Sight Adjustment Savvy

by
posted on July 19, 2016
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
savvy1.jpg

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.

null
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.

Latest

2026 Issf Shotgun Rhode 1
2026 Issf Shotgun Rhode 1

Rhode Golden, Simonton Silver in Women’s Skeet at 2026 ISSF World Cup Hangzhou

Kim Rhode wins gold and Simonton silver for a one-two punch on the women’s skeet podium in China.

NRA, Ammunition Depot Partner to Back Second Amendment Court Fights

NRA and Ammunition Depot partner to expand support for Second Amendment litigation.

X-Counts Decide Again at 2026 NRA National Smallbore Championship

Mike Carter wins the metallic prone aggregate on X-count after tying Wesley Shumaker at 3193, while Sam Pagliari leads F-Class Day 2 by a point.

Erin Gestl Erases Four-Point Deficit to Win NRA Smallbore Three-Position Championship

Erin Gestl overturns a four-point deficit on any sight day to win the 2026 NRA National Smallbore Three-Position Championship with 2360-137X.

USPSA Executive Director Alan Turner on Building for the Future

USPSA Executive Director Alan Turner, II, details new bylaws, a CTO promotion and a formal Nationals selection process supporting record growth.

Dewar International Match: A Rivalry Fought by Mail for 100 Years

A 1952 photo highlights that year’s Dewar Team, a U.S.-Britain smallbore rivalry fought entirely by mail since 1909 and still contested today.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.