This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Why We Sight In By TIM BEZANSON In the blink of an eye hunting season comes


around and, once again, we find ourselves in a last minute scramble getting organized. We’ve all been there, laying out gear on


the basement floor, checking last year’s list, if we can find it, looking for the Outdoors Card. Do the batteries still work? The charging station, where did it go? What happened to the compass? Then there’s the ATV lurking in the garage with a sudden surprise like a failing battery or plugged up carburetor. Or the trailer, parked away in the back, with a faulty ground wire or some other problem requiring an emergency repair. With so much to do in so little time, it’s


not surprising that the last thing we often turn our attention to is getting the rifle out of the safe where it’s been sitting for fifty odd weeks. Long forgotten is that little knock to the scope


40 BOUNDER MAGAZINE


when slipping it into its scabbard on a cold afternoon the year before. And then it’s off to camp for opening day. The question is: are we really ready? A firearm, like any other fine piece of


equipment, requires periodic care and practice. While recently doing some repairs up at the camp I found myself using the mitre saw for the first time in several years. It felt strange at first, with the initial cuts less than successful, which is to say awful, until getting back into the familiar routine. Sports are much the same as when, after a long winter, the first swing of a golf club or casting of a fly line tells us we’re rusty and need to practice-up before the rhythm and motion come back and we find ourselves comfortable again with what we’re holding in our hands. Why, then, would we expect it to be any different with the guns we shoot? By sighting in we get back into form


and make sure our gun is working properly and shooting accurately. It allows us to deal with any problems that might arise, however unexpected. Imagine, as happened to a good friend a number of years back, showing up for the hunt only to discover that the clip had been lost. Good luck finding a replacement part like that the weekend before opening day. Ditto finding a gunsmith even in the immediate week or two beforehand, as they are invariably swamped with last minute repairs. And as for even reaching one during deer season, chances are they will be off hunting themselves, so you may as well forget it. Why, then, wait until that last minute,


especially when sighting in and practicing earlier on is so enjoyable and easy to do? It


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