How to Sight-In your Hunting Rifle
We want to help you be a successful hunter when planning your next hunting trip to Two Falls Camps. Sighting in your hunting rifle is one of the most important decisions you can make. Without this important step, you risk missing your shot and leaving the woods without the trophy white-tail deer. 
1. Why Sighting-In Your Hunting Rifle Is Important
Proper sighting aligns the sights with the bore of the rifle. Did you know there is a difference between accuracy and rifle sighting? Most people confuse the two but being able to repeatedly place shots in the same area, is accuracy. Sighting in the rifle just allows you to know at certain distances where your shot is going to land. Accuracy is achieved by practice, sighting in allows you to feel confident that your shot will make the target (at different distances). Which is what you want when hunting any game animal.
2. Before You go to The Range
First things first. Take some time to sight in the bore at home before you head to the shooting range. Easiest thing is to use a boresighter, you can find these at any gun shop and most sporting goods stores (that sell rifles). This will save you time and money, and you will be able to use less ammo sighting in the rifle. This is a good best practice before every hunting season.
3. Bullets Cannot Defy Laws of Physics
As the bullet leaves the barrel, it begins the slow descent towards the ground. With proper sighting, you will know how much to adjust your aim based on how far away the target is. Knowing to move up a half inch for a target that is 100 yards away vs. 20 yards away is essential to successful hunting. Did you know that bullets travel on an arc, and close targets will need adjusting, just as much as far targets?
4. You’re Ready for The Range
Ok. You have done all the necessary preparations before you head to the shooting range. Now the fun part, sighting-in your rifle in preparation for hunting season. Depending on the game you are hunting, you should know ahead of time the distances you will most likely be shooting from. Deer hunting, you will most likely be between 50 and 100 yards from your target. Good news for you, Two Falls Camps has a shooting range where you can sight-in your gun. We also sell ammunition (check with us first to make sure we carry what you ne
ed). Sighting-in your rifle take patience and maintaining the same position. This is where a bench rest or support comes into play. Your goal is to keep the gun steady, always in the same place and limit your impact on sighting the gun. This is a process to get your gun sighted, not to test your ability to shoot.
5. Ready, Aim, Fire
Now that we have gone over the essential pieces to consider when sighting-in your rifle. It is time for your first shot. Best practice is to start off at a moderate distance of 50 yards. Make the target big enough that you can see it easily. The goal here is to see where your shots go, so you can adjust the gun sights. No luck seeing the shots at that distance, try moving closer (between 30-20 yards). You need to see where they go so you can make adjustments while the rifle is in the bench rest. This will eliminate frustration from taking the gun out of the rest and checking the target, then coming back and trying again. Make your adjustments with the gun in the same position and you will be much more successful.
6. What Sights Are You Using?
Iron sights vs Scope. Adjusting iron sights is different than sighing in with a scope. Always remember that iron sights need to be adjusted in the direction you want your shots to head in. Scope sights will most likely adjust in increments (read your scope manual to know how to adjust your scope). Most of the time a scope increments are based on 100 yards to sight to. If you are closer to the target, then you will need to adjust differently (possibly 2 clicks vs 1 click at 100 yds). Keep this in mind and you will sight-in your rifle successfully before your first hunting trip.
7. Hunting with New Ammo?
You are ready for your hunting trip, and decide to buy new brand of ammo, something you haven’t used before. Well before you head off into the woods, don’t assume that because it is the same caliber, that it will give the same results as your other brand of ammunition. Always test new ammo before using it for hunting. Most hunters like to bring several types of ammunition on their hunting trip. If doing so, remember to test these before your first hunt. Doing so, will help keep you aware of any adjustments you need to account for with each type of ammunition and let you know which ammo you should bring on your hunt. Practicing with different ammo will let you know what works best with your rifle, which in turn will help you in connecting with your target. Did you know that you will want to let your gun cool in between testing a few rounds? Hot barrels act differently than cool ones, and that will impact the performance of the bullet too. Cool down before shooting your next round.
Click here for our ammo guide.
8. Ammo and Rifle Combo
Now that you know what ammo to use for your next deer hunting trip. It is always good to look up the ammo manufacturers ballistics to verify what distances you can expect to shoot at. Knowing this will help you be a confident shooter and hit your target.
Tip: buying ammunition online can be convenient, but if you have not hunted before, we recommend searching for a local gun store and speaking to them first. They can help you choose the correct cartridge (which is heavily dependent on the type of game you want to hunt), and they can give you great information on hunting technique and of course, gun selection.