Sight Adjustment Savvy

Sight click graduations have a lot to do with how a shooter proceeds in a match. There’s no question that, for me at least, the finer the adjustment, the better. A sight that moves the bullet 3 inches per click is decidedly a more difficult decision to make! Finer graduations mean both less consequence on a missed read, and better results on a “hit.” They also allow me to take a precise setting to favor a wind change.

Keeping a list of target ring dimensions will help with sight adjustments during a match. Photo by Chip Lohman.

Figure out the number of clicks per ring to estimate needed correction. This is a term familiar to Smallbore and Air Rifle shooters whose sights use extremely fine click graduations. For the High Power 600 yard MR-1 target, scoring rings X through 8 are in 6-inch increments, or 3 inches per side, meaning that there should be about 2 clicks per ring with 1/4 minute sights: 6 (hundred yards) X .25 = 1.5 per click. A mid-ring 10, for example, should take about 3 clicks to center on the X (1 to get to the X ring, and another 2 to get to its center). This information especially helps new shooters to know “how many clicks” to move.

If you’re fishing for a zero on the outer rings, it helps to know that ring numbers 7 through 5 are double-wide, meaning it will take approximately 4 clicks per ring, or 6 inches of movement.

Do this for each target and you won’t get lost with sight adjustments during a match. You can find the target dimensions in each online NRA Rule Book.