Rifle zeroing boils down to three essential points: ensuring your rifle/scope system is in good working order; having the right equipment to produce a solid rest; and applying the proper marksmanship techniques.

The time to sight your rifle in is when you have plenty of time and when you have access to a solid shooting bench. Rolling up a sleeping bag and shooting over the hood of a pickup in the field might get you by in a pinch, but it can't compare with a solid shooting platform.

Before you head to the range, there are a number of things you need to do. First, you need to make sure you have a solid, firm support for the rifle's fore-end and buttstock. A commercial adjustable fore-end pedestal topped with a small leather bag filled with fine sand, and a "rabbit ear" or "bunny ear" rear bag for the buttstock are best--although you can make do with the small sandbags and wooden pedestals that you find at some public ranges.

Another option is a self-contained unit like the MTM plastic Predator Shooting Rest shown in the accompanying photograph. Lightweight and relatively inexpensive, the Predator's pedestal setup puts the shooter in a good, upright position to absorb recoil. The forward pedestal is screw adjustable for height. Similar products are available from a variety of shooting products companies.

If you want to save a lot of time and a lot of shots, make certain everything is secure before you head to the range. After ensuring your rifle is unloaded, check all the mount screws, and you may even want to remove the scope to be sure the base screws are tight.

I also recommend removing the barreled action from the stock on guns that allow this. Look over the bedding and remove any loose wood or fiberglass chips. At the very least, take a screwdriver to the action screws and check for proper tension.

It may sound basic, but another thing you should do is determine the adjustment increments in your scope. Most scope clicks or increments are a quarter-inch at 100 yards. Some are a half-inch and some are a third-inch, depending on the scope make and model. Do this at home in case you need to refer to scope literature to find out. Sometimes the increment is marked under one of the scope knob covers or on the knob itself.

One last chore. If you are dealing with a semi-auto or lever gun where you cannot easily remove the breech bolt to look through the bore, you can use a collimator to get the bore and crosshair intersection aligned as closely as you are able.

If you do not have a collimator but have a bolt action rifle, you can bore sight at the range. Observing safety rules (like never sitting at the bench with a rifle when someone is downrange), place your rifle on fore and aft shooting rests with the gun pointed downrange and the bolt removed.

With the rifle solidly rested and the target aligned in the center of the bore (black bullseye targets are best for this), rotate the scope adjustment knob until the crosshair is pointing at the center of the target--with the target still centered in the rifle's bore. The rifle will likely shift position when you turn the scope knobs; simply go back and realign the bore and recheck the crosshair alignment.

Repeat this process carefully, making certain that you are looking right down the center of the bore and that the bore is exactly centered on the target. It does not work to move your head to align the target. You need to move the rifle until the bore is perfectly aligned. Once that's done, you'll be on paper--all without wasting a round of ammo.

Now it's time to begin shooting. Ideally, the shooting table should be about chest high as you sit on the shooting stool. If not, you may be able to raise or lower the seat height. I have used a telephone book on a too-low stool. If you have a sling on the rifle, remove it so that it will not be in the way. Place the rifle on the bags and adjust the height of the forward pedestal to bring your crosshair in line with the target.

The buttstock should be supported in the sandbag rest. The shoulder simply comes forward to meet the buttstock when it is time to fire the rifle. The forward pedestal and rear bag should be adjusted so that the rifle tracks fore and aft in line with the target.