Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics using magnetic leupold boresighter

I have one of the older ones,never had an issue until this last gun I boresighted for a friend,it showed that I was dead on with the boresighter,figured it would put him on the paper,it was 4 feet off high,WTF,I never got instructions on how too use,but I attach it to the barrel at about the same height and adjust the scopes windage and elevation to the crosshairs in the boresighter,does it matter what power the scope is set on ? Thanks guys...

P.S. might need to go back to the spud style boresighters,I see Leupold stopped selling even the newer version.

I have an old Bushnell spud type bore sighter. It puts you 6” low and two inches to the right. I’ve had it 40 years.

I pull the bolt and look down the barrel and line it up wit the scope. It'lll put you iwthin 6" at 25 yards, fron there you can dial to abou an inch low and it usually gets you pretty darn close at 100

I have also not found the technique for getting a new scope close using the boresighter.

The best use I have found for the Boresighter is when I'm switching scopes on a rifle I have already sighted in. I use the little ruler on the boresighter to measure from the centerline of the bore to the centerline of the scope. Then I put the boresighter on the muzzle so that the light is that same distance above the bore. Turn on the light and note where the sighted-in scope's reticle is zeroed, put the new scope on and then move the new scope's reticle to match the previous scope's reticle. If the boresighter is bumped a bit it doesn't seem to matter. I don't know why but it isn't critical to have the light the exact distance from bore c/l to scope c/l exactly right...I guess it's FM (f.....g magic :D). This has usually gotten me within about a half an inch.

I own three and never had an issue; wonder if it broke?

The directions are available online.

The Leupold boresighter assumes the muzzle face is perpendicular to the bore axis. I am guessing that is where your problem is.

Mine gets me on paper and that is about it. Disappointing little gizmo from my standpoint

The big trick to using any collimator (or "bore-sighter," even if they don't use the bore for alignment) is to first put it on several rifles that are already sighted-in. Anybody who does this will soon notice two things:

1) Even sighted-in rifles don't always show the scope's reticle in the same place on the collimator's grid. This is partly because of differences in scope height over the bore, but mostly because different barrels vibrate differently. So there isn't any universal "sight-in point" even for the best collimators.

2) The average reticle placement for various rifles often won't be in the middle of the collimator's grid. This can occur with both spud and magnetic collimators, but often the average will be close enough to get the scope reasonably aligned--if you adjust the scope so the reticle's on the "sweet spot," rather than the center of the collimator grid.

I've had one of the Leupold magnetic collimators since they were first offered, and it's always worked pretty well. An acquaintance got one and it didn't work at all, and thought I was lying about mine. I offered to prove how well mine worked, but (like a lot of people, including some on the Campfire) he was convinced only his experience was valid. But the fact is there'll always be some variation, often considerable, in "affordable" products.

Some collimators can be adjusted so they line up better. My primary collimator is an old Bushnell with three expanding spuds, and I adjusted it to line up years ago--but even then the first shot will be up to eight inches from point of aim at 100 yards, again because different rifle barrels vibrate differently.

The most valuable use of a reasonably accurate collimator is in mounting scopes. With the scope's adjustments centered, if the reticle lines up reasonably well with the bore the scope will not "run our of adjustment" when we attempt to sight in in. PLUS the adjustments will be more accurate, because the internal mechanics will line up correctly. Many scope "malfunctions" are actually due to crooked mounting, and a correctly used collimator will help prevent that.

mmmmmmm.... you must be referencing Leupold single dovetail windage adjustable rings....

I use that method and I can get it within 6 inches at 100 yards. I don't even bother shooting at 25 yards anymore.

