Avoid an audience. You don't need advice, applause or criticism. Do not allow another shooter to fire your rifle as part of a zero check. You can't know if he sees the same sight picture as you, and you won't know if a bad shot is the sights or the shooter--or whether a center hit is an accident or proof that your zero is where it should be.

Don't put your ego on the line. Once, when checking my rifle after another member of the hunting party, I heard him say "Well, five inches high at 100. That's about right." He obviously wasn't sure about that, but I got the feeling he didn't want to let his uncertainty show. Subsequently, he missed two bull elk.

Be thorough. If you have to make an adjustment, test it by shooting. Don't assume that a handful of quarter-minute clicks will do what it's supposed to. Moving the dial can fail to produce any change in impact; it may also shove the bullet two or three times as far as you expect.

Once, to ensure my scope was properly zeroed, I fired 16 of the 20 cartridges I had brought with me. And there was no place within 500 miles to find more. My companions roundly criticized my profligate use of that ammo. But I killed three animals--as many as the trip allowed--with the remaining four rounds.

After you've confirmed or reestablished your zero, keep the rifle away from livestock and other hunters. Store it in a case or on a duffle bag under your cot. If you lean a rifle upright, it will eventually fall over. And you don't want to have to check zero a second time with the last magazine of cartridges in your duffel.