If you are a professional or just fond of shooting, you don’t want your ammunition to miss its target. For that, you must zero the scope of your rifle before you are set to shoot. Most of the time, people shoot more than once to zero a scope, which makes a hole in your pocket as bullets are expensive. But in this article, we will tell you about how to zero a scope without firing.
What You Will Need to Zero Your Scope Without Firing?
So, now when you are aimed to zero your scope without firing, there are some things that you have to keep in mind:
Mounting the scope: Everything you need to do first of all is to make sure that your scope is mounted if you want to take the faultless aim. No matter how expensive a rifle you are using, it will not be useful if you mounted it the wrong way. Therefore, you need to ensure that the job has got done without screwing up the precision of your rifle.
Having a Bullseye target: When you are not with an immobile goal, you cannot make sure that you have zeroed your scope perfectly. You cannot aim at something that changes its direction as you do not know if you are doing the right thing.
For that reason, you have to have a static target to a fixed distance from the current position of your rifle. The first recommendation is a Bullseye target, and the recommended distance is 25 to 200 yards. However, in case you don’t find a bullseye target, you can do it yourself by making a dot on a piece of paper and put it on somewhere that does not move.
Finding a good laser: if you want to zero your scope without spending your penny on a bullet, then a good laser is a blessing for you. We would suggest you have this gadget if you wish to become a pro shooter. However, you can have a scope with a built-in laser. Scopes costing from 500 dollars easily come to you with this feature.
Making your rifle to stay stable: only a stable target is not enough; you also have to stabilize the position of your rifle in a way that it does not move by even a centimeter. You cannot be lenient while doing that as you may need to do the whole thing again if there is the slightest malposition. This part is one of the most important things that you must ensure before you start zeroing your scope.
How to Zero a Scope Without Firing a Step by Step Guide
Here we will guide you to How to Zero a Scope without Firing? After you have ensured all the above things, there are some tasks you have to perform before you zero the scope –
Setting up the scope properly: setting up the scope of your rifle is not as much difficult as it may seem. However, you have to do it properly as your scope will be playing a vital role in the game.
To do this, everything you need is:
- Screwdriver bits
- Torque wrench
- Blue Loctite
- Bubble levels
- Electronic or manual caliper
- Rubbing alcohol
- Cleaning patches
After everything, we are good to set up the scope. The first step of the installation process will be to remove any excess oil on the receiver by soaking the cleaning patches in the rubbing alcohol. It will cure the Loctite. Now screw the rings lightly but not harshly to the base. You need to adjust the level now. See the elevation with the calipers to do it. Gently tighten the rings to have a grip on the levels.
Making adjustments: Sometimes, the adjust level changes after the Loctite is cured, and it needs a readjustment. You may leave the rifle on the adjustment level to see if any changes occur. Use a wrench and bubble level to measure the level. After tightening all of those screws and gradually making fine changes, you have entered your main area of concern. Follow these steps onwards:
- Place your bullseye target to such a distance that you can reach easily if any readjustment is needed. You can make it distant if you have enough space but do not make it too close.
- Place your rifle correctly. You may use anything below the rifle to make it mounted, be it a book or your jacket.
- You can use lasers now as it gives you the accurate location of the final destination of your bullet.
- Now, you need to set the focus to the target point of the reticle and make it equal to the laser dot that you can see on the bullseye.
- You can also use Crosshair adjustment: You focus to the barrel end of your gun and then change the sight of the optical bore to it. In turn, you must ensure the lens is in accordance with the aperture.
Why You Should Zero Your Scope?
Almost all of the shooters, especially the rifle shooters out there is a little bit obsessed with precision and accuracy. If one wants the best accuracy or precision from the rifle, he or she must ensure that he or she has zeroed the scope perfectly.
It’s very important to zero in scope because it generally aligns the target with the impact point. That’s the thing to ensure the maximum precision. This is a very crucial task that you cannot escape because if you do not zero the scope properly, the impact point of your bullet will not hit the expected target. As a result, you will miss your target or spend too many bullets shooting in the air.
Final Thought
It is not a fancy job if you follow our step by step guide to how to zero a scope without firing. The most remarkable benefit of this process is that you do not waste bullets and save a lot of money. Bullets are not that inexpensive. All you need is a little bit of focus and patience to zero the scope of your rifle without even firing for once.