How to Properly Sight in Your Hunting Rifle 

In the segment with no volume I was talking about the difference between iron sights (rear notch or "V" and front post or blade) and peep sights (rear aperture or "peep" and front post or blade. Also some rifles are equipped with telescopic scopes that can provide varying amounts of magnification. We lost volume due to rain getting in the mic. Such are the realities of filming at the range.

Rest in peace, you are the most honest, intellectual, funny, and articulate man. Truly wise. You'll be missed

Love ya Paul Harrell....Thank you for allowing me to think you have been speaking to me in these videos for the last 8 years

I never find your videos tedious. The information given is always worth the time spent watching.

You are welcome and you don't need to thank us for watching all the way thru. Any time at the range, whether actually in person or watching on the boob tube, is time well spent while watching quality presentation. I was an instructor at various times in the Army and your humor is well taken and understood.

Wouldn't be refreshing to go to the range and find out that everyone had watched this video and understood this great information. Calm, rational thought on how to get in, sight in a rifle and get out without waisting time and resources.

I’ve found it helpful to get on to paper quicker and save a little $ on ammo, if you have a rifle where you can remove the bolt and are able to look down the bore, line the bore up with where you want your rounds to impact then while trying to minimize moving the rifle move so you can look down the sights or through the scope. Make adjustments to the sights or scope to try to get them in line with the bore. Go back and forth a few times until they seem to be in line with each other. Then start putting rounds on target and making adjustments. This works best if you are on a bench and have sone kind of stable support.

Beautiful blue skies. And beautiful pronunciation of “quartered” 👍 love all your stuff mr H

Exactly how I learned to do it Paul. I also appreciate how you demonstrated the difference in ammo performance. You have to zero your rifle with the ammo you are going to shoot with. Seems like common sense but wow - it never ceases to amaze me how many people go cheap zeroing at the range.

Great video! Videos like yours are needed because there is a great amount of ignorance out there pertaining to gun sighting. I was a range officer at my local gun club for years and what some people believed was the proper way to sight in a gun was scary. Thanks for putting this out.

Awesome video. Thanks for taking the time to explain on how you yourself zero in your rifles. Video ended and I didn't even realize that it was so long based on how interested I was. Keep it up.

Paul, I'm going to go out on a limb and speak for people I've never met but on behalf of your viewers thank you. Thank you for putting out videos that regularly address relevant topics in the gun community in such a concise, easy to understand and entertaining manner. Word of note, I always zero'd at 25 yards due to range constraints (unfortunately I live in a decidedly gun unfriendly state) and never ONCE realized that 1/4 moa at 100 translates to 1/16 at 25. Color me stupid for not having common sense. Thanks again.

Thank you so much for this video and your other videos. As a new hunter who didn't grow up hunting, it can be difficult to get quality, detailed info online. I really appreciate the time and effort that you put into these.

Paul "Honey Badger Harrell" doesn't give a shiiit bout rain.

Paul, if you took the time to make this entire video, then we thank you.

Video tells us how to sight in our rifles...end of video he says not to do this at home...which one is it...lmao...just playing around! Been watching your videos for years now! Always entertaining and a plethora of knowledge! Thanks Paul!

Honestly hate the fact that it's basically a requirement these days for content creators (of any genre) to make the disclaimer like the one at the start of this presentation, lest they open the floodgates of the contrarian commenters who absolutely have to be right and can't comprehend that unless you're a little ESN, everybody already knows that this isn't the only way to do things, and this is just one person showing you how they themselves do it. Fantastic presentation as always Paul.

top shelf paul! and thank you for taking us along with you to the range for pre hunting calibrations, best of luck this season.

Nice video as always! What would really help is a way to stop the darn squirrels from telling every deer in the woods where I am...🤪

Excellent. I've a different rifle in a different caliber, but it gives me inspiration for my Zastava 7x64. Yes, in France.

Thanks for the knowledge on how to properly sight in your hunting rifle Sir. Another awesome episode Paul Harrell !!!!!!!

