When shooting with a compound bow with 50 to 60 pounds of draw weight with moderate to fast speeds (260-300+) what sight would best suit your needs if you were to hunt, shoot 3-D, shoot target or a combination of the three?

If shooting less than or up to 25 yards you may well use a single pin to your advantage. A single pin would be of most benefit to you in this instance since you would not have to “choose” the right pin when the opportunity for a shot arose thus eliminating a possible mistake in pin choice. A bow shooting this speed will send an arrow on a relatively flat trajectory at this short a distance.

When shooting 3-D your choices are dictated by which Class you want to shoot in. If you intend to shoot Hunter Class you are bound by the rules to use a 1 to 4 pin sight or a crosshair sight.

In the Male Bowhunter Open and Male Bowhunter Release Classes you can use any number of pins so there wouldn’t be any restriction in pin numbers in these cases.

In Male Bowhunter Open you can also use a scope or lens sight so it’s pretty well anything goes in this case.

In shooting only Target it’s again a case of which Class you want to shoot in. You can shoot any amount of pins you want on your sight in these shoots. For the most part, unless you shoot a Field course you will only need a maximum of four pins and for Indoor you will only need one thought there is a Fixed Pin rule in Bowhunter Unlimited.

In shooting Target, if you shoot in the Compound Class you can also use a scope or lens on your sight. In all other Classes pins are the rule, whether it’s one or more depends on which Class you are in.

For a combination of the three, if you intend to hunt and shoot 3-D your options are varied but you will have to shoot longer distances than 25 yards so your choice will depend whether you intend to shoot with a different sight for hunting than you would for 3-D. With today’s archers it’s the norm to hear them say they put on their 3-D sight on after the hunting season was over. Many still use the same sight for hunting and 3-D though.

Many use this option now rather than shoot with their hunting sights all year.

If you hunt and shoot Target you may well just leave the hunting sight on if you shoot Indoor but if you want to shoot Outdoor many again opt to switch sights and go high tech on their Target sights.

When shooting all three disciplines the same goes for sights here. It’s use what you’ve got or go high tech and change with the seasons.

Whatever you do is mostly personal preference. The equipment you use has to do what you intend to use it for so pick whatever you think is best for your situation and shoot well.

Ricky Comeau

Provincial Archery Coach