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adjusting your sights

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:23 pm
by jpd5184
i feel like im losing a few points in my 3p 50ft score due to my sights being slightly off. just wondering what the correct procedure is for sighting in my rifle.

should i adjust after each shot or shot like a three shot group then adjust.

Re: adjusting your sights

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 2:54 pm
by RobStubbs
jpd5184 wrote:i feel like im losing a few points in my 3p 50ft score due to my sights being slightly off. just wondering what the correct procedure is for sighting in my rifle.

should i adjust after each shot or shot like a three shot group then adjust.
Shoot as many shots as you need to to assure yourself they're off. It may be a single shot or a few, that depends on you and in part how good you are at shot calling.

Rob.

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:08 pm
by WesternGrizzly
As stated above, it depends on your ability. If I am shooting and I call a shot centered and its slightly out, I will tripple check my NPA, and if that is good, I will take a click or so. But if my npa is in the direction of the shot, I will refine my npa a bit more.
Matt

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:45 pm
by jpd5184
thats the problem. i feel like i call most of my shots as 9 or 10 but they are not.

i just cant seem to get a clear sight picture. i feel like my eye is too far away from the rear sight. How far should i be from the rear sight.

should i shorten the rear stock to get closer to the stock.

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:27 am
by GaryN
It sounds like you don't have your sights setup properly.

You have to experiment, move the rear sight closer to or farther from your eye and see what the results are.

Also experiment with the front aperture size, and to a lesser degree the rear iris size. Both of these affect your sight picture.

But watch out for the front aperture size. Going too small can have the opposite effect. I was taught to select the aperture size that allows you to keep the bull inside the aperture most of the time. Too tight and it may cause you to jerk the trigger.

BTW, do you have a rifle coach. He should be able to help you with this.

Re: adjusting your sights

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:46 am
by KennyB
jpd5184 wrote:just wondering what the correct procedure is for sighting in my rifle.

should i adjust after each shot or shot like a three shot group then adjust.
The conventional wisdom here is that initial sighting should be 3+ shots then adjust if they are consistent, then 2 shots & adjust again. Chasing single shots during your sighting phase is a recipe for confusion and frustration.

Bear in mind that your ammo will have a degree of dispersion - maybe 2 to 3 bullet-widths so even a perfectly aimed shot can end up maybe 5mm off. Keeping this in mind will help you make sensible decisions about moving your sights.

Moving your sights during competition is a bit different - you might make small alterations to bring marginal shots slightly closer to the center - keeping in mind that they could be the extremes of the ammo's grouping ability.

Ken.

Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2012 7:49 pm
by BAtarget
The sights may not be the problem at all. I had a problem when i was shooting offhand. i was dropping the shot in the lower right hand corner of the bull. I couldn't find out what i was doing. A friend of mine look at me and said that i was dropping my forward elbow down (on my hip) just as i shot. I corrected the problem and everything is going great.

Make sure that your not wasting ammo, time, and money putting holes in the paper. If the shot isn't a 10, startover. Go through your positions and make a checklist of everything you have to do, to make you are as stable as possible. In offhand and kneeling, if you find yourself chasing the bull, start over. and allows completly follow through. nothing must move. put the rifle down and/or open the bolt and mimic the reloading process. This will reset yourself and you can continue shooting. If the shot isn't what you called it, STOP. Ask yourself what went wrong. If worse comes to worse, video tape yourself or have a buddy look at you while you shoot. you'll be amazed at what you dont know you are doing.