Was surprised to see you shooting a fine old Model 88 Winchester. My first deer rifle, I still own it, I bought it around 1971. It has killed at least 35 deer and a box car load of coyotes over my 65 years and has always been a fine shooter. They were marketed if I remember right as a Lever Actuated Bolt Action Rifle due to the turn bolt lockup. Very strong lockup for sure. I'm surprised you didn't like the feel of the lever but that falls under to each his own for sure. They came in three calibers one being .243 win. and I'm not sure about the third, I want to say .284 Win. I bought the .308. Say what you want about the .308, mine has killed many deer over 500 yards away and I've never lost a deer. It is really enjoyable to watch a video where a gun you actually own is used.

A good way to start zeroing in a scope is using sand bags, a friend and one shot. Set up on sandbags or a rifle vise. Fire your first shot and hold still - do not move. Ask your friend to adjust the scope, raise/ lower and adjust left/ right until your cross-hairs are on the hit. Your second fire should be dead on. This has worked very well for me on many rifles.

Looks solid. I haven't seen a rear sight like that since my Ruger 10/22. Spiffy. Thanks for consistently harping on ammo. Many often don't consider it part of the whole system. I liken ammunition to a car's engine; drop a different one in and whole business performs quite differently.

Nice video. I also like to start zeroing a new scope at 25 yards, just so I know I'm somewhere on the paper. However, here in South Dakota, shots out to 200 yards are pretty common, so I like to zero for 200 yards with my 308. With the ammo I use that would put a 100 yard shot 2.1" high which is still inside the sweet spot on a deer. At 300 yards that puts the first large hash mark below the center cross hairs on my scope dead on. I do my best to limit myself to 300 yards and under, so this works well for me.

Great video. A tip I've been using for a long time, even as far back as my BB guns, is to use a pencil to make a line on the site to the base, specially with drift sights. Then you know how far you've gone and can always return to the starting point and start again if it's gone completely awry.

Thank you Paul, for your detailed video. I do appreciate your sighting technique. I like to use a spotting scope, as I have trouble walking over rough ground.

Another great video Paul. You do a fantastic job explaining complex issues in a manner that anyone can follow. I have done this type of sighting in a hundred times and still find myself getting confused in which direction the sights need to move.( Front vs rear) Nice find in the model 88. I prefer the Savage 99 myself. Keep up the good work! I always look forward to the next episode. Good luck deer hunting!

My uncle was so into stuff like this, he was a great hunter and a huge fan of the .25-06 cartridge for whitetails. Trying to understand how to sight in a scope for shooting at a downhill angle was a subject I never quite understood. I know there were some specific things that were different than straight on sight ins. I used to hunt with a variety of rifles, but I did notice with my Winchester model 94, that 170 gr ammo was very accurate when testing from my uphill stand into a target where I anticipated taking a deer at, and I was using iron sights. When testing 150 gr ammo, I was so far off from the target, but 170 was fine. I sighted the irons for 40 yards downhill as this is where the deer usually walk through.

Very informative and helpful. Did not know abt different manufacturers ammo at the same wgt having a different poi. I could not reliably sight in using a sling off a table. I have to use a rifle support stand or at least sand bags. I do hunt with a sling and try to sit near a tree or something to rest the rifle against. Off-hand without a sling is not a good way to go for me. Thanks for another excellent video.

this is the greatest RU-vid video channel in the history of western civilization

Thanks for the Video....Sound or no sound, I wouldn't miss one of your Videos for anything. Great Information.

always useful videos Paul thanks for continuing the information train

BEST “non-tutorial “ how to zero! Thanks Paul

This is a very good video on how to sight in a rifle if you don’t know how to properly do it.

When zeroing a new scope, after the first 3 shot group, I hold it on center as well as possible and adjust the cross hairs to the group while looking through the scope. It gets to the fine tuning stage much quicker so less ammo used. Depending on the type of iron sights I will do those that way as well.

Paul, I really enjoy your work. Thank you.

You always have my attention. As always excellent instruction.

