Bore sighting your own gun... Do any of you do it ?

[Joe13]

Take it unloaded to BiMart in a case and they will do it for you....

 

[orygun]

1) Pull the upper off the lower and remove the bolt and carrier
2) Place upper on stable surface pointed at something unique and recognizable some distance away.
3) Sight down the barrel at this object/place and remember it.
4) Without moving the upper sight through and adjust your scope crosshairs/dot until they are centered on the same spot.

Tada, you're boresighted enough to be on paper at 50 yards....for free.

I don't shoot an AR, but do something similar with my bolt action guns. If there is a way to disassemble an AR enough to clamp the barreled upper in a gun vice, what I do will work well.

I take a rifle, pull the bolt out and clamp it in a gun vice. Usually I'll put the vise on a flat stable surface and aim the gun at a distant object. There's a hillside about 800 yards from my garage. I'll set the gun up by looking thru the barrel at a bush or tree on that hillside. Then I adjust the scope's crosshairs so they are aimed at that spot.
This method has allowed me to be on paper (8 1/2" x 11") at 50 yards without fail, but I always shoot one closer to make sure I'm not wasting time and ammo.
Especially if this method will work on the OP's AR, I'd spend money on a gun vise before spending money on a bore sighting tool.

 

[MrMillspecer]

Boar sighting. Shoodem shoodem as the alligator hunter would say.

 

[Switchblade666]

I just bore sighted the AR by removing the lower, taking out the bolt carrier and charging rod. Used my bench vise with the rubber inserts i had made for it and went for it. Had 25 yards to work with and adjusted the scope on a fixed point on a 2x4. Threw the laser bore sight in the barrel and double checked it. I was pretty dead on so adjusted windage and set elevation 2.75 above red dot to compensate for scope to bore center. I think I'll be saving a few rounds at the range tomorrow fine tuning it. Thanks for all the help everyone. I couldn't justify having a shop sight in my rifle. Takes away from learning and the fun of shooting!

 

[2A2Dend]

Now if you want to get it dang near dead on, take a gun vise with you tomorrow so you can clamp it down to the table SOLID. Fire one shot, then adjust your scope to that dot. It should put you almost dead on

 

[MrElectric03]

I just use a cheap on and get the scope as close as possible across the yard. The rest is dialing it in at the range with live ammo.

 

[mjbskwim]

So I bought a different scope for the creedmore yesterday and mounted it up last night. It is a vortex crossfire. $300ish, good price for the rifle. I usually don't mind spending some dough on a nice scope but the American is a budget rifle and I'm keeping it cheap.
I bore sighted it with the bolt out and then again at the range.
Shot and brought the cross hairs over to POI and center punched the target.
Gotta love it when a scope tracts like that

 

[Diamondback]

$25 for an in-chamber laser boresighter at Dvor seemed affordable enough, so I plan to use that in tandem with EZ2C #5 targets (1" grid squares, rings at 1", 2", 4", 6" and 8" from center) and the tripod rest built into my foregrip and recoil pad, and maybe a couple levels (roll and pitch axes).

Zero for pointblank, note the offsets required for various increments in between. Debating the wisdom of zeroing the irons and red-dot for different ranges, and if I do which to use for which range...

 

[Goosebrown]

Have you just mounted the upper in a rest/vice, removed the BCG and boresighted with your eye? It works for me and I have crappy eyes. Save the money on the laser. It is really marginal in practical terms.

I swap scopes on my rifles all the time and I bore site regularly. 3 shots to zero or less every time.

Talk to the old timers and trust yourself. You can do it the old fashioned way 90% of the time and get it right.

 

[bbbass]

tripod rest built into my foregrip and recoil pad.

Hmmm, you got pics or a website reference?

 

[mjbskwim]

Hmmm, you got pics or a website reference?

