Hunting / Riflery Help

[arlington22201]

I am shooting high with my new Remington 700 30-06 and I am looking for help / advice.

Using a laser boresight, I sighted in my scope at 100 ft at the NRA range in Fairfax. I shot one round and it hit about 3ft high. At first, I couldn't even find the bullet hole in the cardboard it was so far above where I was looking. I pulled the target in to 50 ft., resighted with the boresight and fired another round. It hit about 2 feet high. I was amazed and more than a little embarrassed. At this point, I didn't feel like I should keep shooting if I was that far off at 50 ft.

My question - is there something I might be overlooking that I, as a relative newbie, just don't know about? Or is my boresight just way off and I should go back to the range, adjust my scope and finish sighting in?

A little background on me - I grew up shooting my dad's Ruger 10/22 at the range and am pretty good out to 50 yards (as far as the range goes), but have little experience with other rifles. I bought the 700 because I'd like to hunt deer eventually, but I want to put in the range work to be safe and proficient first.

Thanks

[Palladin]

Try taking the bolt out and sighting down the barrel at a close target( with a steady rest), then move your eye up to the scope to compare what's going on. They should be close. That will give you an idea if your laser is off.

[Taggure]

First question is do you really mean feet or yards with the Bore Sight?
If you are bore sighting it at a 100 feet (33.3 Yards) you need to have your Cross Hairs ~3/4 - 1 inch Lower than the red dot of your bore sight laser. That should get you on the paper at 70 - 100 yards and you should be able to adjust it in from there.

Now in saying that here is a tried and true way to zero you scope once you are on the paper:

Secure your rifle in your shooters rest position and take your shot
do not move your rifle and keep it at your point of original aim.
Adjust your scope form the original point of aim with the scope adjustments to the actual bullet hole on the target
Once this is completed the fire another shot at the original aim point and you should be spot on or very close.
Again remember if you are shooting at less then desired zero point you need to adjust the scope crosshairs accordingly

Second Did you mount your scope or did it already come mounted? What is the measurement from the center of your scope to the rifle barrel 1.25, 1.5 inches?
Third what type of bore sight do you have? Is it one that looks like a shell or is it one that goes in the barrel of your rifle?

[arlington22201]

Try taking the bolt out and sighting down the barrel at a close target( with a steady rest), then move your eye up to the scope to compare what's going on. They should be close. That will give you an idea if your laser is off.

Palladin,

Thanks for the good simple advice. I took out the bolt and sighted down the barrel. Sure enough, the view down the barrel is off from where the laser bore sight was pointing. I steadied the rifle with the view down the barrel centered on the point where two tree branches intersected. With the rifle staionary, I moved my eye up to the scope and adjusted the scope so the crosshairs hit the intersection of those two branches. I'm looking forward to the next trip to the range...

[gunderwood]

What laser boresight are you using? have you used this one before?

[arlington22201]

First question is do you really mean feet or yards with the Bore Sight?
If you are bore sighting it at a 100 feet (33.3 Yards) you need to have your Cross Hairs ~3/4 - 1 inch Lower than the red dot of your bore sight laser. That should get you on the paper at 70 - 100 yards and you should be able to adjust it in from there.

My goal is to get it sighted in at 150 feet (50 yards), which is as far as the NRA Fairfax range goes. It is a bit of a jump from .22lr to .30-06, so I figure I'll get comfortable with the new rifle/scope/trigger and get acclimated to the considerably greater kick. I'm shooting 150 grain, which is the lightest load I can find at the moment.

Now in saying that here is a tried and true way to zero you scope once you are on the paper:

Secure your rifle in your shooters rest position and take your shot
do not move your rifle and keep it at your point of original aim.
Adjust your scope form the original point of aim with the scope adjustments to the actual bullet hole on the target
Once this is completed the fire another shot at the original aim point and you should be spot on or very close.
Again remember if you are shooting at less then desired zero point you need to adjust the scope crosshairs accordingly

Second Did you mount your scope or did it already come mounted? What is the measurement from the center of your scope to the rifle barrel 1.25, 1.5 inches?
Third what type of bore sight do you have? Is it one that looks like a shell or is it one that goes in the barrel of your rifle?

