You can check zero to about 3 or 4 MOA in a bolt action rifle without firing it. Bore sight it. Personally, if the rifle/scope gets a hard blow, I am not comfortable shooting at game till I confirm that the sight is still good.
IE. On a backpack hunt where we did not want to shoot except at game, my partner dropped his rifle when he bounced down a 15 foot cliff. He was concerned whether his scope got knocked off. (He broke two ribs but we did not confirm that till we came out several days later.)
Just bore sight it. Take out the bolt and rest the rifle in a firm nest of rocks, pack, sleeping bags or whatever so that it does not move. Find a rock or bright colored spot 75 yards to a mile away that you can see through the rifle barrel. Center the spot in the concentric rings of bore, muzzle, chamber etc. The more perfectly concentric the spot is centered, the more accurate your result. Ditto that the farther away the spot, the more accurate the result. Then without touching the rifle move your eye to the scope and see where the crosshairs are centered. If they are on the spot, either the scope has not moved or at least is still close enough to kill a deer, probably out to 200 yards. If the reticule is off the spot, dial till it is on.
