A bore sighter is an essential tool for anyone who wishes to make sure that their weapon is dead-on accurate before heading out into the field for their next hunting trip. With a bore sighter, you can easily zero your firearm in to a specific distance, guaranteeing that you'll be ready to bag that trophy buck when he finally wanders within range of your stand.
Traditional bore sighting required you to remove the bolt from your firearm and sight down the end of the barrel using only your own eyesight, which is both time consuming and not all that accurate.
However, with today's modern laser bore sighters, you can instantly and accurately sight in your weapon without ever having to fire a shot. Due to this fact, there's no doubt that the best laser bore sighter is something that will undoubtedly come in handy for every sportsman—allowing you to ensure your weapon is accurate without having to waste ammunition or time at the range/in the field.
The Ins and Outs of Laser Bore Sighting
The majority of laser bore sighters feature an arbor that's designed to fit snugly into the muzzle. However, you can also find products that are designed to match the size of specific cartridge cases. With this type of bore sighter, you simply insert the bore sighter into your weapon's chamber and then close the action. In addition, there are also boresighters that use a magnet to secure itself to the muzzle.
No matter which type you choose, all laser bore sighters work in essentially the same way. They project a laser beam out of your barrel onto a target set up down field. After setting up a reflective target at the distance you want to zero in your gun at, all you need to do is attach the bore sighter and then line up your sights so that they are dead center with the point of the laser beam.
Whereas traditional sighting requires you to continually fire off rounds and adjust the sight by eye until it is fully zeroed in, a laser bore sighter allows you to sight in your weapon without ever having to fire a round. This means that you can easily use the laser bore sighter virtually anywhere that you have enough room to set up a target at the desired distance.
How Accurate is Laser Bore Sighting?
A high quality laser bore sighter provides far and away the most accurate and efficient method of sighting in your weapon. No matter whether you're looking to sight in a handgun, rifle, shotgun or muzzleloader, the best laser bore sighters will make your task far easier and ensure that your weapon is properly zeroed in so that you're ready to make the big shot when the opportunity presents itself.
In truth, even your high dollar, top of the line scope isn't worth much unless it's properly zeroed in. It's highly recommended that all hunters, competition shooters and other sportsmen invest in a high quality laser boresighter.
Choosing the Best Laser Bore Sighter
Although there is a wide range of different laser bore sighters on the market, not all products are of equal quality. For this reason, we'll now present you with our picks for the 4 best laser bore sighters. Whether you're looking for the best laser bore sighter for the money, your 9mm or AR15, there's no doubt that at least one of the products will be exactly what you've been searching for.
SiteLite Ultra Mag Laser Boresighter
Easily one of the best laser boresighters currently on the market, the SiteLite Ultra Mag is available in your choice of green or red laser. While the red laser is a bit cheaper, the green laser beam is generally easier to see and usually considered to be the superior choice. The SiteLite Ultra Mag is tough, durable, built to last, and comes with a lifetime warranty.
This boresighter fits any caliber of weapon from .22 to .50, as well as 12 and 20 gauge shotguns—making it a truly universal product suitable for use on all of your firearms. One unique feature of this product that sets it apart from most others is the inclusion of the SRL Scope Leveler, which allows you to make sure your crosshairs are perfectly level before sighting in your gun.
In terms of overall quality, the SiteLite Ultra Mag is without a doubt one of the best options out there. However, if you want to spend a bit less, you may want to consider the original SiteLite Mag laser boresighter. This product uses a red laser and includes all of the same features as the SiteLite Ultra Mag (compatible with .22 to .50 caliber, scope leveler, etc.). The only major difference between the two is that the SiteLite Mag only has a two-hour battery life compared to the 40-hour battery life found on the SiteLite Ultra Mag.
Wheeler Professional Laser Bore Sighter
The Wheeler Professional Laser Bore Sighter features a magnetic connection that allows you to instantly attach it to any caliber of rifle, shotgun or handgun. The magnet ensures that the boresighter is compatible with all of your firearms, while also helping to eliminate the risk of damage to your muzzle that can come along with arbor-style boresighters.
This boresighter features a sturdy aluminum housing that is covered in soft rubber molding to provide ultimate strength and durability, while ensuring that the laser module is fully shielded from damage. The Wheeler uses a daylight-bright green laser. This enables you to quickly and easily sight in your weapon in any light condition. It's also powered by a single lithium-123A battery that allows for hours of continuous use.
Bushnell Laser Boresighter
The Bushnell is a truly excellent bore sighter that won't cost you an arm and a leg. It comes with five different arbors to allow you to use it to sight in any weapon between .22 and .50 caliber. The overall quality and durability of this product doesn't quite compare to that found on some of the higher end models, but it will still get the job done while only costing about 1/3 of the price of the SiteLite and other top models.
This boresighter uses a red laser beam, and the laser suffers a bit in terms of brightness, especially when trying to sight your weapon in outdoors. For this reason, this probably isn't the best product to have should you find yourself needing to zero in your rifle while out in the field. Nonetheless, it should definitely do the trick for all other purposes.
SightMark Triple Duty Universal Bore Sight
Like the SiteLite boresighters, the SightMark Triple Duty Universal Bore Sight is available in your choice of green or red laser. Again, the green laser is slightly more expensive, but well worth the price due to the improved brightness. This style of laser boresighter is quite innovative, as instead of using an arbor-style connection that fits into the muzzle, it is designed to simply fit over the chamber. This connection makes it one of the easiest to use and most efficient bore sighters on the market.
In terms of the quality of the laser and overall durability, the SightMark Triple Duty falls some way below the SiteLite and Wheeler products. Nonetheless, the fact that there are no small parts to change out or lose means it wins in terms of simplicity and design. Suitable for use on virtually all firearms, the SightMark Triple Duty is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a versatile, affordable laser bore sighter.
Things to Consider When Buying a Laser Bore Sighter
When trying to decide which laser bore sighter to purchase, there are a few things to keep in mind that should help to ensure that you end up with a high quality product instead of a cheap piece of junk. First and foremost is the design and construction. You'll want to make sure that you get a product that is both built to last and compatible with your firearms. It's also important to consider how the boresighter attaches to the firearm, whether it is via magnet, arbor or another method as with the SiteMark Triple Duty.
Price is another important factor. The top of the line products will generally set you back at least $100 to $200, but it's also possible to find a range of decent options for less than half this price.
As well, you'll want to carefully consider the color of the laser. While red lasers are normally cheaper, a green laser is generally brighter and makes it much easier to zero in your weapon in daytime or high light situations.
Another factor to consider is battery life; although this obviously isn't quite as important since you can always change out the battery should it die.
At the end of the day, finding the best laser bore sighter isn't all that difficult. In fact, as long as you put some thought into your decision before making your purchase, there's no reason why you can't find a great deal on a truly world-class laser bore sighter—giving you the freedom to zero in any and all of your firearms at a moment's notice.
