A new weekly feature for the ScopeShield website will be an article, blog, column, or whatever you’d like to call it that I hope will either educate you, inspire you, infuriate you, or cause you to break out laughing! I’m calling it “Walking It In” and whether you’re familiar with the terminology or not, I’ll explain just what I mean by “Walking it in”, and what it means to me.

“Walking it in” is an old method of sighting in a scope sighted rifle. I’ll break it down into several steps:

  1. Bore sight your rifle to make sure that your first shot is on your target.
  2. Set up, preferably on a solid bench rest. The more solid, the better.
  3. Centering the crosshairs on the bullseye, fire your first shot.
  4. Reset the rifle on a bench rest with crosshairs on the bullseye.
  5. Being careful not to move the rifle, adjust your windage and elevation until your crosshairs are now directly on top of the shot you’ve just fired. That’s all there is to it!

You’ve now “walked it in”.

Try it. You’ll like it!

Now, I’ll give you another example of “walking it in” that you might not want to emulate.

Back in my college days, I attended Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon, right across the street from the University of Oregon. This was back in about 1974. I had to give a speech in one of my classes, where I had to instruct or teach a skill. I decided to teach the class how to “walk it in”.

Not having a proper bench rest at the time, I cut a couple of slots in the top of a sturdy cardboard box, took my trusty Ruger L0122 out of its soft case in my dorm room, and proceeded to walk down 11th Avenue to class, along with a target that I had previously fired a round through in preparation for my speech. No one stopped me; no one asked what I was doing walking through a college campus with a firearm prominently displayed in the top of a cardboard box. Neither my professor nor my classmates expressed any reservations about me showing up in class with a semi-automatic firearm. I gave my simple demonstration, answered questions from my professor and several classmates, and then sat down. One of the best grades I ever got in that class! Of course, I’m not sure I’d get this same reception today.

On that day, “walking it in” had two connotations for me. One was the simple meaning behind the phrase, which is the technique I used and demonstrated for sighting in a rifle.

The second and more true underlying reason for the saying “walking it in” is when you sight in a rifle using this technique, your first shot isn’t likely to be right on target. You aren’t yet “sighted in.” It is only through the adjustment of your scope that you can now dependably hit the target, time after time. Thus it is with life. No matter how carefully we plan ahead and try, rarely is our first attempt at anything ‘right on target”, we learn from our mistakes, make our adjustments, and then try again. We “walk it in.”

I’m still learning; still improving, hopefully. I don’t “know it all,” but I’m trying to “get it right.” As you read my subsequent columns, you’ll see what I’m saying. When I’m “off target,” I hope you’ll let me know about it, and help me “walk it in.” I want to hear from you. Contact Me and let me know what you think. I like to hear all opinions, especially when you don’t agree with me (or you think I’m crazy).

Until next time, Happy Hunting!

 

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This