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1. What could cause your rifle scope to be off-target

There are three common reasons that your rifle or shotgun hunting scope could be off-target. The first reason would be that you have just purchased a new scope from the store and have yet to dial it in.

This is not a problem at all because every gun is different. This means that your scope needs to be sighted in separately for the rifle you plan to use the scope with.

The second reason that a hunting scope can become not on target is just natural to use and storage. When you are carrying your rifle up and down the stairs, in your car, and out to the woods often it can slightly throw off the cross heirs.

This may not be a big deal if you do not have a gun that shoots over 100 yards because a bullet moving so fast may not see more than .5 inches of unwanted movement if the cross heirs are slightly off. However, once you start shooting longer distances, it is essential that your bullet is shooting almost perfectly on target.

For example, if you are off an inch at 100 yards, you may be off by 3-6 inches at 200 yards. (All depending on what kind of gun you are shooting) I have hunted the opening weekend of gun season for many years, and I always make sure to take the time to sight in my scope every year. It pays off because my scope is usually off target from the natural usage and storage.

The third reason that you may need to sight your scope back in is due to a major impact the scope has endured. Although no one is proud of dropping their weapon while in the field… it happens.

In the woods, there are literally 1000’s of sticks and stumps that you could trip and fall and hit your scope pretty hard on the ground. Although these scenarios are less common, you should always take time to shoot your gun after it has taken a decent hit.

2. How most scopes adjust

Most scopes are similar in the idea that there will be two adjusters near the middle of the scope. The one on top is used for the vertical axis and will move to adjust your scope’s cross heirs up and down. The second adjuster is usually found on the right side in the middle of the scope.

This adjuster will adjust your rifle scope on the horizontal axis. This means you will want to use this adjuster to move your cross heir left and right according to your needs.

Both the vertical adjuster and the horizontal adjuster usually have a cap on them to protect the adjusters from rain, snow, mud, and rust.

When you take the caps off to adjust a rifle scope, you will find something that looks similar to the picture on the right. All you will need to adjust the scope is a coin or the backside of a knife.

Make sure to read the specifics on the manual that came with the rifle scope to know exactly how many inches 1 click makes the cross heirs move. Most scopes the unit measure is 1 click = .25 – .5 inches.

That is the basic and most common setup for adjusting a rifle scope. The differences in the scope come from what you see in the scope such as extra dashes to mark yardages, different magnification, quality of glass, and low light visibility.

3. How to properly adjust a rifle scope the first time

Before I start to get into the specifics of how to adjust your scope to have it dialed in perfectly, I just want to say that these tactics are how I have had success adjusting my scopes.

If you are adjusting your rifle scope for the first time or for readjustments, I would recommend getting a shooting bench and a shooting rest. These are important to have because you will not be able to get the crosshairs on the exact middle of your target every time if you are free handing or using a shooting stick.

We want to eliminate as much human error as possible. This will allow you to get the true measurements needed to adjust a rifle scope properly. I want to share with your affiliate links for shooting rest and targets.

Rangemaxx Shooting rest at Bass Pro Shops to eliminate any human error and make sure that your scope is dead on target while you are hunting.

Champion Visi-color Sight-in shooting targets at Bass Pro Shops! These are essential to know where your bullets are hitting and how to adjust your scope properly.

To start the process of adjusting a rifle scope, you will also want some sort of shooting target. I normally use a large piece of cardboard or thick paper. Then I take a sharpie and draw a circle between the sizes of a quarter and a nickel.

You will then want to put that target somewhere downrange. I personally shoot a 20-gauge shotgun with a rifled barrel. This means that my gun does not shoot as far as many other rifles.

My rule of thumb that I use is when this is your first time adjusting your new rifle or shotgun scope, start at a shorter distance to ensure you hit somewhere on the target. If you miss the target completely then you will have no idea how to properly adjust the rifle scope you have.

