The sighting system on a high power competition rifle is crucial to attaining a shooter's best score, and it's the system I've most experimented with, modified and experimented with again. While my system has changed a good deal over the years, and I expect it will continue to change, the fundamentals of how to use it have not.

In high power, it's crucial to establish one zero to work from, and for the author it's his 300-yard rapid-fire setting. Each event has a unique sight setting, but they all start from this one.

Whether you're a service rifle or match rifle shooter, knowing your zeros is one fundamental that cannot be overlooked. The term "zero," as I'll use it here, means a sight setting that will--under excellent shooting conditions--result in a centered group on a target.

Since an across-the-course match includes four separate events, we may well have four separate sight settings. Few shooters will realize a centered shot group standing, for instance, using the setting they would have for the rapid-fire sitting event--even though both are fired at 200 yards on identical targets--because of how the rifle is held in each position.

Certainly, there will be different zeros at 300 yards and 600 yards due to bullet drop. Also, most shooters will be using different ammo for the different yard lines, and this in itself will influence impacts on the target.

I establish one zero to work from that I call my "no-wind zero." This is based on the 300-yard rapid-fire prone. In other words, when I dial my rear sight wind and elevation knobs to "0," I will have a centered group at 300 yards using my 300-yard ammo.

I use this as my baseline because it's fired prone at a short distance, and it's easy to keep up with. Zeros can also change due to barrel wear, and this 300-yard zero tactic clearly shows these changes.

Establishing my no-wind zero is a simple matter of shooting groups at 300 yards and adjusting wind and elevation until these groups are centered. Depending on the system you're using, this may have to all be done at the rear sight, or it may be possible to incorporate front sight adjustment to fine-tune the setting.

Ideally, "0" windage will be with the rear sight sitting in the center of its lateral adjustment range, which of course requires a front sight that can be moved left and right. The idea is to put the rear sight in the center of its range and then move the group's horizontal location to target center by shifting the front sight left or right.

Taking this a step farther, it's also ideal to have the rear sight elevation holding at a level that not only provides adequate elevation adjustment to go across the course but also that provides the shooter with the head position he desires. Accomplishing that goal requires the use of an elevation-adjustable front sight. When I have established my rear sight setting, I loosen the screws and position the rear sight knobs and scale plates to "0" to provide an easy index to my no-wind zero.

Over the past few seasons I have been using this type of front sight. Initially I was mostly interested in this design because it allowed me to have a higher rear sight mounting, but I now have come to rely on this feature not only to simplify my zero adjustments going from one yard line to the next but also to help maintain a more consistent head position. A well-designed, well-made elevation-adjustable front sight can be reliably adjusted to compensate for bullet drop, and this means the rear sight doesn't have to be moved nearly as much.