Zeroing a Rifle

Long range shooting is almost always done with the aid of a scope mounted on the top of the rifle.  A good one will be durably built, have high quality lenses that permit excellent focus over a long range, and have high precision adjustments.  The adjustments include, but are not limited to:

• Elevation adjustment, which moves the scope to point more upwards or more downwards relative to the rifle's barrel.
• Windage adjustment, which moves the scope to point more leftward or more rightward relative to the rifle's barrel.
  

These are the basic adjustments a shooter must use in order to compensate for the expected horizontal and vertical travel a bullet will experience after it leaves the barrel.  However, in order to do this quantitatively, the scope must be standardized for the rifle it will be used on.  This standard is called zeroing.  There are various methods to accomplish this, but the end result is the same.  After zeroing, the reticle in the scope will be pointing at the exact spot the bullet will go for the given distance, usually 100 meters.  The adjustments will also be modified to read zero in this position.  At this point, the shooter can make calculations with changing distance and other factors that may differ from the standard to know how far off the zero position the scope must be adjusted.

The power of these calculations are best demonstrated by successful shots, such as by the long range shooting enthusiast and YouTube channel owner, 1Grizzman.