Tips for zero'in a scope

[dazzyboi]

I dont know if its my dodgy zeroing or my scope is knackered..

 

Usually go out to a field, set up a few targets, get 40 yards out and zero my scope. i use one of those fishing rod stands to help give it that extra steadyness..

 

Is this what i should be doing??

 

Whats the usual crack with the clicks, i measure 2 clicks to an inch

[beatingisbest]

there is a bit of a knack, just keep ajusting until the point of aim is on the point of impact.

 

What gun do you have?

[dazzyboi]

there is a bit of a knack, just keep ajusting until the point of aim is on the point of impact.

 

What gun do you have?

 

 

weihrauch hw35

[beatingisbest]

there is a bit of a knack, just keep ajusting until the point of aim is on the point of impact.

 

What gun do you have?

 

 

weihrauch hw35

 

because it is a springer i wouldnt rest it on anything due to the recoil, it will make your groups erratic.

[kip270]

Depends what air-rifle you are using, is it a springer or pcp??

If it's a springer then when you zero it you have to be careful what you are resting on as it can affect the zero.

For an air-rifle a 30 yard zero is really all you need, then just practice at he different ranges you are going to hunt at.

What pellets are you using, are they matched to your rifle for the best accuracy??

[markbivvy]

could you please tell us whats not happening, are all your shots going high.

 

a little more info please.

[dazzyboi]

could you please tell us whats not happening, are all your shots going high.

 

a little more info please.

 

 

 

Im using Webley Venom Lazadome, Switched a couple of months ago from accupel pointed tips because the bloke in the gun shop recons i would have a better hit/kill ratio as its usually the impact shock and pentetration that kills them, he reconed that pointed tips are bad because they just penetrate leaving the quarry to run off and bleed somewhere.

 

Iv been using the pellets for a month or 2 now and they seem very reliable, had a few 25-30 yarders giving me clean kills. apart from now.

 

When i zero'd the other day it was spot on @ 40 yards.. I took some targets down and had a pop and managed to get it close, if not about half an inch to an inch off. I tested it out on an old bottle, aimed for the cap @ 40 yards and instantly took the cap off.

 

I dont know why but the scope seems to have a problem, all 4 rabbits i had a shot on where to the head tonight, and they seemed to be hitting either low or to the right which would indicate that its gone off zero again, i didnt have any tools there with me to re-zero.

[kip270]

What tools do you need to re-zero

 

Clumps of mud are great for checking your sights, start of at say 15 yards and then out to 40 to see if you are shooting off zero. It may not be the rifle or scope. (not having a dig at you )

[dazzyboi]

What tools do you need to re-zero

 

Clumps of mud are great for checking your sights, start of at say 15 yards and then out to 40 to see if you are shooting off zero. It may not be the rifle or scope. (not having a dig at you )

 

 

Ill have to try that, going out tomorrow to sort my zero out anyway.

 

Going to start off at 10, then gradually go out, this way i can make sure its not loosing any power at the same time.

[Devilishdave]

Most scopes are 1 click is 1/4 of an inch at 100m theirfore at 25m you need to go 4 clicks for 1/4 of an inch.

 

Fire 20 shots at the same aim point, go up to the trget plot the middle of your group and adjust so that the middle of your group will coincide with your point of aim.

 

Dave

[ronttuk]

i always just adjust 1 side at a time get the height right then go onto the left/right i find a lot of people adjust them both at the same time unless you are holding the gun exactly straight moving both sides at the same time gets you near but not spot on.

this is the way i do it fire 5 shots make sure im getting a good grouping,then adjust the height firing at least 3 shot everytime i adjust anything,then when im happy i move to the left/right adjustment doing the same againafter about 10-15 shots i usually find im spot on.

[P03]

What scope are you using?

Is it springer rated?

Not all scopes are.

If your scope won't hold zero then it shouldn't be used for hunting live game.

Buy a new scope the very best you can afford. There are many suitable scopes on the market for less than £100 try AGS or Hawke very good glass for not much wonga

[dazzyboi]

What scope are you using?

Is it springer rated?

Not all scopes are.

If your scope won't hold zero then it shouldn't be used for hunting live game.

