Recommend me a bore sight for my 9mm pistol

I picked up one of these cheap to play around with at the range when they reopen.

I put a TRS25 red dot on it and want to get it zero'd in so started looking at bore sights. There are some that are 9mm specific like this one that go in the chamber of the barrel and then some that are universal like this one that uses a magnet on the barrel.

Just wondering what you guys used and what your thoughts were. I imagine I'll have to adjust the sight every time I put the pistol into the contraption as it's likely not going to go in exactly the same every time so I'll probably use the bore sight before every range visit to save on ammo/targets.

EDIT: If anyone comes across this thread in a search, I picked up the MidTen 9mm one that you chamber and it worked great. Still have yet to shoot it to see how close it is but it lines up perfect with the iron sights so I feel it should be pretty close.

I’ve got an old multi caliber boresighter around here somewhere.
Was cheap and works well.
Will try to locate it and tell you the brand.

Gets me on paper every time at 25 yards.

Bosco said:

I picked up one of these cheap to play around with at the range when they reopen.

I put a TRS25 red dot on it and want to get it zero'd in so started looking at bore sights. There are some that are 9mm specific like this one that go in the chamber of the barrel and then some that are universal like this one that uses a magnet on the barrel.

Just wondering what you guys used and what your thoughts were. I imagine I'll have to adjust the sight every time I put the pistol into the contraption as it's likely not going to go in exactly the same every time so I'll probably use the bore sight before every range visit to save on ammo/targets.

Click to expand...

Interstate Guns bore sights each pistol they install a RDS on.

Cheesy Lasagna said:

I’ve got an old multi caliber boresighter around here somewhere.
Was cheap and works well.
Will try to locate it and tell you the brand.

Gets me on paper every time at 25 yards.

Click to expand...

Appreciate it!

JBP55 said:

Interstate Guns bore sights each pistol they install a RDS on.

Click to expand...

Do you know what bore sight they use?

Get one that attaches to the end of the barrel. They may not be precise but they don't need to be as long as the end of the barrel/muzzle device is pretty perpendicular to the bore axis. The "proper" way to use one isn't necessarily to line the sight up with the dot from the bore sight. Rather, spin the bore sight on the end of the barrel. If the laser is true, the dot won't move. If the laser is a little off, the dot will make a small circle. You should sight the RDS is lined up with the center of the circle.

3 rounds on a B-27 at 15 yards will tell you all that you need. No reason to spend money on a boresight for a pistol.

You might try one of those ones that goes in the chamber, and just experiment. One way or the other you will still be going to the range. They are about $10 on Amazon or eBay, or a few dollars more on Sportman’s Guide.

I own one of those multi-size boresighter devices. I was disappointed with the construction and lack of adequate instructions.

Maybe there is a better version of this than the one I have. The brief instructions were not written by a native English speaker.

I own a Bushnell boresighter, a lot more expensive and it requires an arbor for any size you want to use. Although it’s high quality it’s not as convenient.

Finally I own laser boresighters for all the cartridge sizes. I had a heck of a time finding one for .380ACP (aka 380auto / 9mm kurz) so I made one from a .22 boresighter and a spent .380.

My experience with the 9mm is that they will get you close. However nothing beats methodical evaluations on the range (with a Ransom Rest) if you have access to it.

Recently I was dinking around with a medium sized polymer nine that already had a laser sight on the factory rail. I was mounting an RMR. The laser boresighter seems to need adjusting because the dot moves on every re-chamber. Basically I was hoping to get the laser sight, RMR and laser boresighter all lined up.

Of course, there is always bore offset to consider. In other words, at what distance should your projectile and aim coincide? This is a question we all face about sight-in for any firearm.

The one that made me scratch my head the most is my S&W model 60 in .38Spl. I bought a laser boresighter for it. I basically decided that it’s a fixed sight, bad-breath distance tool. I needed to find where it shoots and become proficient at making that coincide with my intended target.

