The big buck is standing on an open sagebrush hillside just about 100 yards away. It’s a decent shot.

Quick. Rest the rifle barrel on a log. Aim through the scope. Slowly squeeze the trigger.

The buck is still standing and then takes takes off into the trees. A clear miss. What the heck?

Sighting in your big game rifle before hunting season will save you from having an empty freezer of game meat for the winter. Anything can knock your scope off. A bump putting the gun away. An unfortunate drop.

Yet, it’s easy to get it sighted in, especially with a public rifle range so close to Boise.

The Black’s Creek Public Shooting Range, located a few miles west on Kuna-Mora Road from the I-84 Black’s Creek exit of I-84, is a handy place for target shooting and sighting in rifles.

A lot of shooters like to go out in the desert south of Treasure Valley to sight in their rifles, but with this hot, dry weather, it can be pretty chancy with extreme fire danger. The desert area has had a number of fires this summer.

The best bet is the main range at Black’s Creek, which is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, and has 36 shooting benches with shooting distances from 5 to 200 yards. The staff is extremely helpful and safety minded.

The daily fee is $10.

The range is one of several shooting ranges owned by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Black’s Creek is the largest and most visited range in Idaho, with more than 14,000 hunters and sport shooters each year.

A nonprofit shooting club, the EE-DA-HOW Long Rifle & Pistol Club, is responsible for day-to-day operation.

Remember to bring safety glasses, hearing protection and cases for your guns.

Sighting in a rifle is tradition and often brings memories. My dad, who was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, would often recall stories.

When training with the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys before the war, soldiers were given three shells to sight in their open-sight rifles. Dad said he could do it.

Boy, it takes me several times that many shells to sight in my modern bolt-action hunting rifle.

Anyway, sight in your rifle before the hunt and don’t miss the buck.