How to sight in your high-caliber rifle with only one round

Some of you are probably already familiar with this old trick.

When it’s time to sight in a rifle, most of us have been taught the 3-shot group method: take three shots at the bull’s eye, adjust scope accordingly, repeat until sighted in. That “repeat” part can get pretty expensive if you’re working with high-caliber rounds like the Hornady DGS 400 Grain .450/400 Nitro Express. You could sight it with cheaper rounds, but if you’re planning to go hunting you’ll want to zero with the same rounds used in the field.

In this video, Team Wild TV suggests a single round alternative, but you will need a good gun vise and a solid sled.

Go ahead and bore sight your rifle with a laser to get close before pulling the trigger. Don’t have a laser? If it’s a bolt action you can pull the bolt out, look directly through the bore, and then adjust the scope to match (hey, it’s better than nothing).

When it’s time for your one and only shot, everything needs to be still and slow. Don’t jerk the trigger and make it a really good shot aimed at the bull’s eye. Make sure the rifle is well secured to prevent any movement.

Now check the target and find the hole. The only way this next part will work is if you can keep the rifle absolutely still, a gun vise or seld is perfect for this part. Adjust the rifle until the scope is pointed directly at the bull’s eye then mount it firmly. Now adjust the scope until the crosshairs are positioned over the hole in the target.

Move back and take another shot. Assuming there was no user error with the first shot you should be pretty close to the bull’s eye with only one round and a single adjustment to your scope.