Bow Sights?

pdxkevin · 05-07-2003, 02:24 PM

I am looking for a good bow sight. One that works and isn't going to kill my budget.
<ul type="square">[*]Any suggestions?[*]Is the Trophey Ridge Matrix any good?[*]Is a site on a bow as critical as scope on a rifle?[/list]

Bait O' Eggs · 05-07-2003, 02:57 PM

I was looking at the new vertical sight that came out last year. My buddy thinks they are the ticket, I am not sold on them yet but getting there.

I really like the fiber optic sights and as long as you have some protection around then so you dont hang them up on some brush and readjust them,

and they are solid I think they are all about the same except the price.

Make sure you have 2 sets of slides for adjusting the sights. If you only get one slide you cant get the pins close enough to each other on some designs of pins if you have a fast bow.

sliverslinger · 05-07-2003, 03:08 PM

pdxkevin: you ought to check out the crosshair sights. fine line makes one that is great. they are soo accurate. that is the only one that I shoot. I have one up for auction on ebay, here is the link
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ory=20845&rd=1
if you are interested go ahead and bid on it.

Myles · 05-07-2003, 03:39 PM

Sounds like you got a bow! Go to any of the shops in the area, they'll explain the different types.
The more light gathering ability the better, you could be in the woods at daylight and not be able to see your pins.
I saw one at Archers the other day, a single pin adjustable type (not sure what they're called) that looked like an LED glowing in the package. It was almost $100, I'm not quite ready to spend that much, but I'm thinking about it.
When you get ready shoot me an e-mail and we'll go out to Sylvan and do the 3-D range.

myles

pdxkevin · 05-08-2003, 06:29 AM

I bought the one that Aligator had. It's nice but need some work. Nothing major ~ new sight, etc.. just the typical stuff you would expect from a used bow. Now I need practice arrows and some more broadheads, and.... (how come all the fun hobbies have so many extras?

)

silverslinger2001: Look's like that auction will close before I can research which is best for my skill level and hunting style, that and save up for the purchase.

Myles: That sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks for the offer.

How many pins should I be looking for? single? three? five?

Now, the five crosshairs version seems to make a lot of sense. So do you set them in 10 yard increments?

Sighting in the pins must be an interesting process.

Anyone use or hear about the pendulum type?

Myles · 05-08-2003, 06:44 AM

Three pins should be enough for a newbie. Most set them at 20, 30, and 40, some 25 --. The red pins seem to fade with the light first, so I got rid of my red and alternate green and yellow. You may be able to get away with just one pin, set @ 25 or 30 and learn how far off it will be at other distances. It would be real close at 20 and I wouldn't shoot past 40 or so like that.
The pendulum sight is for treestand use, in theory you don't have to adjust for angle.
Go to Sylvan this Sat. if you can, they're having a 3-d shoot and will be lots of people there, just start asking questions, there'll be no shortage of opinions.

myles

sliverslinger · 05-08-2003, 07:22 AM

For me crosshair sights are the best. You can get them with or without fiber optics. I use 5 crosshairs but it is up to the individual and their shooting ability. I can put 5 balloons on a target 50 yds away and pop one with each shot, but thats me. The next person may not even be able to hit the target. You would have to experiment a little at the range. what has worked for me is shooting at a tiny target at 20 yds, such as a bottle cap. It will hone your skills and tighten your groups. I am still trying to find out how to get that bottle cap on the animals.

good luck to you this year and may your arrows fly straight.

crabbait · 05-08-2003, 07:51 AM

Some things to look for in bow sights:

Fiber Optics - Most of my shooting opportunities seem to come with first and last light. Make sure you can see your pin in low light conditions. Very small peeps are great for pin-point accuracy on bright days. I like a hunting peep to be about 1/8" diameter so I can see through it in fading light.

"Gang" adjustment - You want to be able to move all the pins up/down and left/right at once. Don't get a sight that requires you to move pins individually. Vertical alignment pin to pin should always be a straight line up/down.

Separate left/right and up/down adjustment - Don't go with a sight that loosens both horizontal and vertical adjustment with one fitting. It is no fun to need to move the pins up just a little and find you have also moved them left/right. D'OH!

Calibrated micro-adjustment - Not required but really neat. With these high-end sights, you loosen a set screw, then turn your vertical or horizontal adjustment on a calibrated scale (adjustment is threaded - no slipping D'OH!). In no time you can figure out how far each mark on the scale will move your group.

I hate "gapping" pins (trying to hold one pin over and one pin under) so I shoot five pins set at 20-60 in 10yd increments (pretty much standard).

Don't go cheap on the arrows. Good carbon arrows will actually be cheaper than aluminum due to the durability....unless you have trouble staying on target and lose them! I shoot Carbon Express or Gold Tip. Internal component carbons are the way to go. They are either straight or broken and the abuse they take without breaking is phenomenal.

Ther is no such thing as a "straightened" aluminum arrow.

[ 05-08-2003, 08:52 AM: Message edited by: crabbait ]

Hoosier Daddy · 05-08-2003, 08:25 AM

Sights??? What are those?? :smile:

tailchaser · 05-08-2003, 08:45 AM

The trophy ridge is a good sight, but it has some things to it that are different and take getting used to. For one the sight are vertical in the sight window. This is a problem for a few guys I know that are used to the traditional way sights come in from Right to Left (RH Bow). However, after the intial issues of getting used to it, it is a very good sight.

The best one on the market right now is a spot-hogg. Very fine fiber optic sight with a vertical crosshair behind the optic to line you up properly. Most of the top shooters right now are using them that have fixed sights. They're running from 100 bucks up to 200 depending on what model you want.

If you don't want to blow the money the best sight I've seen for under 80 bucks is the Montana Black Gold fiber optic sight. Watch one thing very closely with fiber optics, in that the optic is encased with some sort of protection. It will often get snagged on brush or get dropped and break the fiber, thus leaving you with a useless sight.

Sliverslinger adds a point with crosshair sights being very good, but I used to shoot the fineline sights early on in my career and had to pass on a couple of bulls because I couldn't make out my sights in lowlight conditions from them being black and all. Something to be aware about.

tc

pdxkevin · 05-09-2003, 05:48 AM

Has anyone used bow sites using tritum? I would beleive that would greatly help the low loght situations. Or are they not legal for hunting?

Hoosier Daddy · 05-09-2003, 07:34 AM

I believe illuminated sights are not legal, but I think the regulation is based on whether they are battery powered or not....

Yep, regs say "No electronic devices on your bow"...so glow in the darks "should" be OK. I'd make some calls and check. Even if its in the regs what really matters is OSP's interpretations of it.

(You could just take the sights off altogether

)

glowball · 05-10-2003, 06:29 PM

I use a spot hogg sight and love it. I tried the matrix and didn't really like it. It is a lot harder to split pins with it. I set my pins up 20 30 40 50 and 60. With the inline sights you can't see where you want to hit. They aren't all that tough either. At the bow shop I use the owner had his son stand on a spot hogg barebones sight and it didn't break. He weighs 275lb. They're a little more money but to me they're worth it.
Good luck to ya.

pdxkevin · 05-11-2003, 10:16 AM

that sound like my kind of sight. Seems like things in general are not made like they used to be. Just break all too often.... or maybe I am just too rough on them for my size?

Thanks for all the great advice. I am getting stoked about getting out on one of the 3D courses. The one out in Yamhill is just down the road (40 min) from me.