Sight In procedure

[Blackdog]

Let's discuss sight-in procedures.
You sight in from a bench rest and in the field expect your rifle to shoot where you wanted it to go - but it doesn't shoot exactly where you thought it was going to go.
I had just such an experience last weekend - I attended a 120 round .22LR Lever Action Silhouette match. By mid-afternoon I had discovered (slow learner!) that I needed to hold 3" left to hit the target at 50 yards. My score shows that I didn't do good that day (won a door prize that was pretty cool!)
The problem is how you support your lever gun at the range is different from the way you hold it in the field.
In the field I support the rifle at "trigger guard" area, but at the range I'm supporting the front end of the action with a rest. I sighted in Apples, but shoot Oranges.
I'm going back to the range today to fine tune my sight. I know the rifle will shoot near where I want the bullet to go from the bench rest. So, I'll shoot offhand today and make final adjustments holding the rifle as I would in a match or hunting.
This means I'll have to actually "work" at getting the rifle sighted in, use muscles and move the rear sight properly. Its more fun to shoot lazy from the rest, but more accurate to shoot as I will at a match.
I'll take the 10/22 for bench shooting - it is too darn heavy to carry in the woods and it seems to like playing on the rest.
Michael
PS: You know you need to resight your rifle every time you change ammo? So, find one it likes and stick to it - thoroughly clean it once a year with a dry patch after a range session.
M

[JEBar]

I only own 2 rifles with open sights .... a Winchester model 94 built in 1941 and a Remington Model 12 22LR built in 1934 .... both were passed down from my Grandfather and I can understand how the way they are held could make a difference .... all the rest of our rifles have Nikon scopes .... I sight them in on a bench rest, firing the ammo I intend to use .... if for any reason I need to change ammo, I resight in the scope .... once sighted in, I haven't found that the way they are held makes any difference

[Ojaileveraction]

I think it's a good idea to sight in using the rifle the way you are going to shoot it.

[GFK]

I generally agree. Below is a link we had about sighting. It may be of some use:

http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... 8&start=10

[Mags]

I sighted my Henry in from the bench. Hunting nutria out 125 yds or so, I did not need to make any 'field' adjustments.

[Mistered]

This can be subjective from person to person.
Some can sight in on a bench and shoot nearly the same offhand and some not.

[North Country Gal]

I never count on any gun, rifle or handgun, to shoot to the same POI when changing shooting positions. For me, it's been much more the exception than the rule for a gun to shoot to the POI when going from the bench to offhand. At a point, now, where I don't even bother to use a rest when sighting in my offhand guns unless the sights are so far off that I can't get on paper. For me, when I have switched from bench to offhand with my guns, most of the time I shoot low, offhand, because I can't duplicate the way a solid rest supports the gun. We are fortunate enough to have guns that we use only from a rest and other we use only, offhand, but, yes, I know what a headache this can be trying to get one gun to shoot both ways.

Let me follow up by saying that this has been my experience and how it works for me. Not telling anyone how to sight in or deal with changes in POI. That's something every shooter needs to work out on their own.

[BigAl52]

Im one with irons anyway that cannot sight in off a set of bags and have it shoot the same with an off hand position. I use shooting off the bags as a starting point then fine tune it for the off hand position.

[Mistered]

Shooting any rifle with irons is a challenge. Some 'irons' are no doubt better than others (peeps are superior to a typical 'U' or 'V' blade buckhorn) but in the case of a medium range rifle such as a 30-30/.44/.357 most irons tend to be a 'set it and forget it' proposition with final off-hand accuracy based on a person's particular style of holding the rifle.
I am one who shoots nearly the POI off the bench and off-hand - and one of the reasons I try to get off the bench as quickly as I can after sighting in for a particular load.
Shooting a rifle in this caliber class off the bench can become frustrating at times due to many reasons - one being a lever action is not of a shape or configuration that is particularly bench - friendly and tend to be predisposed to off-hand shooting.
While bench shooting CAN be a proof of accuracy getting off the bench at either offhand paper or random field targets can be the real test of the gun, load and shooter.

[Ojaileveraction]

BD, Michael,
Shooting silhouette, do you hold "free recoil", or do you keep a tight grip?
I see both at matches.