Magpul makes them. I'd post a link but I can't remember which page on magpul it is
You'll have fun over there anyway

 

[Diamondback]

@bbbass All the parts are linked in my Build Thread--the front bipod is a FAB Defense T-Pod foregrip:

and the rear monopod is their MBA:


Sorry for the mismatched pic sizes, best I could do quick--that rear leg is a bit of added weight, but it helps counterbalance the free-float full-length handguard some too. First half of its extension is spring-loaded to deploy at button push, then it screws in and out for fine adjustment to final position.

Links:
Tactical Foregrip with Integrated Adjustable Bipod and incorporated flashlight - Gen 2
Monopod Buttstock Add-on - MBA
Combining bottom-feeding by buying the discounted OD versions with a flat 30%-off-everything Black Friday weekend, I paid nowhere near List...

 

[mjbskwim]

@bbbass All the parts are linked in my Build Thread--the front bipod is a FAB Defense T-Pod foregrip:
View attachment 337058
and the rear monopod is their MBA:
View attachment 337059

Sorry for the mismatched pic sizes, best I could do quick--that rear leg is a bit of added weight, but it helps counterbalance the free-float full-length handguard some too.

You said tripod in your post
Oh the tripod is both ends of the rifle.
I thought you Kent this
M-LOK® Tripod Adapter

 

[Diamondback]

Lol, I was looking at things as an integrated system once all mounted on the rifle rather than separate parts.

All the thing needs is some kind of keymod-mounted carrier on each side with mags sticking out like wings to do a taildragger airplane impression... lol

 

[Switchblade666]

Went to Kenmore shooting range and did some fine tuning @ 50 yards. Groupings were all 2" Mind you this is my first time shooting this virgin AR. Overall happy. I'll go back in a couple days and play at 100 yards. The scope I picked up did great. Bushnell 1-4x24 illuminated with throw down. I'm AR addicted now. I think the Mini-14 can be passed on to the kiddo now.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

lol i hope the OP has figured it out by now.

for my bolt actions i take my bolt out and aim at a 25yrd target thru the barrel and without moving the gun i adjust the crosshairs to the target. i take one shot.

i then re-aim to where i was aiming and move crosshairs to POI.

i move back to 100yrd and take a shot. i inspect. i measure from POI to POA and make adjustments. i shoot again and then from there i fine tune. usually takes me 5 shots to be where i need to be at 100yrd.

OH YEAH. i let the barrel cool down to ambient temp between shots.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Have you just mounted the upper in a rest/vice, removed the BCG and boresighted with your eye? It works for me and I have crappy eyes. Save the money on the laser. It is really marginal in practical terms.

I swap scopes on my rifles all the time and I bore site regularly. 3 shots to zero or less every time.

Talk to the old timers and trust yourself. You can do it the old fashioned way 90% of the time and get it right.

Excellent post. It doesn't take any fancy gizmo's to bore sight a rifle. It doesn't take a box of ammo either....

 

[orygun]

It doesn't take a box of ammo either....

As long as the shooter doesn't have a bad flinch, it doesn't!

 

[bsa1917hunter]

As long as the shooter doesn't have a bad flinch, it doesn't!

Reminds me of a target I'd like to share. Seems fitting:





As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words". Let me know if you want the whole story. It begins with, a friend of mine (let's call him Troy) wanted me to bore sight his rifle and dial in his new scope. I dialed it in perfectly for 2 1/2" high, as he wanted....... The rifle was a beautiful shooter (sub moa for 3 shots consistently). However, Troy sold it later after missing a big mule deer buck because the rifle "was a poor shooter"....

 

[MrMillspecer]

OK so a hundred rounds of .556 is around 30 bucks mabey a bit more. The steel herters .223 was around $200 per 1000 rounds when I got some. To me it's cheep entertainment compared to most things these days. Hell I can't take the lady to the movies for 30$ anymore. I like popcorn. Any way get some cheap ammo and go have a day you won't soon forget. I get it if your shooting a high dollar load. Getting her dialed in is much of the fun for me. There is no replacement for actual trigger time. And I am by no means rich it's money towards my therapy.