Very nice presentence Paul, I hope a lot would take a look at this before trying out by them selfs. You show precicely how and systematc you zero inn your riffel. Thanks from Søborg, Copenhagen Søren

Great video. Thanks for your time and effort in making so many informative and useful videos!

Very useful information as per usual,thanks Paul.

Good presentation Professor Paul. How about a slug video? Slugs vs gravity ballistics or slugs, rifled vs smooth bore accuracy or slugs vs 30-30 brush busting

A hasty sling. And I thought I was the only one who knew that. But then I learned it from a Marine 45 years ago and you're a Marine, so no surprise.

Thank you Paul

Excellent information as always. Personally, I’m heading to Wyoming in a couple of weeks for my first pronghorn hunt. Taking the trusty model 70 featherlight 243. Wish me luck.

Excellent video Paul, Thank you Sir!

Thanks for making the hunting rifle sight in video.

That's the same rifle I use for deer hunting. My uncle gave it to me when I was 17. Winchester Model 88 cal. 308.

Thanks Paul. Very well done.

Very well done Paul. Like that actual deer target. I use them too. Wal Mart has some that are real.life like. Thank You.

Mr. Harrell, Thank You for the outstanding posts. I have discovered laser bore sighting devices and I have found these tools to be invaluable as to sighting in my rifles. I have not found a down side to using a bore sighting device. Do have any suggestions or thoughts as to using a bore sighting device?

For 556, red dots are honestly best with a 36 yard zero(basically a true 300 yard zero with consistent point of aim point of impact within a 5 inch grouping from 36 to 300 yards). But for an lpvo or other magnified optics I'd recommend a 100 yard zero, because the hold over/under is a lot more natural with an moa reticle

I would like to add to what you said about sighting in a rifle an inch high at 50 yards so it would be dead on at 100, this sometimes works with rifles with heavier bullets traveling slower but with my .308 and .270 they hit 2-3 inches high at 100 so I zero my 308 for 50 so it hits roughly 1.5 inches high at 100 then pretty much dead on 150 so one tip i would say is knowing the ballistics of your rifle with the ammo you use. Im sure you know this but others may not so i figured i'd point that out.

I don't even hunt and that was spectacular! Thank you.

@ 15:47 The round passed through and hit a steel plate! Haha. Cool video!

Excellent presentation.

I particularly liked the pantomime. Replay worthy.

I'm an old school military ladder sights guy. I learned to shoot on an Argentinian Mauser, I had a Kalashnikov before I had an AR-15. I thoroughly enjoy having a nice rear notch and post and calibrating the front sight to a point of aim hold. I hate peep sights and I hate every variant of sighting hold (pistol or rifle) which requires that I cover up the target. If I cannot see the target - how will I know I'm actually *on* target? That simply doesn't compute in my brain and makes accurately using the firearm harder for me as I struggle to put the sights on target adjusting between how I think it should work and how the sights are actually calibrated. Same reason I hate stock glock sights, I keep fighting the urge to see the entire dot rather than cutting it and keeping the top sight level with the rears. What's more, by having nice sharp, easily visible rear notch and post which isn't right next to my eye, and having a paint of aim which allows me to see the target rather than covering it up: I can adjust the ladder and be on target provided the sights are correctly calibrated to accurately account for drop of the ammunition at known distances. So long as I know where those rounds go at those distance designations (little high or a little low depending on ammunition) I just adjust a little higher or a little lower as necessary. I love good old fashion military ladder sights. How other people shoot so well with *other* sights and arrangements, I have no Earthly idea because it doesn't make sense to me. Whatever works for them, more power to them, but I gotta stick with what works for me.

Very helpful, and pretty much what my father taught me, only we hardly ever get shots out past 75 yards so that was our last step. As to some one else being helpful with my rifle without permission, I don`t hunt with that person again. If they don`t respect ownership, they don`t belong in the woods.