Buy a new scope the very best you can afford. There are many suitable scopes on the market for less than £100 try AGS or Hawke very good glass for not much wonga

 

Cant really afford it atm because iv just bought a new shotty..

 

I have a spare scope on my .177 rifle so im going to give the scope another try, if it does not hold zero im going to swap them until i can afford a new one.

[dazzyboi]

Ok, i went to zero my scope today, was very hard work, its zero'ed upto 25 yards atm, need to get upto 35-40.

 

Iv tried practising on targets but as soon as i get any further than about 25 yards the groups are all over the place, no matter how much altering.

 

It was getting dark and i gave up on the paper target method, i took the lid off my pellet tin, placed it down, went out to about 28 yards and took a shot about half a cm above the lid of the pellet tin and whack...

 

I think im going to try this method next time, the paper target method just does not work for me.

[kip270]

Ok, i went to zero my scope today, was very hard work, its zero'ed upto 25 yards atm, need to get upto 35-40.

 

Iv tried practising on targets but as soon as i get any further than about 25 yards the groups are all over the place, no matter how much altering.

 

It was getting dark and i gave up on the paper target method, i took the lid off my pellet tin, placed it down, went out to about 28 yards and took a shot about half a cm above the lid of the pellet tin and whack...

 

I think im going to try this method next time, the paper target method just does not work for me.

 

 

A pellet tin lid is at least 4", a kill zone on a rabbit isn't

Why are you altering your scope when you get further than 25 yards??

If they are all over the place after that, it's you not the gun/scope.

Once your scope is zeroed at any given range, you should practice at further ranges until you get the desired grouping.

Set your sights at 20 yards and fire at least 50 shots at this range only. Put up several paper targets at 20 yards and see what grouping you get then. Then move out to 30 yards and see what changes and so on until the grouping opens up. When this happens you know that you cannot guarantee killing shots at these further ranges.

[dazzyboi]

Ok, i went to zero my scope today, was very hard work, its zero'ed upto 25 yards atm, need to get upto 35-40.

 

Iv tried practising on targets but as soon as i get any further than about 25 yards the groups are all over the place, no matter how much altering.

 

It was getting dark and i gave up on the paper target method, i took the lid off my pellet tin, placed it down, went out to about 28 yards and took a shot about half a cm above the lid of the pellet tin and whack...

 

I think im going to try this method next time, the paper target method just does not work for me.

 

 

A pellet tin lid is at least 4", a kill zone on a rabbit isn't

Why are you altering your scope when you get further than 25 yards??

If they are all over the place after that, it's you not the gun/scope.

Once your scope is zeroed at any given range, you should practice at further ranges until you get the desired grouping.

Set your sights at 20 yards and fire at least 50 shots at this range only. Put up several paper targets at 20 yards and see what grouping you get then. Then move out to 30 yards and see what changes and so on until the grouping opens up. When this happens you know that you cannot guarantee killing shots at these further ranges.

 

 

I havnt finished with it yet, as i said it was too dark to go any further..

 

I just dont have any luck with paper targets. I cant zero from this. I dont know if its the recoil, i try to grip it as tight as possible to stop the recoil, or it maybe a dodgy scope, given the fact that the scope does not stay zero'd.

[Lord Geordie]

I bench a rifle clamp it into place to stop movement and fire 2 or 3 shots at a target 30 yards away. Then i fit the scope and adjust till the crosshair hits the centre of the hole and the job is done.

 

Best done indoors or when there is no wind

 

LG

[SNAKEBITE]

Best done indoors or when there is no wind

 

LG

 

But not on a springer.

 

 

If they are all over the place after that, it's you not the gun/scope.

 

Or it could be the pellet/rifle comination not mixing too well.

Try another brand of pellet and try again.

 

Pellpax?

