Today, I am going to try and talk about a technical topic in a simple way.  That topic is bore sighting an optic on a firearm.  In order to do that, you need to think about math.  And, I should add that there are different ways to do this.  I am showing my technique.

Before starting, I would also point out that this is a simplistic attempt.  In theory, the firearm should be levelled in two directions from bore to butt and left to right.  Then the optic should be levelled on top of the firearm.  That may require shims or modification any of the mounting components.  I plan on sighting this in at 50 yards so with that, slight inaccuracies are really negligible.  

The next step is to measure center of bore to center of optic.  This is to measure how much height difference there is between how the bullet will travel versus how you are seeing it through the sight.  If you imagine two lines, one will come from the bore and one will come from the sight.  At some point, those two lines will cross and that is ‘sighting in’.   You want the two lines to cross at the right point at the proper distance you expect to shoot.  The good news for me is that it takes a lot of adjustment at short yardage to make much change so slight inaccuracies are negligible.

I have an inexpensive laser sight I put in bore.  That laser will put a spot at whatever distance you like.  Ideally, I would put it at fifty yards and then adjust my sight accordingly.  But, I don’t have that kind of space so I just point it at the wall.  A couple of other notes about the laser.  It works best at low light and the farther away it is, the more distortion the dot has.  I have done this at the range but it is far more difficult to see.

Once the firearm is stabilized and aimed, mark a point that represents the measurement of the bore to sight centerline above the laser dot.  Adjust the sight  to the mark. That is your target and in theory, at the muzzle and 2 1/2 inches high everything will be ready to shoot.

This is a down and dirty bore sight.  After this point, I go to the range and start working on actually sighting in at the range.  Start at the closest target and make sure that the bullet is hitting the target.  Adjust just enough that you can move on to the next distance if that is your goal.  Remember, changing loads can change results dramatically, so stay consistent when sighting in and always check for verification when changing.

End Your Programming Routine: Right now, I do not have confidence that this firearm will be accurate without taking to the range for verification.  This is why I have held onto this sight for over a year without mounting.  Life is super busy and this will likely have to wait until after the holidays at this point to get to the range.  But we will get there.