that endeavor to build and sell their own particular type or brand of collimator--nevertheless, use the sweany site-a-line..."

It's the only way I've ever done it, always worked fine. Saves the trouble of having to shoot the pesky boresighter out of the way.

I'm a big fan of K.I.S.S. so that's the way I do it too. I've got a plumb line in my shop that just stays there all the time, even though I don't use it all that often for scopes.

It comes in handy to square golf club heads up for re-gripping as well.

I bested a personal record last night sighting-in my new Ruger M77 MkII 30-06 with Leupold Vari-X III 3.5-10x40: Two shots. The first shot at 25 yds was 2 inches left. I moved the windage turret the appropriate number of clicks and fired a second round at 25 yds. It landed in the bullseye about a half-inch low, so I moved to 100 yds. The first and only shot at 100 was in the center of the bull. I actually fired 3 shots but the last one required no adjustment, so the gun was actually sighted-in in 2 shots. That's my story anyway, and I'm stickin' to it. When I move to 200 yds, I suspect the first shot will be 2-3 inches low, so I'll crank it up a few clicks first.

What a great shooting rifle/scope combo! That Vari-X III provides an excellent, clear image. It is the very best scope I own. And of course, "There ain't many problems a man can't fix with seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six." and I just happen to have the $700 on me today. Life is good!

I can't imagine why anyone would not use a LaserLyte or something similar. They are cheap,just plug in the muzzle and mine came with everything necessary for most common bore sizes. I use a Cabelas made by LaserLyte here in Arizona. Has been to Africa several times and is the first thing I do in camp. Wait till dusk/dark and plug it in the muzzle and turn it on pick something about 50 yds away and lay the rifle over a chair or some rest and check the scope points to the red dot. If it does (and I have never had it not in all the times I've used it) I'm basically ready to hunt. Still check it with a couple of shots but have never had to make a scope adjustment. At home I just shine it across the room and adjust the scope to slightly high. Works for me. And it works on ANY rifle or handgun,bolt,lever,pump,auto and I use it with apeture sights the same way. Works fine. I adjusted the scope on my Merkel 8x57r double in my home and the first bullet at 25yds on the range was within 2" of the point of aim. Good enough for me.

There are a variety of reasons some don�t adopt newer technology and methods of doing things. Basically, it comes down to "if it�s not broke don�t fix it." For those who do use a laser boresighter you might as well go all the way with this free software that calculates the exact boresight solution for a given load, sight height, and zero range. Here�s an example for a .300 win mag with a 2.5 inch sight height zeroed at 125 yards.



You also specify the distance you want to boresight at, down to 8 yards, and the software prints out the needed target.



This target is for 20 yards, which I can do indoors. If you don�t have a laser boresighter, you can just look through barrel (the old way) at the target the software prints for you. Just center the laser spot circle looking through the bore and adjust the scope to line up with the printed cross hairs.

I use the SiteLite SL-100. I can add a scope to a rifle, change scopes or mounts and always get within a few clicks at the selected zero range with my first shot.

I've never had great fortune in bore sighting, whether by looking down the bore and aligning the sights, or using an optical boresighter. I've found better results shooting 1 shot from 25 yards on a large target and then adjusting to get on at 100 yards. Sure, I use 1 or 2 additional cartridges, but it works wit less frustration.

Gath, you've come up with an interesting mix of old and new. Use new fangled software to print a sight-in target for your specific gun, load, zeroed range, and the range you want to boresight at, and then peep through the bore at the spot marked for a laser.

You can print up such targets in advance and pull one out when you need to check or align your sights even if you don't have a laser boresighter.

Ya gotta have a rest to put the rifle in. I use my cheapy Outers varmint rest. Align the bore, look through the scope, move scope to center. Trying to do it without the rifle in a steady rest is useless.

There are always newer ways of doing things than the old-fashioned ways. I just choose not to spend money where it is not needed. As long as I can zero a rifle at 100 yards in 2-4 shots, I ain't buyin' no LASER. Now if I start doing it for a living, or in high volume, THEN we might start thinking of ways to save time.

Fish head- bingo, that is what they are good for. At least the magnetic one I have. Can let you nkwo if your scope is still on too. BTW- mine seems to line up 100 zero at about 7:00 on the first ring.

Big Redhead hit the nail on the head. I don't see any need for spending money for something I don't need to do a job I can do free. Something is WRONG when I can't get zeroed in 4 or less shots.

For semi autos (I've only owned one) or pumps I simply start at 25 yds.

If I can look down the bore of my rifle-bolt action or single shot-I'll never trust a collimator. Like many others, I've seen my share of rifles at the range that had been "bore sighted" at the store that wouldn't hit the broad side of a barn. If I had access to a collimator I'd certainly give it a try on a pump, lever or semiauto but never seen the need for it in the dozens of rifles I've sighted in. I've read lots of good tips here, thanks Mr. Howell, JB et al.

Uncle Julian used to make house calls at any hour, day or night, all over the county. He had to buy a new car every year or so. Back when automatic transmissions were the latest and greatest, they cost a lot more than stick shifts, and the salesman at the dealership was always trying to talk Uncle J into going for a car with a marvelous new automatic transmission. He finally had to give-up on Uncle J �

"When I'm driving, I'm just sitting there with nothing else to do but shift gears every now 'n' then. I can shift gears for a long time, without it costing me anything."

+ 1...my sentiments xactly...