The rifle came without a scope, so I mounted it myself. It is a Sightron SI 3-9X40MD and mounted pretty close to the barrel. Measurement from the center to the barrel is approx. 1.25". It was recommended in article as a good beginners scope and I saw some good reviews to corroborate that elsewhere.

I've read with interest many posts about spending as much on optics as on your rifle, but honestly at my skill level I think I'm better off working on my fundamentals of breathing, trigger pull, follow through etc, etc than dropping my milk money on primo optics. And that is to say nothing of actually spending some time in the woods learning to move, recognize sign, scouting etc. But I'm the noobie here, so please correct me where I go wrong.

The bore sight I picked up from Wallymart for $50. The laser is an approx. 2" cylinder that hangs out of the end of the barrel from a roughly 3" post that mounts inside the barrel. I'm thinking that it is just not best bore sight. It got me in the ballpark but not nearly as close as I expected.

Thanks again for any tips / advice.

[jdonovan]

The bore sight I picked up from Wallymart for $50. The laser is an approx. 2" cylinder that hangs out of the end of the barrel from a roughly 3" post that mounts inside the barrel. I'm thinking that it is just not best bore sight. It got me in the ballpark but not nearly as close as I expected.

you have to get them seated very firmly, if there is any wiggle, you'll have bad results.

Frankly with a bolt action you don't need one.

pull the bolt, and put the gun in a rest. Center the target as you look through the barrel. Then check the scope for alignment to target. Adjust as needed, and re-check until they are both pointed to the same place. Then use some ammo.

Start at short distance.. 25 yds.

If you're allowed a guest at the range, put out a shout here, you'll probably get some one who would love to come with you and lend a hand.

[Taggure]

Roger that where are you located as there is always someone around that will help.

[gunderwood]

The bore sight I picked up from Wallymart for $50. The laser is an approx. 2" cylinder that hangs out of the end of the barrel from a roughly 3" post that mounts inside the barrel. I'm thinking that it is just not best bore sight. It got me in the ballpark but not nearly as close as I expected.

you have to get them seated very firmly, if there is any wiggle, you'll have bad results.

Frankly with a bolt action you don't need one.

+1

Stick the bore sighter as far down the barrel as possible. Mine is a similar setup, but it works much better if the 2" cylinder is right up against the barrel. This gives it two points on the barrel and there shouldn't be any wobble.

[arlington22201]

I took the 700 to the range on Monday after having sighted visually down the bore. Was able to get a 2 inch grouping at 50 yards after a couple of adjustments to the scope. Thanks for everyone's good advice.

Now to work on my mechanics and get that grouping narrowed down...

[jdonovan]

Now to work on my mechanics and get that grouping narrowed down...

try some dry fire practice. It will help you with trigger control. Ideally you should be able to watch the image in the scope not move when you squeeze the trigger.

[Palladin]

Now to work on my mechanics and get that grouping narrowed down...

try some dry fire practice. It will help you with trigger control. Ideally you should be able to watch the image in the scope not move when you squeeze the trigger.

+1 on the dry fire practice... I've got a Model 70 Featherweight in your cal and I start wincing just thinking about a box of 20.

[arlington22201]

+1 on the dry fire practice... I've got a Model 70 Featherweight in your cal and I start wincing just thinking about a box of 20.

Yeah, I have to say, I was a little blown away by just how loud and how much of a kick the 30-06 had. I've also shot .223 and 6.8spc recently. This was much greater.

I think a big part of getting my groupings down will be simply getting used to it and not anticipating the kick. I'm back to the range today to put in some more time.

I'm also looking forward to getting her outside in a longer distance range. Any recommendations in NOVA? Anybody have any favorites?