Laser boresighters

[rakirun]

Does anyone use one of those cheap laser bore sighters and if so are they any good?

[The Gun Pimp]

No substitute for simple bore-sighting - free and more accurate that the laser. But, if your firearm won't allow boresighting or you shoot on an indoor range, the laser will get you on.

[ovenpaa]

Yes I use them for semi-auto rimfire and shotguns with red dot sights and they are reasonably accurate. A tip is to take a known sighted in rifle and try the bore sight rotating in 1/4 turn increments to see which position is closest to point of aim or how much it moves by so you can understand the limitations of the system you are using

EDIT - I must admit I only ever use them in the workshop, I have a target with two marks on it set at 10m from the back wall and zero 1" above which is ample for most things.

[Nelly2014]

I've not had much success with them. Last one was a 7.62x39, it was so loose I had to put tape round it to make it work anywhere near. But I threatened neg feedback and they refunded me and didn't want it back. Win win.

[Rearlugs]

I use them all the time for rough zero'ing of scopes and sights - it sure is a better method than wasting ammo at 70p per shot or having the embarrassment of trying to get an initial round on the target screen! (That is, after paying gold and waiting a week for the lottery chance of getting onto Short Siberia...).

I also use them for transferring a zero from one rifle to another. E.g. if I've just shot one Enfield No4 at 600 and got it spot on, I can transfer that zero to another No4 by marking the point of aim and the laser spot on a bit of paper (across the length of my lounge!), and then reversing the process with the second rifle.


The problem is that you have to buy half a dozen laser boresights in order to get one that might work. They are cheap, but it seems that they are mass produced (in China, of course) with no quality control or even any design check. Most fail because they lack an insulating sleeve around the batteries.

I use a variety of "bodged" boresights - e.g. where I've wrapped a bit of tape around each of the tiny batteries to prevent them from shorting out.

[Daryll]

I bought one from the 'bay, and it was worse than useless... it was in .308, and when I chambered it all I got out of the barrel was a load of reflections...

I put it in a V-block and pointed it at a wall 18 inches away, then rolled it... the laser dot made a 2 inch circle on the wall..!

There was no adjustment possible, so that went in the bin...

[JSC]

The ones that fit in the muzzle end of the barrel are usually better as they don't have to cram everything into a round-sized package.

As said above, the best way to use them is to 'calibrate' them first with a sighted-in gun. Look for one with set screws which allow you to align the laser within it's housing.

Very useful for getting a new sight close to where it needs to be on a LBP, shotgun, underlever etc. Less useful on a long range rifle as it's probably easier to bore sight those.