We test quite a few scopes here. This requires mounting and zeroing scopes often. With match ammunition and reloading components as scarce and expensive as they are, anything that can save you ammo is a huge bonus. We found a quick tip to mount your scope without wasting ammo.

Simply purchase a cheap green laser sight from eBay and slap it on some free rail space. Zero the laser so that the green dot appears in the center of your crosshairs on your current rifle scope. I find that 50-100 yards works well. Attempting this at closer ranges will often result in the laser running out of adjustment. Once the laser is zeroed, you can pull the old scope off and mount the new one. Leave the laser in place. Once the new scope is on, just adjust it’s reticle to center on the green dot. Reset the turrets on the new scope and you should be extremely close to your 100 yard zero. Your new zero should be confirmed with live fire, but you will be close enough that you can do it during a drill instead of wasting ammo just to zero.

Red lasers do not work well for this. They just don’t have the brightness to be seen at any decent range in the day. Green Laser bore sighters work acceptably, but are more expensive and do not have a means to adjust to your scope. Your new zero will not be as exact as if you use and adjustable laser sight.

If you don’t have a rail system on your rifle, fear not. You can just use some riggers tape or duck tape and tape the laser to the barrel. Be careful to align it as well as possible and don’t bump it while you are swapping scopes.