"It's a top 5 list because I only know 5 things about deer hunting" killed me. Lol.

i need to learn how to do this. i don't hunt deer, but my dad died about three years ago, and left me a Winchester Model 70 .22 Hornet with a scope. i've never fired it, as i don't have a good area to use as a range, but that may be changing soon. i hope to put some ammo through the thing and see how it shoots.

Your the BEST Paul.

the best part of waking up is Paul Harrell and a cup.

As always, thanks for the additional information.

Just my opinion and my personal experience, if the gun is new to you, used or brand new. Give it a once over and check ever bolt, screw, and fastener on the rifle and sights to make sure they are not loose, even on new in the box guns, you want make sure they nice and snug and won't back out on you during firing, which could cause your zero to walk on you.

Well worth the wait. Happy hunting!

Love the video man! Keep em coming!

Ya could have shown the results of the 200yd group, just sayin'.

Rain, snow, sleet, or hail; nothing stops Mr Harrell. 😄

Great content, Very much enjoy the videos.

In a future video could you compare Weaver style versus picatinny rails for scope mounting? I believe Weaver style are much more stable and longer lasting zeroes. I haven't heard of the insta-dry nail polish trick since I was a kid (@16:35), thank you for that reminder, it is very useful and effective!

No tedium here. Great presentation as usual. One shot humane kills are very important.

It turns out my ADHD isn't so bad. Only skipped part of the muted portion. Thanks for showing what off hand shooting was.

How about a video on what you fill your pockets with when going hunting? Compass, fire making kit, first aid, etc. I'm just curious to hear your opinion.

I am taking out the new addition to my collection this year for my first hunting season. That is a CZ 527 in 7.62x39 with a Vortex 2-7x32 in a QD ring configuration. I had experienced some issues related to your video when zeroing the scope at 50 yards and then moving out to 100. The windage always seems to shift to such a degree that it makes me wonder if my scope is properly centered in the rings. When zeroing is it normal to have windage shift every time you move ranges? It was my understanding that the windage should remain the same after the initial zero.

Whenever I install a new set of sites, or a new scope, I like to shoot down into the pond at the bottom of the hill from the house. That way I can walk in the splashes to my point of aim. Then go site in once I am on paper.

The captions think gunfire is applause. Awesome.

Touching another man´s rifle without permission... that is a no-no.

Sitting thru anything is my choice! I happen to like it!

Most interesting! Thank you,Sir! Take care!

I made a phenomenal casserole I highly recommend to you guys. really easy to make it. Pour some fruit punch Shasta into a bowl, marinate ribs in Shasta and mix in some watermelon. Store with copper spoon. Serve at room temperature. It’s a wonderful cocktail I like to call “Crunch the Numbers”.

I just hit like. Now I'll watch it.

Be advised. If you’re not wearing camo pants at 18:35 you may have a brand new camo pattern by the time 18:37 rolls around.

Not the kind of quality i expect from you!! But because it’s you i still give it a thumbs up cause its still funny , maybe make a video on equipment and microphone lol

for sights I have to drift or 'whack' I generally take a scribe and mark the sight base and the barrel. Not perfect but at least I know if I even moved the sight over and more or less how much.

Paul rocks .....

I have tried to tell chuckle heads this for years.

I can fully hear what your saying Paul,even though it's just a whisper.

6:30 ngl this guy speakin fax

Excellent video!

How on earth did RU-vid know that I just bought a rifle that needed to be sighted in? This was the first video on my recommend list when I got home. Can you say creepy?

Very helpful, thanks

Very good video... loved it

I just got a new Ruger American chambered in 270 Winchester can you make a video on the best way to break in the new Barrel

"Sometimes tedium is a byproduct of putting out useful information" Paul Harrell 2019

187,00 didn't think this was tedious,,an iam with them 👍🇺🇸

I don't even hunt so am I still going to watch this vid? YES!!!

2500 likes and 19 thumbs down, in less than a day, there's just no pleasing some folk. Keep it up Paul ! Don't let 19 people get you down ! 😂 Correct : 6 hours old !!!

Love your videos Paul!

The man shoots paper like it just kidnapped his family