[P03]

If you're using a springer don't hold it too tight, you have to learn to shoot with the recoil not against it. Your problem might just be that at 25 yards you have reached the maximum range at which your rifle is consistent. All rifles do this some at 15 yards and others out to 100's of yards. Mine groups at less than 1" out to 50 yards then opens out to about 8" at 60 yards (this isn't a problem as I only shoot at a max of 35 yards). You may just have to settle for shooting at 25 yards max

[dazzyboi]

If you're using a springer don't hold it too tight, you have to learn to shoot with the recoil not against it. Your problem might just be that at 25 yards you have reached the maximum range at which your rifle is consistent. All rifles do this some at 15 yards and others out to 100's of yards. Mine groups at less than 1" out to 50 yards then opens out to about 8" at 60 yards (this isn't a problem as I only shoot at a max of 35 yards). You may just have to settle for shooting at 25 yards max

 

What sort of rifles get a good grouping at around 35-40 yards??

 

Bearing in mind this rifle is still around the 11.5/12ft lbs

 

I been out again tonight, good grouping within an inch upto about 15yards, about 1.5" at around 25 and 2+ around 30 yards

 

Recoil seemes to have a bit role in this, the fact that the gun is quite a heavy one dont help as it is abit problematic when i come to steady myself.

[P03]

Most PCP rifles will group well out to 50 yds, FAC rated further. It takes a lot of shooting to get used to a springer (took me about 15 years and then I got fed up and bought a pcp) the weight should help. What is the make and model of the rifle? Another thing to consider is the spring itself...if someone fitted an Ox spring then the rifle will fall apart before you ever get it consistant.....get a new spring, fit it, then try again.

Good luck

[dazzyboi]

Most PCP rifles will group well out to 50 yds, FAC rated further. It takes a lot of shooting to get used to a springer (took me about 15 years and then I got fed up and bought a pcp) the weight should help. What is the make and model of the rifle? Another thing to consider is the spring itself...if someone fitted an Ox spring then the rifle will fall apart before you ever get it consistant.....get a new spring, fit it, then try again.

Good luck

 

 

It still as the original spring, The gun itself is quite old now, but i thought it was still reliable, maybe not.

 

Its a weihrauch hw35, the recoil does not seem that bad until you start shooting 1" circles at 30 yards.

 

Iv never shot a PCP, does it have any recoil at all?? Also do you mean less weight should help?

[P03]

PCP rifles have no discernable recoil you can watch the pellet through the air. When shooting any rifle the heavier it is, the more stable it is during the recoil stage of discharge therefore more weight helps.

[dazzyboi]

PCP rifles have no discernable recoil you can watch the pellet through the air. When shooting any rifle the heavier it is, the more stable it is during the recoil stage of discharge therefore more weight helps.

 

 

But i find it harder to stablalise myself with heavier guns when looking through the scope to get a good aim on the centre of the target.

[NickHead]

I have two rifles that I hunt with. A heavy Weihrauch HW 100T (11lbs) and a very light BSA Ultra (6lbs).

 

They are both .22 Calibre and both PCP, both at full legal power.

 

Initial scope settings on the HW100 involved clamping it into a B&D Workbench and shooting

an A4 sized piece of paper at 25 Yards with a 5 mm dot in the centre.

 

Leaving the rifle set solidly in the workbench, I adjusted the crosshairs, via the turrets, so the centre

of the crosshairs are directly over the pellet mark that appeared on the A4 sheet.

 

The crosshairs were then moved to the 5mm dot, by moving the workbench and rifle inclination, and

a series of test shots were administered, any minor adjustment being made to centre the impact point

more accurately.

 

As my garden is only 25Yds long , I had to go to the rifle range to increase the distance to 60 Yards.

There was no workbench there, so I utilised a bipod and a solid rear rest to keep the rifle stable.

Accurate calculations of the Mildot graduations were found by using a program called ChairGun. This

gave me an idea of where 60 Yards would be with relation to where it appeared on the scope at any relative magnification.

 

The testing was done on a still, windless sunny day so nothing sould interfere with the outcome. Trimming

and fine tuning were done to over the maximun distance I hunt at. This also tested the consistency and accuracy of the rifle.

 

After all this was finalised, I created an impact-point chart with varying distances from 5-60 Yards noting where the aimpoints were in relation to the targets and at min and maximum magnifications.

 

Maybe I am waffling a bit, but at the end of the day this is how I did it and it works perfectly for me.

 

Hope it will help you, a little at least .

 

Regards

 

Nick