+1

My main purpose for grid-type collimators is two-fold:

1. I've noticed, as MD stated above, that most of my zero'd rifles are in approximately the same place on the collimator, but not every rifle. HOWEVER, for any given rifle and mount setup, I zero the scope and then take note of where the crosshair lands in the collimator. I file that away in my notes. Then if I want to confirm zero or mount another scope on that rifle/mount platform, I can quickly reference my notes and make sure the reticle is set to the same place in the collimator. This method has gotten new scopes to within 0.1-0.2 MRAD so far. I use the Bushnell magnetic unit, FWIW. And even new rifles and scopes are within about 1 MRAD of intended POI most of the time, when set to the average zeroed location in the collimator.

2. This has become an invaluable tool for preliminary tracking tests. I use the reticle of my scope to measure the distance between lines in the grid of the collimator (confirmed with several different scopes). Then I dial from one hash mark to another, and make sure the subtended hash marks match the amount of adjustment dialed into the turret. I do this over 10, 15, or even 20 MRAD if the reticle allows it, and get a pretty good sense of not only the adjustment increments, but also whether the scope tracks plumb or not, and if there are any dead spots or oddities in the adjustment range.

thank you guys for the info,, when I mount the scope,I use a scope lapping bar to make sure the rings are in alignment,I have never had the issue before,usually I am pretty close,I like the idea of using it to check the tracking,I never thought of that and the other thing is I have never kept track on paper of each rifle and where it reads on the collimator,another great idea.I cant seem to find anything on a users manual online for the older style Leupold collimators.With my old spud style boresighter, it was pretty good,but the spuds seemed to get worn out after many uses,the springs on the spuds would not hold up the boresighter anymore on certain calibers(the most used ones)..thanks again guys for all the input,I appreciate it..Kurt

What has worked well for me is first thing I do is center the adjustments any time I mount a scope to a rifle. Then I will mount the scope after checking mount alingment with a 1" bar. T bore sight I put a 12" round target at 100 yds I sight down the bore and check the crosshairs multiple times before adjusting. Move cross hairs to center target. Shoot and adjust I have always been on paper usually within a inch or two. This has worked for me on Bolt actions, In line muzzleloaders and AR-15's.

Jordan,

I normally check adjustments on the collimator grid on any new scope, but always when testing one for an article, partly to save time. While it's unusual, have run into a few scopes that have shown erratic adjustments on the collimator, before ever being fired. I don't even bother taking those to the range.

But have also found that just because a scope's adjustments appear to work consistently on a collimator doesn't mean they'll work the same way when the rifle's actually fired!

John,

Agreed. Recoil can do funky things to scopes sometimes. That's why I mentioned that I use the collimator to do preliminary testing. It's certainly not a conclusive tracking test, but does give some valuable information prior to firing a single shot down range. The adjustment increment information tends to be the same on the collimator and on the range, so there's that.

I have the second generation Leupold magnetic boresighter. I find that when most of my guns are sighted in the crosshairs windup on The Circle at 5 oclock... or very close to that point. And actually most of my guns I sight in about 1.5 inches high at 100 so I should deduct that from the 8 in that makes up each Square on the grid.
When I mount a scope I use a bubble level to make sure my gun is sitting perfectly level and then I make sure the boresighter is perfectly level with a bubble.... then when doing the final torque down of the scope by make sure the crosshairs stay very parallel with the Grid in the bore sighter and it has done very well for me doing this.
The magnetic sighters are definitely a little funky but once you figure out a consistent way to use them they are pretty nice to have.

I've used the Leupold magnetic boresighter for several years. After using it, I do a regular manual boresight at the range to verify before firing the first shot. About 50% of the time, the scope adjustments made using the boresighter alone will at least get me on paper at 100 yards.

My Leupy magnetic is consistent in aligning center left 2" @ 50 yds using Leupy VX2 3x9 scopes on model 70's. Haven't tried other scopes and rifles yet. Did swap the scopes over to check repeatability and it was identical.

My Leupy magnetic is consistent in aligning center left 2" @ 50 yds using Leupy VX2 3x9 scopes on model 70's. Haven't tried other scopes and rifles yet. Did swap the scopes over to check repeatability and it was identical.