However I have seen both Bob Munden and Jerry Miculek hit a balloon at 200 yards with a snub-nosed revolver! That’s beyond my skill level.


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I shoot a new pistol at 75' and move the rear sight in the correct direction the length of the sight radius for each inch it is off.
If the pistol is shooting 3 inches left and the sight radius is 7 inches move the rear sight .021 to the right when using standard sights.
A RDS is easy to adjust left/right and up/down as well.

Bosco said:

I picked up one of these cheap to play around with at the range when they reopen.

I put a TRS25 red dot on it and want to get it zero'd in so started looking at bore sights. There are some that are 9mm specific like this one that go in the chamber of the barrel and then some that are universal like this one that uses a magnet on the barrel.

Just wondering what you guys used and what your thoughts were. I imagine I'll have to adjust the sight every time I put the pistol into the contraption as it's likely not going to go in exactly the same every time so I'll probably use the bore sight before every range visit to save on ammo/targets.

Click to expand...

Try getting the pistol in a vise. Or as close as you can get to it and get the sights on target 25 feet away. Take a few shots like that, each time making sure you’re still on the bull’s eye and see where you’re hitting the target. Adjust the rear sight accordingly. If the sight is a true adjustable, in this case a red dot I see, keep the gun in the vise and pointed at the bull’s eye, then carefully turn the adjustment screws to bring the sights to the impact point on the target. If the rear sight is a simple drift in type, it will be a little tougher but it’s still possible. In my experience, if the mount point is solid, as long as I mount an optic to the same position and slide it forward into the mount when tightening, the optic stays on zero. Most of the bore sighting I do (rifle only) is by eyeballing through the bore at 50 yards on a big enough target to fill the view and the gun in a vise (lead sled with rubber bungees works) that I can adjust to the target. I get on paper first shot then reposition the rifle to shoot the bull’s eye through the scope or sight. After that shot I make sure the optic is dead on the bull’s eye with the rifle immobile and careful adjust the dot or crosshairs to the bullet hole in the target and then shoot a few rounds to check. For Hunting rifles I let the barrel cool and recheck on a cold barrel. Simple method that’s worked well for me for years.

Thanks for all the advice guys. Got no place I can shoot right now so was just going to fool around with an inexpensive bore sight to see how close I can get it for when I can go shoot. Kind of wish I had bought a house on some land out in Folsom rather than in the middle of Covington It would be nice to be able to shoot on my own property especially with all the stress right now from the damn pandemic.

I have a Sitelite Mag laser sighter. Never tried it on a pistol but when I get my red dot for my Sig p365 I plan on trying it. Yesterday I used it, not exactly following directions, but on a Marlin 39a Mountie. I had installed both a Lyman 66 receiver sight and an old Weaver K3 with German Post reticule. It has a rod with a couple of o rings to fit the bore, and a tapered section to center it propely aginst the muzzle. I put the gun in one of the vise type maintance stands, pointed it at a shed about 40 yards away, then moved the reticule until it as at the laser dot on the wall. Same thing with the reciever sight, just adjusted so my sight picture was on the laser dot. Took probably 5 minutes to do both type signts. Previously I had gotten a semi custom rifle on a Mexican Mauser action. THe holes in the rear receiver ring that had been drilled and tapped for a scope mount were not in perfect line with the front holes, so the mount tipped to the side. My gunsmith did some machine work on the scope base so it lined up better, but still not perfect, so I got a set of the Burris Signature rings with polmer inserts, and some of the eccentric inserts. Using those inserts, and the laser sighter, I got the gun bore sighted without using any of the scope adjustments. WHen I shot it I was off about 1/8" at 25 yards, so well in the black of my target at 100 yards requiring only minor scope adjustments to get a good zero.

When I get the red dot on the handgun, I plan on clamping the gun in my cleaning vise, and following the same procedure, use the proper size o rings to center the laser pointer in the barrel, and then adjust the red dot to the laser dot which is green.