The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Best type of bore-sighter?

444 · June 19, 2002, 12:26 AM

The other night, I used a laser boresighter for the first time. This was one that looked like a cartridge. You load it in the gun and when you close the action, the laser illuminates.
I went out at night to spotlight jackrabbits. I wasn't going to take a gun at all, I figured we could share a gun taking turns, but the guy I was going with thought it was important for me to bring my own so he volunteered to let me use one of those small "Colt" scopes on my AR. I boresighted and went to work. At about 25 yards, it shot maybe 5 inches high and windage was right on the money. I just put the horizontal crosshair on the base of the rabbit and never missed from there on out. I wouldn't trust the zero of a boresighter for any serious purpose, but for plinking a few jacks, what the heck ? And, I had to detach the scope and give it back at the end of the night, so it worked out fine.
This concept seems to me, to be the most accurate method of boresighting. There is no arbor to have misaligned; you are actually shining a light through your bore from one end to the other. And, you can shine it at whatever range you desire. I can't see why you couldn't shine it at a couple hundred yards and adjust your scope. True, for serious use you would also have to fire on paper, but I personally would like to be able to have it fairly close before using live ammo. It isn't nessessary and I have gotten along for years without it, but I would like to have one now that I have seen it in action.
One use of it is in actually mounting a scope. If you are using Burris Posi-align rings with inserts, you can determine what insert you need to line up the scope. If you are using Leupold rings, you can adjust the windage pretty close with the ring prior to leaving the house minimizing the BS you have to go through at the range.

June 19, 2002, 12:26 AM	#6
444 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2000 Location: Ohio Posts: 3,968	The other night, I used a laser boresighter for the first time. This was one that looked like a cartridge. You load it in the gun and when you close the action, the laser illuminates. I went out at night to spotlight jackrabbits. I wasn't going to take a gun at all, I figured we could share a gun taking turns, but the guy I was going with thought it was important for me to bring my own so he volunteered to let me use one of those small "Colt" scopes on my AR. I boresighted and went to work. At about 25 yards, it shot maybe 5 inches high and windage was right on the money. I just put the horizontal crosshair on the base of the rabbit and never missed from there on out. I wouldn't trust the zero of a boresighter for any serious purpose, but for plinking a few jacks, what the heck ? And, I had to detach the scope and give it back at the end of the night, so it worked out fine. This concept seems to me, to be the most accurate method of boresighting. There is no arbor to have misaligned; you are actually shining a light through your bore from one end to the other. And, you can shine it at whatever range you desire. I can't see why you couldn't shine it at a couple hundred yards and adjust your scope. True, for serious use you would also have to fire on paper, but I personally would like to be able to have it fairly close before using live ammo. It isn't nessessary and I have gotten along for years without it, but I would like to have one now that I have seen it in action. One use of it is in actually mounting a scope. If you are using Burris Posi-align rings with inserts, you can determine what insert you need to line up the scope. If you are using Leupold rings, you can adjust the windage pretty close with the ring prior to leaving the house minimizing the BS you have to go through at the range. __________________ You know the rest. In the books you have read How the British Regulars fired and fled, How the farmers gave them ball for ball, From behind each fence and farmyard wall, Chasing the redcoats down the lane, Then crossing the fields to emerge again Under the trees at the turn of the road, And only pausing to fire and load.