Sighting-In Procedure

Fire your rifle from a solid bench rest with your forearm resting on a pad or a sandbag. Don’t rest the gun on its barrel—it will shoot higher than normal. Ideally, use an adjustable shooting tripod with sandbags. A spotting scope is also useful.

Sight-in instructions are printed on some targets available from retail outlets or manufacturers. The sighting-in process for most centerfire rifles begins at 25 yards and then should be repeated at 100 yards. The basic steps involve firing at least three shots carefully and consistently at a target. If the bullets form a relatively small group of holes on the target, but not where you were aiming, the sights will have to be adjusted.

minutes-of-angle: The standard measurement unit of shooting accuracy; one minute-of-angle (MOA) is 1/60 of one degree, or approximately one inch, at 100 yards