How Do I Zero a Rifle in Less Than 4 Shots?

How many people have ever used some kind of laser bore sight tool to zero in a new scope or brand new rifle?

I finally splurged for the green laser bore sight tool from Wheeler as a Christmas present to myself. For many shooters, it can take an entire box of ammo to get a brand new rifle and scope sighted in, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

I couldn’t be more excited to show our readers the benefits of a laser bore sight tool. 

Wheeler Professional Laser Bore Sighter

The Wheeler Laser Bore Sighter is perfect for any gun you may have, especially long rifles. I personally use the laser bore sight tool on every gun, including my CCWs, Shotguns, and long rifles. The laser runs on a single Lithium 123A battery that comes included and attaches magnetically to the muzzle of any gun. Be careful when you install the tool because the magnet is very strong and can damage the tool or our barrel if you’re careless with installation. 

What Should I Do Before Using the Wheeler Laser Bore Sighter?

I know people are tired of hearing about safety procedures, but as tiring as it is to read and hear about, it must be the #1 priority when handling weapons. At RE, we’re all veterans and have handled guns for decades. Even with decades of experience with guns, we always take the extra time to clear our weapons and have a team member double-check before we start working on our guns. 

In short, always clear your weapons before you ever try to sight in a rifle scope or new rifle, regardless of your level of experience. For all of our fellow brothers and sisters in arms, you’ve heard the saying “complacency kills". Don’t be complacent with a muzzleloader and remove the breech plug before taking apart or cleaning. 

How Do I Zero My Rifle With Laser Bore Sighter?

it’s important that you place your rifle in a secure gun vise, such as the Tipton Best Gun Vise, or use a shooting platform like the Lead Sled DFT from Caldwell. Just remember, you can’t shoot from the Best Gun Vise, but you can line up your scope with your laser bore sighter. 

1. Take out the Laser Bore Sighter and unscrew the battery compartment. Place the battery inside the compartment and tighten.

 2. Press the top button on the Wheeler Laser Bore Sighter and you should see a green laser dot.

 3. Simply place the Wheeler Laser Bore Sighter on the muzzle of the barrel. 

 4. Set your target with the white reflective paper out to 25 yards.

 5. Look through your scope and find the green laser dot on the white reflective paper. 

 6. Line up the center of your reticle with the green laser dot.

 7. Reset your target at 50 yards and move your reticle to line up with the green laser.

 8. Reset your target at 100 yards and move your reticle to line up with the green laser.

 9. Remove the Wheeler Laser Bore Sighter and load your rifle. Before you load your rifle, check to ensure your rifle is secured (if using a shooting rest).

 10. Once loaded, fire 1 shot and you should already be on paper. 

Does a Laser Bore Sighter Save Time and Money?

As you can see from the pictures and videos, the Wheeler Professional Laser Bore Sighter makes the world of difference when zeroing a rifle scope. Using the green laser bore sight tool saves me at least an hour per day at the range. 

Muzzleloaders have never been my favorite to zero because it takes more time to load, requires more cleaning, and once you add the components together, it’s expensive to use a muzzleloader. However, since I bought the green laser bore sighter, I can zero at 100 yards within 4 shots, instead of 10-12. To put that numerically, I save at least $30 every time I take my Muzzleloader to the range. 

How Does the Wheeler Laser Bore Sighter Save Time and Money?

Without a Laser Bore Sighter, I would start at 25 yards, take 2 shots, and dial in my elevation and windage accordingly. Then I move the target to 50 yards and take 2 more shots, dial it in and move to 100 yards. Depending on your scope and bullets, this can take a couple of hours and a box of bullets. 

By using the Wheeler Professional Laser Bore Sighter, you can dial in your riflescope to already be on paper.  I was able to zero in only 2 shots with a bullseye at 100 yards.

The red laser might give you an issue in daylight, but the green laser is easy to see through any scope and gets me pretty close to the target. Once I’m on target at 100 yards, I only have to make 1 adjustment to dial in any rifle at 100 yards. As you can see from this target, I took only 2 shots and felt comfortable shooting using my BDC reticles to shoot up to 175 yards.

As every other muzzleloader knows by now, everything takes more time with a muzzleloader, that’s why most people don’t bother with them. Using my Laser Bore Sighter, I was able to set up my target and zero in in less than an hour. 

Why Did I Choose a Green Laser?

Green lasers vs red lasers have been a debatable topic since modern laser technology has been invented. If you’ve read anything about our previous Laser Bore Sighter blogs, you’ll already know why I think green lasers are superior. In short, I chose the green laser over the red laser because the green will allow me to sight in my rifles at further ranges than a red laser. 

The Green Laser Bore Sighter from Wheeler is around $50-$60 more expensive because green lasers have higher demand because they’re more versatile. For example, I can line up my target at 100 yards from the very start with a green laser bore sighter. I can’t reach 100 yards with as much clarity with a red laser, so when zeroing hunting rifles, you can’t reach the ranges you need to with a red laser.

How Far Did My Green Laser Sight Reach?

If you’re using the white reflective paper target that Wheeler includes in the box, you could reach 150-200 yards, especially in low-light conditions. So far, I’ve used this bore sighter at 150 yards and it worked fine, but you have to consider that the further out you go, the more you’ll be off from the center of the target. However, the only thing that matters with the bore sighter is it gets you on paper without firing any rounds. 

Things to Consider When Zeroing a Muzzleloader

I’m fairly new to owning a muzzleloader, but I did learn a few lessons this week at the range that I think is worth sharing. 

1. Always have a cleaning kit with you when shooting a muzzleloader. When you’re shooting black powder you have to clean your barrel after every 2-3 shots. You’ll notice that you cant push the bullets down as far without friction when the barrel is really dirty. I use a 36" Tipton Carbon Fiber Cleaning Rod that is meant for a .50 Cal barrel and a bore brush. 
2. The bullet you choose is very important because it dictates how much powder you’ll use, especially at 100 yards. For example, I shot the Hornady .50 Cal Great Plains 385 Gr because I knew it would handle this cold crosswind we have in Virginia.
3. Be very wary of double-loading bullets because if you were to shoot a double-loaded chamber, there could be catastrophic consequences. If this happens, remove your breech plug and you’re going to have to try and push the bullets and powder through the barrel to clear the rifle. Needless to say, it’s a real bummer and takes a lot of time to get done if your barrel is dirty.

Stay Tuned to the RE Factor Tactical Blog and be part of this all VETERAN-run website. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for exclusive content and deals.

Check out our DAILY DEALS page for industry deals and discounts.

Visit our Amazon Influencer Page for more products we recommend: https://www.amazon.com/shop/refactortactical