Bow nquestion sight or no sight

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
5,944
So I recently got a compund bow it's really sweet it came straight from Hunters friend.com pre set to my draw length and with a sight in stalled...supposedly the to pin is set at 20 yards....took it to the range today and was consistantly shooting low.. thought it was my form, but upon using the second pin and aiming a liitle south I was landing much more consitant groupings where I wanted them...I started to think depending on a sight like that might be somewhat of a crutch.. was toying with the idea of removing it and aiming by sight. I know with practice I'll get better accuracy easier with a sight but just wanted to collect some insights.
 
Riley, congratulations on the new bow! :thumbup: What did you get? Are you shooting with fingers or a release?

I think it would be best to keep the sight on right now while you are learning the feel of shooting the bow and cementing your form. Later on, if you want to remove the sight.

It is always best to only change one thing at a time. If you are going to adjust your nock point, just do that. If you are adjusting your site pins, only adjust one plane at a time. If something is goofy, you want to isolate it and not make a problem worse by introducing new variables.

-- FLIX
 
Thanks alot...I got an Alpine new frontier...It's not the top of the line but I understand it is a solid medium and good for a beginner...when I used the sevond pin it was smooth...Now I need to figure out if it's the sight or me...Thanks for the advice.
 
Go to a pro shop and have one of their shooters watch you shoot. Have him give you basic instruction on form and the shot sequence. It is worth it to pay for a private lesson now to avoid learning bad habits. (Trust me, they're much harder to unlearn!)

Provided the bow is properly tuned and has the correct draw length for you, you will want to eliminate your form factors before messing with the bow. Once your stance, draw and release are okay, you can move the sight pins to fit you. It may be as simple as moving the 20 yd pin to where the 30 yd pin currently is.

-- FLIX
 
Stay with the sight with the compound IMO. If you are not using a peep I would also highly suggest one to cement your form, the shurz-a-peep is a good beginner, cheap, bullet proof peep. Also if you are not using a release it is much easier to shoot small groups with one and it is hard to find a proper arrow rest now a days for shooting fingers with a compound. A lot of people are probably going to give you a hard time about using gimmicks and gadgets but I think #1, use what you enjoy and what helps you shoot better. A few years back people said the same thing about telescopic sights on rifles, I shoot recurves and compounds and enjoy both, I hope to get into crossbows also, the excaliber phoenix has really got me interested especially now that it is legal to deer hunt with in GA. Chris
 
Yeah I'd love a crossbow bow there illegal to hunt with here and illegal to posses in nyc. I got this bow primarily for hunting (after alot of learning of course) but I also plan on getting a recurve to pursue as a hobby as I understand it takes a long time to master.
 
On a compound I would stay witht he sights too. I don't like them on recurves or longbows.

One thing you can do that will help with your form is to video yourself shooting. It allows you to step outside of yourself and have a look. Video from both sides and far enough out to see the whole body from head to toe. Note head position, elbow position, follow through, etc. If you can´t spot your own errors then video a really good shooter and compare.

We did this with instinctive longbow shooters and it really helped. Mac
 
pict said:
One thing you can do that will help with your form is to video yourself shooting. It allows you to step outside of yourself and have a look. Video from both sides and far enough out to see the whole body from head to toe. Note head position, elbow position, follow through, etc. If you can´t spot your own errors then video a really good shooter and compare.
Click to expand...

I'll second this advice, I did it and it was a big help.
 
I find that using a very light grip on the bow handle solves many arrow flight problems. You could also be suffering from a bit of high elbow or your nock point may be too high (or too low?:confused: ). A visit to the archery shop might useful in diagnosing any technique or equipment problems.
 
I think it would be VERY helpful if you went to a bow shop for proper set-up. Buying your first bow mail-order is tough; there are a lot of things to adjust and set to match your physical characteristics. At the very least, buy a book about setting up your compound bow. Tinkering and refining the many variables is half the fun of shooting a compound.

I have a couple of compounds and have a box full of sights, rests, peeps, points, nocks, arrows, etc. that I've amassed after several seasons of experimenting and playing.

Keep the sights on it!

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I second the bow shop visit.

I got the jones to shoot again 3 years ago, after having dinked around with it as a kid. found a shop that offered free beginner lessons. took one, and they gave me a Hoyt compound to try out with release.

it worked out well for me, and I ended up buying it, getting a peep sight, Easton ACC arrows, joined the league, and started hunting.

the shop and some instructions/lessons were invaluable!
 
trkJr said:
I second the bow shop visit.

I got the jones to shoot again 3 years ago, after having dinked around with it as a kid. found a shop that offered free beginner lessons. took one, and they gave me a Hoyt compound to try out with release.

it worked out well for me, and I ended up buying it, getting a peep sight, Easton ACC arrows, joined the league, and started hunting.

the shop and some instructions/lessons were invaluable!
Click to expand...

I third the idea of bow shop and paying for a private lesson. Hoyt bow :thumbup: peep sight :thumbdn:. I have two my top bow is Hoyt Vectrix :thumbup: :D and my older now backup is Reflex Excursion. Both use a peepless rear sight, and my arrow of choice is Easton Axis FMJ 340
 
Some personalized instruction at a bow shop sounds like an excellent idea.

As others have mentioned, it depends on your total set-up. With a compound bow every single details must be properly matched and accounted for. In a sense bow set up is alot like fitting a shotgun, in that you fit the weapon to the user's size, shape and shooting characteristics.

Release aid or finger release also makes a huge difference. Generally speaking if you finger release then you will have to cant the bow, this makes multiple pin set-up very problematic. In contrast, when shooting release style the goal is hold the bow perfectly vertical, and very loosely - others have suggested a yoke/bowsling - this makes a proper hold very easy. For finger release shooters I tend to think that a single pin (cheater) is ok but in practice you are closer to an instictive style of shooting.

Instinctive shooting is great, but requires a tremendous amount of regular practice to maintain proficiency. I shoot both styles, and have for decades. I can take out my release aid, pin and peep compound bow in the late summer/early fall and within a few minutes be keeping ten arrows on a paper plate at anywhere up to 50 yards (I have 20, 30 and 50 yard pins.) At twenty yards the group is so tight I will purposely open it up to avoid ruining fletching. While I'd never shoot a deer at 50 yards, for elk sometimes this is a close as you might get.

Shooting a compound bow in this style is alot like a golf swing - it's all form and follow-through. Do everything with mechanical consistency and the results flow almost automatically. After that it's just some practice with akward shooting positions (sitting, kneeling, etc) to learn how to compensate for their effect on your shot.

Shooting all summer with my recurve I can probably keep all ten on the plate at twenty yards, at thirty yards it's about 6 out of ten - assuming I've been practicing. Take a month off and maybe I'll hit that 30 yard plate the first time, maybe not until the tenth time... Some days you're hot, some days you're not.
 
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