Once you have hit the target at a shorter distance. For example, if your rifle can shoot 150 yards, you start sighting it in and have it on a bullseye at 100 yards. Then you have one of two options from that point. You may want to leave the cross heirs sighted in at 100 yards and make a mental note that if a deer is at 150 yards, I will need to move my cross heirs up an inch or two. Or you can move your target out to 150 yards and adjust the rifle scope to be on target at 150 yards. That is all up to you and how you like to hunt/shoot.

I personally like to keep my shotgun sighted in at about 70 yards. Then if I must take a shot at 100 yards, I just aim a bit higher in the lungs area.

Here are some links to Bass Pro Shops to grab some good targets that would be big enough to sight in your rifle.

4. How to adjust a rifle scope after the first time

For to have your rifle or shotgun scope not be sighted in a year after you last shot it (assuming you use your rifle once or twice a year for deer season) is a common problem. However, it is much easier to fix. You will want to just put your target to your preferred range and fire a shot using your shooting table and shooting rest.

The bullets should not be crazy far off due to only minor movements in the scope as the gun was stored away for the year.

Then you will just want to change the vertical and horizontal adjusters maybe with a couple of clicks. This will adjust your rifle scope and put it back on target in no time.

You will be ready to hunt the whitetail deer gun season in no time! This is important that it is a faster process after the initial sighting stated above because as deer hunters, we have one thing on our mind and that is the deer we have been seeing on our trail cameras! Check out all of the posts about hunting whitetail deer during gun season above.

The picture below shows me at a much younger age after I shot a doe. I had just sighted in my scope the day before and it made all the difference in delivering a kill shot.

This was a doe I shot the day after I sighted in my scope. Whithout adjusting my scope, I may never have been able to take this deer.

5. 3 scope recommendations

Although this will not be a full breakdown of these three scopes, It will be 3 scopes all in different price ranges that I have read reviews on and would recommend.

Disclaimer: The links to these scopes below are affiliate links to Bass Pro Shops. I have not owned all these scopes; however, I have done my own due diligence to make sure that I can appeal to your specific needs. That is why I chose to pick three different scopes within three different price ranges for people with different desires in their own scope.

1. The first rifle scope is for all of you that want quality but with a lower price tag. I personally do not have a super expensive scope because I enjoy bow hunting way more than gun hunting. This scope will not put holes in your wallet but it will be a good asset on your deer hunts or whatever weapon you choose to mount this scope on.

This scope is the Burris fullfield IV Rifle Scope at Bass Pro shops. The Burris fullfield IV is what any new gun hunter would want to start getting into rifle hunting of any kind. It has some pretty good glass to look through and will give you enough light to shoot at dusk and dawn.

This Rifle Scope is in the $300 range and has everything you will need to whitetail deer hunt. This would be a great scope to pick up as a Christmas gift for someone this year!

2. The second rifle scope is defiantly for those deer hunters that love to gun hunt and maybe use their rifle for more than just deer hunting. It is a bit pricier; however, you get significantly more magnetism. It will suit all of your needs to hunt both bigger games and small games. This scope is for the people that want great accuracy but do not have to worry about scuffing it up a little bit.

The Vortex Viper HS-T Rifle Scope at Bass Pro Shops. Vortex makes a great scope with great clear glass. This is a great option for a scope that is very effective and is priced at a fair value.

3. The third rifle scope that is on this list is for those of you that may want to hunt with it occasionally, but you really want it to shoot rounds extremely accurately. This will be the most expensive rifle scope on this list; however, if you really want a nice and expensive scope, this is the scope for you.

This rifle scope is Swarovsk Z6i Rifle Scope. It is probably the best scope brand in the market; however, they are expensive. From what I have read (because I have never owned one of these scopes) they hold true for a long time, they are easy to zero in and create amazingly tight groupings of shots, and are great for low light situations.

Nevertheless, I would recommend that if you only want to shoot whitetail deer, I will buy one of the two options above that will work just fine for your needs. You will also save yourself a good chunk of money.